Short Term Missions Opportunities 2014

 We have several short-term missions trips opportunities this year:

ANDROS YOUTH CAMPS:

In August 2013, we did a youth camp for about 40 kids in Mastic Point (you can see pics on the website and blog). We had basketball, soccer, outdoor games and VBS. We’re hoping to do TWO youth camps this year, one in late June in Nicholls Town, and one in either late July or early August in Mastic Point. It’s a one-week trip and includes some fun stuff, too. Last year’s cost was about $950 for the week (the airfare is the main fluctuating factor). We will take kids 14 and up, but it’s a great trip for families, too – Last year it was 3 families and me. 🙂  For the Mastic Point trip, the max we can accommodate is 10. I’m still waiting on some info for accommodation in Nicholls Town. (NOTE: You do need a passport to travel to the Bahamas.)

SLUMS AND BABIES HOME, UGANDA

I don’t usually take groups to Uganda (we did a basketball camp in 2011 that was great, though!), but I’ve had several people express interest this year. If we get at least 6, I’ll take a group in September. It would be a minimum of 11 days (it’s 4 days of travel), and we’ll work with women and children in the slums of Kampala, and go to the Arise Africa Babies Home in Bukaleba. We can also spend time with hospice in Jinja and/or Tororo is that’s of interest. And we’ll go on a 1 night (2 game drives) safari at Lake Mburo. The cost will be around $3000 a person – I’ll get more precise if we do end up with enough people. Minimum age is 16 without a parent, 14 with.

(NOTE: You will need typhoid and yellow fever vaccinations to travel to Uganda, and will take malaria meds while there, which isn’t included in the cost quoted above. You’ll also need a visa, which is $50, and a passport if you don’t have one, also not included in the cost above.)

MONTHLY ANDROS – ELDERLY DAY CARE –

We are trying to start a very short term, monthly program in Andros to work with the elderly. The elderly in Andros is a hugely underserved population and in desperate need. We were hoping to start in january, but the accommodation fell through (twice) and we’re still working on a plan B. Participants would fly to Andros, spend 3 days working with 3 groups of 15 elderly per day, then leave the following day. The cost (depending on airfare) would be around $750-800. We only need 2-4 people per month.

If you’re interested in a trip, use the comments or the Contact section at our website  – and feel free to pass this on to anyone you know who might be.

If you’re interesting in hosting a fundraiser, let me know! We are in fairly desperate need for 2014, after our largest donor was unable to contribute for 2014 due to the economy.

What does “short term missions” mean to Ten Eighteen?

I guess because summer is upon us and a lot of people are going on short term missions trips, there have been a lot of articles and blogs around the web on what short terms missions are for. I wrote this article about a blog post that I strongly disagree with, and posted this link on the Ten Eighteen Facebook page to one I strong agree with. Ten Eighteen is about to take it’s second group for a short term missions trip, so I thought I’d give an explanation of our mission and vision for those who might not have heard me talk about it.

Ten Eighteen is not an organization that specializes in short term missions trips.  We did one team trip in August of 2011 to do a basketball camp in Nsambya for 44 kids from Ray of Hope. To date, that’s our only team trip.

Why? From our founding, Ten Eighteen has been about relationships. We never intended to have a “one and done” type of a ministry. We have returned to Uganda 6 times since the original visit (or, more accurately 8, since my daughter went twice by herself). On each trip, we stick with our mission, which is to continue to build relationships with the people we have met and work with there. We do not promote an atmosphere of hand-outs, which is very easily done when you are going on a one-time, short term trip. It feels good to give kids stuff, to see them smile… But in most cases, that does more harm than good. It fosters an entitlement/welfare mentality, rather than one where self-reliance is the goal.

Agnes, May 2012

So why not big teams? I have been able to go 7 times. I have been able to get to know the ladies of Nawezakana, the kids of Ray of Hope and Nesco, the children at the babies home, the staff of hospice. We email, we Facebook, we even Tweet. My daughter has received a dozen or more wonderful, loving, heartfelt messages of congratulations on her upcoming marriage from her Ugandan friends. Taking teams takes time. Group mentalities are what they are – when you are with a group of people you know, you naturally talk to those people. You move as a big blob through the environment, making it difficult for people to break in and talk to you.  That doesn’t help our goal of relationship.

