Logistics of Travel The Road

Many of our Travel the Road friends are interested in the logistics of Travel the Road. By logistics we mean what it takes to go on a long-term mission's trip. With this in mind, website writer Joe Halsey recently sat down with Tim Scott and Will Decker for an in-depth interview to better understand what it takes to Travel the Road. This interview provides viewers with background information ranging from travel planning to living accommodations when doing long-term missions' work. Be sure to watch the Travel the Road television series every Saturday at 8:30 PM PST on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).

Question: Tim and Will, I would like you to share with our Travel the Road friends some of the logistics of doing long-term missions' work in 3rd world countries. So let's begin with a more general question: How did you develop the travel plans for your missions?

Will: By praying over a period of time, we developed a base of countries we wanted to travel through. For our most recent trip, we started in Pakistan and ended in Papua New Guinea. Along the way, we visited 24 countries and covered thousands of miles. To say that we had all of our travel plans lined up before we left would be unrealistic based on the nature of our missions' work. We knew generally where we wanted to go, but remained open to the Lord in terms of where He wanted us to go. At times, our plans changed based on what God wanted us to do. In fact, one of our episodes depicts very well the challenge between doing our will and God's will.

Question: what kind of an airplane ticket did you buy when you left the states?

Tim: For our first mission in 1998, we bought an around-the-world ticket. But that required us to be in certain cities on specific dates. We found that to be very restricting, because we wanted to stay in some areas longer but had to push on because of our airplane ticket. For our latest trip, we initially purchased a one-way ticket to Pakistan from Los Angeles. From there we used various forms of transportation to reach our desired destinations, including trains, buses, taxis, all terrain vehicles, boats. You name it, we've used it to get where we needed to go. We found that getting to our first destination was key, but then approached the rest of our travels with a flexible approach. Then we would pay for transportation as the need arose.

Question: Talk a little bit about the supplies and possessions you took when you left.

Will: Packing for a long-term mission's trip is very important. Both Tim and I had a backpack filled with a limited, yet essential, number of items. For example, in each of our backpacks we had 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of pants, 2 T-shirts, 1 rain jacket, 2 pair of socks and 5 pair of underwear. We also carried a pair of sandals attached to our pack. In addition, we had the normal allotment of travel-sized toiletries, including deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste and a hairbrush. We also carried a Bible, a passport, and had all of our camera equipment.

Question: Did this include the clothes on your back as well?

Tim: Absolutely. What Will just mentioned included everything we took, including the clothes on our backs. To say we traveled light would be an overstatement. Will forgot one other key item we took, and that was a pair of shower shoes. We learned from our first mission that we had to have a pair of shower shoes because some of the living conditions we encountered were pretty rough at times.

Question: Speaking of showers, how often did you take showers on your mission?

Will: We took showers whenever we could, and sometimes days would elapse between showers. We would clean ourselves using buckets, dipping in streams, or taking birdbaths. We were very conscious of hygiene, and took whatever we could get when it was available.

Tim: And when we took showers, it was never with hot or even warm water. We quickly got used to fast and very cold showers.

Question: That sounds like roughing it to me. How often would you replenish or buy new clothes?

Will: We would turn our wardrobe, if that's what we're calling it, about every couple of months. It's very funny to even think of the clothes we took as a wardrobe.

Tim: We would also give away our belongings, including clothes, when we felt prompted to. That would require us to buy clothes. In 3rd world mission's work, necessity is the mother of invention.

Question: Once you got to a city, where did you stay?

Will: Our game plan was typically to go the capital of whatever country we traveled to. We would stay at guesthouses, cheap hotels, wherever we could find accommodations. The capital would kind of serve as home base as we traveled to other parts of that country.

Question: How much did hotels cost?

Tim: It varied depending on the country. In India, for example, a night's stay in a hotel cost about $3 U.S.

Question: Would you have contacts lined up in the countries before you arrived?

Will: That was a key part of doing our research before we left. We contacted everyone we knew who might have contacts in other countries. Part of our planning evolved around the contacts we had. You would be surprised who knows who around the world. Because we're in missions' work, we contacted other organizations for contacts. This was very helpful and often times helped in arranging our living accommodations where we traveled.

Question: How much money would carry with you?

Tim: We would carry enough money to get us to the next big city.

Question: What was the significance of getting to a big city?

Will: From a big city, we could contact Michael Scott, Tim's brother, in the U.S. and have him wire us some money when we needed it.

Tim: We really tried to limit the amount of money we carried for security reasons. You never want to have too much money on you at any given time, in case you got robbed or something. Because a little money goes a long way in 3rd world countries, we never needed a lot of money.

Question: Speaking of money, how much did each of you need for your last mission trip?

