HAB 1:5
arecibo, puerto rico
TRIP INFO click for pics
DATES
June 19-26
June 26-July 3
July 10-27
July 17-24
COST
$675 + airfare
(air is approx. $600 during the winter and $400
during the summer)
GROUP LIMIT
50
PURPOSE:
This summer we will partner with the “Primero Iglesia Bautista de Arecibo” (First Baptist Church of Arecibo) and their pastor, Jorge Alvarez, to evangelize this area through sports-driven VBS clubs, construction projects, street witnessing, and sharing the Gospel while providing humanitarian aid to kids/adults in a homeless community.
MINISTRY PROJECTS:
Sports/VBS - using basketball, this team of 15-20 will play competitive games, coupled with a Bible story, craft, and snack. At some point during the day, the Gospel will be shared and an opportunity for salvation will be offered to all participants.
Service Team - this team of 5-8 will work doing clean up projects such as painting, pressure washing, cleaning, pickup trash, mow yards, etc. in an effort to display the servant heart of Christ to the local church & surrounding neighbors. This has a huge impact on how the community views this local church.
Construction Team - this team of 10-15 will work in the heat of the day up in the mountainous jungle to either construct a house, mix concrete, repair roofs/homes or all of the above for local families. The church works through the city government to pay for all materials, so all we need to provide is the manual labor.
Humanitarian Aid - everyone present will get to participate in 1 or 2 days of ministry to a local heroin infested community where the church and pastor Alvarez work hard to rescue children from getting sucked into that lifestyle. We will hand out over 300 Bibles, witnessing tracts (provided by the local church), food, clothing, toys, school supplies, candy, etc. Plan on bringing some of these items in your luggage to give away during this time.
DAILY ITINERARY
SATURDAY
Teams arrive from the U.S. arrive at the church, settle in, eat supper, & attend orientation
SUNDAY
Attend local worship services in AM & PM; visit work-sites and make preparations for your projects in the afternoon.
MON-THUR
Breakfast, team prayer time, mission projects from 7am-4pm, supper, maybe a short beach run, evening worship/share time with the entire group, church group time, free time, bedtime.
note: The humanitarian aid effort will take place in the afternoon on Wednesday or Thursday.
FRIDAY
Excursion to the beach, and souvenir shopping, evangelistic youth service in the PM and a dessert fellowship afterwards.
SATURDAY
Teams depart Puerto Rico and head home for the U.S.
FAQ’s
DO I NEED A PASSPORT? / HOW CAN I GET ONE?
YOU WILL NOT NEED A PASSPORT TO PUERTO RICO. YOU WILL ONLY NEED A PHOTO ID made from the local “Mail & More”, post office, AAA travel bureau, Kinko’s, or photo studios such as Sears, etc . Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the U.S. and is considered U.S. territory. Visit www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html to validate that you only need a PHOTO ID and for more facts about Puerto Rico.
You can apply for a passport at your local county courthouse. The process takes about 6 weeks so if you need one, please plan ahead and be sure to have it in hand 2 months prior to your departure.
WHAT IF I LOSE MY PASSPORT/ID WHILE ON MY TRIP?
Once Passports/ID’s are in hand, each person will need to make photocopies of their Passport/ID and be sure to have 1 copy in EVERY piece of luggage that you bring, in case it is lost. You will also need to submit one copy to your Team Leader prior to leaving the U.S. If you lose your passport, having copies of the original will help in proving your identity and safe return home.
IMMUNIZATIONS
For your protection we require that each person attending a mission trip have the following immunizations prior to departure:
* A Hepatitis-A shot within the last 10 years
* A Tetanus or Tetanus booster within the last 10 years
Please visit: www.cdc.gov/travel/ for detailed info on additional required & recommended shots needed for the country you will visit.
NOTE: County Health Clinics are the least expensive places to receive immunizations.
