Preparing To Come – Hawaii

You have been selected to join the YWAM Ships Kona Hawaii Team! In the pages of this Preparing to Come Pack, you will find tools and information essential to your preparation. Please read through this information carefully.

Preparation Checklist

The following checklist is designed to assist you as you prepare:

  • Apply for American Visa if Needed
  • Book Flights
  • Purchase Health / Travel Insurance
  • Application Fee of $50 USD
  • Full Lecture Tuition of $3995 USD plus any materials fees (dependent on course)
  • Room and key Deposit of $100 USD
  • I have read through the entire Preparing to Come PDF
  •  I have been officially enrolled into the course, and all of my forms have been sent in requested by registrar
  • Immunizations are up to date and sent through to Registrar
  • TB test completed and a copy has been sent through to Registrar
  • Copy of Valid Health insurance sent through to Registrar
  • Full Lecture Fee $3995 has been payed 1 month prior to arrival day including $100 room deposit
  • Flights purchased for required date of arrival. Itinerary has been sent to registrar
  • Hawaiian protocol gift packed
  • Negative COVID test done through  trusted Hawaiian travel partner sent through 72 hours upon arrival

Items to be emailed to [email protected]

  • Flight Itinerary
  • Travel Insurance

Items to bring with you in your carry on:

  • Passport
  • Health Insurance
  • Welcome Gift

COVID-19 Testing and Quarantine

The state of Hawaii has mandated all travellers to have a negative COVID test result from a trusted travel partner within 72 hours of the transpacific flight across to Hawaii. We, at YWAM Ships Kona, have also required that all incoming students send the negative test results to [email protected] before you land, so that we can be cleared to pick you up from the airport. Please let us know if you are not able to get a COVID test from one of the trusted travel partners for Hawaii. Click on this link to find out where you can get a COVID test!

https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/

For up-to-date information on how to be prepared before traveling here, you need to check out this page. – https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/

To summarise, you will need to create an account, then fill out the health questionnaire, and then put in your trip details. Once you receive your negative COVID results, you will upload the file onto this portal. They will then give you a QR code that they will scan when your flight lands in Hawaii. If you don’t do this, the State will require you to quarantine for 14 days. Once you land here, we will pick you up and bring you to the YWAM Ships Kona Campus. The Department of Health has recommended that we also implement a 5-7 day quarantine upon your arrival in Kona because we are an institution and our living space is tightly compacted. Once you have been in your room for at least 5 days, you will get a second COVID test, and you will be released as soon as you receive a negative result.

Here is a short video the State has put together that also describes the process. – https://travel.hawaii.gov/

Our heart and desire is always to abide by the recommendations of the State and to implement any measures that would be wise to follow through. We know that it is a challenging time to travel and figure out all of these details, so we really appreciate your flexibility and cooperating with us so that we can offer this DTS and make sure everyone here and in the community is safe! Between now and your arrival day, be on the lookout for any changes, and we will communicate with you if anything does shift, but for now, this is the most up-to-date advice we can give you!

We have found great ways to be able to start the DTS via Zoom during those 1-2 weeks of quarantine so that you will not miss out on any of your time in DTS. Lectures will begin the Monday following your arrival. You will still be able to have many connection points every day and start the amazing journey of DTS in that time. No better way to spend a quarantine!

Arrival and Departure

We ask that all trainees MUST arrive on the official day of arrival into Kona International Airport (KOA). This is when Registration Occurs, and Orientation Starts the Following Morning.
Please Note: If Trainee does not arrive on the official day of arrival housing will not be available until the morning of the Arrival day. So If you arrive anytime the day before you will have to sort out your own accomodation and transportation.
Hawaiian Protocol Gift – This is a small gift from your home. Ex: Sweets, non perishable food items or a Souvenir of some sort. Feel free to chat to your registrar with any additional questions as well.

All Quarter Arrival Days:

  • January 6, 2023
  • April 7, 2023
  • July 6, 2023
  • September 28, 2023

Departure Days:

  • January DTS:
  • April DTS:
  • July DTS:
  • September DTS:

Payment Information

For payment instructions go to: www.ywamships.net/donate

If paying by Visa, MasterCard or American Express please add 3% to cover bank fees. Any fees incurred from receiving payments to YWAM Ships Kona will be passed on to the trainee.

You can also pay by Checking/Savings, USD cheque, USD money order, or a wire transfer.

