Belize Mission Trip 2016 Details: WHO: Any graduating seniors and those finishing 9 th grade! WHAT: Running a kids program and various work projects! WHEN: June 18-25, 2016 WHERE: Belize WHY: To expand the Kingdom of God! HOW MUCH: $1,400 / Includes: lodging, airfare, food, trip registration and ministry money How to Register: Students will be registering online. You can do this on your own or meet with Pastor Kevin to do so. Fundraising Commitment: Students are expected to attend and participate in Fundraising. This includes mailing out support letters. Mission Meetings: Students are expected to attend mandatory mission meetings. Passports: You will need a current passport, valid for at least six months after your return. It generally takes 6 weeks to receive a passport. Applications and instructions are available at www.travel.state.gov under Passport Services. Notary Form: Students under 18 years of age will need to have a permission slip notarized for Becker Baptist Church to take a minor out of the country. Payment Due Dates: While we will be fundraising as much as we can, we have a guideline for due dates. 1. December 14 th : $100 deposit along with application and registration filled out online! 2. February 7 th : Account should be at $500. 3. April 3 rd : Account should be at $1,000. 4. May 29 th : Account should be paid in full $1,400. We have to stick to these dates, as we have registrations and obligations to meet. It is very important that all students attend the fundrasiers to insure that funds are raised!!!
Mission Trip Application Please return your completed application to the team leader by December 6, 2015. NAME: AGE: TRIP: G Belize G Becker/Minneapolis ADDRESS: PHONE: _ EMAIL:_ EMERGENCY CONTACT: PHONE: Questionnaire: (If necessary, use an additional sheet of paper to answer the following questions.) 1. Why would you like to participate on this short-term mission trip? 2. In what ways are you currently serving in your community, school or church? 3. How would your closest friend describe you, including your personality, strengths and weaknesses? 4. How do you plan to pay for the mission trip? 5. This trip requires strong team building, are you committed to being at meetings and fundraisers? 6. Do you have any concerns about making meetings and fundraisers?
Policy Agreement I agree to follow the outlined policies as a mission trip member in accordance with Praying Pelican Missions (PPM): 1. As a representative of Jesus Christ, my church, my country of residence, and Praying Pelican Missions, I will behave at all times in a manner that brings glory and honor to these institutions. 2. I am aware that my every word and action is being watched during the entire mission trip experience. Therefore, I agree to act and talk in a manner that glorifies the name of Jesus Christ. I want everything I do or say to draw people to Jesus. 3. I will be spiritually, physically, and mentally prepared for a mission trip that will stretch me and mold me in ways that I can only imagine. I will do everything I can ahead of time to prepare myself for a trip of a lifetime. 4. I am a guest in the location I am visiting. I will respect and follow the traditions of the local people and nationals. For example, if the way I dress offends them, I will change. If I am offered food, I will take it with a thank you and a smile. 5. I will not criticize the culture, efficiency, work habits, food, traditions, etc. with which I come in contact. I have come not to judge, but to learn and to share the person of Jesus through my words, actions, and deeds. 6. I will respect and follow the Praying Pelican Mission Trip Leaders and Group Leader and their decisions. 7. I agree to have a servant attitude at all times. When I am doing a task or ministry I don t particularly care for, I will put my best foot forward and be a witness in this activity and in everything I will participate in while on the trip. 8. I will use words that encourage and build up my team members and the nationals at all times. This means I will refrain from gossip or words that bring dissention and take focus away from the goals of the trip. 9. I will have a positive attitude at all times. Every trip has its challenges and unforeseen circumstances. People could get sick, items lost, and plans changed. I realize that there are times I will need to roll with the punches and look at challenges as opportunities to be a witness for Jesus Christ. 10. I will work with all members of the team. I will refrain from pursuing romantic relationships during the trip. If my spouse or significant other is on the trip with me, I will make every effort to spend time with each person of the group and interact with all team members. 11. I will attend all team meetings and fulfill the responsibilities I have agreed to before, during, and after the trip. If I am not able to attend a meeting, I will be in contact with my Group Leader as to what I missed. 