Name (age)

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Site Name

Name (age)

1) Crusade dates: The crusades will begin on Friday evening, July 26,  2002 and conclude on Saturday night, August 10. That means there are 16 evening meetings plus three more on Sabbath mornings, making a total of 19 messages. It is likely that only one person would deliver a brief message on the last Sabbath if a mass-baptism is planned.

2) Travel dates:  I'm suggesting that the crusade speakers and other team members plan to leave on July 23 for Europe, arriving there the morning of the 24th.  They would continuing their flights to Togo probably arriving there later that evening.  The crusade concludes on Saturday night, August 10 so the homeward flights can begin on Sunday, the 11th.

3) Orientation: I (R S Folkenberg) normally plan to spend an orientation day, in-country, on Thursday immediately before the beginning of the crusade.  However, since I will be in the middle of a campaign in Rwanda at this time, my plan is to meet at CAUC for this orientation a few weeks before graduation.  Representatives from the division, union and local field will meet with the guests on that Thursday for local orientation.

Hotels: "Hotel du Bénin" has been selected as the site where guest evangelists will stay.  The rooms are airconditioned, have two beds in each room.  The average room cost is $30 per day. Anticipating double-occupancy, the cost would be $15 per day per student.  The hotel's address, telephone number and a picture will be added as soon as these arrive.

Insurance: Insurance coverage is being requested from General Conference Risk Management Service for all those participating in this evangelistic campaign whose names, age, address (postal and e-mail) and phone numbers appear on this list.  Coverage will begin on the day of departure and be in effect for 21 days or until arriving in the United States, whichever comes first.

English Decision Cards: (NEW) The decision cards may be downloaded in English by clicking on the highlighted phrase at the beginning of this section.  I have just completed work on the French Decision Cards for the guest evangelists see as well as for the Rwanda Union leadership so they can download, print and distribute these to the campaign sites prior to arrival.

Translation: The graphics which will be projected during the crusade will be in French while each sermon will be translated from the pulpit into either French or a local language. 

Telephone: It is possible to buy pre-paid phone cards and call to the US or Canada from most public telephones. I will try to find out if credit-card call are possible.

Electricity: The country uses 220 v, 50 cycle electricity so you will need to bring transformers for any electrical appliances that are not dual-voltage (Note: Most laptop computers and video projectors are).  Many outlets will accept American-style plugs, but it is safer to bring some adaptors to the European-style plugs (two round prongs).

Compuserve access:  I will find out and insert here any instructions regarding local access numbers to connect to CompuServe in Togo.

Climate: During the crusade we can expect temperatures to range between 80 and 90 degrees farenheit, cooling down in the evenings into the 70s.

Water:  It is important for every guest to assume that tap water is not potable.  However, bottled drinking water is available.  Guests may want to purchase a hand-held water-purification system at your local camping store to use to purify the tap water.

Medication: Gastro-intestinal disorder (Montezuma's revenge) is the traveler's scourge when visiting a part of the world in which you must consume anything that is unfamiliar to your digestive track!  Problems are inevitable, even to the most cautious. So the word is, be careful, listen to your body, and then respond quickly.  I'm no doctor and will not give you medical advice, but I will tell you what I do (and these steps have worked during some of the most "trying" situations).

(1) I am careful what I eat and drink, especially uncooked vegetables, but I don't worry about it.  (2) I listen to my body.  If know from experience it is easier to stop the problem before it becomes serious than waiting to address it after it's too late.  Meanwhile, I'm miserable and my work can be undermined.  So, as soon as I realize trouble is "on the way" I will take one or more of the following medications: a) Imodium (treats the symptoms, but provides welcome relief), and/or b) one of two antibiotics prescribed by my physician:  Either Cipro (one 250 mg. pill in the morning and the other in the evening), or Avelox (one 400 mg pill per day).  Either of these has an immediate and positive effect on me and helps eliminate the problem before it become serious.  If I didn't "catch it" in time, then I may take Imodium to provide short-term relief, as well as take the antibiotics.  Obviously, you must consult your physician before you leave on your trip and secure such medication as he/she recommends, since you are unlikely to find the same medication sold under the same name in another country.

