We will be flying into Manila and then through various modes of transportation going to the island of Mindoro to minister to the Manyan Tribe. 

Oriental Mindoro is a province in the Philippines located on the island of Mindoro under Mimaropa region in Luzon, about 140 kilometres (87 mi) southwest of Manila. The province is bordered by the Verde Island Passage and the rest of Batangas to the north, by Marinduque, Maestre de Campo (or known as Sibale but official name is Concepcion) Island, Tablas Strait and the rest of Romblon to the east, by Semirara and the rest of Caluya Islands, Antique to the south, and by Occidental Mindoro to the west. Calapan, the only city in the island, is the provincial capital and Mimaropa's regional center.

Oriental Mindoro is touted as the country's emerging eco-tourism destination. 

The cost of the mission experience is $3,300 per person. Due to exchange rates and increase in inflation, this may change slightly but we will do our best to keep it as close to $3,300 as possible. We will do our best to fundraise as much as possible but each participant is required to pay any portion not fundraised. 

Additional cost - any needed shots, spending money food while traveling etc. 

Pastor Marcel will be leading the Team. Pastor Marcel has been to the Philippines 4 times and has traveled to the Manyan Tribe.  Pastor BJ Fermin will be our in-country host. Pastor BJ is the Director of "Love Beyond Boarders".

We will be flying with Philippine Airlines. See full flight itinerary above.   

You will be responsible for getting to Vancouver International on Feb 8 and home again on Feb 21.  We will need you to be at Vancouver International Airport 3 hours in advance so please be on time. You need to be at the airport no later than 6:45 pm.   When you arrive, please meet in the international section by the Philippines airline check in station. I (Marcel) will be there waiting for you.  

Once we are checked in, we will spend time in prayer before you say farewell to family. 

LEAVE A COPY of your flight itinerary with the person picking you up.  This way they know when you arrive back in Vancouver and can get the status of the flight - we may be delayed. 

You will need to have a valid passport for 6 months following our return. You passport should be valid until August 2023.  No visa is required for a stay of up to 30 days in the Philippines. When you enter the country, your passport will be stamp with a visitors entry stamp. 

If you are under the age of 18 at time of travel, PLEASE have this form filled out and notarized prior to our departure.  (Consent Letter for Children Travelling Abroad)

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/children/children-travel

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/children/consent-letter

Various vaccines are required and recommended to enter the Philippines. We encourage you to reach out to the Fraser Valley Travel Clinic to find out what you need and when you need it by.  This is the travelers expense.  Fraser Valley Travel Clinic. 

As of Nov 18, 2022: 

Vaccinated passengers can travel without a Covid-19 test and/or quarantine. Unvaccinated travelers must have a negative antigen test taken no earlier than 24hours prior to departure.  These rules change on a regular basis, keep checking back often. We will do our best to keep you up to date but please do your own research. 

NOTE! See Side for clarification - https://www.ivisa.com/philippines-blog/philippines-vaccine-requirements-do-i-need-a-vaccine-to-travel-to-philippines

If you are under the age of 18, please fill out this form and have it notarized.  In order to get you through customs without any hassle, this form is needed.  Scan Marcel a copy and keep a copy on your person while we travel. 

CONSENT FORM

Baggage allowance is stated on your e-ticket.  We do ask that out of your baggage allowance you keep one suitcase free to bring along need gifts - toys for the kids etc.   PLEASE REFER TO YOU E-TICKET FOP LUGGAE ALLOWANCES. 

It has been confirmed that while in in the tribe, we will be sleeping inside the church.  The ladies will be in one large tent and the men in the main area - all inside.  

You will need to pack a sleeping bag/pillow (see below about buying a sleeping bag in Manila). We will need to bring one (1) large tent for the women. We are sleeping on a concrete floor so if you want to bring a small mat of some sort, that may be helpful and good on the hips. 

May I suggest that you bring a sleeping bag/pillow etc that you can donate to Love Beyond Borders at the end of our trip. 

NEW:  It has been confirmed that we can buy a sleeping bag at SM Mall which is directly across the street from our Hotel.  This is optional, you can pack a sleeping bag or you can buy one at the mall.  Sleeping Bag: 1,888 peso = Approx. $50.00 CND

The weather is going to be warm but cool at night so please pack accordingly. Here are some suggestions: (for all clothing, please keep modest)

• Passport, Vaccination card - pack in your carry on
• One change of cloths in your carry on just incase your luggage is delayed
• Shorts, but no short shorts.
• Pants - we could experience rain. Come prepared for wet and dry weather.
• Closed toes shoes for hiking
• Flip flops for the shower, sandals for day-to-day in the village
• Water Sandals. This could be the same pair from the above note or an additional pair. Good to have a pair for the shower as well. 
• All toiletries - extra toothbrush
• Towel
• Feminine Hygiene as needed
• Hoodie or sweater
• Light Coat
• Socks, Underwear etc
• Bathing Suit
• Hat
• Mask or two
• travel size hand sanitizers
• Bedding - sleeping bag/pillow
• Bible
• flashlight - led rechargeable
• note book
• mosquito repellant
• Imodium - this comes in handy. 
• We will continue to add as we learn more about our experience

To reach our ministry location, we will be traveling by canoe so life jackets are required. The canoe can hold 4 people so we will be making 3 trip across the river or more. How fun!  We will buy 4 life jackets at the SM Mall when we arrive. Life Jackets: 888 peso = approx. $21.00 CND

Yes, it is safe to travel in the Philippines.  Like any country you travel too there are risk involved. We will have Filipino's with us to help learn the lay of the land, what to eat and not to eat, share their 'street smarts' with us, all in an effort to keep us safe. 