12. I will not talk negatively about North American politics or the international community s home politics during the trip. 13. I will abstain from using, consuming, or possessing alcohol, tobacco products, and illegal drugs while on the trip. 14. I will not steal or commit any crime or do anything illegal while on the trip. 15. I will meet all medical, logistical, and legal travel requirements. 16. I will follow the travel, supply, clothing, financial, medical guidelines, etc. set forth and explained to me prior to the trip. I am responsible for knowing and following everything in the PPM Handbook and explained at the group meetings. 17. If in the future I desire to return to the host site on a mission trip to visit any connections or ministry locations from this mission trip, I must do so through PPM or receive their written permission to do so. 18. If I break any of the policies listed above, at the discretion of a Praying Pelican Missions representative and in conjunction with my Group Leader, my mission trip can be terminated and I can be sent home at my own expense. I realize that to attend this trip and represent Jesus Christ on the mission field is a privilege and if I abuse that privilege this constitutes the right for my trip to end prematurely. Student Signature: Parent/Guardian Signature:_ Youth Pastor Signature:
Trip Participant: Our upcoming mission experience will be hosted through Praying Pelican Missions (PPM). PPM has developed a paperless process for each of us to fill out the necessary paperwork for our trip. Find the email you received with the email subject, Join Our Mission Trip. This email came from prayingpelicanmissions@prayingpelicanmissions.org Open the email and choose the status of your trip: Absolutely, I m not sure and Not This Time. Create a password. You may want to write this down. As instructed, sign in using your email as the username and the password just created. You will have an option to open a tutorial or skip it. When the Welcome page with your name appears, you are in the account. Check the green tab in the upper right to verify the correct trip date. There are two areas that must be completed immediately: 1. The red banner at the top of the Welcome page contains the Policy Agreement, Media Agreement and Liability Release. Please click to agree as indicated. (If you are under 18, a parent or guardian will need to authorize the agreements.) 2. Locate the My Info tab on the top margin of the page. This form needs to be 100% complete. All of the red sections are mandatory. Once these two areas are complete, you are eligible to serve on our PPM mission trip. Additional information: The top margin also displays the Trip Prep tab. Your Participant Handbook can be found here. Please print the handbook; you will need to refer to it often. Thank you for completing these forms. If you have questions, please give me a call. Because They Matter, Pastor Kevin Drehmel 815.980.9225 kdrehmel@beckerbaptist.org
SUPPORT LETTERS Support letters are the number one way to raise support for your mission experience. A well-written, honest support letter is the most effective fundraising tool. People want to support worthy causes, but many have a hard time choosing what to support. As God s people, we all have a calling to further His kingdom to bring more people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. At different times, we are called to go, to encourage, and to send others. Each of us has a part! How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? (Romans 10:14-15) Allow your community and loved ones to send you. Getting started right means compiling a large mailing list. Think of around 65 to 85 potential partners. Don t just write to people you think will support you, or just to Christians, but to everyone you know! Mail your support letter to: your family (close and distant), friends (and their parents), people at work, neighbors, parents friends, teachers and coaches, the church where you grew up, business leaders, your doctor/dentist, and civic clubs. We believe that there are those who are called to go and those who are called to send. If you don t tell them about your mission, they can t fulfill their part in being a sender! Team members are often surprised by who responds. As you write your letter, keep it short and simple. Include the mission trip dates, costs, goals and ministries. Be honest and direct, asking them to pray and to give financially. Set a deadline for needed funds, and instruct them to write checks to the church so that it will be tax deductible, but with your name and the mission in the memo. If you can, include a self-addressed return envelope. Print and mail your letters. Pray for God s favor and will. Send thank you notes right away to contributors, and keep track of the funds raised. Answer any questions they have. Before you leave, remind your prayer partners to pray every day for your trip. After your mission trip is over, make sure to send a report letter to contributors and prayer partners about what God did in your midst with another thank you (include photos and your trip journal link). When your supporters hear about all that you experienced, they can take some ownership in that ministry! They can be encouraged as a result of their own willingness to partner with you in what God is doing. Proverbs 11:25 says, He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
