Operation GO

Team Member Packet

Personal items. 4

What do I wear?. 5

What are the sleeping arrangements?. 6

What about food?. 7

Traveling our way?. 8

Spanish Words and Phrases. 8

Prayer Guides. 10

Sharing Your Testimony.. 12

Emergency Contact Information.. 13

What should I expect this week?

· DO expect that God will use you and the team to encourage

Nicaraguan Christians, their families and their churches,

and to attract nonbelievers to a faith in Jesus Christ.

· DO expect that God will use this experience to cause you to reevaluate your priorities and your relationship with Him.

During the prayerwalk days you will draw very close to God. Keep a prayerful attitude at all times. God will show you great and mighty things. If you are scared or apprehensive about the trip, you will find that God is sufficient and faithful to carry you through. When all we can do is rely on God, we find that is all we need to do – rely on Him.

· DO expect to go home with more friends and a sense of accomplishment

You will be working in groups of four: 2 people from the US and 2 Nicaraguans. You will not have a translator. However, do not worry – God is so great and He works things out – just wait and see! You have been given a list of Spanish words and phrases that will be useful to you the week you are here. Please study ahead of time and practice with each other – you’ll be glad you did!

· Do expect to see extreme poverty – but with contentment. We can not change their physical poverty but expect great things to happen regarding their spiritual poverty! Please take time to read 1 Timothy 6:6-10.

· DO expect to grow! You will have a great time, be stretched out of your comfort zone and be blessed beyond measure!

Home Top

WHAT SHOULD I PACK?

You will receive a separate sheet regarding clothing.

The following is a suggested list of items you should

carry in your bags:

Personal items

· Soap, shampoo, deodorant/body powder, tooth brush/paste

· 2 towels and wash cloths

· Flashlight and batteries

· Personal drinking cup – be original!

· Waterless handcleaner

· Wet wipes and small toilet paper roll for backpack

· Chapstick

· Alarm clock (battery operated)

· Lotion

· Prescription drugs, contacts, extra glasses if indispensable

· Blister prevention (bandaid has a good option)

Other items

· Cap or hat

· Bandana

· Bible, notebook/journal, pens / pencils

· Backpack (to carry scriptures, water, etc.)

· Camera and film or digital camera

· Photos of family to show Nicaraguan friends (you may want to leave these with your new friends, so don’t bring pictures that you want to keep)

· Simple gift for Nicaraguan friends. As you make friends, you might want to leave an inexpensive yet practical gift. This might include pens, cups from your state, T-shirts from your church, baseball caps, balls, personal toiletries etc.

Team leader should bring for the group (make sure they have it):

· Insect repellent

· Antiseptic ointment (e.g., Bactine), Band-Aids, Pepto-Bismol, Dramamine,

Aspirin, Tylenol, etc.

· Sunscreen (15 or higher SPF)

· Gatorade

· Duct tape

Home Top

What do I wear?

§ Girls - please bring a dress or 2 for church services.

These must go down to your knees. Many people say it is

cooler to wear a dress during distribution – you decide.

§ You may NOT wear shorts during distribution.

§ It is very hot here March-May, be prepared to sweat

Any time of the year.

§ You are allowed to wear pants during distribution.

§ Capris are okay if you are a city team.

§ Some people really like to wear those light weight zip-off

pants because they dry quickly. Don’t run to the store and

buy some if you don’t already have them.

§ Please bring 2 pair of good walking shoes. Do NOT bring

new shoes as they will blister your feet! I use blister pads

or bandaids BEFORE I get a blister to prevent them.

§ Bring flip-flop or beach shoes for use in the shower.

§ Bring a swim suit, just in case.

§ May through December is the rainy season. Sometimes it rains hard. You might want to wear a light weight poncho. Many prefer just to use an umbrella due to the heat.

§ You may wear shorts to sleep in. Please do NOT wear short shorts.

§ No spaghetti strap anythings!

§ This week you are a missionary. Missionaries do not have tattoos, or piercings other than the standard one hole per ear for women. It is best for guys to have short hair, both as a testimony and for heat purposes – you will thank us for it!

§ Leave your jewelry at home – you won’t need it here.

§ Some people bring their oldest clothes and leave them here when they go back to the states.

Home Top

What are the sleeping arrangements?

These vary depending on what type of team you are.

Here are some general ideas of what to expect:

The first and last night you generally will sleep at the Baptist Guesthouse. It is a bunkhouse with men in one room and women in another. Each room has 2 toilets and 2 showers. You may not flush the toilet paper! The shower head will produce warm water. If the team has 4 or less women or men they may get the apartment which has only one bathroom.

City teams generally will sleep in a hotel. Some have air conditioning, some do not. The beds are not like your bed at home. Pillows are lumpy and towels are thin. If you are very picky, bring your own pillow and towel.

Rough rider or adventure teams will sleep together in one big room (boys on one side, girls on the other) at the church, school or other facility large enough to house us. (With this in mind, please dress modestly at bedtime!) These teams will sleep on cots. Please bring your own towels, sheets and pillows. Sometimes it is good to have a sleeping bag, not due to cold weather but to give some cushion to the cot. These teams will generally use an outhouse – we will provide toilet paper. Bathing may be done in the river, out of a bucket or bag or with a water hose.

Please bring bug spray as the bunk house is not air conditioned and the windows will be open. Not everyone needs to bring bug spray. Bring one can for every 3-4 people. Bug spray needs to be applied especially at dawn and dusk.

The key word for the week is “flexible”. These are the general rules, sometimes the guesthouse is not available and we will have to come up with other arrangements. Sometimes the places we stay are better than you expect and others not so much. In this case – think of adventure and use your missionary spirit!

