Details for Mission Trip to Belize w/ Encounter God s Presence (Updated May 26 th, 2017) Please, check back periodically for possible updates. Application (with your deposit) to be a part of the mission trip to Belize with Encounter God s Presence is due March 1 st. (Note- We don t want any youth groups to skip summer camp for this.) We ll be safe & not eating or drinking anything bad as we re staying with Y.W.A.M. (Youth With A Mission) who host numerous groups yearly, more details regarding them below. Space is limited so it is first come, first serve. Mission trip training material will be available for group leaders out of town to hold their own group meetings if it s easier to schedule with your people. Individuals (with approved applications) will need to be involved with the E.G.P. prep training & prayer meetings. Dates to be announced. Flights (Feb. 1st are about $675) could increase as we get closer and must be purchased by individuals or if you have a group leader not E.G.P. They sell travel insurance if you re interested. Don t wait too long (ideally by mid-march) the flight could book up. UPDATED 5-23-17 American Airlines flight #2451 from Dallas (DFW) at 10:35am on Sat. Aug. 5 th arriving Belize City (BZE). (It s a 3 hour non-stop flight. They re an hour behind CST.) Return flight #926 Fri. Aug. 11 th 1:25pm returning 5:33pm on Fri. Aug. 11 th. (Expect 30+ min. delays.) Passport (unless you have one that is current for 6 months after our travel dates), there s optional immunizations & than $600 to be paid to E.G.P. Cool Experience is an extra $400. (Anyone joining as a late addition after July 1 st pays an extra $100.) Your payments will cover most meals, housing, transportation to and from airport and other needed transportation & supplies for outreaches. Once we re there, you ll need to pay for your fun activities. (Cave tubing and then the boat ride to snorkel with docile nurse sharks and sting rays, which costs should be about $93.) You ll need to pay for 5 or 6 out to eat meals so about $50. And any souvenirs & extra snacks. Note- most places take US money. US s $1 = Belize s $2.)
2 Payment Schedule: Space is limited so it s first come, first serve. For Jungle Experience the $600 to EGP schedule here. ( Cool Experience option also listed below.) Wed. March 1 st ** Jungle Experience - $100 deposit per person & your Reg. Form. (If a new individual on own... Application to Serve and also Character References.) ($4 PP fee) (Non-refundable after April 1 st ) / ** Cool Experience - $200 deposit per person & your Reg. Form. (If a new individual on own... Application to Serve and also Character References.) ($8 PP fee) (Non-refundable after April 1 st ) By the end of March ideally, should buy airplane ticket on your own. Email us your seat row & # for there and back please. ** Sat. April 15 th - Cool Experience Option - $300 payment (covers the extra $400 needed) ($12 PP fee) ** Mon. May 15 th - $100 ($4 PP fee) (non-refundable after May 30 th ) ** Thurs. June 15 th - $150 ($5 PP fee) (Non-refundable after June 30 th )... $15 late fee after July 1st - $165 ($5 PP fee) ** Sat. July 15 th - $250 ($8 PP fee) (Non-refundable after July 30 th )... $15 late fee after July 20th - $265 ($9 PP fee) additional $30 late fee (totaling $45) after July 24th - $295 ($10 PP fee) ** Jungle Experience - Total $600 ($618 PP fee) ** Cool Experience - Total $1,000 ($1,030 PP fee) / ** Late Addition fee $100 after July 1 st Jungle Experience - Total $700 ($22 PP fee) ** Late Addition fee $100 after July 1 st Cool Experience - Total $1,100 ($34 PP fee) Note - "Spare VAN spot" is if there are any available seats left on the nice rental van with a/c (verses the other transportation provided), than you may have the option to pay $50 for that seat and use for many available transportation needs. (NOTE - There is an exit TAX (per person) like $40 that s charged by the government, AA should include this in your airline ticket, they did last year. We are wanting to bring school supplies for the less fortunate children in the refugee village. Each team member can buy them or recruit someone in the states that would want to sponsor a refugee child.
3 School Supplies for Refugee Children When we asked them what were some main needs of the area, they quickly mentioned the poverty in the refugee village, The Valley of Peace and the great need with for example, single moms with numerous children. We would like each team member to get one set of these supplies if possible or recruit someone to cover it. (Print out full page of detailed list with pics.) http://www.encountergodspresence.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/01/belize-school-supplies-encounter-mission-trip-.pdf This includes 1 - Mountain Edge 17 Bungee Backpack (not pink) 1-4 pk Elmer s Washable School glue stick 1-4 pk spiral wide rule notebooks 100 sheets 1-4 pkg Bic mechanical pencils assorted colors 1-4 pieces ruler protractor gift set 1-8 count Crayola Twistable Crayons 1-12 pk Paper Mate Write Bros Grip Stick Ballpoint Pens (We re looking for some Christian children s coloring books to add with it all.) Passport Info: https://www.usps.com/international/passports.htm Passport can t be expiring w/in 6 months of travelling dates. Must apply for passport before June 1st. The sooner the better. Most post offices can do it all. US Passport cost = $110 for adult (16+) / $80 for minor Standard processing 4-6 weeks = no extra fee Expedited processing 3 weeks door to door = $60 Expedited at Passport office 8 business days = $60 Documents needed: Evidence of U.S. Citizenship Such as: * Certified U.S. Birth Certificate (must meet all of the following requirements): Issued by City, County, or State of birth Lists bearer's full name, date of birth, and place of birth Lists parent(s) full names Has date filed with registrar's office (must be within one year of birth) Has registrar's signature Has embossed, impressed, or multicolored seal of registrar * Previous U.S. Passport (may be expired, must be undamaged) Minors under age 16 - can t apply for a passport by themselves. If available, both parents should appear in person with the minor.
