We are pleased to be able to use an excellent program developed by Dr. Lois Webster. Her formal education is in English with a subspecialty of ESL. Her educational background coupled with her experience has allowed her to put together an exceptional program for teaching/training conversational English. The methodology presented in the training classes and in the manual is applicable to all skill levels. It does not depend on an interpreter or the use of the native language. Click here for further information.

Along with the conversational English program, we also encourage students through Bible Studies. This part of the program is optional, but nearly everyone joins in and it is very effective even where we do not have a formal program. As instructors and students get to know each other questions naturally come up about faith and beliefs. It is at these times, that students are most receptive to your biblical perspective.  The students develop their listening comprehension during these periods of interactive study of the Bible.

Qualifications - ACCTS endorses the model of servant leadership demonstrated by Christ in His walk on earth: "He came not to be served but to serve." Serving can be difficult, especially in a foreign culture. However, it is an attitude of the heart expressed in our lives and our interactions with the people we serve. These are some guidelines that we look for in our facilitators:

• Personal Relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ
• Ability to speak American English as a native
• Teaching experience either by formal training or practical experience
• Dedication to the mission of ACCTS/AELT
• Willing to learn, with an ability to focus and organize their work
• Team players who are flexible and take initiative once they understand their duties
• Generous with time and treasure
• Willing to prepare ahead of time
• Good health and physically capable for the task
• A genuine liking for people and a strong desire to serve others for Christ
• A cheerful and positive attitude
• Passport at least eight months beyond the return date AND several blank pages. Click here for further information on US passport.

Application - If after reading the above material you wish to join us, please fill out the Volunteer Application Form. It will be automatically sent to the ACCTS office and we will contact you as soon as possible.  Please take a copy of the Faith Reference Form to the appropriate person and ask him or her to complete it and send it to the indicated address. 

Financial Assistance - ACCTS is a service organization and relies 100% on donations.  We, therefore, have to ask all applicants to be responsible for raising their own support.  Any donation made to ACCTS by or on behalf of an applicant is 100% tax deductible. 

There are two trips this summer: Ukraine and China. Click on the name of the country for current information, but please remember that some of the information is still in coordination and might be changed. If you are interested, please begin the application process and attend one of the training courses. This way you will be qualified in case a short notice opportunity (at perhaps another country) becomes available. You might also ask yourself the questions in the "Am I ready" article. Whether or not you go, these questions are still worthy of thought.

Ukraine: 14 days (dates to be determined; likely late June, early July)

Location:  Camp will again be located near Chernihiv about 150km north of Kyiv in the rolling hills of northern Ukraine near the Belarus/Russian/Ukrainian borders.  The camp is located in a forested area outside the city and has a full size soccer field as well as a basketball court, auditorium and other activity centers.  There is ample space to relax and engage in building relationships with the Ukrainian campers and staff.

Conversational English:  Each year we have a wide variety of English skill levels but they fall into three fairly broad categories:  beginner, intermediate, and advanced.   These can be further broken down depending on the number of students in each classification.  One of our goals is to have a student/instructor ratio of 10:1.  This facilitates our goal of developing oral communication and listening comprehension skills.  Many of the campers have had English (especially grammar and vocabulary) courses taught by non-native speakers and need to practice oral communication with native American English speakers.

Bible Study:  Many people throughout the world are turned off by “religion” but are very interested in learning about Jesus.  My responsibility is to proclaim Jesus and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.  The Bible Study planned for this year is entitled “The Suffering Servant-King”  I encourage you to click on the link and view/download the study as you prepare for this exciting time.

Application Form:  Please fill out the application form and submit it to me at russbonnie@yahoo.com I will have a filled in copy of the release form for you to sign when we meet each other.   

Costs:  ACCTS is a service organization and relies 100% on donations.  Therefore all applicants are responsible for raising their own support.  Any donations made to ACCTS on behalf of an applicant are 100% tax deductible.  The cost is approximately $2500. This is based on the availability of a $1900 roundtrip airfare to Kyiv from Denver.  We have team members from different parts of the country and the airfares will likely vary considerably.  Those of you who have worked with ticket agents understand the variability of ticket prices from day to day as seats are added or removed from each fare class and as countries change tax rates.  Your actual cost will consist of your actual airfare and the fixed costs for the in-country portion of the trip.  A $100 deposit (nonrefundable) is required with your application.   Another $1000 will be due on or before 1 May 2012 and the balance due on or before 1 June 2012.  Payment for your trip costs can be made through the ACCTS on line donation system.  In the comments field please put “Ukraine.”  If you send a check, please put your name on a separate piece of paper and not on the check.

