How to Pack For Your DTS and Missions Trips – An in Depth Packing List

By Kenneth Willer

Congratulations! You are getting ready for your DTS adventure and now need to figure out what to pack. Maybe you have all your clothes on your bed and are looking at them confused about what you need to bring. My hope today is to give you some clarity on what to bring and give you some tips on how I pack. I have worked with YWAM for almost 10 years and spend a lot of time hopping from place to place. This has given me a lot of great insight on what is worth the weight and what isn’t.

One thing to remember is that less is almost always more when you travel. Even if your checked bag limit is 50lbs or 70 kilos, you don’t want to be carrying all that weight around. I have had a few experiences where I have gotten to the hotel we were staying at and had to carry my bag up 3+ flights of stairs because the elevator was broken down. I have also had to lug my heavy bag down a dirt road because the bus wasn’t running. A good test is to take your packed bag and walk around with it. If you can’t make it up and down a flight of stairs, think about making it lighter.

What to pack for lecture phase

Clothing

For clothing, it is very important to find out what the climate is at the campus you are going to attend. Here at YWAM Mendocino Coast, people are often confused about what our climate will be like. Because we are in California, people expect it to be like LA with warm, sunny days. Even though we are on the coast and do have gorgeous, awe inspiring beaches, they are usually a little chilly and most days we are wearing hoodies and long pants. 

Work Out Clothes

For me, I am a runner so I bring a running outfit and a pair of running shoes. There are also lots of amazing trails and hikes at and around YWAM Mendocino Coast so do your research on where you’re going and pack your type of workout clothes accordingly! Because lecture phase is 12 weeks long and you may not be able to do laundry whenever you want to, you may want to bring two sets of workout attire. 

Work Duty Clothes

During your DTS, you will have work duties. This is a time where you will contribute to the campus in some way, often with cleaning or landscaping. Bring closed toed shoes and some shirts and pants that you don’t mind getting dirty in! 

Special Occasion Clothes

At YWAM Mendocino Coast, our DTS has a few events where you will want to be a little dressier. We have a Thursday Night Love Feast every Thursday during lecture phase where people wear semi-formal (more like casual-nice) attire and have a banquet! You will also need a nice outfit for church on Sundays. 

Everyday Clothes

Your everyday clothes will depend completely on the location and time of year of your DTS. For our fall school, we recommend a few short sleeve shirts, a few long sleeve shirts, a few sweaters, sweatshirts and a jacket, jeans, sweat pants and maybe some skirts. You can bring a comfortable pair of everyday shoes, a nicer pair of shoes to go with your special occasion outfits and some flip-flops for the beach. Rain boots are also helpful during the winter.

Supplies

Some everyday supplies you will want to bring for your lecture phase will include: your bible, a notebook, your journal, pens and pencils, art supplies/small hobby items.

This one might seem like a bit of a contradiction to when I say ‘pack as light as possible’ but, bring your instrument! DTS will provide many opportunities for you to use your musical talent! It is absolutely worth the weight.

What should you pack all your stuff in?

Often times, when students pack for their DTS, they will just use whatever bag/case they have laying around. I have found that it is really worth it to select an appropriate bag for your needs. When I travel, I like to use my backpacking backpack. The reason I use this over a traditional square travel case is because it makes it much easier to carry. Nothing is worse than dragging a 40 lb luggage bag with broken wheels down a dirt road. Go with something that can go on your back. It will save you shoulder pain and, when you inevitably have to run through an airport, make your life so much easier. Click here for one I really like. 

With that,  I also use travel containers to keep all my stuff organized and easy to access. Here are the ones I use.

I have one for shirts, underwear, pants, miscellaneous and toiletries. This makes packing and unpacking so much easier. Before I used these, I would pack all my things loose in my bag which would create a mess of clothes everywhere and my clean clothes would mix with my dirty laundry and muddy shoes! These bags protect the clothes, keep them clean, and make finding everything so easy. You can also use ziplock bags as a disposable option. Nothing is worse than having your shampoo explode into all of your other items on a flight.

