Faithprint travel tours more than a vacation
WATERLOO, ON—TourMagination, a Christian travel company based in Waterloo, Ontario, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is launching "Faithprint" to offer travellers opportunities to serve, give, and exchange wisdom as they tour destinations around the world.
Over the past 40 years, Mennonites and other Christians, primarily from North America, have been building bridges with people of faith in other parts of the world on Christian tours with TourMagination (TM).
"On our tours we do so much more than see the most popular sights and purchase souvenirs. We learn about and interact with the communities we visit. Whenever possible, we worship at local churches and hear from the people," says TM co-owner Wilmer Martin.
For example, while in the Holy Land of Israel/Palestine, TM groups eat at a restaurant near Jericho owned by a Palestinian Christian who shares his perspective with the group. Organizations like Rabbis for Human Rights also speak to tour groups. Travellers are encouraged to listen with open hearts and minds and seek to understand the complex conflict in the Holy Land.
Through Faithprint, TM will highlight volunteer service opportunities, charitable projects, and "wisdom exchanges." Volunteer service will include things like helping to harvest olives at a living history museum called Nazareth Village in Israel. Charitable projects might involve gathering clothes and books to bring to Ukraine or donating toward the roof of a church in Tanzania or giving a financial gift to church leaders in Vietnam. TM will work with host countries to ensure that charitable gifts and volunteer service are useful and wanted.
TM Wisdom Exchanges will allow travellers and locals to swap personal and cultural knowledge. Frequently, TM tour members meet with and learn from Mennonite Central Committee service workers in places like Jerusalem, Ukraine, and Egypt.
On a November 2013 trip to China, tour members will make two-minute presentations in English to university students at Anqing Teachers' College. In exchange, students will show travellers their city from a local perspective. TM also collaborates with American and Canadian Mennonite colleges to offer educational tours.
TM also partners with charitable organizations including Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) – a micro-finance and business development organization. TM tours often visit MEDA's work as they explore a country. Faithprint will allow the partnership to go even further.
"We're excited that TourMagination is helping to raise awareness about and mobilize resources for MEDA's work globally," says Allan Sauder, MEDA president and CEO.
Founded in 1970 to help Mennonites reconnect with their heritage in Europe, TM has led Christian tours in more than 50 countries and to every continent. TM tours help travellers develop a deeper appreciation for their faith and spiritual heritage, while sightseeing and exploring both classic and unique attractions.
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