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Departure Info:

We will meet at 9:00am on Monday, July 21. When you arrive, you can put your luggage in the trailer...then help us get all of the supplies loaded...and then we'll head out.  If you want a backpack or pillow in the bus with you, make sure you keep it in a place where you can get to it. 

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Things to know about Southern Christian Home:

 

Work Clothes Needed:

We will be doing some work projects and also spending time with their residents. For our work, you will need some clothes which can get dirty and at least one set of clothes (and shoes) which you can paint in.  We have always needed painting or deck staining clothes.  Not 100% sure we will again, but we think they will have us doing some painting.  If you have a pair of work gloves, you might want to bring those too.  Our three  work days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  

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Dress Code:

Because the children's home deals with children from a wide variety of backgrounds, they have a dress code which they ask all people on their campus (including visiting groups like ours) to abide by.  These guidelines are directly from them and need to be followed Monday night through Friday.  Sorry if you don't like it...you're probably used to not having rules about this, but we're stepping into their world for a few days, so please be respectful of their request.  

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• Shorts should cover more skin on the thighs than skin showing. So, at least mid-thigh in length.  They specifically asked for no Nike cheer type shorts or short shorts for girls.  They ask that if anyone has leggings or yoga type pants, they should be worn with longer shirts. 

• Shirts should provide adequate coverage at the neckline and through the armholes. This includes shirts that expose the chest when bending, reaching, or leaning. They ask that tank tops not be worn. 

• Undergarments should not be visible at any time. 

• No alcoholic messaging, profanity, or any kind of anything should be on
  any clothes, shoes, backpacks, etc..

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Packing List:

• Clothes for each day

          Keep in mind:
           clothes for traveling on Monday and Friday;
           clothes when spending time with students Tuesday - Thursday;
            clothes for work projects;
            one set of clothes that can get wet during water games;

Please do not wear any expensive name brand clothing when we are with their students.  This is not a super strict rule, we just don't want to come in as a bunch of people who have fancy-type clothes when many of the students we will work with don't have much of anything to their name except what the children's home has given them.  So, just use good judgment.  It's impossible to avoid all name brands - we recognize that - and small nike or adidas or other name brands are fine...again - not a super strict rule.  Youth group shirts and school shirts and other clothing w/o expensive name brands are great.  The new summer t-shirt (Renew Your Strength (based on Isaiah 40:31, btw)  is a good one to bring.  You can get one on Monday morning before we leave if you do not have one yet or are not able to get one in the next week.   

• Enough socks and underwears to make it through the week

• Important: Dark tshirt and shorts for swimming on Friday.  They are pretty strict on swimming - not
  so strict that boys and girls can't swim together - but instead, strict about what is worn.  For guys: dark
  shirt and shorts or swim suit.  For girls: dark shirt and shorts.  You can wear a swim suit underneath if
  you want.  (Dark just simply means can't be seen through like a white shirt can...so red or blue or green or
  whatever is fine, just not white and not see-through-able.)

• Shoes to work in and shoes to wear when spending time with their students

• Clothes/pajamas to sleep in

• Toiletries

• Towel (at least 1...but probably 2)

• Sleeping bag and pillow

• If you have any prescription medication which needs to be taken while on this trip, please have it in a ziplock bag with instructions and turn it in on Monday morning.  Over the counter medication is okay to have in your own bag. 

• Bible

• Pen

• Water-bottle

• Plastic washable cup to use at meals - nothing fancy...one you would get at a sporting event concession stand or anything similar is fine.

 

Optional things:

• Snacks

• Money for snacks/drinks on the way to/from Arkansas

• Games for the bus ride (and to play with some of their students)

• Flashlight

• Bug spray

• Sunscreen (we'll have some if you do not have any)

• Camera (other than on your phone

• work gloves

• Clean movies for the bus ride to/from Morrilton

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Cell Phones:

If you would like to bring your cell phone to Arkansas, we will provide an envelope for you on Monday when we check in, and your phone will be placed in our phone box. We do not plan to pass out cell phones during this trip. You are welcome to use Monty's phone at any time during the trip to call your parents if you need to. We're not trying to keep you from your parents...just trying to help us all be engaged in the trip and not on our phones all the time.  We're also working with students who - unless there is a special circumstance - do not have a phone of their own and probably never have had one. 