Travel:  Dates to be determined. Vasily K., our host, has asked that we arrive and leave basically as a group and not spread out over several days on either end of our engagement. Please contact me individually if you have a special requirement or want to do some additional travel either before or after camp.  I will plan on making all ticket arrangements unless notified.  You can easily reach me by email at russbonnie@yahoo.com or by telephone at 303.549.2379.

Scholarships: The Ukrainian exchange rate as of this edit (1/12/2012) is 8:1 which is about the same as last year.  Unfortunately, the cost of food and other necessities has increased making it rather difficult for the average Ukrainian.  Thus, we are supporting a scholarship program for the campers.  With a full camp the scholarship need will be $14,000.  If you or your church would be willing to help with this fund, please click on the donation tab on our home page and follow the instructions.  Be sure to mention “Ukraine Scholarships” in the comments field.

Travel Documents: Your passport should be valid through at least Jan 2013 and have several blank pages for immigration stamps etc.  If you don’t have a passport that is valid at least six months after return with ample blank pages, today is the day to start working that issue.  Contact your local Post Office for details.  Airlines are double-checking passports and will not permit you to board without this important document.  Most Post Offices have the applications and picture taking equipment and will help you fill out the forms etc.  Ukrainian visas are currently free and issued at the airport upon entry.

Cancellations:   Should an applicant, after having raised support, have to withdraw from the program for any reason, no refund will be given.  These funds will be applied to the overall program of the ACCTS AELT mission work.

Curriculum:   ACCTS offers both English and Bible studies.

English - We are pleased to be able to use an excellent program developed by Dr. Lois Webster. Her formal education is in English with a subspecialty of ESL. Her educational background coupled with her experience has allowed her to put together an exceptional program for teaching/training conversational English. The methodology presented in the training classes and in the manual is applicable to all skill levels. It does not depend on an interpreter or on the use of the native language. Click here for further information.
Bible - Chaplain Norris Webster (Col, Ret) has developed a cycle of three studies around the theme of "Visits with Jesus". Each study consists of multiple lessons complete with questions that the students discuss in class. The questions are constructed such that they can be used with all skill levels. The questions deal initially with the more objective elements of the passage and progress to the subjective. This approach helps a student to both observe the biblical facts and consider the application to his or her life. For the Bible course we use an interpreter in the intermediate and lower skill levels to ensure that the message is not obscured by a lack of English comprehension. Click here for further information.

Training:  The ACCTS AELT Program preparation phase includes training in both conversational English and Bible instruction. Please contact me for further information.

Testimony:  How many times have you been asked about your relationship with Christ and did not know how to respond? Don't worry, if it hasn't happened it will. We lose the opportunity because we are spending the time trying to put our witness together in our mind when we should be presenting it. A good way to overcome this problem is to take the time to write out your testimony. The process of developing your testimony is good training and preparation for going overseas. Not that you will be called on to give it to an audience, but that you have it in your mind when another individual begins to ask you about Christ and what He means to you. The guide at the end of this paper provides you an excellent process to accomplish this task. We require it of all participants who take any of these trips

Your Decision: If after reading the above material you wish to join us, please fill out the Application Form. It will be automatically sent to the ACCTS office and we will contact you as soon as possible. Additionally, please take the Faith Reference Form to the appropriate person and ask him or her to complete and send it to the indicated address.

Questions:  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at aelt@ACCTS.org or by telephone at 303.985.8808(W) or 303.520.4439(C).

China: about 20 days (specific dates to be determined; mid July – early August)

Location:The program is held in two locatins. One is Changsha Economic & Technological Development Zone, a satellite town located to the east of Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. Changsha (literally Long Sand) is surrounded by fertile lands and bisected by the Xiang River.  Populated by six million people, Changsha is a lively town well known for its food, culture, military tradition and being one of Mao Zedong's haunts prior to launching his political career. By 200 BC, Changsha was a fairly populated, fortified city. Its value as a strategic location has long been recognized by the government.   It was instrumental in the Qin Shihuang's unification of China.

