Overview

International flights depart from various USA locations and arrive in Lima, Peru from 11:00 pm Saturday- 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Upon arrival in Lima, a Peruvian host meets the team in the Lima airport and assists with customs and luggage as everyone is escorted to a bus which will take the team to a hotel for the night. Make sure to pack plenty of snacks for Saturday evening. It is not uncommon to be served a snack instead of a meal by the airlines. After a continental breakfast on Sunday morning, the Peruvian host again meets the team with a bus headed back to the airport. The host then assists the team with seat assignments on the in-country flight leaving to Iquitos, Peru around 7:30a.m. The designated Peruvian host does speak English, is Christian and is always a tremendous asset in caring for the Amazon teams.

If at all possible TSHM attempts to secure flights that allow the team to arrive in Iquitos, Peru by 11:00 a.m. The team is met by Mike Dempsey and transported to the Chosen Vessel and/or second ship where members are assigned rooms, fed, and allowed to sleep for a few hours. Once the team boards The Chosen Vessel (and other ship(s) if required), the group departs for the first village on the Amazon to be served by the team. Some team members are so excited by the beauty of the Amazon, they choose not to sleep but simply watch and soak up the beauty and awesome scenery of the Amazon River.

After a light noon brunch, Sunday evening is spent in a time of praise and worship and packaging supplies and/or medicine for the team’s work on Monday morning. Mike and Susie Dempsey provide a brief “Orientation to the Amazon” and spend much time getting to know the individual team members.  Supper is served and plans finalized by the team leaders for the weeks work. Lights are out and team members are asked to be in bed & asleep by 9-10 p.m. God is good. The upper deck of ship(s) provides a wonderful place for the morning and evening devotions and praise and worship. Again, because of having to rise early and the hectic schedule facing the team, lights are out and team members are asked to be in bed by 10:00 p.m. at the latest.

Rooms are air conditioned, sleep two people per room in bunk beds, have a sink, shower, and commode. Sorry, no hot water! However after your first day on the Amazon, you will welcome the cold showers. There is a 110 plug in each bathroom. All other vessels and/or hotels in Peru require a transformer and adapter. It is the responsibility of the team member to supply these items.

Please be aware, each team member is usually limited to 55 pounds of checked luggage – 25 pounds may be assigned supplies. Legal weight for a carry on is 11 pounds. Practice rolling & packing scrubs in your carry-on prior to the departure date! Last minute packing can be very hectic.  You will have to pack light. Scrubs are great, even if the team does not have a medical focus. Scrubs are light, take up little room, and are easy to rinse and wear again. Shorts are not allowed beyond the boat and must touch the knee when in a sitting position. Please read the dress code of the suggested packing for jungle trips. Remember, we come to serve and represent the life of Christ in all that we do – including our jungle attire.

The food aboard The Chosen Vessel will rival the best restaurant in town. It is a miracle if team members do not gain weight on this trip. God is good. Trust me. A little weight gain is worth it. Please be forewarned to diet before the trip; not during it! Between meals, soft drinks similar to American Coke and carbonated fruit drinks are available to the team free of charge. Free-safe drinking water is always available in a community container. Please make sure to bring a water bottle you can refill. The water from the faucets in each room is not drinkable. The water flowing to the cabins is treated river water!

Snacks are not sold on board The Chosen Vessel. Please make sure to pack enough snacks to cover the inevitable “sweet” attack in the middle of the Amazon. Pack all snacks in zip lock bags or you will be bedding down with a lot of little crawling creatures. M & M‘s and peanut butter travel well!!!! Pack all snacks in your carry on bag. Do not pack food in your checked luggage. The dogs used to check luggage go after the food! You do not want to draw attention to your checked luggage in the Lima customs area.

Monday – Thursday schedules run about the same. The Chosen Vessel docks during the night at the village where the team will work the next day.

