Advertise on podcast: Missions & Miles | Mission Trips, Group Travel, Missionary Stories, Travel Tips

In this episode, Nathanael Martin, Butler Travel's ticketing manager, answers questions about group and humanitarian air fare. You'll learn why to avoid split tickets, why group rates are not always the best way to go and who can use humanitarian airfare. He also shares how God has worked miracles for several of Butler Travel's clients including angel interventions at the Bangkok airport. Takeaways for group leaders Plan 6 months ahead for peak travel timesBe flexible with travel dates to get best pricesMake sure your participants aren't on a split ticketCheck out Nathanael's photos at https://naturebynat.com/ Want Nathanael to book you a ticket? Email him at [email protected] Planning a mission trip? Butler Travel has helped groups serve around the world for 30 years. Website: butlertravel.comFree budgeting tools: butlertravel.com/tools

Missions & Miles with Brad Mills What does success look like when the results are hard to see? In this episode, Joy Owens talks with Brad Mills, president of Adventist Frontier Missions, about serving across cultures, leading a mission organization, and staying faithful when the harvest hasn’t come yet. Brad’s love of missions began with the stories his mother read to him as a child. That love led to 19 years overseas with his wife, Lena, and their two sons in four countries across several continents. He talks about living on medical mission boats in the Amazon, learning Spanish and then Arabic, and why the greatest measure of mission work is faithfulness. He also shares some unforgettable travel stories, from appendicitis abroad to a rabies scare in Turkey to evacuating Beirut with his family. In this episode How childhood mission stories planted a lifelong callingA one-year volunteer assignment in Bolivia that confirmed Brad and Lena’s call to cross-cultural ministry13 years in the Brazilian Amazon with a medical missionary boat project serving isolated jungle villagesHow learning about the 10/40 Window, where many people have little or no Christian presence, led the family to consider a new fieldEntrusting the move to the Middle East to God, and how the call became clearWhy effective ministry has to happen in people’s heart languageRedefining mission success as faithfulness, not just visible resultsAdventist Frontier Missions’ work planting indigenous church movements among unreached people groupsTravel stories: surgery overseas, a street cat attack in Turkey, and evacuating Beirut during conflictKey ideas Faithfulness as success: In unreached settings, the truest measure of mission work is faithfulness to God’s call, not only visible results.Planting, watering, and harvesting: Different workers play different roles, and results can unfold over many years.Heart-language ministry: Meaningful cross-cultural communication requires learning the language people actually speak.Notable quotes “The greatest measure of success in missions is faithfulness.” “You’ve got to go as a learner.” “It absolutely positively has to be done in the language that people speak, their heart language.” Takeaways for listeners If you’re considering mission work, go with a learner’s posture.Be willing to serve where you feel called, even when results aren’t immediately visible.Invest in learning the local language so you can communicate meaningfully across cultures.Connect with Adventist Frontier Missions Website: afmonline.orgPlanning a mission trip? Butler Travel has helped groups serve around the world for 30 years. Website: butlertravel.comFree budgeting tools: butlertravel.com/tools

Missions & Miles with Steven Grabiner What does it really mean to help people well? In this episode, Joy Owens sits down with Steven Grabiner, whose life has been shaped by mission work, cross-cultural learning, and years of leadership in Zambia. Steven talks about how his faith journey led him into service, what he learned about effective aid and cultural humility, and how a hidden health battle affected his work in the field. Steven has flown more than two million miles on Delta, so he also shares practical wisdom for long flights and delays. He closes with heartfelt advice for anyone considering a short-term mission trip or a long-term move to the mission field. In this episode How Steven's conversion in his early 20s sparked a desire to serveHow restaurant work in New York City and Boston, plus health lectures and stress classes, unexpectedly led to overseas mission workMoving his family to Zambia to work at Riverside Farm, a mission project and NGO on the banks of the Kafue RiverHow his definition of successful mission work changed, and why helping people in the ways they actually want and need matters mostThe unintended consequences of aid, including mosquito nets repurposed for fishingCultural differences in Zambia: kindness, saving face, and indirect communicationLiving with undiagnosed liver disease, and why you shouldn't ignore serious health concernsTravel tips from two million miles: choosing the right seat, eye masks, and noise-canceling headphonesAdvice for anyone considering mission work: clarify your motivation, expect to learn, and go with humilityConnect with Steven Website and leadership coaching: percepta.coachFacebook: Steven GrabinerX: Steven GrabinerPlanning a mission trip? Butler Travel has helped groups serve around the world for 30 years. Website: butlertravel.comFree budgeting tools: butlertravel.com/tools

Saying yes is step one. How you prepare determines whether your trip changes lives — or just survives. This episode breaks down the three mistakes we see most with first-time teams: waiting too long to plan, skipping cultural prep, and going it alone instead of partnering with a local organization. Check out https://butlertravel.com/tools/ to get your free trip planner tools.

Podcast DescriptionWhat happens when a 13-year-old leaves Connecticut for Zambia with nearly 40 bags? Joy Owens shares the unexpected airport miracle that launched a lifetime of missions, travel, and trusting God when plans go wrong. Welcome to Missions and Miles, a podcast for missionaries, humanitarian workers, short-term mission leaders, and anyone preparing to serve overseas. In this first episode, Joy introduces the stories, practical advice, and faith-filled travel experiences the podcast will bring to listeners around the world. You’ll hear about: Moving overseas as a teenager and beginning life in ZambiaA Christmas Eve airport miracle that saved Joy’s family from a massive baggage feeWhy travel plans in missions rarely unfold exactly as expectedHow delays and unexpected obstacles can become moments of providencePractical tips for finding travel deals, organizing flights, packing, and preparing for humanitarian workDrawing from years of living and traveling in Zambia, Kenya, Honduras, Taiwan, Germany, and Portugal, Joy offers a glimpse into the realities of getting to the mission field—and the surprising ways doors can open along the way. If you’re considering a mission trip, leading a group, serving overseas, or simply curious about the intersection of faith and travel, this is your invitation to come along. Subscribe to Missions and Miles for stories and practical tips from people serving around the world. Sponsored by Butler Travel. Get your free quote at butlertravel.com