Well then, why do teams at all? First and foremost, because on both occasions, God has been very clear about doing it. The basketball camp was God’s idea, and the camp went great. We had a dozen Ugandan volunteers along with our six, and the kids had a blast. This youth camp is the same. When we were in Andros over Easter, God gave me a very clear vision of this camp. One way to know an idea is from God is if it’s something that isn’t at all in your wheelhouse. These camps aren’t. I’m an introvert that doesn’t love large groups. I find being responsible for groups stressful. I enjoy one-on-one interaction. But I am ridiculously excited about this team and this camp, and that’s how I know it’s a God thing.

Shouldn’t you do one every year, if they go so well? The typical “church” answer would be, “Of course!” We tend to try to institutionalize anything that is successful once. We were asked when we were doing another basketball camp, and my answer was (and remains), “When God tells me to do it.” He hasn’t yet. The same will be true of this youth camp in Andros in August. No matter how well it goes, unless God tells me to, I will not start planning “Youth Camp 2014” as soon as we get home. There are times and seasons for everything. Success doesn’t mean you must duplicate. Obedience is what God’s after. Those are the principles on which we operate.

So what’s in it for me? Well… maybe nothing except a new stamp in your passport. You might get sick. You might be hot and miserable. You might find a bunch of kids annoying. You might hate the food. You might hate being with a group of people for a week. You might not cope well with a lack of power, water, or internet. If you’re going because there’s something in it for you, PLEASE reconsider spending your money (or other people’s donations). If God calls you to a missions trip, it’s for the people you’ll be serving. Your lack of ability to cope, eat, sleep, or be content and happy will be more than made up for by God’s… If you let it. Take one week (or however long your trip is), put yourself aside, and serve others to the best of your ability. Hug, laugh, talk, and show His love. Even if you don’t feel like it. Even if you’re grumpy. Give to whoever He called you to what He has given to you – uncompromising, unequivocal, unconditional love.

My family and I go to Uganda, and now Andros, as an ongoing calling. We don’t consider what we do “short term missions” even though we’re there between 2-4 weeks at a time. We are visiting friends. We are showing God’s love in the ways that He opens up for us. Maybe thinking about your short term trip in this same way will help you keep your focus on what’s ultimately important: HIM.

2013 is shaping up to be big!

Project Friendship!

Time is really flying! How is it May already?? And I haven’t posted here in two weeks… Sorry about that! (You can go to the Facebook page and Like it so that you get more frequent updates.) So here’s what’s going on:

• I found out today that I actually DO have an attorney working on the nonprofit in the Bahamas, I just didn’t know it! Yes, “island time” has a lot in common with “beach time.” It turns out, they’ve been calling the relavent government ministries to gather information. So that’s pretty exciting! I will almost certainly be going down to Nassau and Andros before my daughter’s wedding on June 22. I’m just waiting to get a bit further in the process. But I have sent a letter of authorization for the chambers (law firm) to act on my behalf, so I feel like we are finally up and running there. This will help a lot with the hospice.
• We have gotten our tickets for Uganda. Zeke will be there August 21-October 2. I will be heading over September 12 and returning with him. Because he will be working on Ten Eighteen’s behalf in Namuwongo, particularly with the Haven boys, I can make another short trip, but not work quite so hard, and still get everything done.
• The Andros trip in August is well into planning. We have a tee shirt design (I will unveil that soon!) which is AWESOME, and a schedule. Once Ryan graduates from college this weekend, she will be putting together the VBS curriculum, and making the schedule for the camp days. And it looks like we’ll have at least 5 local volunteers from National Church of God to help us out.
• New Life Camp is partnering with us to make the Project Friendship bracelets for both the youth camp in Andros and the party in Uganda. We will need 500-600, so this is GREAT news, and will help us forge a valuable relationship that hopefully will be ongoing.

Keep checking back (or Like the FB page!) for more updates!

A meeting and an evacuation

We had our first meeting for the Andros missions trip today, and it was going great… Until a fireman knocked on the door and told us we had to evacuate because there was a broken gas line up the street! The ended things quickly!

We did get our information covered, and I showed a slideshow, which you can see here as a video.

As it turned out, we didn’t totally evacuate. We got the dog out right away, and then my son and I spent 15 min looking for the cat. By the time we got her into her carrier, the gas smell was gone and my husband was standing in road talking to a neighbor. The police and firemen didn’t ask us to leave, so we put the animals in the car and hung out in the yard. Apparently getting blown up in the yard would have been preferable to getting blown up in the house…!  Anyway, although there were more than a half dozen vehicles with flashing lights in the street, it was over in less than an hour from start to finish and all is well.

With the much excitement at the meeting, just think how exciting the trip will be!