Mission Trip general guidelines

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Starts with God. Prayer and Dependence of the Holy Spirit.

And the assured confidence that you will be divinely guided and empowered by the One who called you out of this world, unto Himself, and sent you back into the world, with His written Word, in the Living Word.

1. Share our faith in Jesus.
2. Train local church members to also share their faith during those days so that when we leave they would know how to witness.
3. Help plant and grow biblical churches.

Keep in mind that all we will do is by, under, and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Ours is the privilege of being God's ambassadors. To Him be the glory.

- Pairing up the Teams

We will balance the teams in a way that you'll feel comfortable going out to witness.

If you would like to sing or preach, please let us know so we can include you in the program. Your translator will translate your sermon. Ask us or even your pastor for help if you feel led to preach and do not know how.

We will make sure one main preacher is in each team to preach each night so you do not have to preach. You are welcome to though. Local church people will do the singing so you also are welcome to sing or not as you feel led. Let me encourage you to if you think you can.

We will break the MAIN TEAM into TEAMS upon arrival on the field.

Meanwhile, pray that the Lord would use you in the way you are comfortable, but also, in the areas that God has enabled you through His Spirit. Make this a time to let God expand your comfort zones and use you in ways you didn’t think He could.

We will train you all on how to witness using the Billy Graham tract “Steps to Peace with God” and a few other additions we have made over the years. If you are not familiar with this tract, go online and read it so you can be familiar with it. 

We will train you on how to use it to witness. 

Here is a link to the tract so you can become familiar with it: https://static.billygraham.org/sites/billygraham.org.uk/uploads/pro/2016/02/Printer-FriendlyStepstoPeacewithGod.pdf

Each team (American/Translator/Brazilians) will have 5 visits per day. 

These are the times you will be sharing the love of Jesus with non-Christians. 

Expect a wonderful experience on each visit. Brazilians are very open and 

welcoming and will love to host you in their homes. Expect to be 45 min to 

an hour in each home and they will want you to stay longer but you must

go on to the next family waiting for you.

If you are assigned a classroom then you might have to speak to 30/40/50 children or teenagers about Jesus during their school hour so expect to interact with lots of children. And yes, you will be allowed to share about Jesus and you can use the entire hour they give you to share about Jesus, give an invitation, and pray with them.

In local homes/places you will visit people will try to offer you food as a gesture of welcoming. Politely thank them but tell them you must go on to the next visit.

Remember to let your local church team begin to do part of the evangelism by the third day so they can develop their evangelistic gift. Your goal is to have them do the entire tract by day 5 so they can witness without you when you leave them on the last day. You will leave them with a tool to lead others for Christ for the rest of their lives.

Arrive in Brazil airport/customs (allow 2 hours for immigration/suitcases)

Drive to hotel and rest; Dinner and team training time

A team is:  1 American, 1 translator, 2/3 from local church

• Mission trip typical day

8:00 am - Leave hotel

8:30 am - Meet local teams and go to home/school visits to witness

9-11:45 am – home/school visits (2 per team)

Noon – Lunch

1:30 pm – Return to churches to reconnect with local teams 

for more visits (3 per team)

5:30 pm – Return to church for dinner

7:00/7:30 pm – Evangelistic Service in each church

Each team (American, translator, 2/3 locals) will have 5 evangelism visits per day

• Sightseeing & Shopping in Rio de Janeiro

Brazilian Steakhouse lunch, Sugar Loaf and Christ Statue.

Shopping local shops, walk on the beach, check in hotel.

7:30 – Breakfast with the team

8:00 – Return to church or central meeting point to meet translators/church team

9:00 – Ideally be in the first home witnessing

Noon – Return to the central location for lunch/rest

1:30 – Return to home visits

2-5:30 – Visits in homes/schools

6:00 – Dinner

7:00/7:30 – Evangelistic services

9:30 - Back to the hotel to quick debrief and rest

There will be more things added here but please feel free to reach out 

anytime with your questions/doubts.

If you are on special medication or treatment, you do not need to tell everyone but your pastor and I need to know so that we know what to do in case you need a specific pill or procedure. Brazilian customs and immigration will allow you to bring your personal prescription meds. Make sure they are properly prescribed by a physician and it may good to bring a copy of your prescrition.

Travel Insurance should cover all medical needs if there’s ever one. And we will purchase it just to be on the safe side.

