Throughout the college experience there are always questions to answer. One of the biggest is “what are you going to do when you graduate?”.  Perhaps you desire to be a part of the world Christian movement, but are not sure what the next step is, or where your gifts can be used. GET Global can aid in the process as you seek God’s will for your life.  In some cases, GET Global has been able to arrange trips in cooperation with colleges and universities so that students have the opportunity to earn credit during summer, January or May term.

Each GET Global participant must have at least one prior cross-cultural experience.

2008 Trips

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2008 Trip Descriptions

Guatemala :

Guatemala, the “land of trees”, is a beautiful, heavily forested and mountainous nation. The most populous country in Central America, it is a land of diversity- from the coastal lowlands to the volcanic Sierra Madre, from the highlands to the forested northern lowlands. The highlands, where most Guatemalans live, has a temperate climate compared to the tropical lowlands.
Mayan ruins dot the landscape. Today more than half of all Guatemalans are descendants of the ancient Mayan peoples; the rest of the population are known as Ladinos (mostly mixed Mayan-Spanish ancestry). Ladinos use Spanish while Mayans speak some 35 indigenous languages and many retain traditional dress and customs.
After orientation in Orlando, you will be flying to Guatemala City, where you will have a chance to learn about the Mayan culture, and you’ll tour Antigua, the colonial capital of the region. There you’ll see the influence of Christianity on the Mayan population.

Then you’ll travel through the mountains to Huehuetenango. This picturesque town has a lively market. Coffee growing, sheep raising and agriculture are some of the main activities of this area. Here you’ll meet missionaries who are actively involved in helping the established churches to grow and become sending churches.

Next will be a trip to San Miguel Acatan where you’ll be introduced to the K'anjob'al people. Many are coming to Christ and are forsaking the traditional religion. They are an industrious people who enjoy meeting outsiders and sharing with them. You’ll be able to live for several days with families in their homes - working, visiting and eating with them. Eating Guatemalan tortillas, tamales, and drinking atole, you’ll experience a new, and delicious, diet! You’ll also learn some of the K’anjob’al language with the help of the veteran translation team and in your interactions with K’anjob’al people.

As your experience draws to a close, you’ll stop for a visit to the Zaculeo ruins. This Mayan city was in use at the time of the Spanish conquest. A stop at Lake Atitlan will allow you to learn about the beginning of the vision that became Wycliffe Bible Translators, as founder “Uncle Cam” Townsend served there.

Pre-requisite: At least one previous cross-cultural experience.

South East Asia :

This Southeast Asian nation is home to perhaps the world's greatest diversity of cultures and languages. The majority religion is Islam, although Christians are in the majority in the area where the team is going.

Participants will begin with an orientation in a town in the mountains in a farming area. Here you have an introduction into the culture and the way of life. You will get to see different aspects of the translation work. You will witness Bible translation underway where several language groups are still without the Scriptures in the language that they understand best. Some time will be spent studying the language and culture and living with the people in a village.

After a two-day debriefing period at a relaxing location your group will return to the U.S. with a new understanding of what's involved in reaching the unreached in one of the most challenging parts of the world, and you may gain fresh insight into how God would have you prepare to invest your life in that challenge.

Pre-requisite: At least one previous cross-cultural experience.

Guinea Bissau :

Guinea-Bissau is a undiscovered gem of West Africa - a.small coastal West African country on the Atlantic Ocean and just to the South of Senegal. The people speak a host of local languages and Creole together with Portuguese and a little bit of French.

Although a relatively small country. Guinea-Bissau’s beaches and wildlife are exceptional while West African traditions and Portuguese colonial remains can still be seen. On the coast, there are fishing villages surrounded by forests, whereas further inland the country is dry and dusty.

The islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau (the Bijago Archipelago) are of exceptional beauty. Turtles, sharks, manatees, and a very special and very rare form of hippopotamus that lives mostly in salt-water can all be seen here.

You will have the opportunity to live among the Balata people group. It is an exciting time to be visiting the Balanta as they are on the verge of getting the New Testament in their heart language. Publication will probably happen during the time you will be visiting the group.

