Katie

South Dakota is my favorite trip of the summer!! I love it there. This year I learned about the Lakota culture and I had deep conversations with the locals. This is my 3rd year going and was probably the most influential year as well. I met people from Minnesota that I connected with instantly. Also, the Youthworks staff was very active this year and I actually had a good conversation with each one which is rare. One Youthworks person was named Chad and another was Neil. Both these boys taught me and some girls in our group about love and not to give your heart away to the wrong people. It opened my eyes up and I was finally able to move on. The environment on this trip was AMAZING! Everything seemed to hit home this year. The last night we did the feet washing and this is the first year I cried! I have been through a lot this year and I feel like I got so close to God and he took the pain away from me! I feel relieved. I need to continue on my journey with Christ and let him take me where I need to be! I AM HERE!

Kate Robertson

This year, being my fourth year on the Pine Ridge reservation had many similarities and differences with the previous three. All four we did the classic, touristy sight seeing with the normal Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Wall Drug, and Badlands. One of the biggest differences and my favorite was the time we got to spend with the homeowner and family. This year we worked on Willard and Rachel's house, they have two sons, and Auntie Katherine who comes to visit frequently. This family will hold a special place in my heart due to their hospitality and their willingness to open up and share all that they had with us, whether it was sharing stories about the Lakota culture, or sharing homemade Elk Jerky. Rachel and Katherine would sit with a few of the girls and give us life advice and how they had grown up, Willard then also showed us around his property (which touched the Badlands). Willard also shared an experience with part of our group that is unforgettable. He took the group to his sweat lodge, and put the group through an "educational sweat" that showed the group a large part of Lakota traditions. Some of the girls were not supposed to go in, or chose to opt out due to our feminine strength and having been told a few stories that put a little fear in us. Through this experience we learned more about their beliefs as well and how although we may not believe in the exact same things, we have very similar views and how they are widely open to each other's personal beliefs. They compared their views frequently to our views which showed their respect. This was by far one of my favorite parts of the trip just getting to look up to them and learn more about the Lakota culture. I would like to thank everyone who had a part in allowing this trip to take place and allowing for me to go back to a place that I love! It was such an incredible trip, and such a great way to end my senior year!

Elwyn

My trip to Wanblee, South Dakota, was amazing! It was the first year that I was eligible to go, and I'm glad that I did. My sister went the year before and talked about how great it was. And now I have the opportunity to talk about it myself. It was a great experience. I really feel that I got closer to God and everyone that went on the trip. I also met some really cool people from the other church from Minnesota that came. I really enjoyed this week because it was a great opportunity to serve God, and the community that we visited. I really enjoyed meeting the people from the community as well. The owners of the house that I helped paint were awesome, and they were even generous enough to share some of their culture with my group. They showed us their sweat lodge, which is where some of their important spiritual ceremonies are held. I had the amazing opportunity to sweat with them and have a crash course on what goes on in such a ceremony. Part of the ceremony involves everyone praying one by one in the circle that is made in the lodge. And it was amazing to see how our Christian prayers were similar to their Lakota prayers. In addition to the ministry days, worship services and devotionals added to the experience. The kids at kids club were amazing as well, and it was great to play with them, and give them the love that some of them might not get at home. This week was an amazing experience and it really opened my eyes. I hope that I don't leave what I learned in Wanblee though. I want to continue to serve the Lord in my own community. It was a GREAT experience and I'd like to thank all of the adults that made it possible. I'd also like to thank Willy and Angela for all of their hard work.

Anne

This year was my 3rd mission trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Every year when the end of the week arrives I am not ready to leave. It's not that I don't feel like I'm done, it is just that I love what we do there. Having the opportunity to interact with the comunity and learn their culture is an amazing feeling. Every year that I have gone, I feel like our group builds an unbreakable bond. One of my most memorable moments of this week would have to be seeing the kids jump off of the vehicles and immediately become attached to one of the youth. Another memorable moment would be seeing the spectacular sunsets. Each year after the mission trip I feel like I look at life differently and what I have so easily available others do not. My advice to a youth (or adult) who is considering going on a mission trip is to go! It is a wild, crazy, zany adventure that I will never forget!!!

Meg

This mission trip was absolutely incredible and life-changing. This was my first mission trip, and I honestly had no idea of all the wonderful eye-opening things that were in the week to come. This week we painted Stan and Sandra's house in Wanblee, and their hospitality and kindness was more than I could have ever imagined. They cooked us hotdogs on the first day and pizza the second. It was such a rewarding experience seeing how grateful and happy they were. They also took us out on their property, which extended all the way out to the Badlands. When we got to the Badlands, I could truly feel God's presence and how beautiful His creation was. All over Wanblee, South Dakota I could feel God's presence. There were breathtaking sunsets, motivational sermons, and amazing people in the community. I especially loved hearing Jerome Highhorse, a member of the Wanblee community, talk about God and his experiences in life. The kids in this comunity made me realize all of the happiness that they had, even though they had so little. I got really atached to these kids through endless piggyback rides, storytelling, and crafts. It was really hard to say goodbye to them. I also loved the devotionals we did every morning and Club, which was a worship service, every night. Also, the Youthworks staff was amazing. I feel so blessed that I was able to go on this trip. It strengthened my faith, opened my eyes, and made a huge impact on my life. I feel that this community did more for me than I did for them, and I'm so thankful, glad, and blesses that I was able to go on this life-changing trip.