June - August - Brazilian winter: Temperatures in the 50s, 60s, 70s.

September - November - Brazilian Spring: Temperatures in the 70s, 80s, 90s.

December - February - Brazilian Summer: Temperatures in the 90s, 100s.

March-May - Brazilian Fall: Temperatures in the 70s, 80s.

Expect 100% humidity. Light clothes. American casual jeans, pants, and a blouse/shirt/T-shirt are good for the church setting and everywhere in Rio.

In the hotels, expect to share a room with another person from the team. Rooms will be either for couples (1 double bed) or two single beds. There will be a private bathroom and A/C unit in each room.

Smaller towns in Brazil are fairly safe but we will still ask you not to wander by yourself. Your Brazilian translator and your local church people will be with you the entire time on the streets so you do not get lost. Avoid bringing unnecessary jewelry. 

1. You don’t want to communicate excess sophistication. 
2. You do not want to draw too much attention.

Rio de Janeiro is a huge city. There's all types of people there so maintain the same safety orientation as above and keep your purse/valuables in front of you (not on your side or your back). The places you will go in Rio are fairly safe with lots of tourists from all over the world but still, you want to be aware of your surroundings.

Our meals will be in the hotel and church, prepared by the hotel staff/church cooking team each day with food we can safely eat and water we can drink. We don’t want you to eat anywhere you go so we can avoid you eating something that does not sit well with you.

• Each day our lunch and dinner will have: White Rice / Black Beans / Potatoes and Fries / Beef and Chicken / Tomato Salad / Spaghetti. Brazilian food is not spicy so if you are used to hot peppers with your food, bring some powdered black pepper for your meals. Deserts will be served at lunch and supper: Brazilian Flawn (Pudim), Brazilian Mousse, and Cakes.

• All our drinking water will be bottled water for the entire time of the trip. In-Brazil cost of the trip will purchase bottled water and food for everyone on the team.

• There will also be cokes available and if you tell us in advance we might get you a diet drink.

• Pack one large suitcase (50 pounds is the maximum allowed weight without having to pay for access weight). And one carry-on. Carry your valuable belongings in the carry-on and always a set of clothes.

• Your ticket already contemplates 1 suitcase and carry-on. A second suitcase will have to be paid as extra and will cost you. We ask you not to add a second suitcase unless you have to because the more suitcases, the more difficult it is to move a team across airports/cities.

• Pack your hygiene items.

• Avoid too many electric gadgets because you will need special plug adapters for each outlet on the wall.

Suggestion: pack a lot of clothes that you intend to just leave when you return and use the extra space on your suitcase for gifts for family/friends/people who helped you with the trip.

• Your cell phone may not have service there (confirm with your phone carrier) so if you have WhatsApp, then when you are in areas with WIFI, you can still call, video, and text home through WhatsApp. It is free but those you call, video, or text must also have WhatsApp.

• Credit cards (major ones like VISA and MASTERCARD are accepted in most places. I suggest you bring one if you plan on purchasing expensive souvenirs. Remember to tell your credit card company you will be in Brazil during those days or they may not authorize your purchases. Avoid bringing debt cards.

• Money – Bring 100 to 200 dollars to exchange for your personal use. No need to bring more unless you plan on purchasing something expensive in Brazil. And if you are, most likely that place will take your credit card anyway.

All major expenses (Room, Board, Transportation) will be covered by the budget money you will have sent to Missions21 before the trip so you don’t have to deal with any of that.

• Passports – Keep them on you the entire time. I suggest a passport bag with a strap around your neck. I am not too concerned about it being stolen but if you lose it or misplace it somewhere, you will still get back home but it will be a lot of extra work/USA embassy visit in Rio, etc..… a lot of extra work that we can avoid. Especially since we only have a few days on the field.

Electricity in Rio de Janeiro is 110 volts. Wall outlets are different from American

outlets so if you have electric equipment you want to bring with you, make sure 

you go to Walmart and buy a Brazil outlet adapter. 

You will not find them for your electric equipment in Brazil. 

We are going as Jesus ambassadors – we are not going to speak about politics. Jesus is the theme of our lives and it is Him crucified we will proclaim. 

If anyone asks you about politics, you politely will say: 

"I came to speak to you about Jesus, may I proceed?"