Questions and Answers for First Time International Travelers
If you are planning to participate in your first international mission project, we've tried to answer on this page some of the more frequently asked questions...

What Will the Trip Cost?
The entire cost will be reviewed during your first team meeting and you will also be presented with a plan that will help you raise funds for your effort. Be assured that you will have plenty of time to raise your funds. There is a plan to help you, and God can be trusted to provide for what He has purposed you to do. The cost will vary due to the following dynamics:

• The dates you have selected. Like anything in our economy the price does vary due to demand, such as travel during the summer.
• The global exchange rate of the US dollar on the international market    
• The targeted country's inflation rate
• The US and global fuel cost

What we are projecting to be the possible cost of most efforts:

• Latin America (Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico): $1,450 per person
• Europe (Romania/Moldova, Ukraine, Russia): $1,850 per person; Russia is $2,800 per person

The cost is all inclusive: training material, air travel, lodging, food, ground transportation, national support team, DVD of the effort, extended short-term missions health insurance, airport taxes, and exit fees.

The main cost of every effort will always be air transportation. But, your Global Disciple-Making staff has been trained in group international travel and will negotiate the best possible price as we deal directly with the major airlines flying in the targeted areas. We also have partnerships on the ground to help insure best prices for food, lodging and ground transportation.

> More on Forming Your Global Support Team.

When Are the Funds Due?
You will be presented with a payment plan at your first team meeting. This plan will allow you to pay on the cost of your trip over four payments. On the last payment, The Church at Brook Hills will give church members $100 toward your trip as a way of saying thank you and we believe in you. Your final payment will be due 45 days prior to your selected departure date.

How Will I Raise the Funds to Go?
We ask each person to pay out of their own pocket the $200 deposit. It is hard to ask others to give to your effort if first, you have not sacrificed yourself. And don't forget the $100 matching gift from The Church at Brook Hills for members--you now only have another $1,150 - $1,250 to raise for a Latin American effort!

We will encourage you to build a prayer support team outside the membership of The Church at Brook Hills. You will be provided a sample funding prayer letter that you can send to your co-workers, friends, and family. Experience has taught us that if you send out about 40 support letters then you will raise around $1,500. So, as you can see, God will use the resources of your contacts to help provide the needed funds to go. No one will stay here because of lack of funds.

If you send out support letters and sacrifice by doing your part then God will provide for the funds. Please inform those you are sending letters to, to have checks made out to "The Church at Brook Hills" and place on the memo of the check "your departure date." The checks are to be mailed to your home and then you will bring in the checks to your team leader at your monthly meeting. Do not have your support team send checks to the church. Do not have your support team place checks in the offering plate. Your supporters are to either hand deliver them to you or mail them to your home.

Personal Fund Raising. If you still lack funds from your personal resources and support letters then we encourage you to do personal fund raisers. Again, this can not occur on the church campus and can not be hosted or promoted in-house. These personal fund raisers might be a yard sale at your home, doing extra jobs, sale personal resources, and anything else that might     generate funds to support your effort. This should be only a last resort in your funding strategy. Again, if you personally sacrifice and send out your support letters then the funds should not be a problem, but don’t wait until the last minute. Send our your letters immediately after your first team meeting.

Is There a Discount for Families?
Yes, but not much of one. The challenge is the cost of the airline tickets. The airlines charge the same price for an 8 year old as they do for a 50 year old, so there is not much of a break there. But we will be able to at least discount a family of 4 or more $50 per person. (Must be in the immediate family to receive discount.)

What Will We Do On the Effort?
One of the problems with most mission efforts is they start with the need on the ground to determine what they do as a team. This sounds correct but can set the team up for failure. What we do is determine the top three strengths of those going on a specific effort. At your first team meeting you will fill out some information that will help us determine what the top three strengths of your team are, as a collective. As that is determined then that will dictate what the team will do. So, we really don't know what you will do until after your first meeting.

Don't let that bother you. There is never a shortage of needs on the ground and after we determine the top three strengths then we can plug the team in the areas that need those strengths to have successful ministry. The team now is set up for success because they are equipped to do the job assigned since the job was selected based on the team's strengths. After your strengths have been identified and the effort has been set in motion then the team now knows what resources to mobilize.

Do I Have to Get Any Shots?
That will depend on the area you are going to and that will be discussed at your first team meeting. In most cases there are recommended shots but not required shots. Most of the locations that we will travel to as a mass membership require no shots. These two words are key are recommend and require. Most of the areas we are going into do not require shots to enter. As long as your tetanus is up to date then there are no real threats. The decision on receiving shots then will be left up to the individual and the cost is not covered in the cost of the effort. The individual is responsible for the cost for any shots they desire to receive.

Is Going on the Effort Safe?
There is no safer place than being in God's will in obedience. As you have surrendered to God to help others who are in need then He will either protect us or give us grace to take challenges on with His strength. There are always dangers in travel no matter if we are going on a mission effort or vacation. But where we are going as a mass membership are areas that are as safe as possible for missions. We are going to countries that need our help, want us there and will even protect us from indigenous harm. Ultimately our safety and lives are in God's hands and we must surrender that if we stay here or travel abroad.

The great majority of our members are not going into high risk areas, but areas that will allow for contingency plans for safety even in cases of emergency situations. We will always be in close driving distance to clinics and hospitals. We have built friendships with national medical professionals who are even on call to come to the hotel to help us if necessary. We will be closely tied to the national Christians and they will help guide us in our team’s safety. We will be intentional on where the team will serve, when they will serve and what to do and not do to lower the possible risk to our team. We will never place the team at unnecessary risk.

Is There An Age Limit?
Any member who is 18 and under will need signed documents for their international travel. We do have an in-house policy that a child of 7 years and up can go if one of their parents or grand parents are accompanying them. We indeed encourage families to travel on mission together! This is a true purpose of a Christian family, that God would use them as a unit to reflect the compassion of the faith family. Ultimately the age of a child that should go will be best determined by the parents. They know their children better than we do, but we do reserve the right to request that a child not go if we believe they are not progressing along in the preparation process. This will be discussed with the parents prior to any decision being made.

Mission efforts are very demanding as far as the possible climate, demanding schedule and work conditions. But we have noticed that children do very well on the mission field if the parents know the limits of their own children and keep that in mind. Children have a way of connecting with children of other countries even better than adults, so again we do encourage families to go together. You might find that it is better use of time and money to do a mission effort each year instead of a Disney World trip. Children have to attend all of the training sessions just like the adults.

When Will My Team Meet and Receive More Information?
Your team will meet five times, once a month, beginning five months from your departure date. There will be five lessons and meetings prior to your departure date to prepare you for the effort. Each meeting will be held one month beginning five months prior to your departure date. So, if you travel in June, then your meetings will begin in January. One meeting per month will allow you time to process the preparation, raise your funds, and mobilize resources. The meetings will last about an hour and will cover the following areas: spiritual, logistical and cultural. You will also be using these meetings to turn in the funds you have collected during that time frame.

Okay, I've Signed Up--What Next?
First, begin praying for your effort and for God to open the eyes of your heart to see Him and for Him to use this effort to transform your life. We do not want to use the next 51 weeks to prepare for a one week mission trip, but pray that God uses the one week mission trip to transform the next 51 weeks here in at our home base.

Next, mobilize others. Don't go alone. Begin to invite your close friends and family to go with you. One of the greatest aspects of going on a short term effort is going with those you love and know best. You will make new friends from the team and even from the nationals, but going with your friends is the best. So, go out and being to enlist others to go with you!

Our Leaders for Global Disciple-Making

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