By living in the homes of the people, you will learn about the daily activities and customs of the Balata, including the interesting custom where the young men paint themselves and roam the countryside for a year before settling down to family life.

In the village you will prepare for the coming New Testament by helping construct Big Book Story books and helping the children learn to read in their own language before the arrival of the New Testament. With only a little instruction, you will be able to teach a small class of children to recognize key words and start their journey of reading their own language. Participating in dramas and videoing the dramas to share with the whole village in the evenings will also be part of your many experiences while on this exciting trip.

Pre-requisite: At least one previous cross-cultural experience.

Mexico :

Mexico, although a modern and developed country, still boasts several thousand indigenous people living in these relatively isolated communities. GET Global sends teams of young people to experience work within these remote mountain regions in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico.

You and your team will start off at one of our centers in the US. From there you will head down to Oaxaca, Mexico. After spending several days in Oaxaca becoming acclimated to the language and culture you and your team will head off for a Zapotec village where you will live for the next 4-5 days of the trip. During your time in the village, you will have the chance to build relationships with your host family, learn some of the Zapotec language, experience translation work and provide English language workshops for people in the village. After your time in the village, you and your team will head to the Wycliffe center in Mitla. There you'll have the chance to meet up with Wycliffe personnel, ask them questions and experience life on a center. You and your team will stay overnight and tour the old city of Mitla the following day. From there, you will travel back to Oaxaca (visiting a Zapotec weaving village on your way). You'll spend one last day in Oaxaca shopping and relaxing before heading back home.

If you choose to take this amazing adventure you will walk away with a deeper love for people without the Word of God, as well as a passion to join God’s work among those who still have not heard about His Son in their own tongue.

Pre-requisite: At least one previous cross-cultural experience.

Sudan :

The Republic of Sudan is the largest country in Africa but it is a country that has many diverse parts. The people in some parts of the north relate more to North Africa and the Middle East while the people of the south relate more to sub-Saharan Africa and use English for education and local government. The south has many natural resources, such as agricultural land, minerals and oil. The country is a huge flat plain that is desert in the north and bordered on the south, east and west by mountains that are drained by the Nile River. The southern region of Sudan contains savannah grasslands with some trees and scrubby bush, with heavier forest toward the southern border. The grassland is the home of cattle-herding people like the Dinka and the Nuer, while the Zande, Keliko, and others practice agriculture in the more forested areas. After more than 20 years of civil war in southern Sudan, in January of 2005 a peace agreement was signed, allowing the people of the south to return to a more normal way of life again.

Christian missionaries entered Sudan more than 100 years ago and there are now many churches in the south. However, many of the language groups still have no portion of the Bible in their language and rely on someone to read and explain to them the Scriptures that are available in a neighboring language or English.
After orientation in Waxhaw, North Carolina, your trip will begin with a stop in Entebbe, Uganda. From there you will go to Juba, Sudan, where you will be oriented to the work of SIL in Sudan, learn some of the local colloquial Arabic phrases and observe some mother-tongue translators at work. You will also get acquainted with the members of the Keliko team working there.
The Keliko live on the southern border of Sudan where it meets with both Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Ethnologue reports that there are 22,500 Keliko, with 10,000 living in the Sudan. The area consists of low lying hills with deep valleys and drained by perennial streams. The climate is warm with a high rainfall spanning 8 to 10 months a year. The Keliko are agrarian but also keep goats, sheep and fowl. They cultivate food crops: maize, sorghum, cassava, sesame, beans, sugar cane and sweet potatoes; and cash crops: tobacco, coffee and tea. The Keliko culture is expressed and transmitted orally in songs, dance, poetry and folklore, and they practice various handcrafts, such as weaving baskets.
You will have the opportunity to spend time with the Keliko people, getting involved in their everyday life, and learning the language and the culture. You will find that the ritual of hospitality is very important in the Sudan. You will be able to take part in some activities to encourage the use of the newly published Keliko Scriptures, including the books of Genesis, Luke and Acts.

Pre-requisite: At least one previous cross-cultural experience.

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