Planning
The 90-Day Mission Trip Checklist (Tick It Off, Print It)
From ninety days out to the week you get home: a mission trip planning checklist you can tick off in your browser and print, built around how the Nichols team actually packs, inventories and clears customs.
“One of the biggest misconceptions about mission trips is that the work begins when the team lands in another country. In reality, the ministry starts months before departure.”
The preparation is the trip. Hundreds of items purchased, sorted, inventoried, labelled, translated, packed, weighed and documented before the first patient walks in. This checklist lays that out over ninety days. The items marked with a gold diamond are how the Nichols team actually does it, from Don's own description; the rest is general planning guidance from the site.
Your checklist
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Saved in this browser only. ◆ marks how the Nichols team does it, from Don’s own description.
90 days out
60 days out
30 days out
14 days out
The week of
On the ground
After you're home
Planning a trip? Don answers questions from other teams.
Leave your name and number and he will send the real numbers as they change.
The three documents every trunk carries
- A numbered identification and the owner's information.
- A full inventory sheet — item by item, never "medical supplies" — with a Spanish translation.
- A customs explanation stating that everything was donated, nothing is for sale, and all of it is given free.
“All of this will be GIVEN FREE OF CHARGE.”
Stay close to the work
Planning a trip? Get the next tool first
New guides, printables and checklist updates as they are published, plus a text when the Nichols team lands and when they get home.
Tools for the list
Questions people ask
- How far in advance should you plan a mission trip?
- Don's own record says the preparation takes months. This checklist starts ninety days out; a first-time team should allow more, mainly for raising support and buying supplies in bulk.
- What paperwork does a mission trunk need for customs?
- Numbered identification, owner information, an item-by-item inventory sheet, a Spanish translation, and a customs explanation stating that nothing is for sale and everything is given free.
- Is my checklist progress saved?
- In your browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere. Print it for the team, and use Reset to start over.
Pass the numbers on.
Most people have never seen what a mission trip actually costs. One share puts this in front of somebody who will give because they finally can see it.
More by the numbers
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By the numbersWhere Does a Mission Trip Donation Actually Go? Don's $3,940 Budget, Charted
Most ministries answer "where does my donation go" with a pie chart of percentages. This one answers with a receipt: every line of a $3,940 medical mission supply drive, charted, with nothing held back for overhead.
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InteractiveWhat $25 Buys on a Medical Mission Trip (Build the Trunk Yourself)
Twenty-five dollars is 41 pairs of reading glasses, ten Bibles, or eight hygiene kits at Don Nichols' real prices. Pick a budget, tap what goes in the trunk, then make it real.
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The record2013 to 2026: Thirteen Years of Mission Trips, in Charts
13 mission trips across 5 countries since 2013, the three years they could not go, and 509 photographs — Don Nichols' own timeline, charted.
OpenGuides, tools, and the FAQ live on the Resources page. Every fact about the mission on them comes from what Don has published here.