6th Cutting Edge Leadership Conference 2023 Info Pack # 6 (FINAL)

6th Cutting Edge Leadership Conference 2023  Info Pack # 6 (FINAL). May I have more info pls... (Letters & Info Packs)

Dear ITP Eagles, Partners, and Friends,

We are fast drawing closer to our  6th Cutting Edge Leadership Conference in HongKong. The excitement level is rising fast. Some of us are already preparing things to bring on the trip . Our office staffs are also very busy preparing the conference materials, manuals, ID’s, backdrops, photo-wall, T-shirts, etc. … Everything that is happening generate wonderful anticipation on an event that we believe will tremendously bless us all.  In over a week, we will see each other in the beautiful bustling city of HongKong. We are so excited for this gathering, and we look forward to walking the streets of Hong Kong and Macau with you. Here’s more information to add to the five info packs … 

1.DEADLINES

a. CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

Registration for the HongKong conference will end on November 15 (Wednesday) at 12 midnight. Our organizing team will need some time to prepare all the final documents and conference materials for distribution to all conference participants which include General List of Names of participants, ID’s , T-shirts ,meal stubs, awards and tokens etc.… before departing for Hong Kong. They will have around two - three days to complete / compile all the documents and conference materials before their departure on the 19th of November (Sunday). 

b. “BY FAITH, I WILL BE HERE” FAITH EXERCISE 

Deadline for our faith exercise – “By Faith, I will be in Hong Kong”  is on November 16. We are requesting all winners ( from 100 Likes to 2k Likes  to submit a screen shot of their posting that shows the number of Likes ( including the Hearts) so we could prepare all the gifts for all winners. The first level winners are those who were able to accumulate 100 Likes, followed by 250Likes , 500Likes, 750 Likes, 1000 Likes, 1500 Likes and the top winners are those who reached 2000 Likes. 

Please send your winning post to FB Msgr Katherine Merencillo or to our email : itph@ iteams.org.  All prizes may be claimed on the day of our conference in Hong Kong. All you need to show is a copy of your wining post on your mobile phone for verification. The prizes are non-transferable and can be claimed only by the winner in person at the conference. Those who are not at the venue during the conference will forfeit their winnings and unclaimed prizes will be distributed or raffled during the event. Those who won the top prize will even receive a special treat from Ptr Gani … . 

c. FREE 2 way PLANE TICKETS & CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

Deadline for claiming the free round trip plane tickets and free conference registration is on November 16. So far, twenty five (25) missionaries were able to qualify for the free tickets and will be given awards and recognition on the Nov 24. There are ten tickets remaining and are waiting for those who will be able to reach our mobilization targets for the conference. 

2. PRE- DEPARTURE MEETINGS : There will be several Pre-Departure meetings which will all be held in an online Zoom platform. Our organizing team have divided all participants to groups. They have set up the groups based on their flight schedule. The purpose was to ensure that you’ll get to know each other even before you arrive at the airport. There are assigned IT staffs who will handle the meeting to coach you on immigration matters and to distribute all documents that may be required from you by our airport officials. Please do not ignore these meetings. It may spell worry free travel for you if you join the meeting or an airport nightmare experience if you don’t. Our immigration officers are notorious for off-loading or denying flight boarding even for legitimate travelers like us. If you would not be able to attend the briefing for whatever reason, please make sure to ask our office for copies of the conference and company documents that you must have on hand should the airport officials ask for proof of your participation in the event. We will have the documents sent via email or through FB messenger. You need to ask those who were able to attend the meeting to at least brief you on matters that were discussed. Based on our past experiences, those who were interrogated/ off loaded/ failed to board their flight .. were mostly the same people who were not able to attend the pre-departure meetings. Please don’t take this matter lightly.

3. AIRPORT TAX: Please be reminded that there is a TRAVEL TAX of P1,620.00 required from Filipino nationals for international travels. You will have to pay that amount in the airport prior to check-in. 

4. BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE: Your budget airline (Cebu Pacific, HK Express or Air Asia) booking starts with the minimum baggage allowance of 7 kilos for hand carry alone. If you need to bring with you a check in baggage, you must pay for the check in baggage weight of your choice. You may go directly to your airlines website and order the additional baggage weight that you want.

5. BAGGAGE WEIGHT: Please weigh your baggage’s before heading to the airport. You need to make sure that you don’t go beyond the baggage weight limit that you paid for. The cost of extra weight when paid in the airport is a lot more expensive than on an online payment.