• Breakfast:  7:00 a.m.
• Devotion:  7:30 a.m.
• Disembark to Village:  8:00 a.m.
• Set up and begin Project:  9:00 a.m.
• Lunch:  12:00 noon
• Rest:  1:00 p.m.
• Afternoon Project:  2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Free time:  4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Supper:  6:00 p.m.
• Evening Devotion/ Service:  7:00 p.m.

Clinics/project sites are set up to correspond to the program or focus of the team. Villagers are grouped as a family, presented the gospel then registered for the medical clinic or program presentation. After the medical clinic/project, the family will receive free medicines from the pharmacy aboard The Chosen Vessel. Individuals are given a 30 day supply of vitamins and a parasite treatment if > 2 years old, not pregnant, and not having a parasite treatment in the past 6 months.

Construction teams must raise $2,500 to provide a church construction project and/ or $1,500 to build a basic house. Well project teams must raise $1,800 to sink and dedicate a fresh-water well. We encourage teams that are presenting construction or well drilling projects to have members prepared to canvas door to door handing out tracts & gifts, inviting villagers to the evening services, and witnessing. Normally 2-3 people visit in the village each day as the rest of the team works on the project. Team members rotate so that everyone has a chance to visit in the village. At the end of the project, the team assists AMM in preparing and serving a meal to the people of the pueblo as the church or well is dedicated to the community.

Please know that family member names and their spiritual status are given to the local pastor at the end of the day on the river. Amazon Medical Missions always includes local pastors as a part of the Evangelistic thrust.  After the team leaves, the pastor of the village will receive follow up visits by trained pastors from Amazon Medical Missions to support, disciple and mentor the pastor as he works with the new converts.

Amazon Medical Missions also provides free quarterly conferences in their Nina Rumi compound for the pastors of all the villages visited by the teams. Your work in each village opens the door for continued spiritual teaching, river evangelism and church planting. God uses each team to show that He cares. Amazon Medical Missions continues to show and teach the love of God after the U.S. team returns home.

On Friday, the team spends the morning touring the Nina Rumi Compound in Iquitos and shopping in the local Indian market. Lunch on Friday is not included in the trip fees. Usually the team departs around 12:00-1:30 p.m. to Lima and arrives between 2-4 p.m. The Peruvian host meets the team again on arrival with an air conditioned bus large enough to hold everyone’s luggage. The team is taken on a short tour of Lima, to supper, and shopping in a large artesian market. Supper is included in the trip fees.  The host then returns the team to the airport in time for their flight home.

Please call The Servant’s House Ministries for more information or to reserve a specific week for your team. Brenda Sutton is available to assist with the formation of a team and to answer any questions that may arise. We supply hand outs that prepare team members from “Items Covered by Trip Fees” to “How to Pack for a Jungle Trip.”  An initial $300 deposit is required with each application. Trip deposits are applied towards payment of the total trip cost.  The total trip cost is approximately $1700.00 for a Saturday to Saturday mission trip. Extra days and side trips are quoted separately.  Airlines generally require a $40-$100 reservation fee (depending on the airline.) This is an amount above the cost of the trip but is returned to the team within 2-3 weeks of the team’s arrival back in the USA. An increase in the airline ticket will be the only item increasing the total cost of the trip. Timely formation of the team and payments are the key to holding down the price of all airline tickets.

A minimum size team must have at least ten team members. A full team for the “Chosen Vessel” is sixteen. Construction and well drilling teams can house up to twenty team members on the “Chosen Vessel.” – However sleeping arrangements are tight with twenty. If the team exceeds twenty-eight, Amazon Medical Missions has the ability to rent a larger boat for teams. Call today to reserve space for your team. The summer months June, July, and August fill up first. Most teams book at least nine months in advance of the trip departure date.

If you are an individual that desires to participate on a mission trip, but do not have a team, please call Brenda Sutton at The Servant’s House today.  We may be able to add you to an existing team that has space left for additional team members. God is good and faithful to supply. Will you answer the call today?