First Year on the Field

Team Departure and Settlement

Each team has a send-off where their families, representives from the team's sponsoring churches and staff from Great Cities Missions meet to encourage and pray for them on the day of their departure. The team is escorted to the airport with all of their family and many suitcases. It is an emotional moment for everyone involved.

The very next day after the Team Departure, the team arrives in their designated host city. Continent staff members along with on-field resource people, will welcome them and help them to settle in.

• During the next two weeks they will obtain necessary documentation, rent and furnish a place to live.
• If they have children, they enroll them in school.
• It is a time to open bank accounts, secure a language teacher and even purchase groceries at the local neighborhood market.
• It is also important to note that each family or single missionary arrives on the field with an on-field-emergency packet. This packet contains all the important information needed in case of a family emergency or crisis within the family, the team or the host country. This information is vital for emergency planning.