6. HONGKONG AIRPORT ASSISTANCE: We don’t have anyone at the airport to meet you on arrival. Please read the previous INFO PACKS for travel instructions to the city.  Let me repeat … “NO AIRPORT ASSISTANCE”.  

7. TOURISM VOUCHER .. Good news !!! We were informed that the Tourism Bureau of Hongkong is giving free HKD100 dining vouchers for all incoming tourists to encourage more tourists to come and enjoy the city.

The cash vouchers can be used in over 100 restaurants across the city starting at 6:00 pm daily. There’s no minimum spend required and no catch Important Note: Each eligible visitor can only acquire the Hong Kong Night Treats once with a non-Hong Kong mobile number.

This will be discussed at your pre-departure briefing. (including redemption and use of vouchers)

8. OFFICIAL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION is on NOVEMBER  23 from 8am to 10am. Conference materials will be handed out to all participants. Registration area will be at the same venue where we will be holding our conference.

As soon as you receive the conference package, please don’t put on the T-shirt right away. It was intended for our GROUP PICTURE session on November 24. 

Our Hong Kong team led by Ptr. Tony and Diosy Mendoza will be around to welcome you on registration day. During the registration, we will be doing  photo and video shoots. After the registration, our HongKong hosts will be available to discuss matters related to the places to go to in the area, transportation, etc. …

9. CURRENCY EXCHANGE: As soon as you arrive Hong Kong International airport, we recommend that you have your money changed at any available Currency Exchange counter at the airport, to the local currency HKD or  HONGKONG DOLLAR. You may also withdraw from the available ATM machines so you will have local currency to use for your travel and other expenses. The exchange rate as of NOVEMBER 14 is  HKD$1 = Pesos 7.17. 

10. MOBILE PHONE ROAMING: Please have your mobile phones activated for roaming service. You may inquire from your local telecommunication provider for roaming activation instructions. May we remind you that the cost of roaming calls and texts are so high that you may just consider using your phone to receive texts from the Phils.  A simple one text message to the Phils may cost you around P15 or more depending on the Hong Kong carrier that your phone is using. You will not be charged for text messages that you receive.

11. DEPARTURE/ ARRIVAL FORMS  (ONLINE or PAPER FORM) :  Address to input on your Phil. airport departure online form  and HongKong arrival form – INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY (ICA)

483 KINGS ROAD, NORTH POINT , HONG KONG

Purpose for the visit is either TOUR or ATTEND CONFERENCE.

In the Phils, we have already adopted an online system (eTravel FORM)  for departure and arrivals. Before departure, please ensure that you have completed the departure form by following these steps:

1.    Go to eTravel official website. The official website is : https//etravel.gov.ph. 

2.    Start your registration

3.    Provide your personal information

4.    Enter your travel address and email

5.    Submit your travel details 

6.    Accomplish  the Health Declaration Form

7.    Review the information you gave

8.    Download your QR Code            

12. COMMUNICATING DIRECTIONS : Please ALWAYS keep in your pockets the address of your hotel and the conference venue and emergency contact numbers or FB Messengers of our Hong Kong missionaries. Hotel cards are available at the counter or the lobby area of any hotel. Please be reminded the pronunciation may be different and the locals may not be able to understand you if you’ll just tell them where you want to go. So, always bring the hotel cards with you and present it to the driver when needed. 

To go to the conference venue , please have this address printed out and show to the taxi driver : 

Address to present to driver: 

INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY (ICA)

483 KINGS ROAD, NORTH POINT , HONG KONG

13. SECURITY: Hong Kong is a relatively safe place, but one can never be sure. It is better to be careful and safe than be sorry. When going out specially at night, please try to go in groups. PLEASE …NO LONE RANGER or solo flyer!!!! We need to be able to always monitor each other’s activities and whereabouts. Always go out with a group and inform others of your plans. We would like each one to assist in policing your own ranks. Just like in every main city of the world, there are bad elements (pickpockets, snatchers etc..) that are out to prey on unsuspecting visitors. Please be extra vigilant and always protect your belongings. Of all items in your possession, please make sure to secure the most important item … your PASSPORT.

14. HEALTH: You may bring personal medications for those on maintenance and also for emergency cases – antihistamines for allergy, paracetamols for fever and pain etc .. Our office will also bring some so in any case you feel the need to take some, please don’t hesitate to ask from any of our conference staffs. We are bringing also RT/PCR Test kits, Blood Pressure gauge and other medical instruments etc. in case a need arises.

