Mission (Serve) Team Preparation Elisa Velez-Makar

Missions How would you best describe Mission work? The act or an instance of sending. synonyms: assignment, brief, business, charge, detail, job, operation, post

Cultivating the Fruits of the Spirit Cultural Sensitivity Foundation Embracing lessons Skits Spiritual Foundation Principles Prayer Faith Story Relationships Skits – International Version and Role Playing with team and 2 audience members

Empowering Tools Spiritual Foundation, Equipping Teams, Post-Trip, Methodism, Practical Info, Team Info, Devotional and Journal

Quiet, Reflection and Prayer On-field Daily Debrief Trip Evaluations Jesus Letter Team Debrief

Team Gatherings Community Team Preparation Cultural Preparation Trip Overview & Team Introduction Cultural Preparation Emergency Health & Safety Packing Party

Community Team Preparation – PART I Opening Prayer Agenda Spiritual & Cultural What If…. The Big Three Brief Partnership History Team Covenant The Next Mile Wrap Up Closing Prayer Agenda – includes all topics, partnership outline, resources and time frame for CTP 11-430pm / Breakout 3-430p / Comm 430-5p

What would this look like. What do I need to do What would this look like? What do I need to do? How can I achieve success?

Learner/Servant Attitude How do we begin to embrace what is at the heart of a serve trip? The BIG Three No complaining Do everything you’re asked Leave every place cleaner than you found it.

Spiritual Foundation Wesley Covenant Prayer Jesus as Missionary Spiritual Aspect Wesley Covenant Prayer Jesus as Missionary Why go? Standards of Excellence Prayer Personal Testimony

Ministry of Presence/Relationships "If it was not for the blancs (whites) I saw come to Haiti when I was a young boy, I probably would not be a Christian today. I always wondered why these people would come so far from another place to Haiti. I knew God must be real if they would come all this way”. - Haiti Translator The most important reason we go on mission trips is to build relationships. Cayce…expand on this? Rudy story: “I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for missionaries like you.”

Cultural Foundation Equipping Teams Cultural Sensitivity: pages 1-7 Walk With Us In Our Search Dealing with differences Cultural Awareness Cues Anthony Bourdain – Haiti no reservations “You then, why do you judge your brother? Or, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” Romans 14:10 If this is your first time traveling to another country or another part of our country you are about to see, hear, taste and smell many new and exciting things.  While this will be a wonderful opportunity to learn about a new culture in a short period of time, a one-week work trip can often be overwhelming. Life in the rural communities where we work is quite.  Some of our older volunteers often compare it to growing up in rural parts of the US, when life was "simpler."  Expect to head to bed shortly after sunset and will likely be up early when the roosters start crowing.  Families are large and households often include parents, children, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.  Buildings and homes in the communities where we work are usually small with only a few rooms and generally have dirt floors.  Volunteers will have your own bed and personal space, but privacy is limited and everyone will want to see and meet the visitors in their community. important that your know that your stay in the community will be rustic.  Families in the communities we serve are in rural areas, often without access to electricity or indoor plumbing.  Your trip will be both challenging and rewarding as you experience and are immersed in a new language, culture and way of life that is different from home, our team members consistently tell us that being part of a host community is one of their favorite parts of the trip because it gives them an opportunity to connect with local families that most travelers never have a chance to experience.  As mentioned earlier, we will need to think about how to adapt our standard story for an international context. We will be having conversations with Christians who don’t come from our culture.

Important Details Food, Alcohol and Smoking Jewelry, Electronics and purchases Island Time Dogs Photos Water Bottles Gift Giving and tips Dress Code Serve Team Covenant It is perfectly normal, when you find yourself in a new climate and culture, to feel stressed out.  You do not have as much control over the way things go as you would at home.  Furthermore, when traveling in a group, you have even less control.  Requirements to be on time (and then perhaps sit and wait!) can be frustrating.   But the keys to group travel in a new culture are patience, cooperation, flexibility and positivity.  Try your best to “go with the flow,” enjoy your fellow travelers, and soak everything in. If you are an animal lover, you will undoubtedly be disheartened to see the seemingly endless parade of malnourished, stray dogs scavenging for food. Remember there are families including children that also may not have meals as often as we are accustomed to, some may only get as many as one meal a day. Can be insulting to others when used in public Unspoken message can be heard loud and clear While most people you meet will be happy to have you take a photo of them and their home, use common courtesy and ask people before you take their photo.

Trip Specific Breakout Session Haiti – Room C139 Honduras – Room C140

Trip Overview and Team Introduction – PART II Opening Prayer Get to Know Each Other Meeting Topic Partnership History Things to Know Before you Go Vaccinations Government Registration Protocol Pictures Team Roles and Responsibilities Typical Day Team Building Wrap Up Next Steps Closing Prayer Pictures – partners, lodging, transportation, food etc

Eglise Méthodiste d’Haiti Bishop Paul Gesner – Pétionville

Logistics Accommodations Airport and local transportation

Cultural Preparation – 2nd gathering Opening Prayer Meeting Topic History Facts & Statistics Etiquette Food Language Team Building Next Steps Closing Prayer

Haiti Facts Language - Haitian Creole French Religion – 80% Catholic/16% Protestants Traditions Voodoo – African spirit religion Carnival Clothing Education – 2.8 yrs adult average Weather – avg. high 80’s / high 60’s -low 70’s (rainy season May-July) Statistics: Vast speak Creyol/ 5-10% pop speak fluent French/English currently 2nd language Carnival – festival like Mardi Gras (3 days prior to Ash Wednesday) Clothing – like US, traditional clothing very colorful Homes-many live in one room homes with no indoor plumbing, bathroom is traditionally outside of home. 50% of primary school age children are not enrolled in school. One-third of girls over six never go to school. More than 50% of children attending school are over-aged. Approximately 30% of children attending primary school will not make it to third grade; 60% will abandon school before sixth grade. Literacy – 52% / 15 and over can read HAITI- www.Nationmaster.com/country/ha-haiti/edu-education www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/haiti-life-expectancy Anaemia - #1 cause of death, followed by alcohol and prostrate cancer www.haitipartners.org/who-we-are/haiti-statistics

Creole Alphabet 32 letters including 6 vowels Creole pronunciation is very phonetic Place alphabet page next to letter descriptions NOW LETS PRACTICE A FEW WORDS WITH THE FOLLOWING VOWELS

Emergency Health & Safety – 3rd gathering Opening Prayer Emergency Outline Plan Security Practices and Procedures Support Equipment & Information Event Management Team Building Next Steps Closing Prayer What support will I receive? Who will train me? What resources must be provided? Who do I call if I need help?

Team’s Support During Emergency Emergency Health & Safety Management Team (EHSMT) Emergency Manager Documentation/Logistics/Information Officer Financial Officer Medical Advisor Congregational Care Representative Communications/Media Officer An EHS Team was created.

Emergency Levels Incident Event Major Event Catastrophic Event Three categories of emergency levels were designed to fit the need of different action steps. We will be discussing these in detail shortly. Questions to ask: How do you raise the level of the event to the next category? Who is responsible for making the on-field emergency level decisions?

Packing Party – final gathering prior to trip Opening Prayer Luggage Inventory Sheet Before You Land Last minute details Team Building Closing Prayer

Looking back

Reflect & Share What is one successful Team Preparation tool that your church uses to equip Trip Participants?

Your Action Plan Idea Plan Equip One action step in each trip preperation area Who, what & when?

Mission (Serve) Team Preparation Elisa Velez-Makar