T-minus... and counting...

Crew! We are now officially ramping up the tighter part of our timeline to leaving for India, and as such, i wanted to give you a quick listing of upcoming dates you should be aware of, a thumbnail of what to expect, and the heads-up that we will be sending you more info on all these items as each grows closer.

Monday, June 4: Team Training #3: Culture - Photo Safari
* Mandatory!
* 6:30 - 8:30 pm
* GCC Jungle Room

* See a "start to finish" compilation from other teams in regard to the sepcifics of what you will see from the time you leave GCC until the time you arrive back home. We'll have ample opportunities to talk about each stage of travel, what you will do at each segment, and what to expect along the way.

Monday, June 18: Indian Food Simulation: Star of India
* Non-mandatory... but lots of fun and free food!
* 6:30 - 8:00 pm
* Star of India on Grape Road
* Want to get some practice on eating "Indian style" at one of the area's best local Indian restaurant? Come with us to try Briani, Dahl, Roti, Nan, "Chicken 65", a host of other delightful and traditional Indian foods, along with plenty of Indian Chai Tea. Come hungry, leave your wallets at home... but no smuggling forks into the restaurant! That's cheating!

* We'll be asking for RSVP's, so you'll want to check your schedules now to make sure you can come!

Thursday, June 21: Shots (Round 1)
* The SJC Health Dept will be on campus at GCC to administer the first round of shots
* 5:45 - 6:45 pm
* Meeting Room by Staff Offices

* Don't worry... if you don't know where the Staff Offices are, we'll have someone in the Atrium to direct you.
* Please come prepared to pay for your own shots (we'll be in contact about how much each costs, etc.). You may also raise support to cover the cost of shots, but be aware of the fact that such increases your total amount to raise, and therefore the amount necessary for your "full support due".

Monday, June 25: Team Training #4: Team Exercise & Basic Medical
* Mandatory!
* This training session is a time of fun and great information! Check out a past team's event by clicking here.
* We will be joined by Mr. Scott Crouch of the Niles Fire Dept for our venture into "The Laser", a unique team building exercise that perpetually facilitates a lot of fun, and a few laughs in the process.
* We will also be joined by Mr. Dave Cherrone of the Clay Fire Dept and head of the GCC Medical Team for some basic medical preparation for the field. This training includes a CPR refresher, how to deal with heat, dehydration, basic first-aid, insect and other bites/stings, etc.

Friday, July 13 - Sunday, July 15: Sleep Simulation Exercise
* Non-mandatory... but please participate.
* This will help you to "get a feel for how you will feel" on an "average day" in India, and will provide you with critical recon on such things as your physical fitness, how you handle and engage emotional stress, and how prepared you are for some of the rigors of travel. It's also a fun team-building exercise, and some of you will be interviewed by our very own Gene Ort through the process.
* Details on this will follow, but the general schedule is as follows:
- Friday night: sleep on your floor. Doesn't matter if it's carpet, linoleum or dirt. You don't have to try to to "tough it", but just don't haul your matress onto the ground.
- Saturday morning: report to MC3 at 7 a.m. just ahead of the 2nd Saturday teams. You'll work hard until 2 p.m., and then will be dismissed to run home and grab a shower.
- Saturday evening: come to the 5:30 p.m. service and join the rest of the team. We'll sit together.
- Saturday night: sleep on your floor. Same drill as Friday night.
- Sunday morning: See how you feel. That's a pretty good indicator of how you will feel on any given day in India. If you feel terrible and unable to function, that's a pretty good indicator that you need to step up your physical fitness regimen. If you feel awesome, you should apply for entrance to the US Navy's "SEAL" program. :- )

Monday, July 16: Full Support Due
* The total balance of your support is due on this date.
* Please remember that this is a "hard" cut-off. If you don't have your full support by this date, you will either need to meet the difference out of pocket or postpone your participation to the next cycle.

Monday, July 16: Team Training #5: Edification & Psychological Prep
* Mandatory!
* We will be honored to have two very special friends with us on this evening: Ron VanderGriend and Dr. Ron Craker.
* Ron VanderGriend is the Vice President of Ministry at The Bible League, and has personally helped to pioneer church-planting movements in over 30 countries, as well as having served as a "career" missionary in the Phillippines. Ron will be helping us to understand what it means to have a "Ministry of Edification" while in India, and how to develop the appropriate mentality before going.
* Ron Craker is a Developmental and Family Psychologist who has been a critical player in the development of a number of systems here at GCC ranging from weekend services to our Life Coaching teams, and is now helping us with our ministry teams to develop excellent care processes both before and after going to the field.
* 6:00 - 8:30 pm
* GCC Jungle Room

Thursday, July 19: Shots (Round #2)
* The SJC Health Dept will be on campus at GCC to administer the second round of shots.
* 5:45 - 6:45 pm

* Meeting Room by Staff Offices
* Please come prepared to pay for your own shots (we'll be in contact about how much each costs, etc.). You may also raise support to cover the cost of shots, but be aware of the fact that such increases your total amount to raise, and therefore the amount necessary for your "full support due".

Saturday, July 21: Little India Trip
* Mandatory!
* We will have an opportunity to spend the day with our friends at the Southeast Asian Friendship Center in Chicago (click here to go to their site). We'll get to hear the hearts and lives of those who have come to Christ and grown up in India, as well as immerse ourselves in Indian culture for a day.
* We'll leave GCC at 8 a.m. sharp, and return somewhere around 7 p.m.
* Lunch and dinner are provided, but you'll need to make sure that you eat breakfast before you come.
* Would suggest $20 or so in "personal spending money" just in case you see something you'd like to pick up along the way.
* Wear good walking shoes.

Monday, July 23: Team Training #6: Packing & Protocols

* Mandatory!
* Want to know what to pack, how to pack, and what not to pack? We'll deal with all your travel related questions during this training session, and i'll even bring in my personally packed gear so that you can see how i do it (minus the underwear, of course :- )
* 6:00 - 8:30 pm
* GCC Jungle Room

Saturday, July 28: Luggage Check
* Non-mandatory, but strongly recommended!
* How is your gear? Want to know for real? Join us for a quick hike through "India climate simulation" with all your gear just the way you're going to pack it. I guarantee that at the end of it, you'll wonder whether or not your industrial sized bottle of hair gell is "really" necessary :- ) On top of that, however, we'll practice how the team will move through airports, how we'll keep track of all of us and our gear, and also learn how to move with "shared luggage" such as media equipment and "Smurf" gear (i.e. Smurf gear = gear that Ron VanderGriend gives us to shuttle back and forth to India for the Indian church planters).
* Noon - 2 p.m.
* Potato Creek State Park
* Again, our friend Gene Ort will be filming, and having as many team members as possible to participate will increase the overall fun, so please plan to be there.

Monday, July 30: Team Leaves for India!!!
* Blast off!!!