For Parents . . . the Details
Specifics regarding the 2009 Brio Missions trip to Guatemala
Parents! We now have pictures of the resort in Guatamala where your daughters will stay! Visit the new Brio Missions 2009 Resort page.
"Exceptional organization–every detail covered. Incredible messages, amazing leadership–all around awesome!" -Vicki, Colorado
As a parent, you want your teen to grow spiritually, connect with other Christian teens and have an impact on the world around them—all in a safe, supervised environment you can trust.
Let Focus on the Family® provide your teen with a valuable missions experience unlike any other!
The message is written by Kathy Gowler, Brio Missions Coordinator, and includes a sample day in the life of a Brio Missionary!
About Brio Missions
Brio began taking students on mission trips in 1996 with our first trip to Bolivia. We've taken several thousand teens to Brazil, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. The 2009 trip to Guatemala City, Guatemala promises to be another life-changing experience! It's our prayer that God will work in the lives of our teens to produce eternal changes and even call some of them into full-time ministry.
We use Big World Ventures®, a nonprofit Christian organization that specializes in planning short-term missions trips for teens and churches, to custom design our trips per our specifications. What are those specifications?
- We take a medical staff with us.
- Every evening we have a worship and spiritual growth service—teens are not even given an option to visit the city without adult supervision.
- We never use public transportation but, instead, charter our own buses.
- Teens are allowed to bring cell phones and call home.
- Shower and toilet facilities are available.
- We recruit qualified Christian adults to fill the sponsor roles in addition to our Focus on the Family® staff and volunteers.
- We all stay together in one large hotel that will be a safe and comfortable environment.
- We also take a professional counseling staff member with us just in case a teen needs to talk about any issues that surface during the trip.
Big World Ventures also handles the details of food and lodging, sight-seeing, international flight reservations, recruiting Christian interpreters and church representatives to follow up on new converts, reserving buses for ministry travel once entering the country, scheduling ministry events for each day and arranging a shopping excursion. You can learn more about them by visiting bigworld.org.
Why Guatemala?
Brio Magazine readers have been challenged to "adopt a village"—a Compassion International project in Guatemala City, by sponsoring a child who lives in that area. The 2009 Brio Mission trip will give readers an opportunity to go to Guatemala and meet their sponsored child from this promotion face-to-face—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Accommodations
While in Guatemala, our entire group will stay at a secure, spacious hotel—perfect for Brio Missions! We'll also have medical staff and professional counseling staff with us to meet whatever needs may arise during our trip.
Because of our large group, safety is always our top priority. We spend a little extra money to put everyone in a nice hotel that can hold all of us, has warm water, etc. Yes, this is one reason our trip is a little more expensive than other trips you may consider, but in order to house all of us at the same place and meet our standard of safety and security, it requires us to find a nicer hotel. Other trips may be less expensive and allow kids to sleep on floors of churches or put them in small, inexpensive hotels, but again, safety is our top concern.
Meals
In Guatemala, the hotel staff will provide our meals. For off-site ministry days, we'll pack lunches to go. Doesn't everybody love PB&J! Unfortunately, we cannot arrange meals for vegetarian and special diets.
Transportation
Private chartered transportation will be provided at all times. No public transportation will be utilized.
Medical Counseling Staff
We will have a volunteer medical and professional counseling staff with us to meet whatever needs may arise during our trip. If you have any special concerns about your teen, please make note in your application or contact us.
Contacting Your Teen
As time draws closer to the trip, we'll provide emergency contact information, including phone and fax numbers, for where your teen will be staying. We'll also make frequent posts to our missions Web site so that friends and family can hear how things are going!
Your teen will also have email access, and he or she is welcome to bring a cell phone to call home. In addition, each team leader will have a cell phone with them at all times, so our leaders can be in touch with each other. If information is needed from another team or back at our base, we're only a phone call away.
Choosing a Missions Organization
Out of all the organizations offering missions trips, how can you select one for your teen?
Many teens have the opportunity to participate in mission trips with their own church or youth group. If your teen has the opportunity to do that, please encourage him or her to do so! Brio would never want to stand in the way of something your own church is doing.
However, many teens don't have the opportunity of a youth group mission trip and may want to consider a trip with an organization that plans mission endeavors for teens.
We encourage you to use the following list of checkpoint questions when considering the best missions opportunity for your son or daughter.
- What does the ttraining program entail? Iincluding the facilities where teens stay, the daily schedule, food, etc.) You may learn that the training time is more of a "boot camp" experience than your teen really wants.
- How many times will my teen be allowed to call home?
- What's your denominational background?
- How old are your adult sponsors, and how many sponsors will you have?
- After paying the designated amount for the trip, what else will my teen be expected to cover financially?
- What kind of place will my teen will be staying in once she/he arrives in the country. (Will they have daily access to showers and toilets? Will they have a bed or use a sleeping bag?)
- If my teen isn't able to get all the money in by the deadline, will any of it be returned to her?
Trip Cost
The cost of the trip is $2,398, departing from Miami, Florida. In addition, your teen will be responsible for the cost of their flight to and from the Miami International airport. There will also be a $45 application fee.
*After Jan. 31, 2009 the price increases from $2,398 to $2,498.
Other Costs
There will be a $33 departure tax and security fee to leave Guatemala that will be collected prior to the trip. There may also be a fuel surcharge of up to $85 if oil prices increase between now and the trip.
Application Process
If your teen is between the ages of 13 and 18, they're eligible to be considered for the Brio Mission Trip! Just help your teen download and complete a Student Application located by visiting the Apply page on this Web site. Please note: Your teen must be 13 by Jan. 31, 2009.
Your teen will receive an acceptance letter from the Brio staff approximately two weeks after Big World receives the completed application.
If you're interested in serving as an Adult Leader or Leader in Training (college students) you can download the appropriate application packet found in the Apply page.
Important Application Information for Parents!
Please ensure that your teen sends his or her entire completed application packet with the application fee ($45 for students/$55 for adults) by Jan. 31, 2009 to:
Brio Missions
c/o Big World Ventures
P.O. Box 703203
Tulsa, OK 74170-3203
Please DO NOT send this application to Brio Magazine in Colorado Springs. And please DO NOT make your check out to Brio. Checks or money orders should be written to Big World Ventures.
This trip will fill up fast! We'll begin receiving applications in September 2008. Though the application deadline isn't until Jan.31, we are limited on how many teen participants we can take. The sooner you return your application, the better!
There are a few pages in the application packet that require a notary public stamp and signature. We cannot accept your teen's application without that. Also, your teen's application cannot be accepted until we receive their Pastor's Recommendation form, which is to be sent in by your teen's Youth Pastor/Sunday School teacher or Bible study leader. All trip participants must have required childhood and travel immunizations as stated on the Health Form.
If you're accepted for this missions trip and decide not to go, your application is not refundable. If you are not accepted from our end, we will refund your application fee. If you have further questions, please call Kathy Gowler, our missions trip coordinator, at: 719-548-4575.