Remember, no news is good news. Communication will be difficult so do not worry if you don't hear from us. If there is an emergency, we will connect with you. 

We will be eating good Filipino food prepared for us by our own chefs.  It will be safe to eat.  When we are with host families we will be required to eat what they serve us. Not to eat would be extreme disrespectful and a hindrance to our ministry.  We will be doing a lot of praying.  The water is not drinkable so we will be drinking bottled water while in Manila and boiled water at the Mangyan Tribe. 

Good rule of thumb. Ice prepared with purified water will have a whole in the middle.

The electrical outlets are 220 volt and 50 cycles so you will need a transformer if you want to plug in your hairdryer, shaver etc.

• Don't get annoyed if people stare at you. If they find you interesting, even exotic, they'll want to take a good look at you
• Do treat senior citizens with particular respect. Always greet the elderly if they are in your presence,
• Do allow Filipino's a way out of any awkward situation.  Especially, for example, when they may risk a possible 'loss of face'  - a painful and embarrassing moment like trying their English. 
• Don't be punctual - yep, you are reading that correctly.   A word that will become familiar is 'Filipino Time'.  Events will not start on time - just get use to it. 
• Do take your shoes off before entering a home no matter how dirty the home may be.  Shoe off unless given permission otherwise. 
• Do take a taste of all food offered to you. This may be challenging at times but very important. If you like it, remember to leave a little on your plate to show that you enjoyed and enough. 
• Don't remain silent in company, unless you want to imply you're not having a good time or like being in present company. Attempts to spend time alone are doomed to fail from the start. If you need quiet time, go some place truly secluded. 

They may look the same and have the same function but they are not toilets.  If you were to ask - "Where is the toilet?" or "Do you have a washroom?" you are committing a rude offence.  You must at all times, whether in the heart of Manila or in the tribe of Mindoro, call them COMFORT ROOM or CR. 

If you want to say yes but the traffic is to loud or you just have bad breath, all you need to do is raise your eyebrows. Raise them once and everyone will know you are responding with a resounding yes.  Just be careful not to raise the brow when you are just being friendly - awkward situations may arise for you. 

If you want to call someone but they are too far aware to yell, you may want to signal them with your hand. There is a proper way and an improper way for you to do this. You can do this with the palm of your hand facing down and use all fingers. If you signal the way we signal with one finger, palm up, to a Filipino, you are calling over a prostitute - awkward moment we want to avoid. 

Trust is important! Not matter how full a jeepney may become, and trust me, they pack them full like sardines, you have to pass your peso from one person to the next so that the driver will receive your payment. If you are expecting change, it will come back to you the same way. It will get handed down from person to person until it reaches you.  Trust is important. 

• Keep you money and important items in your front pockets. 
• Keep your passport close. It will take a long time to get you another one and it will cost plenty of money. This will be your cost if you lose it. 
• Do not pay for a taxi until all your luggage has been removed from the vehicle. 
• Do not bring along anything that is expensive - jewelry, camera's etc. 
• Do not give your name or hotel name to anyone that is not connected to the team. 
• Remember that where there are tourists there are thieves. 
• If someone runs up to you telling you someone has stolen your wallet etc. Stay calm and move on. Do NOT immediately reach for your valuables. By doing so, you just gave the pick pocketer valuable information. Pick pocketers usually work in teams. 
• Beware of Calesas (horse drawn cabs) for they are on the look out for tourists like us.  The driver will convince you to get in for a picture and drive off before you can exit the cab. Before you know it, you owe a 1000 peso's or more. I have a personal story about this that I can share. 
• Be sensitive using hand sanitizer and facial expression. There are going to be smells you are not use to and place are not going to be clean.  Facial expressions and public use of hand sanitizers may come across as offensive. 

It would be recommended to take along $300 USD (small bills) for gifts. If you plan on buying a lot, bring more. Credit cards are accepted, bank cards probably not. 

YES!  

You will have plenty of opportunity to share your faith story with people - either one on one or in front of a crowd of people. Come ready to share a 3-5 minute testimony.  Will you need to share - most likely. So come prepared. You story is a huge encouragement to the people. After all folks, this is missions trip - we need to share the love of Christ.  When talking, try to not share 'Christian-ese' words or Canadian references such at Tim Hortons's etc. Write it out before you leave. 

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If you would like to try your hand at giving a homely - a 15 minutes message. Let me know.  Trust the Lord to lead - this may be a wonderful opportunity to share what the Lord has been placing upon your heart. 

Remember:

• Your target audience - church, kids, adults, youth
• to keep it to 5 minutes or less but no less than 3 minutes
• to give God all the glory
• to give a challenge - "God can change your life as well"
• to keep it personal - use a story how God changed your life. 

Start you by...

My name is (Ako si ________ taga Canada) 

Every day we will meet as a team debrief the days events. You will be asked "Where did you see God today?" Keep your eyes and heart open to the move of God around us and in us.  

We will also spend time following the Acts 2 model of the early church - prayer, scripture reading, fellowship.  We will take time to read through scripture together and spend significant time in prayer.  

We will also go over the next days events and any preparations that need to take place.

Group Dynamics is always a good time to bond as a team,