What to pack for outreach

One thing to keep in mind as we talk about outreach is that you may have the opportunity to return home before hand. After my DTS lecture phase, I was able to go home for Christmas break and get some of the items I needed before heading out to Africa. This was a blessing because, where I did my school, it was cold and because of that I didn’t pack any warm weather clothes. I also had a friend do her school in Brazil (warm) and she didn’t have the opportunity to return home before going on an outreach to a very cold climate. She ended up having to buy warm clothing on her outreach so, its a good idea to go home if you can. If you aren’t able to go home before your outreach and your lecture phase climate is very different from your outreach climate, there are options for you and your base will be happy to work with you to figure out what you need. 

Clothing 

This will vary greatly depending on where you are going. Outreach is around 8-10 weeks long and your YWAM base will brief you on how you should dress and what you will need to bring based on the activities you will be doing. It’s a good idea to pack very lightly for outreach because often times, you will be moving around to multiple locations and will be carrying all of your belongings with you. 

If you are traveling to locations that require specific outfits, for example India, I would recommend buying your outfits there. Often times you will find better deals as well as better made clothing items. Make sure you are communicating with your school leaders about your plans, it may end up being that you won’t have an opportunity to shop for clothes in the first few days you are there. If that is the case, you may need to bring cultural attire with you.

Supplies 

It’s a great idea to bring your Bible, a small journal and something to write with. Other items to consider are: bug repellant (for tropical destinations), sun screen, baby wipes, vitamins, small clothes line and small amount of laundry detergent. Here’s a clothes line that packs easily and doesn’t require clothes pins.

Technology

I bring the same types of things no matter where I go:

Flashlight 

A headlamp is the way to go. While on outreach, you never know what the electricity situation will be or if there will be outages while you are in country. Headlamps are a must. A hands free light will give you the ability to continue working with your hands when the lights go out. Often times, I have needed my headlamp for showering! Yes, I know you are thinking,

“How does he shower with a flashlight on his head?”. Well, you can hang the light by its strap or purchase a waterproof headlamp (very helpful when it’s raining too!).

Here is a waterproof, battery operated head lamp.

Here is a chargeable headlamp.

Power Bank

Another essential technology item is a power bank. While I was in Haiti, I used my power bank every night. The power would go out and I would charge my phone so I would have a full charge for the next day. With many things moving towards charging with a USB C outlet, you can get a power bank that charges everything from your computer to your headlamp! When looking for a power bank, make sure that it has adequate charging capabilities for the devices you want to charge. Here is a great one.

Tablet over computer

During lecture and outreach it is important to have something that you can take notes with, communicate with and conduct research on. I have traveled with both computers and tablets in different seasons and have found that traveling with a tablet is best. A tablet is much lighter than a computer, the battery life is better, and is less expensive than a computer in case it gets stolen. If you get a case with a Bluetooth keyboard, it functions perfectly for communications as well as note taking!

We really like this tablet

And here is a keyboard that goes with it.

Here Is a great universal power adaptor.

Security

When traveling, it is very important to think about security. How are you going to protect what is valuable and important to you? When you are traveling, that is usually: your passport, money/ability to access money, and your phone. 

An easy way to protect your passport and your money is with a security bag that stays under your clothing. Two options are a money belt or a neck pouch that goes under your shirt. These will protect your money and passport quite well. My go to while I travel is a bi-fold passport holder that I keep cash, a back-up card and my passport in. I place this in my backpack in the pocket that touches my back. This makes unzipping and finding it harder and is inaccessible if my bag is cut open. For my wallet and phone, I make sure that I am wearing pockets that are tight or able to be zipped up.  I carry them in my front pockets and as I walk, I rest my hands on my pockets. This makes it extremely difficult for pick pockets to get at my belongings. 

Click here for the money belt.

Click here for my bi-fold passport holder.

Note: The main area of risk is when you are on public transportation and have to hold onto a bar above your head.

Conclusion

Now you should have a good idea of what to bring to your DTS. Remember to do the research and ask lots of questions about the climate, culture and day to day activities of your DTS lecture phase and outreach. If you have specific questions about what to pack for our Burning Ones DTS, click here. If you have any other questions about packing for a DTS or missions trip, please comment bellow!