|
|
 Mark Frog Harris |
I Can’t Afford To Go To The Field!
June 30 2008 / ShareHim in Guatemala, May. 23 - Jun. 7 '08 #302by Mark Frog Harris
Personal Testimony of Mark Frog Harris.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2008 – I had been out of work for a year and in school, completing my degree. My unemployment had run out and it was time to get back in the work force. But, before I did so, why not give the Lord some of my time? I had to wait for school to process my paperwork anyway before I would have any credentials to get a decent job.
That was my situation as I approached the summer of 2008. I had already planned to do another ShareHim trip. I chose Guatemala this year. It was close; the time fit my schedule; and they spoke Spanish, which I was learning. Problem – funding my trip.
I had some funds socked away which I had planned to use. They were limited. I started to shop online for a cheap airfare. Things were not encouraging, as prices were in the six to seven hundred dollar range. I noticed that TACA tended to be the best fare on several services and remembered someone telling me at the Phoenix Lay Evangelists’ Festival that it was a good airline. On their website, I found a fare of $333.30 from Dulles. This was much cheaper than flying directly from Philadelphia. I would have to drive down to Washington, D.C., but I have family there who could get me to and from the airport and hold my car.
Food in Central America tends to be reasonable and I don’t eat a lot. I usually do my own laundry with powdered detergent which I bring. Breakfast was included with the room which was listed as $41 for a double. However, this year evangelists had to pony up $1,200 to cover the organization’s support expenses.
This how it worked out: ShareHim fee $1,200.00
Airfare on TACA, booked on website 333.30
Room, 19 nights at $41 split with roomie 389.50
Food and miscellaneous 223.00
Damaged Equipment:
video cable and laptop screen, est. 120.00
Spanish Dictionaries (lost mine at zoo) 80.72
Total spent: $2,346.52
Note that I own my own equipment so there is no equipment rental fee here and I splurged a bit with so many dictionaries to choose from. I plan to replace the LCD screen myself with one found on eBay to repair my laptop which fell. The biggest expense here was the $1,200 fee for overhead. This can be avoided in some cases where a conference or school pays for it. They also may take care of the equipment rental fee.
We already had AA batteries for my digital camera, but I used a set of rechargeable first every day to stretch them. Memory chips are reusable, only prints cost cash, and I don’t print many. So don’t despair, going on a ShareHim trip need not be terribly expensive, perhaps even less than $1,000. You too can do it!
That was my situation as I approached the summer of 2008. I had already planned to do another ShareHim trip. I chose Guatemala this year. It was close; the time fit my schedule; and they spoke Spanish, which I was learning. Problem – funding my trip.
I had some funds socked away which I had planned to use. They were limited. I started to shop online for a cheap airfare. Things were not encouraging, as prices were in the six to seven hundred dollar range. I noticed that TACA tended to be the best fare on several services and remembered someone telling me at the Phoenix Lay Evangelists’ Festival that it was a good airline. On their website, I found a fare of $333.30 from Dulles. This was much cheaper than flying directly from Philadelphia. I would have to drive down to Washington, D.C., but I have family there who could get me to and from the airport and hold my car.
Food in Central America tends to be reasonable and I don’t eat a lot. I usually do my own laundry with powdered detergent which I bring. Breakfast was included with the room which was listed as $41 for a double. However, this year evangelists had to pony up $1,200 to cover the organization’s support expenses.
This how it worked out: ShareHim fee $1,200.00
Airfare on TACA, booked on website 333.30
Room, 19 nights at $41 split with roomie 389.50
Food and miscellaneous 223.00
Damaged Equipment:
video cable and laptop screen, est. 120.00
Spanish Dictionaries (lost mine at zoo) 80.72
Total spent: $2,346.52
Note that I own my own equipment so there is no equipment rental fee here and I splurged a bit with so many dictionaries to choose from. I plan to replace the LCD screen myself with one found on eBay to repair my laptop which fell. The biggest expense here was the $1,200 fee for overhead. This can be avoided in some cases where a conference or school pays for it. They also may take care of the equipment rental fee.
We already had AA batteries for my digital camera, but I used a set of rechargeable first every day to stretch them. Memory chips are reusable, only prints cost cash, and I don’t print many. So don’t despair, going on a ShareHim trip need not be terribly expensive, perhaps even less than $1,000. You too can do it!