Mission Trip Details

 

 

We would love to have you be a part of our 2026 Botswana Okavango Delta Unreached Outreach…you would absolutely love it!

 

We are continuing to put this growing team together with individuals that have a hunger and passion for God, an excitement for adventure, and the willingness to step out of their comfort zones. We believe He will speak to you next Summer, open your eyes to something greater than you thought or imagined, and make some like-hearted and life-long friends along the way!

 

Each summer we see so many lives changed, including those on the team, and it is so powerful to be in His presence each day. We are so looking forward to helping you experience a powerful, exciting, and life-changing mission trip. 

 

From visiting schools and hosting a church VBS, playing, ministering, and caring for the children at the Lorato House Rescue Center, there will lots of opportunities to share your testimony, lead someone to the Lord or praying for those needing a healing touch from God.

 

You will also experience God's presence in such a real way within our team as we share worship, devotional times, and quiet times, there’s nothing like a quiet time under the big skies of Africa!

 

One exciting way we get to share the Word of God is through outdoor movie nights during our Okavango Delta village outreach, sharing the “Jesus Film”. We’ll do some worship, fun skits, share our testimonies (stories) and then show the “Jesus Film” in their language, a word for word professional production of the book of Luke and a great way to present the Gospel afterwards as a team!

 

We love to really get to know the local people, their culture, and enjoying the sounds of Africa on our Okavango Delta Outreach! Afterwards we'll fly to Zimbabwe (short flight) and visit Victoria Falls, raft the Zambezi river, experience an amazing cultural African dinner dance and drum and swing over the gorge of the Zambezi! (optional)

 

This is an all-inclusive trip from New York City and most everything is covered in the cost.

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What’s Included:

• Round-trip international flight from NYC to Maun, Botswana

• Embassy Suites hotel accommodations (or similar) in NYC during training

• A variety of Accommodations throughout the mission trip 

• All in-country transportation to/from airports and to/from ministry sites throughout the mission trip

• Daily meals in NYC during training and all in-country meals (3 per day)

• Daily bottled water

• Trip t-shirt

• Medical Emergency Insurance

• All Free Day Excursions

 

What’s Not Included:

• Domestic flight from your hometown to NYC (La Guardia)

• Passport

• Immunizations (see CDC button)

• Snacks/Food  in all airports and souvenirs

 

 

2026 Basic Trip Itinerary

( Subject to change...A comprehensive itinerary will be sent 30 days prior to the trip.)

 

* Each day we try and start with a quiet time, devotional, and prayer/worship. Occasionally, an early departure for ministry will disrupt our usual morning routine, and then we will fit it in later that day or evening.

 

July 17: NYC (La Guardia)

Once you arrive, our airport greeting team will meet you at the airport and later that evening have dinner together as a team and begin our training. During this time, we will have some team bonding time, and we will go over trip logistics, rules, safety, cultural items, team communication, schedule...and then have a Commissioning service. *You will be sharing a room with others (same gender) as it helps create team bonding...and is just more fun!

DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: Hilton La Guardia Airport

 

July 18-19: NYC to Maun, Botswana

Depart for Maun, Botswana (International ticket confirmation will be sent to you 2 weeks prior to departure.) After meeting our contacts in the airport, we will head to our base, regroup, and get in a nap and evening meeting with our ministry partners and their team. Team meeting and game night. 

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD

 

July 20-22: Maun

On our first full days in Maun, we will be involved with a local church and some missionaries that really love the Lord and have made a big impact in Botswana. We will be part of a church and worship service, meet the team and translators that will be with us during our mission trip and prepare for daily ministry and outreaches in Maun

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD

 

July 23-27: Okavango Delta Unreached Ministry

Tribal ministry to the unreached! We will camp alongside a tribe we have been reaching out to for years and continue to share the gospel to them and other nearby tribes. We plan to show the Jesus Film as one of many tools to share the gospel. Quiet times, worship and devotions around the campfire! 

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD

 

July 28-30 Victoria Falls

After returning from the Okavango Delta we will fly to Victoria Falls for debriefing and some very exciting adventures like river rafting the Zambezi, cultural African dinner and show, and the gorge swing! Market shopping for souvenirs.

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER. ACCOMMODATIONS: TBD

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July 30: Depart for NYC

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July 31: NYC

ACCOMMODATIONS: Hilton La Guardia Airport

 

August 1: All team members depart anytime for home

 

 

Talk to your doctor about any prescriptions you are currently taking or should take in case you get sick, and also about the following vaccinations: Hepatitis A, Typhoid.  Malaria and Yellow Fever are not required or suggested for this trip as there is very low risk.

 

See Center for Disease Control and Prevention requirements for Botswana; (click on CDC button).

 

Training:

Training for this trip will take place at the Hilton, La Guardia airport in NYC (Lodging can be subject to change.)

Training consists of specific ministry and outreach information, going over rules and safety regulations, team and leadership bonding time, and an evening Worship and Commissioning service.

 

 

 

Health & Safety FAQs

 

What vaccinations do I need? We would strongly suggest following the CDC requirements/suggestions. You should consult with your own family physician, but what we always suggest is to make sure that all your Hepatitis A, Tetanus/Diphtheria, and Typhoid/Polio shots are all up to date. It is a personal choice and decision as everyone has their own risk tolerance, vaccination beliefs, and health and safety thresholds.

