***Must-haves for everyone!
***Very helpful!
***Awesome, but optional
***Maps.me
Offline maps with lots of info; be sure to download the area before you arrive! You can also bookmark places and you get access to the database of all other travelers pins.
***Google Translate
download offline translation files for the languages you will need!
Everyone around the world uses WhatsApp to communicate.
For supporters: You can create a distribution list (at the top of the chat box) and send out protected text updates to your supporters. This was an awesome way to keep in contact, send out in-the-moment prayer requests, etc. So many of my people told me that they really enjoyed the updates—highly recommend! (P.S. WhatsApp is not as secure as it once was. We were advised that m-communities are switching to Signal. However, I am not sure if you can do this same distribution list via Signal.)
You DO need a valid phone # for this, so you can’t cancel your phone service in the states unless you intend to get a sim in every country (not always realistic).
***Betternet
Free VPN (Virtual Private Network) – protects your internet so that others can’t see what you’re doing. If you go to China you will need a VPN to access Google or instagram, and not all VPN’s work there. If you get a different one, be sure you research whether it works in China.
***Venmo/Paypal
If people want to send you spending money or you ask for funds for a specific person or reason, they can send them through this. ALSO: if for some reason you lose your card or you can’t use your card (it happens in some countries), you can Venmo/Paypal a teammate money from your account and have them pull it out.
***Currency
Exchange rates, especially when negotiating with someone to exchange from one currency to another
**Bible App
YouVersion – will translate into multiple languages and read aloud!
*Lonely Planet
Yelp for cities of the world
*1SE
1 Second Everyday. You record one second of each day and the app compiles your videos. (Optional, but it was super cool to have a compilation of seconds every day on the race. I sent my supports my 1SE compilation at the end of each month and they loved it!)
*Blue Letter Bible
Portable study Bible with cross references, commentary, and interlinear translations
Hostel World
RedBus
AirBnb
*Mobile Pass
US customs app, for when you return
China:
monitored by gov’t but everyone in China uses it!
Dear Translate
better translation app than Google for Mandarin
Didi
Uber for China!
You will also need a VPN that works in China: Betternet (free), Nord (~$80/yr, recently has been flaky)
