The MCC Youth Ministry Project plans to take another group of young adults to the Dominican Republic in June. If your MCC church has young folks ages 15 - 25, please urge them to email Rev. Jennifer Glass at jenniferglass@mccchurch.net for more information about applying for this life changing experience. The application deadline is February 16, 2009!
To learn more about the 2008 mission trip and to read about the missionaries' experiences, please start by clicking 2008 in the Blog Archive index on the left hand side of the blog.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Summary from 2008
2008 MCC Youth Ministry Project
Last Summer, fourteen MCC youth flew into Miami to meet once another and most of the 8 adult leaders for the first time. They took shuttles to a local hotel and that night shared pizza and held their own service where Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson and her partner Paula were present.
The next morning they drove to the Miami airport and flew out to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic! They made it through the airport with ease and they were able to retrieve all of their bags. What a relief! Tim Helm, Dominican Republic Ministry Team Representative from MCC Washington, and the drivers were waiting there for them with a couple of vans: one for luggage and one for the people.
They drove into Boca Chica where they would be staying for the next week. They met the rest of the building crew and went out to dinner later that night. When they returned from dinner the lead teachers got together to plan the arts and crafts for the next few days. So much to do!
Monday through Thursday the maintenance team traveled into El Tamarindo early in the morning and the rest of them arrived later. The maintenance team worked tirelessly as they repainted the entire school and removed and replaced old tiles on the outside staircases.
Meanwhile a number of youth spent time the children outside, who are not part of the school, with games and songs while other youth did arts and crafts with the school children. The group stayed at the school until after the kids ate lunch, which was provided by the MCC Youth Ministry Project. This was really something incredible to see. The teachers brought in plates of food for their students who all waited patiently until everyone had some. And then they only ate after they said their prayers. They must have been so hungry but at the same time they were so patient.
The young adults left the school at about 2 in the afternoon while the maintenance team worked for a few more hours into the heat of the day. Once they returned to the hotel they had a chance to go out and explore Boca Chica. Many of them went to the beach, went shopping, found food, swam, and just relaxed. Those that didn't venture out stayed behind and had a chance to swim in the pool at the hotel, rest, blog, or do whatever else they wanted to do. Every night they were given 500 pesos to cover dinner and were asked to be back in time for spiritual reflection.
Each night there were creative and moving ways to get the youth talking to one other to open up about their experiences as the group met together for spiritual reflection. The youth broke up in small groups or walked around or went through guided meditation. This really tuned the youth into their own feelings as well as the feelings of others. The spiritual reflection was crucial into bringing everyone together.
On Thursday many of the school children came to us in Boca Chica to spend the day at the beach. They had beach balls, bubbles, frisbees and a wide array of pool toys for the kids to play with-and many of them had never even seen the beach! It was an absolute BLAST! The only regret was missing the maintenance team on this day because it gave that team a chance to finish up work that they weren't able to do with so many children running around.
After the event at the beach was done everyone walked back to the hotel for lunch and a children's service. Rev. Barrera gave his sermon and three of the MCC youth had a chance to share their experiences with all of the children. At the end of the service the kids presented little presents that they made for the youth. It was so sweet to see them call everyone in their group up one by one to give the youth a handmade gift. The hardest part of the journey was saying goodbye to the children as they loaded the vans and drove away...There was not a dry eye as the children drove back to El Tamarindo on Thursday afternoon...
Hearts were heavy and weary on Thursday evening but the youth had a chance to lighten up the mood a bit as they traveled into Santo Domingo on Friday for some site seeing and shopping! Rev. Tania Guzman and a number of people from MCC Santo Domingo met them in the center of town to show the youth around the city! Everyone had a great, care-free day that ended in a giant pizza party. It really was incredible!
Friday evening the youth went back to Boca Chica for one last time. Some of them had last minute shopping to do and wanted to see the town and the beach one last time. Many of them probably didn't go to sleep before 2 or 3 a.m. even though they had to be up at 6 a.m. to get to the airport on time. There was just so much to do and see and some of the youth figured they could sleep on the plane or when they returned home. Saturday morning the group loaded up and headed back to the airport. The week was over...Where did the time go? Their flight left Santo Domingo an hour late but everyone eventually made it home safe and sound-and at least 20 family members stronger.
The 2008 trip was truly an experience that none of the youth will ever forget and a project that they will continue to work on for years to come. The youth were all blessed and touched in ways they never could have imagined. And they all realized that Si-"Solo Dios Puede"-or Yes, "Only God can!"
Since last year, the youth have been processing and reflecting on their experience. In addition, the youth set up a scholarship fund for a young gentleman named Jonathon. He is a bright student who reached the maximum age for the school in El Tamarindo. In order to ensure that he would be able to continue his education in another school, the youth have been raising money for The Far Reaching Faith Scholarship Fund to see that his tuition and other costs are paid for 7th and 8th grade. A generous donor intrigued by this fund, inquired with Rev. Elder Ackerman about helping and has been contributing funds to see that Jonathon will be able to continue school through high school.