For questions regarding methods of payment, you can contact the YWAM Ships Kona finance office: [email protected]

For questions regarding fee amounts and balances contact: [email protected]

Please Note:

When paying by wire transfer please add USD $35 for bank fees.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

$50 USD Application Fee: Due Upon Submission of Application

Full Lecture Phase Fees: Due One Month Prior to Course Start Date

$2500 USD Outreach Fee Deposit: Due Week 4 of Lecture Phase

Remaining Outreach Fees: Due Week 8 of Lecture Phase

* Unable to give exact outreach costs until plane tickets have been booked.

  • Application Fee: Non-refundable
  • All student fees: Prior to Arrival 100%
  • During 1st week of classes 95%
  • During 2nd week of classes 85%
  • During 3rd week of classes 70%
  • During 4th week of classes 60%
  • During 5th week of classes 50%
  • Beyond 5th week of classes 0%

  • $50 USD Application Fee: Due Upon Submission of Application
  • Full Lecture Phase Fees: Due One Month Prior to Course Start Date
  • $2500 USD Outreach Fee Deposit: Due Week 4 of Lecture Phase
  • Remaining Outreach Fees: Due Week 8 of Lecture Phase

* Unable to give exact outreach costs until plane tickets have been booked.

Health Insurance & Vaccinations

All trainees attending courses at YWAM Ships Kona, and family members accompanying them, are required to have health insurance. You are required to provide proof of insurance at registration. If you arrive without insurance, you will be required to purchase some as part of the registration process.

Travel/medical insurance will be provided in your outreach fees (DTS only) for the time you will be outside of the USA.

Please research health insurance / international health insurance / travel insurance companies. Choose a plan that best fits your needs and budget.

YWAM Ships Kona does not recommend or endorse any one company, in the past trainees have used Christian Healthcare Ministries, Good Samaritan, or Medishare. However, we recommend you do your own research and choose your own plan.

Please show us your verification/certificate as well as dates of coverage of insurance or a copy of it on arrival day. You can also send a copy in advance to [email protected]

Up to date vaccinations are a requirement for joining us here at YWAM Ships. Please ensure you have: Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Hep A and B, Polio, Typhoid

If you are unsure if your vaccinations are up to date please see your health care provider.

For Outreach we also recommend you get: Malaria

To find out exact vaccination recommendations for your outreach location please click here: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list

Living In Community

Please come to all campus and school events “prayed up” and with an attitude of faith, fully expecting that God will show up! Your personal attendance, punctuality and full attention at all campus and school events are very important.

Hawaii is known for its casual atmosphere and warm climate. God calls us to a lifestyle of purity within our hearts and in the way we ‘outwardly’ live our lives. Let’s together go the extra mile to make sure we present ourselves with modesty and in a loving way regardless of our cultural grids by taking the more conservative road to keep from offending not only those from other cultures and backgrounds but also to represent ourselves, YWAM Ships and the Lord in an honouring way.

General: Dress code should always be modest. We realize this means different things to different cultures so we ask that during business hours or while events are being held on our decks, please wear footwear, avoid short shorts, spaghetti strap tops for girls, displaying undergarments, and guys please wear a shirt with a sleeve.

Pool Deck: We have an unusual situation here with our offices and living area built around a pool so there are often staff and guests moving around with swim wear in full sight. We ask that when swimming in our pool, girls wear a one-piece suit or a tank top over a bikini and please cover up whenever you are going between the pool and your room.

These are not only YWAM values but we believe it is on the heart of God for us to live our life pleasing to Him, loving and preferring others and loving ourselves.

We believe in marriage and want to be a community that supports the development of healthy relationships. What better place for two people who love God and are called to missions to “find” each other?! However, the development of any relationship—whether romance or friendship—should not divert an individual from growth or separate people from the community. All relationships should be built on openness, inclusion, integrity and purity.

For the sake of respecting each other’s private space, cultural sensitivity, and so that our “good is not evil spoken of,” we ask that single men do not enter single women’s rooms and vice versa.

Jesus called us to refuse to allow any form of immorality in our midst (Revelation 2:18-29). Immorality is any sexual activity that is outside the heterosexual marriage covenant, whether physical, verbal or technological (Internet), etc. 

(Romans 1:18-27) If you find yourself struggling in any of these areas, please confide in your school, department or ministry leader, or another godly leader on campus that you respect so that he/she can help create a process of support and accountability for you. Our commitment to purity is strengthened when we have solidarity as a spiritual family in our unified stand for holiness.

All YWAM Ships trainees should be addiction-free and refrain from engaging in any behavior that is illegal, harmful to their bodies, or damaging to the discipleship process of others. If you find yourself struggling in any of these areas, again, please confide in your course, department or ministry leader, or another godly leader on campus so that he/she can help create a process of support and accountability for you.