MEDICAL INSURANCE AND INFO
Each person attending this trip will be insured with short-term medical coverage by Adam’s & Associates International. (www.aaintl.com). This is included in your cost for the trip. However, this supplemental policy requires that each individual already have a U.S. major medical insurance plan in place, and each person MUST BE A U.S. CITIZEN. Your Team Leader will have your insurance policy# and emergency#’s in case of an emergency. Below is a summary of the mission trip medical coverage:
* Accidental Death & Dismemberment $100,000.00/Person
* Disability Income Benefit for Permanent Total Disability
* For Accident 100 Month Benefit $1,000.00/Month
* For Sickness 50 Month Benefit
* 3 Month Waiting Period $250.00/Month
* Medical Expense $100.00 Deductible $2,500.00
* Additional Medical Expense (applies to
* Non-USA & Canada Medical Expenses ONLY)$7,500.00
* Emergency Medical Transportation $50,000.00
* Repatriation of Mortal Remains $7,500.00
* Medical Assistance (24 Hour Telephone Service)
* For Assistance with Worldwide Medical Emergencies
Included
* Property (Baggage) Insurance
* $100.00 Deductible $2,500.00
* Aggregate Limit $2,000,000.00
Please Note: This brief summary is not an insurance policy, rather, it outlines some of the features of this coverage.
Also Note: This is not a major medical policy. Each person attending this trip must already have a U.S. Major Medical policy in place. This coverage is designed to work in conjunction with an existing policy. Your Team Leader will also be equipped with a medical kit in case of minor injuries or illnesses.
MINISTRY ITEMS
During your entire visit, you will have opportunities to share your faith. You may also have an impact on the community through certain "items" that can be brought down in your luggage. Previous teams have collected items from family or church members back home who work in organizations that provide "free stuff" to their clients, i.e.: pens, letter-openers, ball caps, t-shirts, key-chains, candies, color crayons/books, etc. to share with nationals, children and newly-made friends. You can easily pack these items in your luggage or you can choose to purchase these items at the local Wal-Mart in Arecibo once we arrive. Items such as sports equipment (kickballs, soccer balls, basketballs, volleyball net & ball, candies & school supplies are local favorites. Local children usually have never seen or had any of these items and will be sincerely grateful if you bring them & leave them behind for them to have. It is also customary to bring small gifts for the local pastor and his wife when working with a specific local church. (a tie, engraved bible, perfume, etc.)
CAMERAS
You may want to consider bringing the throwaway cameras instead of the more expensive models. They now make disposable digital cameras. You will find this is a little easier to handle for quick snap shots, and less of a temptation for others to steal. Your Team Leader will have a digital camera that can be used to provide overall group & trip shots for everyone to share. Daily pics will be uploaded to this site each day during the trip for family & friends back home to remain connected & informed of the trip progress.
GIVING OUT PERSONAL INFO
Someone may ask you for your address while on the trip, so they can write to you once you leave. We’ve found that the best response is to give them your name and your church’s address for safety reasons. You may want to have your church’s address pre-printed on a piece of paper and write your name on them as you hand them out. PLEASE DO NOT PROMISE ANYTHING TO THE NATIONALS, such as future visits, gifts via the mail, or staying in contact once you return home. Doing these things would be admirable, and we encourage you to do them; however, to promise them and not follow through leaves a bad taste in their hearts for missionaries and can damage the ongoing work in their area because they will think Christians are not trustworthy.
DEVOTIONS & TESTIMONIES
At some point during the project, you or any member of your team could be called upon to spontaneously take part in a devotion time or worship service. Be sure to bring your Bible. It will be a good idea for several members in the group to have a devotion ready to be given on the spot. EVERYONE should be able to stand and give their testimony publicly prior to the trip. You never know when you might be called upon. Everyone needs to have his/her testimony typed out in 1 paragraph, & pre-printed on small cards, with their picture copied out to the side. Then have the testimonies converted to the local language.
For translation visit either www.world.altavista.com or www.worldlingo.com Then you should make 50+ copies each to distribute to the nationals as you build relationships. This will make it easy for you to share your testimony without having to know the language. (great witnessing tool).