15. ELECTRIC ADAPTERS : The electrical outlets in HongKong are the British type. There is a need for an adapter if you are coming from the Philippines but please make sure that whatever unit you plan to plug in can run on 220 volts. Most mobile phone chargers run on worldwide voltage so there won’t be any problem. But those who will be using hair dryers etc, we advise that you check if it can run properly on that voltage level. Please check our previous Info Pack for more information on the adapter type. . If you could not purchase or borrow one while in the country, they are available at the airport stores or you can purchase cheaper ones in the Saigon markets.

16. MEMORY CARD & BATTERY PACK: With all the beautiful sights and ministry site that you will be visiting, you might need to bring an extra SD card(s) just to be sure that you don’t wind up with a camera that you could no longer use just because of lack of memory space. A battery pack will also be as important to ensure that you will be able to capture all special moments, people and places. BATTERY PACKS are not allowed in check in baggages!!! Please make sure to have it in your carry on bag at all times.

17. T-SHIRTS:  Our staffs have taken your individual sizes and will distribute the shirts at registration time. The T-shirts are given FREE to all registered conference participants. – one per participant. Please don’t wear it on the first day. We would like all participants to wear the T Shirts on the second day when we will have our Group Picture time. 

18. JOSHUA RISING YOUTH GROUP: Our youth have set their itineraries and activities while in Hong Kong. The person leading the charge for our youth group is Sis Abby Abuan and assisted by other IT office staff. Should you want to get info on their ministry, please don’t hesitate to approach any of them. They will gladly share to you what their goals are for the youth and explain activities that they designed to move forward to their target goals.

19. GLOBAL INTERCESSORS will be in Hong Kong at the beginning and end of the conference and events to ensure that all of us will be covered with prayers. They are led by Ptra Rosanna Sadogio. Should you be interested to know their plans and activities while in Hong Kong, please do not hesitate to approach Ptra Rose or any of the Global Intercessors. 

20. ACCESS 2 PROGRAM: Access2 Training will be held in Macau from Nov 26 to N0v 30. Our designated evaluators together with field missionaries present at the conference will meet with the whole group to discuss the group arrangements and the itinerary for Access 2 program. Those who are not part of the training group have the full freedom to determine where they would like to go and what they would like to do after the conference. We will have group meetings to discuss options available. For those who are traveling alone, we will be happy to connect you to a group, so you will be able to join them in their city tours.

21. HOTEL CHECK IN and CHECK OUT: I noticed that hotels in Hong Kong have a check in time of 2pm! She hotels actually have a check in time of 3pm. That means they will allow you to use the room ONLY starting at that time. Check out normally is at 12pm but some hotels require you to leave your room at around 11:30 am. PLEASE check out the times so that you won’t be billed extra .

22. HOTEL DEPOSITS: Some of hotels ask for a certain amount for deposit. They ask for it as a guarantee that should something is stolen or destroyed in the room they will be able to demand it from your deposit. Most often, the excitement of going back home makes you check out without asking for the deposit to be returned, I noticed that some hotels don’t remind their guests of their deposits unless it is demanded from them. They must have a good reason for it.

23. INTERNET/ WIFI:  Internet service is pretty good in HongKong. Your Phil phone provider offer a daily use service that cost somewhere close to P500 per full day of use.  If you  want to have an internet service that you could use together with the group that you are with, we  recommend that you purchase  from the airport or in stores in the city,  a SIM card with an internet load and use your phone as a mobile hot spot for others to connect to.  You may avail of rental pocket wifi’s , similar to what we got in Taiwan, at the airport.. 

24. TOUR MAP: Hongkong is a beautiful city with so many amazing sites to visit. Travel within the city is easy with the train stations situated where the important tour sites are located. A map in your hand always will be very useful. Please go back to our previous INFO PACKS for good suggestions on what to do while in Saigon. 

25. WEATHER:  Weather in Hong Kong is cooler and more refreshing.  The month of November is considered as the best time of the year in Hong Kong for going around . This is because the month offers clear and pleasant weather with an average high temperature of around 24C and a low of 19C. We can expect temperature to drop though since December signals the start of Winter season in Hong Kong and the time when cooler temperature starts to be experienced there. Better expect for a cooler weather and come prepared with light jackets at least.

26. PRAYER & INTERCESSION: Please pray for the success of our Hong Kong conference. Let’s believe that GOD will do something amazing and unforgettable at our conference. Let’s all join hands in our commitment to honor and glorify the LORD before all men in all the nations of the world. Let there be nothing but praises and thanksgiving to our Master and King all throughout the conference.