Smoking, consumption of alcohol and all illegal drugs are prohibited at YWAM Ships Kona.

In the Bible, there are some standards for conduct that are “absolute.” Refraining from being drunk is one of those absolutes. However, the drinking of alcohol in moderation is not so clear-cut. Jesus turned the water into wine, not grape juice…but God also commanded John the Baptist not to drink wine.

Romans 14 addresses areas of “cultural sins” that are relative to the values we received through our families, cultures, denominations, etc. We want to appeal to you to take the most conservative view regarding alcohol, in order not to stumble or to cause others to stumble.

Whatever your personal convictions—and we do not judge those—we request that there be no drinking of alcohol in any YWAM facility or at any YWAM course/seminar, department or ministry event, whether on or off campus.

Please do not encourage anyone from a non-drinking background to take

even one drink. You may not know their family history regarding alcoholism or

what it could cost them within their cultural or denominational background.

Rather, do everything possible to help everyone succeed in their walk with God and enter into their full spiritual inheritance.

NOTE:

All DTS trainees are not to drink alcohol during the entire length of their lectures & outreach.

Helpful Information

1 Checked bag is recommended. Bring essential items and if possible collapsable baggage or trekking backpacks as there are limitations to storage/space.

Hawaii is generally a humid island. Evening temperatures year-round range from 65-82 F (18–27 C). Daytime temperatures are higher. December thru March, it gets cold early morning and late at night. You may need long-sleeves such as sweat shirts and a blanket, especially during these months.

YWAM Ships Kona housing is dormitory style. All single trainees are housed in rooms with 4 people. Families and Married Couples are given their own room.

We encourage you to bring a laptop or other wireless device. The responsibility for the security of personal items is yours, so please be prepared to be prudent with all personal items of value.

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Three meals are provided daily-you may want to budget for snacks and personal items.
 For those with dietary restrictions please inform your registrar so we can pass on the information to our kitchen. But please note, any person preferences can not be upheld by our kitchen. So be prepared to purchase your own food if necessary.
A mini fridge, microwave and a small kitchenette will be provided for students use as well.

Coin operated washers and dryers are available for use at YWAM Ships Kona.

Mondays through Fridays are focused on course work, work duties, and other class activities. Weekends are generally free with the exception of projects that may be assigned by your program.

Only second level course trainees may live off campus. The trainee must declare their intention no later than a month prior to Arrival Day.

Make sure you have a valid passport for at least 12 months from the time you arrive. Please bring your passports with you.

C/O *Your Name* YWAM Ships
75 – 5687 Alii Drive
Kailua Kona, HI
96740, USA

Foundational Values

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) affirms the Bible as the authoritative word of God and, with the Holy Sprit’s inspiration, the absolute reference point for every aspect of life and ministry. Based upon who He is, and His initiative of salvation, the following responses are strongly emphasized in YWAM


WORSHIP: We are called to praise and worship God alone

HOLINESS: We are called to lead holy and righteous lives that exemplify the nature and character of God

WITNESS: We are called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him

PRAYER: We are called to engage in intercessory prayer for the people and causes on God’s heart, including standing against evil in every form.

FELLOWSHIP: We are called to commit to the Church in both its local nurturing expression and its mobile multiplying expression.

 

The Foundational Values of Youth With A Mission are the expression of our basic beliefs, coupled with specific directives given by God since YWAM’s beginning in 1960. They are recorded here in order to pass on to successive generations that which God has emphasized to us. These shared beliefs and values are the guiding principles for both the past and future growth of our Mission. Some are common to all Christians everywhere; others are distinctive to Youth With A Mission. The combination of these beliefs and values make up the unique family characteristics of YWAM–our “DNA.” They are values we hold in high regard which determine who we are, how we live and how we make decisions.

Packing list

  • Light Bedding / Sleeping Bag
  • Pillow
  • Towel and Face Cloth
  • Toiletries
  • Medications
  • Shorts
  • Pants
  • Skirts or dresses for Women
  • Short Sleeve Tops (you must have tops with short sleeves for outreach, tank tops or spaghetti straps are generally not acceptable in most South Pacific countries)
  • Long Sleeve Tops
  • Rain jacket or Poncho
  • One Piece Swim Suit for Ladies
  • Board Short for Gents
  • Sturdy Shoes and Flip Flops
  • Bible
  • Journal
  • Laptop/Tablet/Phone (at your own risk)
  • Passport / ID
  • Health Insurance ID
  • Hiking Backpack

Optional:

  • Snorkel Equipment
  • SurfBoard
  • Musical Instruments ​

Note: S​torage space is limited, so please only bring what you think you will need/use