4 If one parent is not available, then the application must be accompanied by a notarized, signed Form DS-3053 from the parent that is not applying with the minor. Passport Photo = $12+ (Post office or Drugstore can take Passport photos.) Overnight Delivery (Suggested by TX.gov but not required) $15 * Photo - Your Photograph Must Be: In color, 2 x 2 inches in size Printed on thin, photo-quality paper Taken within the past 6 months, showing current appearance Full face, front view with a plain white or off-white background Between 1in. & 1 3/8in. from the bottom of the chin to the top of head Taken in normal street attire: Uniforms shouldn t be worn in photos except religious attire worn daily Do not wear a hat or headgear that obscures the hair or hair line If you normally wear prescription glasses, a hearing device, wig or similar articles, they should be worn for your picture Dark glasses or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are not acceptable unless you need them for medical reasons (a medical certificate may be required) Tip: You should have a photocopy of your picture page of your passport kept in a separate place while traveling. You ll also need to email us a copy as another emergency back up. Immunizations: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/belize Nothing is required but we recommend that your Tetanus shot be current. Some consider getting Hepatitis A shot ($60 but it s usually covered by insurance as a preventative ). Routine vaccines Hepatitis A $60 Typhoid $75 Make sure you are up-to-date on routine vaccines before every trip. These vaccines include measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheriatetanus-pertussis vaccine, varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, polio vaccine, and your yearly flu shot. CDC recommends this vaccine because you can get hepatitis A through contaminated food or water in Belize, regardless of where you are eating or staying. Most Health insurance will cover this as preventative. You can get typhoid through contaminated food or water in Belize. CDC recommends this vaccine for most travelers, especially if you are staying with friends or relatives, visiting smaller cities or rural areas, or if you are an adventurous eater. Combo Hep A and Typhoid injection price is $108 offered in some places.
5 Tentative Schedule - subject to change via The Holy Spirit Updated Jan. 3 rd, 2017 Encounter God s Presence Mission Trip to Belize Sat. Aug. 5 th - Fri. Aug. 11 th Sat.- Arrive & settle in at the YWAM Banana Bank Base / Roaring Creek Village/ Cayo District (That s actually their full address there.) Orientation & group meeting Sun.- 1 st church - Part of the team ministers at a church in the morning. 2 nd church - Other team members at another church for children. 3 rd church - Minister at a church that evening. Mon.- * Football Day Camp (we call it soccer) / Or work project for those into that Football Tournament, games, drama, worship, message & share testimonies * Men s Meeting / Lady s Meeting in 2 different churches Tues.- Visiting an orphanage & spending time with the children Encounter God s Presence Youth Rally games, drama, worship, message, & testimonies Wed.- (May switch days for Wed. & Thurs. plans.) Tubing in a cave. Deliver school supplies house to house in Valley of Peace, which is a refugee village where the families are in great need. (These are not refugees you may have been hearing about on the news, these are totally different refugees that came from like Guatemala, Nicaragua, Salvador back in the 70 s & 80 s.) http://www.cayosouth.com/valley-of-peace/ Thurs.- Taking a day trip to the amazing Island of Caye Caulker Boat ride and snorkelling with docile nurse sharks & stingrays
Possible separate scuba diving (need adult and extra cost on your own) Out to eat lunch / go to Old Belize to eat dinner (need $14 - $23 US) 6 Fri.- The team flys out Concerned about safety in Belize? Encounter s mission trip to Belize is coming up & we ll be staying with YWAM (Youth With A Mission). Those paying extra for Cool Experience will be at a nice nearby lodge. YWAM ministry was established over 50 years ago, is in over 180 countries with 1,800 staff and has 120 ministry stations all over the world. http://www.ywam.org/ Where we re staying with YWAM Banana Bank Base they re in Roaring Creek Village, it s about an hour drive from the airport. They have an average of 14 teams every year (most are international teams from all over), 10 of those 14 teams are youth group teams that come out each year and this has been going on for the past 20 years. That s about 280 mission trips! The leaders have been there on base for 27 years and have never had any problems or safety issues with any of their teams. We have felt very safe there and had no issues while there ourselves. Now many years ago there were some areas of Belize that were known that you need to stay away from. Just like we wouldn't generalize all of America or all of Texas to be safe or unsafe. Like it would still not be wise to walk around Belize City alone at night. (And we should only be there in that city when we are going to and from the airport.) Now just like here in the DFW area, we must always use wisdom and for example, don't walk down the streets of Oak Cliff in the middle of the night. Or maybe don't do that at any time. :-0 Along with our own experience of having a team there, we've talked to numerous people who have been to Belize in the past year or so and they share also having always felt very safe. Safety is very important to us and we don't take it lightly when others are entrusted to us to oversee, not to mention we're really protective with our very own 13 year old who will be with us on this trip. We have actually looked into taking mission trips to other countries and have chosen not to go there because of unsure safety concerns but we believe we will be
safe & sound in Belize. You better Belize it! 7