One of Changsha's most important historic spots is Yuelu Hill, located on the Xiang River's western shores. It is notable for its academic establishments, the most famous being the former Yuelu Academy. This academy was built in 976 AD during the Song Dynasty to train scholars for civil exams. The area where Yuelu Academy once stood now holds a Hexi Altar, a classroom, the King's Book Pavilion, the Wen Temple and Gardens, and one stele remaining from the Song Dynasty.

The other program location is Shunde (near Hong Kong). Shunde is a district of Foshan prefecture-level city in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong Province, southeast China. Shunde boasts canals still used by barges and a street of restored colonial architecture named Hua Gai Lu. Famous martial artist Bruce Lee's ancestral roots can be found in Gwan'on (Jun'an) in Seundak (Shunde). There is a street in the village named after Bruce Lee where his ancestral home is situated. The home is open for public access. Shunde is also known for its unique Cantonese food. Tourist attractions include the Qinghui Garden (清晖园) featuring fish ponds surrounded by osmanthus, bamboo and mulberry bushes and the Bruce Lee memorial museum located in Jun'an Town.

Climate: The climate in Changsha and Shunde belongs to a climate that is almost subtropical, with long, hot and humid summers—most days will see the relative humidity pushed well above the 80% mark. June through August is the rainy season. Annual average temperature is 63.5o F.
 
Food: Hunan cuisine is famous for being some of the spiciest in the land, and is perhaps second only to Sichuan on China's spice-o-meter.

Host:  Changsha County Education Department and Shunde Education Department

Cost:  The cost of this trip (based on current airfares) is approximately $3900/person, all-inclusive except for personal items and or souvenirs you may purchase. A $300 non-refundable deposit is due with your application. A second payment of $2000 is due 1 May 2012 and the balance due 1 June 2012.

Travel Documents: We need a valid American Passport and a recent passport photograph. Your passport should be valid through May 2013 and have several blank pages for immigration stamps etc.  If you don’t have a passport that is valid at least ten months after return with ample blank pages, today is the day to start working that issue.  Contact your local Post Office for details.  Airlines are double-checking passports and will not permit you to board without this important document.  Most Post Offices have the applications and picture taking equipment and will help you fill out the forms etc. A Chinese visa is required to enter the country. The ACCTS office will apply for the visa. Please fill out the Visa Request, SIGN and DATE the application and forward it along with your passport and visa picture to ACCTS. Answer all the questions you can and our staff will contact you to fill out the others as necessary. Please do not send your passport through normal mail. Use a traceable service such as certified overnight delivery. If you use USPS the proper address is ACCTS, Box 27239, Denver CO 80227. If you use another carrier please send it to ACCTS, 7220 W. Jefferson Ave, Suite 335, Lakewood CO 80235. Our telephone number is 303.985.8808. Application package acceptance deadline: 25 May 2012.

Cancellations: Should an applicant, after having raised support, have to withdraw from the program for any reason, no refund will be given.  These funds will be applied to the overall program of the ACCTS AELT mission work.

Curriculum: ACCTS uses an excellent English instruction program developed by Dr. Lois Webster. Her formal education is in English with a subspecialty of ESL. Her educational background coupled with her experience has allowed her to put together an exceptional program for teaching/training conversational English. The methodology presented in the training classes and in the manual is applicable to all skill levels. It does not depend on an interpreter or on the use of the native language. Click here for further information.

Students: Classes will likely consist of about thirty Chinese English teachers or students. The goal is to give them experience hearing and interacting with native American English speakers and to improve their teaching and communication skills.

Training: The ACCTS AELT Program preparation phase includes training in conversational English instruction. Please contact ACCTS for further information.

Your Decision: If after reading the above material you wish to join us, please fill out the Volunteer Application Form. It will be automatically sent to the ACCTS office and we will contact you as soon as possible. Additionally, please take the Faith Reference Form to the appropriate person and ask him or her to complete and send it to the indicated address.

Questions: Please direct questions to Russ Hammerud (russbonnie@yahoo.com, 303.549.2379).