UPDATED! May 7, 2010
UPDATE of Phase 1 (Support)
As of today, we are at approximately 80% financial support raised and have well over 200 committed prayer partners (families, friends, other churches, etc.). It is honestly difficult to nail down how many prayer partners we truly have because family sends notes to family and we have people praying for us who have never even met us!
While we are still short of what we need for our operating budget while in Kenya (most of the money we need for airline tickets, lodging and food are in), we are more confident now than ever and are anxious about arriving in country and beginning to work!.
UPDATE of Phase 2 (Ministry Needs)
We are now fully underway in training and ministry prep. Students are preparing testimonies and preparing their hearts for the work that is to be done. We are presently waiting to see what airline we will be on as to luggage restrictions. If restrictions are light, we may be asking for help in purchasing/donating balloons for balloon animals, little Beanie Baby stuffed animals (nothing else as we will be very limited in space), and/or candy for the children. We will keep you posted.
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In terms of needs we have divided our mission's needs into two phases:
- Phase 1: Support (recruiting people to pray for us and this endeavor, as well as raising funds needed to pay for airline tickets, immunizations, transportation, lodging, food, health insurance, etc.)
- Phase 2: Ministry Needs and Support (continue to recruit prayer partners and gather funds necessary to cover the cost of the trip, plus the collection of supplies to take with us to Kenya)
Right now we are in Phase 1 and 2 of preparing this trip, with the bulk of our effort now in Phase 2 (prepping for the trip and training).We are still not 100% funded, but we trust God is moving and will provide fully all we need.
PHASE 1: Support
Above all we are looking for people to join with us in prayer! God will do far more than we could ever think of or prepare for and it is with this in mind that we are humbling and passionately looking for people to join with us in praying for this endeavor!
As for the expenses: The total cost of this trip is estimated to be around $3,000 per participant ($18,000 total). Obviously this is no small chunk of change. To help you gain a better understanding of why this costs so much, here is a very rough breakdown of the costs for our 10-day journey:
Airline Tickets: $2000/person (approx. - right now they are more)
Transportation: $370/person (we have to rent two vans as we need to transport our translators)
Health Insurance: $75/person
Visas: $25/person
Vaccines: $300-400 (insurance does not cover these)
Lodging: Unknown (approx. $250/person)
Food: Still working out details
These are just the major expenses, not including minor expenses or reserve money for unexpected expenses.
There is much to be done to get there! If you would like more information about how you can partner with us in this endeavor (in prayer, financially or other ways), email us at bethany.refuge@gmail.com.
Check back regularly as we will provide updates as to our progress and needs as we move between phases.
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