Traveling Missionaries

We do everything we can to make sure that our mission fee stays as low as possible. Your lodging fee, mission trip t-shirt, and some food are covered by your mission fee. The mission trips are not a fundraiser for HFA. Every portion of the mission fee is used for trip expenses.

There is one lodging location that includes all 3 meals in their lodging fee. For those few teams staying at this location, there may be additional mission fees that apply.

Yes! We are family friendly! Each member of the family will need to complete a mission trip application and pay the mission fee. There are no group discounts offered.

You are responsible for transportation in getting to Kentucky. You can drive yourself, carpool with others, or by caravan. Gas and travel fees are not reimbursed.

We have several lodging locations in Kentucky. Where you stay will depend on what team you are assigned to. All of our lodging locations are places specifically set up for missionaries visiting and serving the area. These places have minimal accommodations. Please remember this is not a vacation, this is a mission trip.

Yes! The Christmas mission trip is 4 days (3 nights), and the Spring mission trip is 6 days (5 nights). For team leader planning and school visit planning, yes, we ask that you stay the entirety of the trip. We also have to pay each of the lodging locations for all the nights, whether there is someone sleeping in the bed or not, so there are no refunds given for nights not stayed.

This is different for every team and every mission trip. Some teams will only have to travel 20-30 minutes, some teams travel up to an hour, and some more. Most teams carpool from the lodging location to the schools. You will be provided a schedule and school addresses prior to the mission trip.

Everything you normally need to travel: Toiletries, towels for showering, medications, clothing (warm clothing), chargers, shower shoes, etc.

Bedding: For most lodging locations you will need to bring sheets and bedding for the beds. When room assignments are made, you will be told what size bedding you need to bring. It is cold in Kentucky, bring warm blankets. Sleeping bags are also acceptable.

Breakfast: We ask that you bring breakfast items to share (cereal, bagels, muffins, etc). Coffee, creamers, milks, bottled water are purchased for use of breakfast. 

Lunch: We will provide items to make a bagged lunch for the days you are in the schools. This usually consists of bread and lunch meats for sandwiches, bagged snack items, bottled water. Your team leader will have coolers for your lunches to stay cool during the day.

Dinner: We usually ask that you eat dinner on the way to Kentucky before you arrive at the lodging location you are assigned to. For the nights that you are in the schools, we will have a group dinner that evening at the lodging location. This may consist of a potluck meal that a church has prepared, or spaghetti dinner, etc.

We understand that some people have dietary restrictions and allergies. Because of the size of our mission trips, we cannot always accommodate special dietary needs. We ask that you bring what you need to eat with you on the trip. There is very limited freezer and fridge space at the lodging locations, so please coordinate with Pastor Mike or your team leader.

We try to reserve all fridges and freezers for use of food for the group meals and lunch items. We also need space for people who have dietary restrictions or allergies to keep small amounts of food. So the short answer is probably not, please do not plan on using the fridges if at all possible.

Please do not contact the lodging locations to ask questions. If you have questions, please reach out to Pastor Mike or your team leader.

Our lodging locations are not pet friendly and the schools do not allow us to bring animals. We are also considerate of other missionaries’ allergies, so please do not bring any animals with you.

We ask all of our missionaries to be flexible! Plans change, things happen, but God always has a plan, and we will move as he leads!

Shirt: We are recognized in Kentucky by our specific shade of purple shirt. You will be provided ONE HFA tshirt as part of your mission fee. The mission trip t-shirt is new for each mission trip. You will need to wear something HFA Purple each day you are in the school (Christmas Trip =2 days, Spring Trip = 4 days). You can wear any HFA t-shirt or HFA merchandise. Additional merchandise can be purchased from our partners store front.

Pants: You will be sitting on the floor with kids a LOT. Jeans are appropriate to wear for pants. Please no leggings/yoga pants or jeans with lots of rips/tears in them. 

Shoes: Wear tennis shoes or comfortable shoes.

Yes! We have group chats that we ask that you drop your pictures and short videos in so our media coordinator can post on social media and for use in videos. If you do not have access to the group chat, you can also email them or text them to our media coordinator. 

Posting pictures on social media: When posting pictures on social media, for privacy and security, please do NOT use the school name or the child’s full name. Also, by Kentucky state law, we can not take pictures of Pre-kindergarteners.

No. If you feel the need to exchange personal contact information with a staff member or student, please consult your team leader first.

No. If you have any questions, please contact your team leader or Pastor Mike.

No. All of these items need to be pre-approved by Pastor Mike before the mission trip. All literature, blogs, etc need to align with our mission statement.

Please find your team leader and privately share. Your team leader will handle giving the information to school staff.

Spring Mission Trip: The Spring mission trip consists of 5 nights and 6 days, including traveling to Kentucky. This usually happens around Easter, and depends on the schools Spring Break schedules. There are around 200 missionaries that travel on this mission trip!

Most of the schools are PK through 8th grade, with a few having PK-12th grades. Each day you will visit a new school and be in that school the whole day. Every grade level will visit the gym hearing the resurrection story, play games, and then given their Hope Box. One missionary will sit in a small group with 5 or 6 children and talk, take prayer requests, listen and encourage. After each grade has cycled through, the school day is usually over. You will then pack up and head back to the lodging locations, eat dinner and prepare for the next day. Each team will minister at least 4 schools that week.
 

Christmas Mission Trip: The Christmas mission trip is 4 days and 3 nights, including traveling. This mission trip consists of a smaller group of around 30-40 missionaries. 

On this mission trip, we are meeting the PK and Kindergartners for the first time. This may be in the gym with all classes combined or in a classroom setting. We talk with them as a group, sing a song and then read the Christmas Story. After the story, we hand out the PK & Kindergarten Bags. In each bag is a winter hat, a pair of gloves, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a stuffed animal and some fun items. We then spend time with them as they try on and model their hats and gloves, laugh and talk. We stay at each school 45 minutes or less and then load up and move on to the next school. When we leave the children, we tell them we will see them at Easter and they are smiling and excited. Each team will visit at least 4 schools in a 2 day period.

YOU WILL BE PROVIDED TRAINING! We will not send you into the school without knowing how to perform the different aspects of our program!