Faith in Practice Medical Mission Trip
April 3-8, 2010
To Mayan villages in
the areas of Chan Chen and the Southern Yucatan
We will be working with missionaries,
Doug and Darla Millar who have 20 years experience in central/south
America and the Yucatan.
Our primary outreach will be to Mayan
villages in their area. Two years ago we were part of helping
start a church in the village of Chan Chen following a medical clinic
outreach there. We will be helping to continue that ministry as
well as providing evangelism and outreach opportunities through the
venue of medical clinics. We will also have the opportunity to
share in Easter services in Paamul/Playa del Carmen. Doing medical
work as part of missions is different than the medicine we practice
in the US. Medical missions is a tangible expression of Christ’s
love. We do the best we can to meet their physical needs, even
if it is vitamins and ibuprofen. Very often the medical needs
we see are beyond our scope to intervene: congenital defects, cancers,
etc. Yes, we will see conditions we don’t often or ever see
in the US. Yes, we will treat everything that we are able!
However, what we do most when we are there is LOVE people, TOUCH people
(vital signs, washing wounds, playing with kids, holding babies), and
ultimately share with them the good news of the great physician that
we serve. We will have opportunities to share our faith stories
with the people we serve. The fact that we love them enough to
come to their country gives us a reason to share with them the God we
serve.
We will be staying in Paamul at a small
hotel in the complex where the missionaries live and their church is
located. It is safe and secluded and westernized.
Flight plans (the travel agent is working to make final arrangements) right now are:
AirTran:
Depart ATL 3 APR at 930A arrive CUN 1028A
Return CUN 8 APR at 1225P arrive ATL
423P
Cost: $525 (unless a cheaper flight can be secured through the travel agent)
Each person is responsible for the
cost of their airfare and baggage fees.
Payment is due as follows:
$100 deposit on November 16, 2009
$150 payment due Monday, December 7
$275 payment due Monday, February 8
Failure to pay within 24 hours of due
dates without prior arrangements with Karen Shumaker can result in your
spot being given to someone on the waiting list.
Space is limited to 25 students. To be considered for the trip, you need to turn in the following on Monday, November 16, 2009 (I will be at CUPS from 1-3 pm):
Participants are responsible
for: cost of airfare, meals en route, snacks and souvenirs,
one nice meal out in Mexico, passport costs, any vaccine boosters or
travel meds, and arrangements for getting to and from the airport.
Faith in Practice provides:
all in country costs: lodging, meals, materials, transportation, supplemental
travel insurance, and a t-shirt. (This is a cost of over $600 per person
being provided for you through a generous grant from the GA Baptist
Healthcare Ministries Foundation)
Who is sponsoring the trip?
This spring break mission trip is not
endorsed by nor provided by MCG/SONAT. It is solely provided for
SONAT students through Faith in Practice Faith. Practice along with
this trip is a ministry of Baptist Collegiate Ministries at UGA/SONAT
(see info at www.ugabcm.com) and the GA Baptist Convention. NO,
you don’t have to be Baptist to be involved! We gladly serve
alongside students from many different church and faith backgrounds.
However, we will be actively engaged in ministry with Baptist missionaries
and churches in the area. You will be expected to actively and
happily participate in all activities and church services while we are
there and to refrain from promoting or practicing any teaching that
is contrary to the beliefs and practices of those with whom we serve
(see Statement of Faith below).
For more information, you can contact:
Karen Shumaker, campus minister,
BCM 706.549.2747 karenshumaker@charterinternet.
Team Member Expectations:
Small groups meet:
Monday nights at 8:00 pm/Thursday
nights at 8:00 pm/Wednesdays at 4:30 pm for one hour.
Statement of Practice
The commitment of Baptist Collegiate
Ministries is to be a part of sharing the gospel both at home and around
the world. Applying to serve on this mission trip means your agreement
to the following:
1. I am willing to set aside personal preferences, habits, and schedule in the interest of others to fulfill the ministry of the project to which I am assigned and to seek to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. I understand there are variations in practice and understanding of scripture in some areas of doctrine, Christian living and witness. In serving with BCM, I will abide by the standards of the project to which assigned in all areas including dress, entertainment, activities, etc. This includes a willing agreement to abstain from the use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco and to be sensitive to cultural and regional church expectations and standards.
3. Due to varied viewpoints
on some Christian doctrine (examples: spiritual gifts, security
of the believer, baptism), I agree to refrain from promoting or practicing
any teaching that is contrary to the beliefs and practices of the mission
I serve. The statement of faith below outlines the beliefs held
by Baptist Collegiate Ministries.
Statement of Faith:
The following represents BCM’s position on our essential beliefs:
About God – God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
About the Father – He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with providential care over the universe and the flow of human history goes according to His purposes and plan.
About Jesus – Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally existed and became man at His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He bodily arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
About the Holy Spirit – He is the third person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth, exalts Christ, convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment, cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God and seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
About Scriptures – The Bible is God’s Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the
supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it has salvation for its end and is truth without any mixture of error.
About Human Beings – People are made in the image of God and are the supreme object of God’s creation. All of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. Sin separates people from God and causes many problems in life.
About Salvation – Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one received Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
About Eternal Security – Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose ” your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
About Eternity – People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separate from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
About Baptism by Immersion – We believe that scriptural baptism must be: (1) by being completely immersed under the water and (2) after salvation. Jesus was immersed and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. These two facts sets the standard for baptism today. Baptism has no saving power but is the first act of obedience symbolizing (1) the believer’s faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, (2) the believer’s death to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ, and (3) the Christian’s belief that he will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect him from the dead.
About the Lord’s Supper – The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers
remember the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second coming. The bread is symbolic of His body and the juice represents His blood.
About Tithing – We believe in giving the tithe – ten percent of our gross income (not net income) – as the biblical standard of giving. The tithe is to be given as an undesignated offering to the “storehouse” ministry of a local church. According to the Scriptures, we are to give cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth.
About Evangelism – It is the duty of every born again follower of Jesus Christ and of every church to endeavor to make disciples of all men everywhere. It is the command of Christ for every believer to seek
constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel
of Christ.
About the Church – A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by their common faith and fellowship with Jesus. A local church is to observe the two ordinances: (1) baptism and (2) the Lord’s Supper. The church should exercise their God-given gifts and extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The church is an autonomous body serving under the Lordship of Christ. All members are equally responsible as they serve with the scriptural officers of the church, the pastors and deacons.
About Christian Unity – To live in harmony with other believers is clearly the teaching of the New Testament. It is the responsibility of each believer to endeavor to live in fellowship with each member of the congregation. It is further the responsibility of each member to bring all gossiping and backbiting to an end.