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Other Electronic Devices:

The following things are not allowed on this trip: earbuds/airpods, iPads/tablets, video gaming devices, televisions, blenders, refrigerators, hot water heaters, drones, droids, electric lawnmowers, air compressors smaller than 12ft x 8 ft, vacuum cleaners, computers.

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Other things not to bring:

weapons/knives of any kind; anything illegal; any kind of alcohol, tobacco or drugs, or e-cigarettes; anything intended to play a joke on anyone

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Money for Meals:

You will need money for lunch on the way and one meal on the way back.  All other meals are covered.

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Our Return:

We plan to arrive back in College Station sometime on Friday evening, July 25.  Our goal is

around 3:00pm.  We will keep parents informed via email and we will try to provide a link to see
our real-time location. 

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Financial Stuff: 

The cost for this trip is $125 or $175, depending on when you sign up.  And if you are doing both

Trek and HS Mission Trip, there is a discount for each.

Not sure we will get a chance to let you know how much you have

paid or how much you owe before we leave, but we will get that info to you at some point.  We

may have to get financial stuff finished up after this trip is over because of the Paint-o-Rama,

Mega Days, Horizon, and Trek stuff being so close in proximity to each other.  But we will let

you know as soon as we can.  

 

Financial assistance stuff, if you're interested:

Having said that, if you would like to take advantage of an offer from our Mission Action Group, you can earn some money for this trip just by serving.  For those who volunteered at Paint-O-Rama or Mega Days, here is a link to the a form you can fill out:  https://amchurch.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/35/responses/new

It's a fairly long form.  Just fill it out as best as you can.  You don't have to get every answer correct.  The Mission Action Group has said they will pay $65 toward this trip for two times volunteering.  So, if you'll contribute $70, they will fund the rest.  (And if you need more help than that, let Monty know.  Glad to help!)    AND...if you are doing another summer mission thing which the MAG is helping with (like Cozumel) they ask you to get separate volunteer hours for each trip. 

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Here are some additional things to know:

• Girls will be staying in one house on the children's home property.  Guys will be in a different house on the property.

• We will be cooking most all of our meals.  Some of the meals we cook will be meals we eat with the residents and staff at SCCH.  We will need everyone's help when it comes to cooking and cleaning up.

• Some of our work projects in the past have included: cleaning/organizing in some of their buildings; doing some work at their farm; staining a deck attached to one of their buildings. 

• We will work on Tuesday and Wednesday during the day, and spend time with the students on campus during the evening.  Some of us will also go to VBS at one of the churches in the evening.  On Thursday we are hoping to spend most all of the day with their students.  We're going to Petit Jean State Park to swim and eat lunch.  The plan and schedule is flexible and may change at any time, but this is our current plan. 

• Remember that this is a service trip. It's not about you. We want you to be ready to work, ready to serve, and ready to sacrifice. It's going to be a great trip and a lot of fun, but if you're thinking it will be an, "I'll sit back and let everyone else do the work so that I don't have to" kind of trip...well, it's not that kind of trip.  Come with a servant's heart!

• Be ready to get along with everyone, be Christ-like in your actions and words, and be a peacemaker at all times.  

• This is not a trip to help you find a boyfriend or girlfriend.  So, be friends with everyone.  Don't be looking for love.  Enjoy the time we get to serve others, build friendships, and share God's love with others. 

• Be flexible.  Be tough.  Be optimistic.  This trip has a lot of things which may change or which we will have to figure out as we go...so be ready for unexpected things which may come up during the trip. 

• We'd like to ask you to be praying about this trip.  If you have not already been doing so, pray about the work we'll do, your involvement with this trip, what God wants to teach you on this trip, how you can serve others in big ways, and for everything we do to be a part of God's will. 

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Super hot weather and bus trips...

Buses are not like cars, and the a/c systems are different.  There is more space to cool and sometimes the bus a/c units have a hard time keeping up.  Even though our bus holds its own when it is working properly, it doesn't always work properly.  So...these are some things you might want to keep in mind...

   1) If you have a hand-held fan, you might want to bring it.  Each seat has a USB and regular power plug.

   2) If you have one of those hand-held fans with a water sprayer on it, or if you have a separate water sprayer, you might want it.

   3) If you have a good water bottle in which you can put ice-water, you might want to bring it.

   4)  If you want to bring a beach towel or blanket or something to keep between you and the leather seats, you might like it.

   5) Anything else you can think of to help keep you cool if it's warm inside the bus is great.

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If you have any other questions, please let us know.  Again, so glad you're able to go with us to Morrillton!