Malarial prophylactics: Malaria is endemic to much of the African Continent.  I do urge you consult your physician and/or your area public-health department about taking medication to help prevent this disease.  For many years Larium (or Lariam) was the medication recommended by the General Conference Health Department for their traveling staff. Recently a new mediation has been placed on the market which was recommended to me by County Health Department.  It is called "Malarone."  Since I'm away from home I don't have the documents with me to confirm the spelling but I will correct this paragraph when I get home.  However, this should be sufficient for your to mention to your physician or health department and to get their recommendation.  What is important is that you take the medication prior to, during, and upon your return home, in harmony with the recommended dosage pattern.  While you're in country be sure you go out you spray yourself with mosquito repellant.

Inoculations: While the government does not require any particular vaccinations, on general principles I  recommend that travelers secure some of the readily-available vaccinations such as: Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, and Hepatitis B, Typhoid, Meningitis, and Tetanus.

Hyperlink: It is very important that guest evangelists read very carefully the section on "personal health" found on the "General Information" page.  Be sure to go to the organization linked here (www.tripprep.com) and read the information on that page regarding inoculations and prophylactic medication for Malaria.

Meals: Meals can be taken at the hotel at a cost of $18 per day for three meals. 

Airline tickets:  CAUC is free to secure tickets from any source.  However, I do encourage all to secure a competitive bid from Mrs. Julia Reid, at Mission Travel.  She has long experience with the General Conference with international travel arrangements and access to discounted tickets through contractual relationships with the airlines.  Her phone number is 240-568-6300.  Her fax number is 301-725-6492.  You can also reach her by e-mail at:  MissionTvl AT Juno.Com

Travel Documents: Each guest evangelist MUST have a valid passport and visa for Togo prior to leaving the US.  Please click on "Travel Documents" to download a visa-application blank.  Please send TWO completed application blanks and four photographs to Ms. Diana Jo Beeler at the General Conference (12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904), along with a check for US$60 made out to the General Conference of S.D.A. (US$45 for the cost of the visa and US$15 for the courier service to submit your passport and application and retrieve it for you). If you have any questions in this regard, feel free to call Mrs. Beeler at (301) 680-6258.  You may also fax her at: (301) 680-6197. The traveler must have a vaccination certificate for Yellow Fever and airline tickets for the continuation of his/her trip.

Immigration: When you arrive in Ghana you will go through both immigration and customs. Be sure to tell immigration that you will be in the country until a date of your choosing, but it should be a week or so beyond your scheduled date of departure.  It's better to give yourself a few extra days to cover any eventuality. Though it is standard operating procedure BE SURE your  passport is stamped with the date of entry when going through immigration. Immigration authorities will be looking for that stamp when exiting the country and not having it is likely to cause may create unnecessary and frustrating delays, questionings, etc.

Customs: Church leaders will do their best to notify customs officials of your arrival and the graphics equipment you are bringing.  In spite of that, it will be FAR better if your laptop and video projector arrives in something looking like a suitcase or a briefcase and NOT in a box.  If a customs inspector happens to review your bags it could be that you will be delayed and they could ask you to pay duty, a situation that is less likely to develop if you've packed the equipment as I mentioned. The Carolina Conference graphics equipment does come in a heavy duty case designed to be carried on or checked.

If a customs inspector should happen to open your bags and find the equipment explain that you've been invited to present some lectures and you need this equipment for that purpose.  If their concern continues it is because they are afraid you will sell the equipment to someone in the country and leave it without someone paying duty.  In that situation invite them to note in your passport that you are bringing the equipment in the country so, on your way out, you can show it to Customs so they will see that the equipment is indeed leaving the country. 

In the worst case, you may need to leave it with Customs and then we'll have to ask church leadership to go through the formalities to retrieve it--hopefully in time for the opening meeting.  As you can see, all these problems are likely to be avoided if you pack this equipment in something that doesn't attract the attention of the inspectors. 

NEW "Jesus" Videos: I shipped to Dr. Lawrence 12 Life of Christ in French, and then received word from local leadership, that they prefer that the videos be in Ewe, the local language.  So, I have ordered another 12 tapes in this language and arranged for them to be shipped to Dr. Lawrence at CUC.   We will request the union to arrange for a video tape player to be loaned to each campaign and the video can be projected on the projector each evangelist will bring.  However, don't forget to bring that tape with you since we will not have any extras.

Local Transportation: The Togo Mission will be responsible, at their expense, to assign someone to transport each evangelist from the hotel to the meeting site and return him/her to the hotel each night..