Tim: For our last mission trip, we each needed to raise $15K for one year on the mission field. That would cover everything, from airplane tickets, to food, traveling and hotels.

Question: What were some of the unexpected logistical challenges you encountered?

Will: One of the biggest challenges we faced was not having an interpreter at times. Having an interpreter who speaks English is one of the most important things when doing missions' work. One time we used a Muslim interpreter to preach. That's the interesting thing about preaching in 3rd world countries. Your interpreter may not even be a Christian, but as long as they can speak English the message of the Gospel can be delivered. But God said that His Word would not return void regardless of who is delivering the message. That was an awesome lesson learned.

Question: You mentioned doing research earlier. Tell me more about what goes into your research before you go on a mission trip.

Tim: Most of our research focused on the culture and people in the countries we travel to. Knowing about the culture, including things like government, religion, geography and customs was very helpful. By doing this kind of research, we were better prepared to do our work.

Question: Can you think of a time when doing your research on a country or people group paid off?

Will: The Afar people in Africa come to mind. We knew we wanted to visit the Afar people in Ethiopia. By doing our research, we knew that they lived in the desert, and that they mined salt for a living. We also knew this group lived below sea level so it was a very hot climate; they were also all Muslim. All this information helped by the time we met the people.

Tim: However, you never fully know a country until you travel it. You can read all you want, but the real learning does not happen until you live it day in and day out.

Will: Tim raises a good point. Once you visit a country once, it is much easier the second time around. We both could get around India very easily now because we have been there and experienced it. The hardest part is when you visit a country for the first time. Be prepared to learn the most the first time out.

Tim: It's the little things that you pick up on. Taxi drivers will try to hustle you for a cab ride. You can definitely be taken advantage of if you don't know the local customs. But you learn through experience.

Question: This is very interesting. Let's shift gears for minute. How do you keep in touch with friends and family members when you're in a 3rd world country?

Will: The internet is the best way to keep in touch. For 30 cents to a dollar per hour you can use the internet. We both had E-mail accounts set up before we left. So it was not unusual to have 50-100 E-mails waiting in our inbox by the time we checked it. Let me tell you, after a few weeks in the jungle or the desert, having E-mails waiting for us in a bigger city was a real blessing.

Question: So the internet is available even in 3rd world countries?

Tim: Any decent-sized city will have internet access. We were really surprised to see how far India had come technologically from our 1998 trip to our most recent trip in 2002. Keep in mind, though, that when you are out in the desert meeting with nomadic-type people, you will not have any way to communicate with your family or friends.

Question: How else did you communicate with people?

Will: Telephone service in most every city was also an option. But calling long distance from another country can be very expensive. That's why we used the internet as much as possible; it is much more affordable. We would typically call our immediate family members once a month to stay within our budget.

Tim: Today there are even satellite phones that allow you to call anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world. They are a little expensive, but represent an option for anyone who wants to keep in regular contact with people in the states, even when you may be in the middle of the Amazon.

Question: So you had a budget for your mission?

Tim: Oh, yeah, you gotta have a budget or you may run out of money half way through your trip. We planned out how much money we would spend each month based on the cost of living for each area we visited. When doing your research, you need to know the cost of living, so you can plan accordingly.

Question: Let's talk about food. What and where would you typically eat?

Will: We would eat whatever the locals would eat. In villages, the people would oftentimes invite us into their homes for a meal; they were very friendly and welcoming. It was not always the best food, but it kept us going. That's part of the experience. We found it very important to embrace the experience in full, to live like the people did.

Question: I am hesitant to ask, but what type of food did you eat on your last mission trip?

Tim: We have eaten everything you could imagine. Some of the more interesting cuisine has included rat, dog, crocodile, yak, eel, and all kinds of weird stuff. The dog, for example, was not some nice dog; we're talking about a street dog. You eat what you can. In fact, in some countries it is offensive to the locals if you don't eat or drink what they offer you. You must be prepared to eat things you would not normally eat in the comfort of your own home.

Will: That's why we always pray over our food.

Question: What if you got sick on the road?

Will: Your faith has to be the driving force in all things. We have learned to trust the Lord in all things, and that if you find yourself in harm's way, that He will bring you out of it.

Question: Well, we've covered a lot of ground, and I am sure there are many areas we haven't discussed. Any final thoughts?

Tim: We have talked about logistics for the type of missions we have taken. People should keep in mind that missions come in all shapes and sizes.

Will: For sure. If someone takes a short-term mission trip good for them. Whatever your calling is in missions, whether to build schools, plant churches, use the gifts God has given you.

Tim: If you have a willing heart and trust in the Lord, you will see things you never imagined people getting saved, healed, and delivered. The mission field is waiting. You just have to step out.

Question: Thank you gentlemen.