Storytellers Without Borders
What’s Included
- Transportation from the airport to the workshop location
- Staff member who will meet the team at the airport and stay with the group until departure
- Lodging accommodations for the week
- All meals while in-country
What’s Not Included
- Airfare: Each participant is responsible for their flights to and from the workshop location
- Tips (optional, e.g., hotel porters)
- Meals/snacks during travel days (e.g., airports, layovers)
- Souvenirs or personal snacks during the week
- Travel insurance (strongly recommended)
- Additional nights due to flight cancellations or delays
- Personal communication (phone calls, messages, data plans, etc.)
- Other personal items or expenses
- Extra costs caused by itinerary changes or circumstances beyond the workshop’s control
Sample Itinerary (Subject to Change by Location)
Day One – Saturday Arrival
Arrival at destination airport
Airport pickup and travel to workshop lodging
Teaching session:
- Interviewing skills (Working with a Translator)
- How to do captions in the native language and how to translate to English
Welcome dinner and orientation
Day Two – Sunday First Day Shooting with Subjects
Breakfast
Local cultural orientation (customs, traditions, expectations)
Worship
Working with Subjects (interviews and B-roll)
Dinner
Dailies—reviewed by the Storyteller Leaders & Missionaries to assess the quality of the day's work and make decisions about reshoots or adjustments.
Day Three – Monday Story Development
Breakfast
Working with Subjects (interviews and B-roll)
Lunch
Working with Subjects (interviews and B-roll)
Dinner
Dailies—reviewed by the Storyteller Leaders & Missionaries to assess the quality of the day's work and make decisions about reshoots or adjustments.
Day Four – Tuesday Deeper Storytelling
Breakfast
Editing & Feedback Time – Work on your story edits on your laptop and check in with the storyteller leaders and missionaries. Get their feedback, make adjustments, and make sure your story reflects the people and community you’re telling it about.
Lunch
Editing & Feedback
Dinner
Dailies—reviewed by the Storyteller Leaders & Missionaries to assess the quality of the day's work and make decisions about reshoots or adjustments.
Day Five – Wednesday Sightseeing & Story Refinement
Breakfast
Cultural Outing & Special Meal—We may take a 4–5 hour break to explore local sights, enjoy a special lunch or dinner, and hunt for souvenirs. Our main goal is to complete your stories, so we’ll decide whether everyone joins or if some need to stay behind to keep working. Either way, we’ll make it work. If not possible, we will move to Saturday.
Day Six – Thursday Story Refinement
First Private Showing
Breakfast
Editing & Feedback
Lunch
Finishing editing for just the storyteller's private showing
Dinner
Storyteller Screening—Our first showing is just for the storytellers. We’ll watch each other’s work, give feedback, and help everyone refine their stories before the final premiere.
Day Seven – Friday Premiere Event
Breakfast
Lunch – Special place
Free time / continued editing
Dinner
Premiere Event—We invite the missionaries, community members, and their friends to see the final projects the following night. This is the big celebration, during which the stories are shared with everyone who helped make them possible.
Day Seven – Saturday Last Day
Breakfast
Travel to lodging near the airport (if needed)
Dinner & closing reflections
Cultural Outing if possible
Day Eight – Sunday Departure
Breakfast
Transfer to the airport for flights home
Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance that includes trip cancellation, baggage, emergency medical evacuation, accident, and sickness protection. All equipment, computers, and baggage are the sole responsibility of the owner. Stanley Leary and staff are not responsible for lost, damaged, or delayed property, or for individual medical needs, accidents, injuries, or illnesses.
Responsibility & Photography
For safety and respect of the host community, participants are expected to follow local customs and use discretion when photographing people or sensitive locations. The workshop leader reserves the right to dismiss any participant for unlawful, disruptive, or unsafe behavior. No refunds will be issued in such cases, and participants are responsible for any additional costs incurred.
Passports & Visas
A valid passport is required for all international travel. Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your return date. U.S. citizens may not require a visa for some workshop locations, but non-U.S. citizens must check requirements with their respective consular offices. All participants are responsible for obtaining their own passports and visas prior to the workshop.
Are you looking for a way to use your professional storytelling skills in missions?
With Storytellers Without Borders, you don’t have to worry about finding the story or navigating cultural barriers—we handle that. We’ll connect you with missionaries and subjects ready to share, provide translation and logistical support, and ensure you have the access you need to do what you do best: tell stories.
Throughout the week, you’ll spend time with your subject, capturing interviews and b-roll, with the missionaries offering input to ensure the final story connects with their ministry goals. By the end of the trip, you’ll have a completed video ready to premiere before departure—leaving a powerful tool for the missionaries to share their story with churches, donors, and supporters.