The financial area is sensitive, since few of us have lots and lots of money.  We want to offer some guidelines to help you understand LST policies and make good decisions about your money.

1. All of us are raising funds, not for ourselves but for the LST Ministry. LST promises to provide you with the training, the support, the necessary travel and housing logistics, working materials, and supervision necessary for you to have a productive project.
2. None of the money raised belongs to any individual participating in LST. If a team member skips or misses an activity (such as a meal, a paid trip, the EndMeeting, etc.), that member has no claim whatsoever for reimbursement of funds that may have been budgeted in their behalf. And, of course, any remaining funds at the end of any project are returned to LST as soon as possible, so that they may be used in other areas.
3. Most expenses for your project are automatically covered from your team's budget. Occasionally, you may be forced by circumstances to pay for something that normally would be paid for from the team budget. If that happens, ask the team accountant to reimburse you and to charge that expense to the team budget. Turn in a receipt to your team accountant, (make your own receipt if necessary).
4. You will NOT be reimbursed for the following or similar expenses:
   • Gifts you purchase for your readers or for your missionaries
   • Eating out or making trips with your readers or local Christians.
   • Long distance telephone calls to other teams unless authorized by your regional representative.
   • Any expense not directly addressed in the team budget without prior approval.
   • Costs for budget items that exceed the team budget without prior approval.
   • Medical costs. This includes office calls to doctors for minor health concerns. You should have your own insurance or another way to pay for these costs.

5. Your regional representative is responsible for helping each team stay within the budget in each project city. The team members will want to seek guidance and confirmation from them, so that the funds can be well spent and well accounted for.

6. Sometimes it is necessary for a Worker to interrupt plans and return to the States. This could be because of illness, emergency, or other unexpected situations. If this happens, LST will do everything it can to help the Worker avoid extra expenses. If there are extra expenses, however, the Worker should arrange for covering those expenses before leaving the project.