PERSONAL HYGIENE
This goes without saying. . .soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush/toothpaste, etc. At the same time, you will want to include good sun block (30+), mosquito repellant, and something like Pepto Bismol in case you feel sick from too much sun.
LUGGAGE (pack an inflatable mattress/float)
Each person is allowed 1 checked piece, and 1 carry-on. Do not place locks on checked pieces, and put 1 change of clothing & hygiene items in your carry-on as a precaution for lost luggage. Bring enough clothes for the trip. Washing clothes will be impossible.
Also, please put all liquids more than 3 oz in a ziploc bag if they are in your carry-on luggage, or simply put them in your checked bag. Otherwise security will make you throw them away.
CLOTHING
Bear in mind that you are missionaries – short-term volunteers, but missionaries none the less. Please be conservative in your dress. Ladies should wear jeans, pants, dresses, or long basketball shorts (no halter tops, sleeveless shirts, low-cut blouses or shirts exposing the midrif); men should wear jeans, khaki’s and casual T- shirts and shorts. The local Christian women do not usually wear shorts in public, except on the beaches. Bring comfortable shoes, since we’ll be doing a good bit of walking. Be sure to pack a beach towel and a bathing suit!(A modest 1 piece only) Sunday dress is casual (jeans/khakis for guys / jeans/dress for ladies).
LODGING
We will all stay on church property that is secured by an iron fence. All of us will sleep on the floor so bring your air mattress & linens in your luggage. Girls will stay in the fellowship hall of the main church building which has the kitchen and 4 showers & restrooms. Guys will stay across the street in another secured church building and will sleep on the floor as well (again, bring your air mattress & linens). This building contains 4 showers & 1 restroom. (NOTE: A few of our leaders will bring electric pumps to inflate all our mattresses.)
MEALS
You will be eating most of your meals at the church. Breakfast will be served before we leave each morning. Lunch will be at the ministry site and will be local food (no danger – don’t worry…it’s good & plenty of it). Supper will be our main meal, which we’ll eat after we return from the mission sites around 5pm. Be sure to pack high energy snacks like trail mix, snickers, granola bars, etc. for late night snacks and munchies while on the run during the day. The food is great and we'll even grab a few American meals while there also. Bring your own sports bottle for fluid hygiene. FYI: Other countries pride themselves on how they feed and what they feed their guests. Please don’t complain or turn your nose up at food you don’t like. Bring your own snacks to cover yourselves between meals or after meals if you didn’t eat much because of something you didn’t like. Always thank the cook!!!
TRANSPORTATION
We will be transported by school bus to and from our partner church (approx. 1.5 hour ride)on our arrival and departure days. During the week we will have 7 passenger mini-vans to transport us to/from our ministry sites. These vans will be driven by a select few of your adult leaders (must be 21 or older to drive).
MONEY
Your trip is an ALL-INCLUSIVE trip. However, personal SPENDING & SOUVENIRS are on your own! We recommend $50-100 spending plus the $20 for ministry items on the field. Cash is always the easiest, but if it is stolen, it cannot be recovered. Traveler's checks can be recouped if lost or stolen, but sometimes it is difficult to find a place to convert them or a "fee" will be applied to their use. ATM cards can be used in most large cities. Major credit cards are acceptable in most locations. We recommend keeping your money in a flesh-tone fanny pack that fits around your waist between your pants and your stomach where it’s unseen (wal-mart, or luggage stores carry them very cheap), or in your backpack that's kept close to you and never unattended.
CALLING HOME
You will be able to use your cell phone to call home. Puerto Rico is included in all U.S. cell phone coverage plans, making it the equivalent of you being in another state within the U.S. You should be able to call home on your cell phone without any problem. (standard calling rates apply according to the cell phone plan you currently have)
For FAQ’s or additional detailed info on traveling to other countries, please visit www.travel.state.gov/travel/index.html.
Please pray about your involvement in this trip. It truly could have an eternal impact on your life, and would give you the opportunity to explore missions in a hands-on experience.
INTERESTED IN SERVING OVERSEAS FOR THE SUMMER AS A COLLEGE INTERN? APPLY TODAY!