27. VERY IMPORTANT REMINDERS

a. Passports & Other Documents

Please check your passport’s EXPIRATION DATE. If it shows a date that falls within 6 months’ period, your passport is no longer valid for travel. You will not be allowed to leave by our immigration officials in the Philippines nor will you be allowed to enter Vietnam if the date falls in that period on the course of your travel.

Be conscious of your passport at all times. Hold on tightly to it and never let it out of your mind. Losing it is one of the worst thing that can happen to you on this trip. “Better lose your wallet but not your passport … but the best is to keep them both”

Keep a photocopy of your passport with you at all times. 

Our office have provided you with almost everything that the immigration officials may ask from you. Please read all of them, so when asked you would know what to present to the officer. Your lack of knowledge on what the documents are for may bring suspicion in the mind of the interviewer and may subject you to more interrogation. 

Don’t throw away the documents when you are cleared in Manila. You might need to use them on your arrival in Hong Kong. 

DON’T bring diplomas, college transcript of records, etc…If you are separated for additional questioning, the immigration officer  may ask to see the documents that you have  on your bag.  If he finds any of those college documents, they will be used  outright as proof that you are not going to Hong Kong for the conference  but only to look for an employment. You will  outright be offloaded by the immigration officer.

b. Safe Drinking Water

Please try to refrain from drinking water served in restaurants or eateries on the first days. It is common for international travelers to suffer “travelers diarrhea”.  . Buy bottled water and bring one with you at all times .

c. TRAVEL PERMIT FOR GOV'T EMPLOYEES

 If you are an active government employee, you are required by law to secure a TRAVEL PERMIT. You will not be allowed to leave the country if you don’t present that document to our immigration officers.

d. FLIGHT RETURN TICKETS    

Those who have not booked  RETURN TICKETS yet, please make sure that you’ll have one ready before you leave for the conference. Our immigration officers will not allow you to depart the country without proof that you possess a return ticket. You may book your ticket to the place of your last planned destination.

e.    WARNING:  If someone approaches you at the airport and asks for help in checking in their baggage and/or requests if they could include some items with your own with the excuse that they have no money to pay for the extra baggage allowance… DO NOT ENTERTAIN THEM. You might be used to transport illegal items. You will be held fully responsible for your own belongings. Please always be on the side of caution.

f.    CHECK FLIGHT TIMES : 

We had instances in the past where some of our missionaries missed their flights due to confusion in flight times. Those who have flights in the early morning, need to know that you must be at the airport the day before your flight time. If you go to the airport on the date listed on your booking, the possibility is that you have made a mistake and the flight might have left already early in the morning of that date. You will need pay for a new ticket, which is always expensive, to get a flight back.

g. INFO PACKS NOS. 1 - 6 (FINAL)

1. PRINT .. please have all of the INFO PACKS printed out and   in your possession at 

all times. Please use the documents as reference or guide documents that you could refer to always. 

2. READ … please read and re-read in order to familiarize yourself already even before 

being on the ground. Those  who joined us in the previous conference who got lost on their way to the venue, regretted not having read the  instructions. 

Don’t repeat their mistakes !

28.    COURTESY:  May we remind all conference participants that the office teams and staffs who will be assisting you will be doing it from the generosity of their own hearts. Rest assured that they will give their best in assisting and guiding you in the whole process. The best response that you could give though is to show gratitude and appreciation. Please take note that a good number of you will be there to be trained and evaluated and not the other way around. Our field team and conference staffs will expect courtesy and humility from all. 

This final  INFO PACK was not intended to cast apprehensions or even the slightest fear in your hearts. We are all kingdom workers and we know pretty well the challenges ahead of us. The main intention of this final add on info pack is to bring to your awareness the things that may endanger you so that you will be MORE CAREFUL and MORE ATTENTIVE to the surrounding environment. Enjoy everything that the city has to offer but be also sensitive and be on guard  against those who would like to steal the joy away from you. It is my prayer that all of us will be surrounded at all times by the Lord’s angels to protect us and secure us away from harm. 

ENJOY YOUR SPECIAL TIME IN THE BEAUTIFUL CITY OF HONGKONG!!!

MAY THE LORD BE GREATLY HONORED IN EVERYTHING THAT WILL HAPPEN IN OUR MISSIONS EVENTS IN HONGKONG and MACAU!

I AM READY !!!

Ptr. Gani Sison