by Hi my name is Elder Hanna, I served in the Congo Brazzaville Mission from 2018-2020. I served in Congo and in Cameroon so I got the best of both worlds. I know what missionaries need and don’t need in order to have as comfortable an experience as possible. Even if you or your son isn’t serving in the Congo/Cameroon Mission the tips and items here still apply to all missionaries serving in Africa.
All throughout Africa they use the European style outlets that do not conform to American charging devices. So you will need to bring a couple of adaptors to be able to charge your American devices. I noticed a lot of Americans didn’t bring adaptors so you won’t want to run into the same mistake.
2. A Quick Dry Towel
A know an American who came on the mission with an old bathroom towel. After being in the field for 9 months, the humidity of Africa was too much for his towel and it was falling apart. You need a towel that can survive the test of time. My towel never failed me my entire mission because it dried really quickly and didn’t let mold grow on it.
The towel below is the one that I used on my mission. It also doubled as a sweat rag because I cut a piece of it to wipe off my face when I was in sector.
3. Spices – which ones
In Congo the main food groups are 1. rice 2. chicken 3. all of the above. You’re going to be eating lots of rice and chicken. In fact for about a month and a half that’s all that I ate. Luckily certain Americans brought spices and we finally had good food. Here are the spices that I recommend everyone going to Africa brings.
Italian seasoning – best for spaghetti, pizza
Cayenne Pepper
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Maple Extract
I spent months looking for maple extract during my mission and I couldn’t find it anywhere in any store. If you want to have the best pancakes ever, you are going to have to bring maple extract from home so you can make maple syrup on the mission.
Maple extract- great on pancakes
Also if your son really wants to eat good food I would recommend that you pack him measuring cups and a cook book. In Congo and Cameroon you can cook some really good food is you have the tools and a cook book.
4. Medications – which ones
The only medicine that you will need are anti-diarrheal pills
5. A memory card adapter
In most missions in Africa, missionaries already have smart phones and they can take pictures with those. But I think most missionaries still bring their own water proof cameras
Bug spray saved my life!!! No joke, if I had used it more perhaps my arms wouldn’t have looked like this:
Douala, Cameroon is where you really need bug spray. The mosquitoes kept us up at night and drove us crazy. Luckily another missionary had left his supply of bug spray behind we used this generously. Moral of the story: if you are going to Congo/Cameroon you need bug spray!
7. A debit card
Every missionary should have a debit card. You can use the card to take out extra money to pay for things like souvenirs, clothes, and extra food. I got mine from a bank called First Republic because they didn’t have a fee for taking out money internationally but then I lost it and LUCKILY I had a back up debit card from Bank of America. So if it is possible, try to bring a back up debit card in case you lose the first. I spent about $400 my entire 18 months in Congo and Cameroon. $200 was spent on extra food for parties like Christmas and New Years and $200 was spent on souvenirs like African fabric, clothes, and wooden statues. For normal things during the week I did not have to use my personal card because the money they gave us provided us to be able to eat out like once every 3 weeks in Congo or once or twice a week in Cameroon because the food is cheaper there.
It’s very important that missionaries bring these digital luggage scales. You will need them when you are leaving the MTC when you are traveling to a different country by plane and things like that. Especially in the Congo/Cameroon mission where they only use planes to travel from city to city and country to country.
These things are a lifesaver. In the mission, you sweat so much. At the end of the day, you sweat out all of your electrolytes and essential minerals. These liquid water enhancers restore your electrolyte balance and it gives you energy and helps you feel better after sweating all day. Also it makes your water taste better which will encourage you to be properly hydrated which will also give you more energy.
10. Hammock
At this point you’re set for your mission. BUT, there is one thing missing, a hammock. These things are a dream come true on a sleepy warm P-day and you will make every other missionary in the mission jealous because you were smart enough to bring a hammock on the mission.
11. Deodorant
I only brought two Old Spice deodorants and they lasted me 1 year. I recommend bringing at least 4-5 deodorants for my two years. You can’t find normal deodorants or ones that you are used to in Africa.