For more information on The Far Reaching Faith Scholarship Fund, please contact:
MCC Youth Ministry Project
The Far Reaching Faith Scholarship Fund
Atttn: Rev. Jen Glass
P. O. Box 276
Landisville, Pennsylvania 17538
Tel: 717.715.1650
jenniferglass@mccchurch.net
Last Summer, fourteen MCC youth flew into Miami to meet once another and most of the 8 adult leaders for the first time. They took shuttles to a local hotel and that night shared pizza and held their own service where Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson and her partner Paula were present.
The next morning they drove to the Miami airport and flew out to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic! They made it through the airport with ease and they were able to retrieve all of their bags. What a relief! Tim Helm, Dominican Republic Ministry Team Representative from MCC Washington, and the drivers were waiting there for them with a couple of vans: one for luggage and one for the people.
They drove into Boca Chica where they would be staying for the next week. They met the rest of the building crew and went out to dinner later that night. When they returned from dinner the lead teachers got together to plan the arts and crafts for the next few days. So much to do!
Monday through Thursday the maintenance team traveled into El Tamarindo early in the morning and the rest of them arrived later. The maintenance team worked tirelessly as they repainted the entire school and removed and replaced old tiles on the outside staircases.
Meanwhile a number of youth spent time the children outside, who are not part of the school, with games and songs while other youth did arts and crafts with the school children. The group stayed at the school until after the kids ate lunch, which was provided by the MCC Youth Ministry Project. This was really something incredible to see. The teachers brought in plates of food for their students who all waited patiently until everyone had some. And then they only ate after they said their prayers. They must have been so hungry but at the same time they were so patient.
The young adults left the school at about 2 in the afternoon while the maintenance team worked for a few more hours into the heat of the day. Once they returned to the hotel they had a chance to go out and explore Boca Chica. Many of them went to the beach, went shopping, found food, swam, and just relaxed. Those that didn't venture out stayed behind and had a chance to swim in the pool at the hotel, rest, blog, or do whatever else they wanted to do. Every night they were given 500 pesos to cover dinner and were asked to be back in time for spiritual reflection.
Each night there were creative and moving ways to get the youth talking to one other to open up about their experiences as the group met together for spiritual reflection. The youth broke up in small groups or walked around or went through guided meditation. This really tuned the youth into their own feelings as well as the feelings of others. The spiritual reflection was crucial into bringing everyone together.
On Thursday many of the school children came to us in Boca Chica to spend the day at the beach. They had beach balls, bubbles, frisbees and a wide array of pool toys for the kids to play with-and many of them had never even seen the beach! It was an absolute BLAST! The only regret was missing the maintenance team on this day because it gave that team a chance to finish up work that they weren't able to do with so many children running around.
After the event at the beach was done everyone walked back to the hotel for lunch and a children's service. Rev. Barrera gave his sermon and three of the MCC youth had a chance to share their experiences with all of the children. At the end of the service the kids presented little presents that they made for the youth. It was so sweet to see them call everyone in their group up one by one to give the youth a handmade gift. The hardest part of the journey was saying goodbye to the children as they loaded the vans and drove away...There was not a dry eye as the children drove back to El Tamarindo on Thursday afternoon...
Hearts were heavy and weary on Thursday evening but the youth had a chance to lighten up the mood a bit as they traveled into Santo Domingo on Friday for some site seeing and shopping! Rev. Tania Guzman and a number of people from MCC Santo Domingo met them in the center of town to show the youth around the city! Everyone had a great, care-free day that ended in a giant pizza party. It really was incredible!
Friday evening the youth went back to Boca Chica for one last time. Some of them had last minute shopping to do and wanted to see the town and the beach one last time. Many of them probably didn't go to sleep before 2 or 3 a.m. even though they had to be up at 6 a.m. to get to the airport on time. There was just so much to do and see and some of the youth figured they could sleep on the plane or when they returned home. Saturday morning the group loaded up and headed back to the airport. The week was over...Where did the time go? Their flight left Santo Domingo an hour late but everyone eventually made it home safe and sound-and at least 20 family members stronger.
The 2008 trip was truly an experience that none of the youth will ever forget and a project that they will continue to work on for years to come. The youth were all blessed and touched in ways they never could have imagined. And they all realized that Si-"Solo Dios Puede"-or Yes, "Only God can!"
Since last year, the youth have been processing and reflecting on their experience. In addition, the youth set up a scholarship fund for a young gentleman named Jonathon. He is a bright student who reached the maximum age for the school in El Tamarindo. In order to ensure that he would be able to continue his education in another school, the youth have been raising money for The Far Reaching Faith Scholarship Fund to see that his tuition and other costs are paid for 7th and 8th grade. A generous donor intrigued by this fund, inquired with Rev. Elder Ackerman about helping and has been contributing funds to see that Jonathon will be able to continue school through high school.
For more information on The Far Reaching Faith Scholarship Fund, please contact:
MCC Youth Ministry Project
The Far Reaching Faith Scholarship Fund
Atttn: Rev. Jen Glass
P. O. Box 276
Landisville, Pennsylvania 17538
Tel: 717.715.1650
jenniferglass@mccchurch.net
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