As a leader,  an important tool in navigating through a missions trip is having on hand the right questions to ask during group meetings.  There are always those few team members that either are naturally quiet or feeling overwhelmed by the experience.  Talking through the situation is conducive to maintaining good team mental and emotional health.  Some people are natural talkers and will not know when to let someone else share their experience or thoughts. 

The team leader must be able to direct the conversation so that the quiet ones share.  The leader must make a point to ask those members directly because chances are they will not volunteer to respond.  Allowing them to bottle up those emotions can result in a time bomb explosion of an emotional melt down...at best or a total unwillingness to participate.

The following is a short list of sample questions that I've used during team meetings.  The first two questions are ones I would ask during a first meeting at the end of the day.  It begins a mental preparation for the upcoming days.

1. What do you expect from this trip?

2. What are you hoping to accomplish?

3. What has been the most difficult situation?

4. What has been your favorite memory?

5. Did you give it your all?

6. What could you have done more of?

7. What has been your favorite memory?