 

Is the trip insured? Yes! We carry short-term travel insurance for each member of the team that includes medical evacuation, AD&D coverage, and other great travel insurance benefits. However, you will still need to be covered on a health insurance plan or have one purchased for the trip. We use Good Neighbor Insurance (GNI) for our mission trip coverage. For more information, call 480-813-9100 or visit info@gninsurance.com

 

What if an emergency happens and I can’t go? If you have to pull out of a mission trip for whatever reason, we will apply all payments/donations to a future trip, minus costs we may not be able to recover.

 

Health history questionnaire. A few weeks prior to the mission trip, we’ll email you a Health History Questionnaire and a Consent/Release form for you to fill out and email back to us before the mission trip. Most of it is pretty standard and it just gives us an idea of medications being taken, past health issues, allergies, immunizations received, and other items for us to be aware of if there were to be a need for you to go to a doctor or clinic/hospital. Please fill out what you are comfortable with; everything is 100% confidential. 

 

Safety track record. Going overseas is a big deal, and it's totally understandable for individuals, parents, and families to be concerned and want to know what safety precautions are being taken for each trip, especially if they are new to Wide Awake Missions. We've been at this for over 30 years; we have taken thousands of teens and young adults overseas, and over the years of doing mission trips, we have been fortunate to have never had a major safety or medical issue.

 

International safety and travel warnings. We keep in constant contact with all travel warnings concerning each country we go to. Before we leave, we register our group with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) through the U.S. Department of State, and we log our itinerary with the State Departments of each country we  travel to.

 

On being alone. No one is ever allowed to go off by themselves outside of our outreach sites, ministry sites, and hotels. We travel as a team unit, eat as a team, and minister as a team—so no one is ever alone. We rely on our trusted and experienced contacts/translators to guide us each day. Also, each team member pairs up daily with an accountability partner. We always have a first aid kit that travels with us, and our contacts keep us informed on the best doctors, clinics, and hospitals to visit if there are ever any issues or emergencies.

 

Contact information and itinerary. You, your parents, and/or family will have a list of all our emergency numbers and will receive a more updated itinerary before each trip.

 

Leaders. We have a seasoned country director run the mission trip, and our leader/student ratio is usually one college-aged leader per five (under age 18) students. We allow the team to bring their smartphones, and usually, it's their camera as well. We use the hotel’s wifi; this way students can be in contact with their parents for updates. We also provide you and your parents the phone numbers of the international hotels where we will be staying during the trip.

 

What about theft? Theft is always a possibility when you travel abroad, so please don’t bring anything you cannot afford to lose. Most crime is petty like pick-pocketing—but since we travel as a group and use private, chartered buses and vans with a hired driver who guards our belongings, we’ve rarely had a team member lose anything.

 

 

General Mission Trip FAQs

 

As we get within a few months of our mission trip, we will be in more communication to make sure everything goes smoothly, and we are always available to answer any questions you may have. We can’t even begin to express how unbelievable, fun, and adventurous this mission trip is going to be!

 

What about drinking water? Throughout the trip, we will drink plenty of bottled water and/or purified filtered water. 

 

Can I bring items for the outreaches? Yes! Feel free to bring balloons, face paint, stickers, coloring book, crayons, pencils, and Bibles to give away. If your school or church wants to be a part in a financial way, we will be buying food to distribute in villages, supplying some Bibles, and handing out other little things, so you/they can give towards these options if you’d like; just let us know.

 

Are there any additional costs? Pretty much everything is covered! We work with a variety of helpers and translators, and we do take a group "love offering" at the end of the trip for our main contacts as well—it’s the gesture that counts here and not the amount though.

 

Do I need a sleeping bag or towel? Yes, you will need a sleeping bag and towel for this trip.

 

Can I use my phone? Definitely! Although wifi can be spotty, it’s nice to keep in touch and share photos with friends and family who are praying for you and have supported you. 

 

How many bags can I bring? You are allowed to bring one personal item like a back pack or day pack (usually a smaller type of school day backpack and not an actual carry on suitcase) and one checked piece of luggage (a suitcase or backpack/duffle bag weighing 48 pounds or less).

 

What’s a typical day like? Each morning, we enjoy breakfast and team devotions, and then we head off to our outreaches for the day. We typically bring lunch with us, and at the end of the day we’ll go out with our contacts/translators and enjoy team meals together. Later in the evening, we bring everyone together and have some team fun, play some games, and some testimony time from the day of outreaches and ministry. We also love to have  worship nights and an occasional inspiring message by one of the leaders or special speakers.

 

Do I have to share my testimony in front of people? Well, as a team, we’d love everyone to get to know each other’s "story.”  As far as sharing in front of a group of people or church, we understand that speaking in front of larger groups can be frightening, so we’ll leave that up to you. You will see though that throughout the trip, you will begin to feel more and more comfortable with it. You will have numerous opportunities to pray for the needs of many people in the outreaches we will do.

 

Sports/skits? We will have some fun opportunities to play some pick-up games of soccer and basketball; and do some fun drama skits (and other games). It’s such a great way to connect and offers lots of opportunities to minister and get to know the people of Chiang Mai better. Please let us know if you have any special talents you’d love to use during the trip or teach others, such as face-painting, making balloon animals, playing musical instruments, dancing, singing, etc.

 

*This list isn’t exhaustive, if you have any additional questions please just let us know!