Fellowship Fridays - Deputation

Deputation

Packing

I questioned the missionary ladies on our Facebook group page about this subject and several of them gave some great tips for packing on deputation or furlough!  PLease feel free to leave any suggestion you may have in the comments below!

We, 3 women and 2 guys have found taking a brown skirt/ suit and a black skirt/ suit and pairing everything with them works well. We also make sure we travel with casual/town clothes because a person never knows what we will get into during the day. Comfy shoes and clothes are always a welcome.  (The Arctic of Canada)

I try to pack for no more than 5 days. When we were in the states on furlough I just began going to the good will stores if I found I needed something. And then I purchased extra and left clothes at our daughter's house for when we return. Hoping just to take a carry on. If one has kids I am sure that is rather difficult because they are always changing in sizes, but I also figured I would just have to wash more often. It gets very tiresome hauling around a lot of luggage. I also took an extra suitcase so if we wanted to bring some things back with us. It is all in how one can plan if there is family that has room to help like with us leaving things to wear behind so we don't have to pack too much it aughta work out great. This is the first time we are trying this but it sounds like it might have possibilities. (Guatemala)

 If you have a one night stay on the way to somewhere..pack a carry-on type suitcase with everyone's change of clothes..and one bag with toiletries..make sure these bags are easily accessible..it's easier to take out one or two bags instead of 10..and then needing to repack the whole van, if it's just a one night stay. One other thing I thought of..if possible, try not to pack your vehicle too tight when you leave to go on the road for a few weeks or months. A lot of churches/individuals will bless you by giving clothes..food..other misc. gifts and you will need some room to pack the extras that you pick up on the way. (India)

My family of 4 travelled in a VW Golf (small car) for the first part of deputation and later a Subaru Impreza (medium size car), so we didn't have a lot of room. I had one bag for all toiletry items and I had one small suitcase that contained pjs, undergarments, one set of clothing for each of us, etc, then when we stayed at a hotel we could just grab the toiletry bag and small suitcase. My kids each had one small suitcase and my husband and I shared a larger suitcase. The kids each had a small crate next to their seats, in it they kept their toys. We also carried clorox wipes and baby wipes. :) All our items for our display table were kept in another small suitcase, and we also had a large wooden display for our table. It was quite cramped, but we made such fond memories in those cars. (Australia)

That sounds like how we packed! And we STILL do the 'one night on the way' both of us in one small suitcase thing when back in the States. One other thing I do yet is roll up one set of socks, tshirt and underwear together so that it is easy to just grab one each a.m. to put on and a bag to fill up as we go for laundry. (Japan)

1. I normally take one black skirt, one white skirt, and one or two denim skirts and multiple shirts and accessories (enough for 5-6 days). 2. If you have room in your vehicle, it can be quite nice to have a hanging bar and put your dress clothes on that rather than folding then in a suitcase and then having to iron them all the time  (Vanuatu)

The longer we were on deputation the fewer bags we ended up taking. You can live without a lot of things when you need to. Our biggest thing was having a small bag for short trips and a larger bag for longer trips. I also prepared an overnight toiletry bag and an extended stay toiletry bag. Flying always messed up our routine because we would cram stuff in our van for extra things. I would only ask my husband how long the next trip would be and what climate. It's best if you can hang you're clothes up and just pick out what you need. There is no way around having a lot of stuff with kids. We usually bought diapers wherever we went to save on room. Somehow everything finds a place or gets taken out. We also had extra plastic bags for trash, then threw it away when we got to our destination. Kept the car so much cleaner. We also had a box just for snacks. My son still thinks your supposed to eat when you get in the car. It will also keep your husband awake! Enjoy the journey and do fun things along the way. (Japan)