SHF in Charleston, SC 2024!

And we’re ready for takeoff! Welcome to day #1 of the First Church Charleston adventure. Today we brought our (hopefully) sub-50 lbs luggage and our positive attitudes to the annual send-off dinner. Upon arrival, we were welcomed with a bag check-in station and covid test (customary after previous mission trip mishaps). And, thanks to God, we achieved 100% negative results. After donning our plum-colored t-shirts, we gathered in Schultz Hall to enjoy some pizza and snacks-fuel for the big day tomorrow. We also received our hand-knitted prayer shawls, which we are meant to offer someone in South Carolina who made an impact on us as a token of our appreciation.  In our matching violet uniforms we took some swaggy team photos. We then gathered with our families for a reflection led by Andrew. We discussed our own hopes for the trip and our parents’ hopes for us as well. After a lovely blessing from Kate, we went home to rest up for our departure tomorrow.  The Charleston Chews Po...

It's almost time for us to depart for Charleston, SC, for our annual First Church Youth Mission Trip. From April 7-13, twenty-nine youth and adult advisors from First Church will be spending a week in mission and service to our neighbors in need in scenic Charleston. We've been preparing for months.  Preparing Potatoes at the Potato Booth  In October we ran the Potato Booth at the Apple Harvest Festival to help raise funds. Through the winter we had weekly meetings to build our community and teamwork skills. This spring we've been training important skills we'll need, everything from knife safety when we're in a soup kitchen, to active listening when we interact with clients. It sounds like this trip will involve a lot of hands on work dealing with urban poverty, as well as some other interesting assignments - like volunteering at a dolphin rescue! Teambuilding led by one of our Senior Team Leaders One of the cool things about our Mission Trips is that they are led ...