NICARAGUA TRIP INFO PACKET

Transcription

1 NICARAGUA TRIP INFO PACKET Location: Masaya, Nicaragua Trip Overview We are very excited to have you join us as Calvary sends out our first outreach team with Students International to Nicaragua. Embark on the adventure of a lifetime as each participant has the opportunity to serve alongside the full time staff as we come together with the poor crossculturally to encounter God, share the Good News, disciple and serve others in a specific occupational setting called Ministry Sites. Each participant will work at one ministry site for the entire outreach that correlates closely with their skills and interests. Our hope is that each one of us will broaden our perspective of the world and our responsibility to it, deepen our relationship with the Lord and discover along with the poor, how we can understand the value of building personal relationships in sharing the Gospel. Ministry Partner: Students International (SI) started in 1993 with the vision to see students and adults serve alongside full-time missionaries in areas of their passion or vocational/occupational interest, while building relationships and sharing the love of Jesus. This is done in poor communities through various occupational ministries like health care, micro-finance, social work, education, dentistry, physical therapy, appropriate technology,

2 sports, media, art, etc. The ministry of Students International started in Magdalena, Guatemala with its first teams serving with them in God has since opened the doors for SI to start ministry in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and continue ministry in Guatemala. Over 1,300 short-term participants serve with SI's full time staff every year as they get introduced to the big picture of what God is doing in other parts of the world! Application Process & Deposit o Fill out the Short-term Trip application online at calvarycc.org/short-term-trips o You may be contacted by the Team Leader for an interview to review your application and discuss your participation on the trip. This may be done in person or by phone depending on the Team Leader s discretion. o If approved by the team leader, a $200 deposit is required to secure a spot on the team for any trip requiring airfare. You will be ed a trip support page where you can pay by credit/debit card or check made payable to Calvary Community Church with [Nicaragua #867] in memo. Include a sticky note with your name on it indicating the check is designated toward your trip fees. Vaccines: o Suggested Tetanus, Hepatitis A & B, Typhoid. o You can visit your doctor or the local Wellness Mart to have all vaccines administered. Passports & Visas: o To obtain a passport, you will need a certified birth certificate (not the hospital record), two passport photos, and a driver s license. In addition, you will need to pick up a passport application from the post office and turn in the requested information to the postal clerk for processing with the US Passport Agency. You should allow 6-8 weeks before your trip for your passport to arrive. o For further information about passport visit o Visa: No visa required for Nicaragua

3 Fingerprinting/Background Check: o Fingerprinting/Background Checks: For overseas trips involving work with children, fingerprinting and a background check are required for each trip participant 18 years or older. This service is provided at Calvary every third Sunday of the month between 8:30am-1:00pm. Contact Erika Lohmar at erikal@calvarycc.org or to book your appointed time. The background check is for criminal history only. The process only takes around ten minutes and Calvary covers the cost Travel Insurance: o In addition to your own personal health insurance policy, travel health insurance will be purchased for each trip participant on international trips with a $200,000 policy limit that is included in the trip fees. Additional coverage limits up to $1,000,000 are available to be purchased upon request at the trip participant s expense (rates dependent on age & term). This insurance provides major medical benefits, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation coverage that your primary health insurance may not cover for overseas claims. Learn more about this coverage at o Personal health insurance required for trip participation. Financial Support Raising: o Each trip participant is responsible to pay for or raise the costs associated with the trip. Whatever your financial position, we want each team member to pay at least a portion of their trip cost. How much should you give? The $200 deposit is a good start. Think about giving in a way that really costs you something. Investing your own finances will bring a value to the trip that comes through giving sacrificially. o For each trip, an online support-raising page is created that is available for each team member to send out to family, friends, or co-workers. The page will give an overview of the trip and ask people to consider supporting the trip through prayer and/or financial support. This page will allow your supporters to make a donation online. o If you would prefer to write your own support letter to mail out or , please have your Team Leader approve the letter before sending it. Remember that you are representing Jesus, Calvary, the team and yourself! Any support letter must include the following wording regarding financial support: It is Calvary s policy that contributions shall not be

4 refunded. Should a particular person not participate in the trip, or should the trip be cancelled, all donations received for that trip shall be used to pay the expenses of other people participating in the trip, reallocated to other mission trips, or reallocated to the general fund, at the discretion of Calvary. Managed Missions Online Software: o Each Team Member will be ed a log-in and password to our Managed Missions online program that will allow you to track your financial support, see significant due dates and the team meeting schedule, as well as what goals or tasks you still have to complete for the trip. It is a good idea to add the Managed Missions website to your favorites list on your web browser once you receive your log-in and password so that you can access it easily and remember where it is. Country Profile 1 Official Language(s): o Spanish Country Capitol and largest city: o Managua Government Type: o Unitary presidential constitutional republic

5 o President Daniel Ortega o Vice President Omar Hellelsevens Population: o 6,071,045 Currency: o Cordoba Religion(s): o Christianity - 84%, atheist/agnostic/none - 12%, Other - 4% National Sport(s): o Baseball Key Language Phrases: o Hello / Good Morning / Good Afternoon - Hola!, Buenos días / Buenas tardes o How are you? - Cómo está usted? (formal) / Cómo estás? (infor- mal o Pleased to meet you - Mucho gusto Encantado o Do you speak English? - Habla Usted inglés? (formal) / Hablas (tú) inglés? (informal)