Home Top

What about food?

Many teams show up with their suitcases stuffed to the hilt

With snacks thinking they will be starving all week. This is

Not the case. We try to provide good food and lots of

It to keep you healthy – we don’t want anyone getting sick!

For that reason, we won’t be eating rice and beans all week. You will be eating foods you are used to…sandwiches, chip and cookies for lunch, cereal, poptarts and the lucky few pancakes for breakfast. Supper may include spaghetti, burgers, grilled chicken, etc. Those who eat in restaurants may expect lots of chicken!

We will have lots of snack on hand. However, we can not get “healthy” snacks or chocolate. Therefore, if you only eat healthy foods, please bring some in your luggage. Sam’s club has a good brand of trail mix you might want to bring with you. If you like chocolate, you will need to bring that as well, but it may melt. We will have things like cookies, chips, raisins, pudding cups and granola bars. City teams can find good ice cream to eat.

You will be given water bottles to use through out the week. Use these bottles for brushing your teeth as well. We will have plenty of purified water available to you, so please drink as much as you need. If you are not sweating then you are not drinking enough water. You should drink about 1 bottle of water an hour while in the sun.

If you do not like to drink water, we supply Tang, lemonade, tropical punch Koolaid and tea to drink. If you need diet drinks or Gatorade, please bring the dry mixes with you.

If you have special dietary needs you might want to pack foods you can eat in your luggage. The foods listed above are pretty standard for any team.

Home Top

Traveling our way?

Below are tips for travel gleaned from a number of sources:

· To make getting dressed easier place sets of clothes together in large zip-lock bags and roll up to get the air out and then seal. They will take up less room. After wearing clothing fold them carefully and return then to the zip-lock bag. If an emergency develops and you have to re-wear your cleanest dirty clothes and if they are folded carefully in their bag they will be in better shape to re-wear.

· Luggage looks alike. Try tying on a group tag made of a bright color or using colored duct tape to identify your bags from a distance.

· Carry a clean bandana in your pocket and you will find many uses for it. (emergency bandage, napkin, placemat, etc.) Plus it can be washed out at night and reused.

· Pack at least one change of clothes in your carry-on, as well as any medicines or items that you would need to survive for three days.

· Everyone must bring with them (on their person, not in their luggage) a valid passport. You will fill out a visa form on the plane. Your address in Nicaragua (IMB office) will be: Km 11 carretera vieja a Leon

· Please make 2 copies of your passport. Leave one at home in the states with a responsible party and bring one with you to Nicaragua. I will pick up your original passports and airline tickets and leave them in a safe place while we are on the trip. One copy will be on your person at all times.

Home Top

Spanish Words and Phrases

Hello or Anybody Home?	Bway-nus	Buenas
I bring a gift for you	Try-go oon ray gah low	Traigo un regalo
God Bless You	Dee-ose lay ben-dee-gah	Dios le bendiga
Reply to God Bless You	Ah-men	Amen
Hello (when walking by)	Ah-dee-ose	Adios
Please	Poor fah-voor	Por favor
Thank You	Grah-see-us	gracias
Your Welcome	Day nah-thah	De nada
Let’s pray	Ore-eh-mows	oremos
What’s your name?	Cuwahl s sue gnome-breh	Cual es su nombre
My name is…	Me gnome breh s …	Mi nombre es
Nice to meet you	Moo-cho goo-stow	Mucho gusto
Movie	Pay-lee-coo-lah	Película
At 6	Ah las say(s)	A las seis
school	s-cu-eh-la	escuela
bag	Bowl-sah	bolsa
Purified water	Ah-gwah poo-rah	Agua pura
danger	Peh-lee-grow	peligro
Be careful	Kwui-dah-doe	cuidado
Cold (drink)	Eh-la-the	helada
Toilet paper	Eye pa-pel?	Hay papel?
Outhouse	Lah leh-tree-nah	La letrina?
Christian	Cray-en-teh	creyente
Park	Par-keh	parque
Towel	Toe-eye-yah	toalla
Coffee	Caw-feh	cafe
Today	oi	hoy
Bless you (for sneeze)	Saw-lude	Salud
Free	Grah-tease	gratis
Wait	s-pear-eh	espere
I need to rest	Neh-se-see-toe des-cahn-czar	Necesito descansar
No one’s home	No eye not-e-a	No hay nadie
Already done that	jah	ya
straw	Pa-he-yea	pajilla
Right now, today	Ah-o-rah	ahora
Over there	Ah-yah	allá

Every word has an accented syllable. The center column is the phonetic breakdown of the words. The part in bold letters is where the accent falls in that word. Please find a friend to help you with this and practice, practice, practice – there will be a test when you get here!

Home Top
Prayer Guides

Each team member is responsible for enlisting 10 people (or more) to pray for you and the team. If the team has 8-12 people then that means that 80-120 people will be interceding for you and the team. The Bible clearly states in Ephesians chapter 6 that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Prayer is a vital part of the trip. Each member needs to prepare a prayer guide for their 10 prayer partners so that they will know better how to pray for you. Below are some of the things that could be included in your prayer guide.

· Trip itinerary so that your prayer partners know where you are each day so they can pray for the daily activities.

· Information about the people you will be ministering to so that they can pray for God to open the people’s hearts.

· Information about the country (see website www.middleamericaregion.org)

· A verse that you want them to pray for you.

· A verse that you want them to pray for the local people.

· Personal requests

· Spiritual strength

· Health

· Team unity

· Leader’s names

The more detail in your prayer guide the more specifically your prayer partner can pray for you.

Name________________________________

Address______________________________

______________________________