IMMERSION is an opportunity for young adults to step outside of the normal cadence of their lives in order to gain a broader picture of: 1) the world around you, 2) the way God works in that world, and 3) the value of relationships and quality service alongside people whose lives are just as valuable as your own.

Simply put, IMMERSION is about focusing on the “how we do it” of international ministry and service rather than just “what we do.” Our central focus is on the importance of authentic relationships as the keystone to healthy ministry, and engaging in what it means to truly “love our neighbor” as people of privilege in the 21st century.

Teams spend their time equally split between service opportunities, cultural immersion in the community, and relationship building with community partners and host families. This means there is plenty of space to give your time and attention to others—a necessary part of doing missions well—prioritizing people over the simply seeking out projects to complete.

IMMERSION team members serving in Peru come alongside a local an afterschool education program called Casa de Paz ("House of Peace").

Casa de Paz supports low income families and Venezuelan refugees living in Lima by providing free tutoring and teacher support for students of all grade levels. Their goal is to help each student get caught up in school so they can start the following year at grade level. As your main ministry focus, you will split time between their two locations each week: the first at Oikos church, and the second in a shanty-town community called Pacifico.

During that time, you will work directly with teachers and students, helping with homework, focus, and motivation. The teachers and kids love consistency, so there is a good chance team members will work with the same kids for the majority of your time in Peru.

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IMMERSION team members in Peru serve in the city of Lima alongside Experience Mission's ministry partners Mark & Anna Burgess. Originally from the U.K., Mark and Anna have been full-time missionaries in Lima since 2006. During that time, they started a church called Oikos, and have focused on providing meaningful community and support for families seeking faith and belonging.

Starting in 2023, Mark and Anna handed over leadership of Oikos church to a local Peruvian couple, Robert & Rosa Romaina. The Romainas both grew up in the Peruvian jungle as members of the indigenous Shipibo tribe. Together, they oversee the daily functioning of Oikos, with Robert as lead pastor and Rosa as the overseerer of the Casa de Paz (“House of Peace”) kids program.

In Lima, you will be staying at Oikos church. Housing accommodations are comfortable, with bunk beds, gender-specific rooms, and a shared bathroom and shower.

While being mindful of phone use, you can expect to have WiFi access each day, meaning it is easy to keep in touch with family at home.

During the weekdays, you and your team will manage a weekly food budget, cooking breakfasts and dinners together. Lunch is normally provided while serving at Casa De Paz.

At some point, you will also have the opportunity to connect with local ministries in Amazon jungle, where the Burgess family has also served in various ways.

Lastly, Mark and Anna typically set aside one weekend for the team to go on a tourism trip to see more of Peru. Past teams have booked adventure tours or traveled together to Machu Picchu! Whatever you do as a team, expect a fun weekend exploring the sites and culture as you experience even more of Peru's beautiful country.

This program provides a lot of independence to teams. Mark and Anna make it a point to teach team members how to use public transit and encourage you to explore the city (safely, of course!)

Safety is a huge priority for the IMMERSION program! We are up to date on all potential safety concerns in the countries where teams volunteer and would never send a team to a location where we have active concerns about their safety and well-being.

Experience Mission local staff and partners are experienced residents or welcome guests in the communities you are serving in, and they communicate to all team members the safest way to move about during their time on the program. Regular communication is also established between partners, team leaders, and EM U.S. Staff, allowing for quick responses to any emergencies should they arise.

For medical issues, IMMERSION team leaders are CPR/First Aid certified, and carry trauma medical kits equipped to deal with a wide range of injuries and ailments.

In the case of a larger emergency, EM staff members will support team members by helping them communicate with home and making sure they get to a place to receive care.

Often, local medical clinics are a short distance from where team members are staying. However, outside of big cities, large hospitals can often be several hours away by vehicle. Team members would not be left to do this on their own.

To ensure medical care is readily accessible, EM secures travel medical/evacuation insurance for all team members. Participants are also required to come with a Personal Emergency Fund—a debit or credit card with $1,500 available and $300 of reserve cash—in case they were to have a medical issue requiring upfront payment or need to travel home from the program unexpectedly. This amount may seem high, but it's purely a precaution. Most team members do not touch their emergency funds while on the trip.

Preventatively, during initial training, all team members are encouraged to enroll with STEP (Safe Traveler Enrollment Program) through the U.S. State Department. This allows team members and staff to receive official travel alerts if there is an issue in the region including political protests, civil unrest, increased crime, weather alerts, natural disasters, terrorism, or specific threats for foreign travelers.

An EM emergency phone line is also available to all emergency contacts.