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There have been times in my life when I have truly been left on my own to figure things (whatever "things" might be) out. And in most of those cases, it didn’t even cross my mind to talk to someone who might have experience, or who cared about me. Often we hear about the value of independence, and honestly, it does feel good to figure something out and be able to say “I did it.” Mostly when things turn out positively.
Independence does have its place; it is something any maturing person needs to grow in. But more often than not, at least for me, I wish I would have thought to ask questions or talk to someone else who could actually help. It wasn’t like I didn’t have people around me who didn’t care, or have life experience I didn’t. While it rarely crossed my mind to think about asking something of someone else, I wonder if it was because I thought I would be a bother, that I was silly for needing help when “others could handle it on their own,” or just being embarrassed that something was hard for me to figure out.
I think this is especially hard when we realize we need help with life in general, not just fulfilling a certain task. And I think this is just as true for the Christian as we continue to have to negotiate our spiritual journey and our ever changing current reality. We cannot expect ourselves to know what to do all of the time when we’ve yet to have experiences in life that teach us and help us gain wisdom. In school, you are never, or at least you shouldn’t be, given a final test worth 100% of your grade on the first day of class. We cannot expect this in life from our independent selves.
The book of Proverbs is full of counsel for the young (and old) when it comes to walking well in life. Many verses are about our character growth being related to those we surround ourselves with and how they influence us. Wise people learn from wise people. In other places in Scripture, we read of great heroes of the faith and those who walked with them, in both their highs and lows. King David had the prophet Nathan, who helped him to see (at the risk of their relationship) the really bad decision he made had far reaching consequences with his relationship to God and led David to make things right.
In the New Testament Paul, one of the greatest mentors/disciplers to the early church, tells us to pass along the things we learn about God and life to others. We aren’t meant to do this independently, nor hoard insight and wisdom we have learned.
Mentors don’t have all of the answers to life’s questions, but their walk, faith, and history with Jesus can help guide us. There is incredible value in having someone gently and lovingly hold you accountable, to encourage you and pray for you, and to remind you what God stirred in your heart to sign up for a mission trip in the first place, especially when the fears creep in. Mentors have so much to offer, and, often, we have so much to learn.
When looking for a mentor, look for someone who is older than you or who has just a bit more life experience and is more mature in their faith. Reach out to your pastor or youth pastor for names of people who could mentor you if you can’t think of anyone. Read through Proverbs, look up some of the stories of Biblical characters (check out David and Nathan, Elijah and Elisha, Elizabeth and Mary) or the books of Timothy, Paul’s letters to his mentee, and pray for open eyes and a teachable heart for what the Lord wants to do in you, through your mentor.
Important Information
Booking Domestic Travel
This is the time of year when I start getting a lot of questions about booking domestic flights (to and from the summer). We know that flight costs increase the closer you get to your departure, and we want you to be able to book those tickets as soon as possible. However, we also want to balance that with possible international flight changes that sometimes happen this far out from the trip. Those changes could cause you to have to rebook your domestic flight, and change fees are pretty expensive. We will be sending out an Updated Mission Trip Schedule later in April along with all other Travel Documents, and you can begin booking flights then.
International Airfare
In your prep packet, we let you know that we are required to start booking international tickets at the beginning of May. Listed below are the actual dates we will be booking each trip. That means each participant must have enough money in her or his account to cover that cost on that day. If you have enough funds in your account, we will automatically book your ticket. However, if you don’t have the funds in your Royal Servants account, you may also give us a credit card to cover the cost.
We won’t charge your credit card—really! We will simply put a hold for that amount and then remove the hold when your account has enough funds to cover the ticket. We would only charge the card if you dropped from the program and didn't have enough in your account to cover what we paid for the ticket. Reign Ministries is only able to process holds for Visa, MasterCard, and American Express cards (debit cards may be used, but there has to be enough funds in the account and the hold will make those funds inaccessible until released). You can find more information on this under "Financial Deadlines" in your Preparation Packet booklet.
If you want us to purchase your ticket by putting a hold on a credit card, you will have to call the Reign Ministries’ office before the booking deadline. You are not able to use our online giving to place a hold. You can make a tax-deductible donation for your ticket online, but the amount is immediately charged. You can call our office 763-535-9555 ext. 721 for the Royal Servants Department or ext. 718 for the Finance Department. We are in the office weekdays between 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM CDT.
Please note: Donations made online via ACH giving (via your checking account) after April 23 may not clear the bank in time to count towards the airfare. Therefore, this online giving feature will not be available April 24 - May 13.
Trip - Airfare Cost - Booking Deadline:
Europe - $1870 - May 1
Kenya - $1970 - May 8
Nepal - $1790 - May 8
Costa Rica - $1100 - May 13
Ireland - $1250 - May 13
Peru - $1110 - May 13
Packing Tips
I've had a few questions recently about the pack that participants receive when they get to Training Camp. Just to clarify, the pack we provide is a large duffle bag that is specially made for Royal Servants and is used instead of a suitcase. It's really helpful for the entire team to have the same bag on travel days, especially when pulling our bags off of the baggage claim belt at airports. You will still need to bring your own back pack. You can find the dimensions we recommend in the packing list.
Also, there are some items (like shirts) that are listed both in the Training Camp and overseas section of your packing list. Please note that any items listed twice can be used for both, but some people bring clothes for Training Camp that they intend to toss and have slightly nicer items for overseas. Let me know if you have questions about that, or check with your Trip Leader.
ManagedMissions & Donating Online
We often get a lot of questions about the role of ManagedMissions versus how to donate to your account online. ManagedMissions.com is only used by Royal Servants as a reporting tool. It's a place for you to track your donations and what forms you have due. This is not where you or others will go to donate to your account online. To make a donation to your account online go to reignministries.org/sponsor-rs, click on Royal Servants Participants, then find your name in the list (note: your name will appear on the list around the same time you receive your Prep Packet in the mail).
If you haven't received the invite email to your ManagedMissions.com account, let me know and I'll have that resent to you (make sure to check your spam folder).
Biographical Questionnaire
If you haven't already completed your Biographical Questionnaire, please do that as soon as possible.
Nehemiah Team Only
Nehemiah Team, please note that your team is on a different time schedule than our other teams this year, so some of the deadlines you see in the PreSummer Letters will not pertain to you. Please be sure to read all emails sent to you from your Trip Leader with your team specific information.
TIP: If your registration has been accepted, be sure to read through all of the materials sent to you. There is some pretty important info in that packet - make sure you don’t miss a thing!
If you haven't submitted your registration, don't worry, you still have time! Go hit submit today!
If you have any questions about Royal Servants or the registration process, please email us at lmacdonell@reignministries.org.