SAMPLE SUPPORT LETTER #1 Dear Friends and Family, I am excited to share with you the opportunity that God has given me. This summer, it has been placed on my heart to go on a mission trip to Belize, Central America, through Praying Pelican Missions. As God wills, I will be there June 18-25 serving. We will be ministering to Belize City and partnering with a local pastor who is eager for us to come and serve the members of his church and community. As we arrive, some of the ministries that were expressed as needs include construction for the church, hosting vacation Bible school, connecting with youth, leading church services, as well as evangelism to the community and visiting an orphange to show low to the children who do not have families. Belize is a country with fantastic people who have numerous needs. There are many children born out of wedlock, and poverty is attacking the homes of families. Christian materials and people to teach them are scarce, and many more people fall away from Christ - due to drugs, materialism, or apathy - than come to Him. Some villages are without churches, while even more villages have churches where hardly anyone attends and pastors are not encouraged. John 3:17 says, But whoever has the world s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? I am excited to be a part of bringing Christ s love to the people of Belize, and I realize I will be blessed abundantly in return. However, as I know God is calling me to serve, I am relying on Him for strength and wisdom as I plan and raise financial support. I know all good things come from Him; for if it is His will, all will be provided. As I have now expressed my heart to you and desire to serve in Belize this summer, I know that I am not able to do it on my own. And as you feel called, I would be blessed if you would consider supporting me prayerfully and/or financially. The total cost of the trip is $1,400, which I need to raise by May. I am also seeking prayer partners to pray for our group, the ministries, safety, the people of Belize, and the trip as a whole each day throughout the trip. If it is your heart to be a prayer partner for us, I would feel overwhelmingly blessed; it takes all of us as the body of Christ. And if you feel God calling you to support me financially, please know that your gifts will be received as grace and will be used to serve those in need. These are tax-deductible donations. Please write your check to Becker Baptist Church, with my name and Belize 2016 in the memo and send it in the enclosed envelope with the bottom portion of this letter. Thank you for your support! I look forward to sharing with you about the preparations and the trip itself in the coming months, as well as when I return. In Christ, xxxxxxxxxxx Yes, I will support you financially in the amount of $. Yes, I will prayerfully support you and your group each day during the trip. Your Name: Phone:_ Address: _
SAMPLE SUPPORT LETTER #2 Dear Friends and Family, Recently, a challenging and exciting opportunity was presented to me, and I d like to share it with you. I feel called by the Lord to go to Belize, Central America, from June 18-25 with Praying Pelican Missions to share the love of Christ with kids, teenagers, and adults! I will be traveling with other students from my church, and I ask that you would pray for me and my team as we pursue this adventure that God has called us to. Belize is located on the southern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula, borders Mexico and Guatemala, and faces the Caribbean Sea to the east. This summer, our missions team, will be reaching out to the local people of Belize by leading church services, buildng relationships through sports ministry, teaching vacation Bible school, helping with service projects, and engaging in evangelism. There are more than 280,000 people who reside in Belize, many of whom live in poverty and more still who have never heard the message of hope through Jesus. Each team member is repsonsible for raising a portion of the trip s costs. The entire cost of the trip is $1,400/person. If you would like to partner with me as I prepare to go to Belize, you can send a check to Becker Baptist Church, with my name and Belize 2016 in the memo, at PO BOX 7, Becker, MN, 55308. All contributions are tax deductible. But most importantly, I ask that you would pray for me and my team before and during our trip! God Bless, xxxxxxxxxxx Yes, I will support you financially in the amount of $. Yes, I will prayerfully support you and your group each day during the trip. Your Name: Phone:_ Address: _