Puerto Rico
Spring Break Mission Trip
2019 Trip Highlights
Dates - March 21-March 28th, 2020
Location - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Price: $675 (Includes plane flight, housing, meals and transportation)
Initial deposit of $75
Final Payment due March 18th
Invest your Spring Break in something eternal…the people of Puerto Rico! Students reaching students to reach the world for Christ.
What is this Trip about?
First and foremost, this trip is about Jesus and his heart for the world and for people. It’s about being a part of helping to launch and establish thriving campus movements on campuses in San Juan. It’s about partnering with local churches and students to help reach their campus and their city. It’s about sharing the Good News of Jesus with students. It’s about building friendships with students from a different culture and country. It’s about experiencing a new culture and learning from the people we meet. It’s about learning to be more confident and prepared to have a good conversation about the Gospel. It’s about taking that confidence and experience back into the conversations you have with friends back at MIT, family members and anyone. This trip is not about coming to Puerto Rico for a vacation, though it will be a nice place to enjoy sunny warm days and the beach. So there is a part of the trip that is actually about fun and rest too, as well and enjoying fellowship with one another and building friendships. It’s about laughing, trying new things, meeting new people, and getting to know God better. Our hope is that you will leave with a deeper connection to the heart of God. This trip is more about what God will do in your life than what you will do for others. To be quite honest, we will probably learn a lot more from the people we meet there than what they will gain from us.
What will we be doing?
Most of our ministry focus will be on bringing the Gospel to students on campuses in San Juan and helping to launch ministries on those campuses. We will link arms with some students and leaders in country who want to reach their campus for Christ and help them expand and start campus ministries. You will get some great practical experience in sharing your faith and you may have the chance to train Puerto Rican students how they can share their faith. We will be giving you some great training and experience in talking to others about Jesus….and it will be stuff you can use for a lifetime. One desired outcome is that you will become better Gospel conversationalists (both in listening well to others and in communicating the Gospel and asking questions). We won’t be doing anything that you might picture when you hear the word evangelism. We won’t be standing in the middle of campus preaching. We won’t be forcing the message of Jesus on to anyone. We come on campus as learners and listeners. We seek to be relational. We are upfront that we want to hear what people think about spiritual things and then see where the conversation goes. Honestly, it’s actually really fun to see how God takes these steps of faith and turns them into great conversations that are meaningful to us and the students we meet.
We will have the opportunity to worship with a local Puerto Rican church and experience how they do church. We are also hoping to spend some time serving some of the local churches near campus.
When we aren’t doing ministry on campus or in the community we will have time to spend with God, learning from His Word, resting, exploring the city, experiencing the culture, trying new food, enjoying the beach and warm weather, and spending time together in community.
General Schedule for the week:
Saturday - Leave Boston (though we might leave late on Friday night if flight options are better)
Sunday - Visit a local church - explore the city - visit historic Old San Juan
Monday-Thursday - ministry days
Friday - day off - go to beach, visit a rain forest, go exploring
Saturday, March 28th, head to airport and fly back to Boston
Cost
$675 - There is a chance this price could go down depending on how much funding we raising from Cru alumni. We will also be setting aside extra scholarship funds for those who need financial assistance. See info below.
This is what is included in the cost:
Round trip airfare
Lodging for 7 nights
Ground transportation while in the country
Most of your meals - you will be given $160 to spend on food for the week. If you don’t spend all of that you can keep the leftover. We will have one or two group meals included in the trip.
Trip Insurance (this will cover and medical emergencies you may have)
Other Details:
We will be staying in a local hotel in San Juan, Dreams Hotel
You will not need a Passport or Visa to travel here. It is a U.S. Territory. If you are an international student you will be able to travel here without any having to get any new documents.
How to raise funds to pay for the remaining cost of the trip:
Many of us have raised financial support to help fund this missions trip. Friends, family, and churches have been very enthusiastic about giving to help send students on our Spring Break trips. Basically, this entails sending out letters to people about your trip and asking them to partner with you and send you on the trip. We will give you more information on how to do this.
Here is a sample support letter you can edit and send to people. Sample Letter
Here are instructions on how to go about raising financial support: Support Raising Instructions
If people want to give have them follow the instructions at www.mitcru.com/give. This is the preferred option for giving, if possible.
They can also send you a check directly - payable to you or Cru. If that is that case have them mail you a check we will help you process those donations accordingly.
Your deposits paid can be reimbursed to you if you raise the funds to cover your costs.
Scholarship Money:
We do have some limited additional scholarship money set aside to help those in financial need. You can apply for scholarship funds here. Feel free to email Chris at cswanson[at]mit.edu with any questions.