Last Day

Well, tonight our trip comes to a close, and what a week it has been. Over the next few days, we will post stories from the youth so that you can see the trip through what they've experienced here. We will also continue to add more photos to the Flickr site. The link for the photos is on the right sidebar of this page. Continue to pray for safe travels and we will see you all soon!

Headin' Home!

We have left camp and are now heading east to Bloomington, Illinois for the night. What a beautiful day for traveling! It looks a lot like the Windows logo with green fields, blue sky, and puffy white clouds. Hopefully we will get a chance to post when we arrive tonight. Pray for safe travels!

Camp so far...

Monday and Tuesday some of our youth worked on scraping, priming, and painting houses for some really great people. They came back with great stories of beautiful views of the Badlands and very kind homeowners who gave back to them selflessly by making them food and gifts. The rest of our youth worked at Kids Club. Monday we planned skits, songs, and crafts, and then ran Kids Club in the afternoon. Tuesday morning we helped out at the food distribution center by picking up trash, organizing the garage, cleaning bugs out of the light covers, and shredding documents (by hand because they don't have a shredder!). The other group cleaned and organized the comunity center where we are now staying. On Monday night, we were finally able to take really cold showers. The hot water heater isn't working in the community center so the showers ranged from "It wasn't that bad" to "That was the worst shower I've ever had in my life!" Last night we hiked through the Badlands at sunset which was absolutely beautiful. Today we switched assignments so those who had been painting are now doing Kids Club and those who had worked with the kids are now painting. Willard and Rachel's aunt Catherine came out and talked to our group at lunch about some of the culture and traditions, which was really interesting. On the way back to camp we were able to see a storm come across the prairie, which is a truly unique and beautiful sight. Hopefully it will be dry enough for us to travel to the 38-feet-tall metal cross sculpture this evening. I just want to say a word about how truly amazing our group is. Even at Crazy Horse Memorial we had several strangers stop our adults to comment on how polite our youth were and how lucky we were to have such a group. To watch them work in this community is absolutely inspirational. They all work without complaint, volunteer for whatever task needs to be done, keep each other laughing, and they do it all with such enthusiasm. I don't think you can truly understand unless you see them in action firsthand, but trust me, our youth are amazing and we are so lucky to be here with them. Thank you to all of the parents for allowing your youth to spend the week with us!

First Days of Camp

Saturday night we were able to visit the infamous Wall Drug before they closed and then had fabulous pizza from the Cactus Cafe across the street. On Sunday we headed to Mount Rushmore and then Crazy Horse Memorial. We also celebrated birthdays for Cathy and Anna, along with calling our dads for Fathers' Day. The camp had even made them a birthday cake! We drove through the Badlands on our way to camp, which was beautiful. We will go back to the Badlands for a hike tomorrow evening. When we arrived at camp, we found out that there had been a car accident in the community and two people were killed, including a 4-year-old. Since we are sharing our sleeping rooms with the school and community center, we will be changing some things around to accomodate the funerals. We are also waiting to hear when we can take showers! Today our groups were able to begin Kids Club and painting houses. Sarah, Jane, and Anna even volunteered to serve lunch, and totally rocked the hairnet fashion look! All in all it's been a good day so far and we are excited to see what God has in store for us over the next few days.

We're in South Dakota!

There's nothing quite like waking up to that scratchy sandpapery feel of a Super 8 towel! This morning we saw two girls ride horses down the road and through a McDonalds drive-thru - not something you see every day around our parts! We had a little rain today driving through Council Bluffs, Iowa (it always seems to be raining in Council Bluffs) but it wasn't anything major and now we are driving west across the beautiful prairie of South Dakota. Tomorrow we will do Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore and then head to camp.

St. Louis Arch

We just left the Jefferson Memorial Gateway Arch in St. Louis and are heading to dinner and our hotel in western Missouri. Today we drove through 3 more states: Indiana, Illinois, and now Missouri. We have been blessed with beautiful travel weather so far, and everyone is bonding on the vehicles through music, games, and LOTS of talking! Tomorrow we head through Iowa and on to South Dakota.

3 States Down!

We have traveled through West Virginia, surviving the infamous Morton travel plaza, and have now arrived in Lexington, Kentucky for the night. Tomorrow we will head to the St. Louis Arch!

Almost Ready!

We have just a few short hours before we head out into the Midwest. Please pray that we will have safe travels and any storms will pass us by (or at least pass by quickly!). The weather in Wanblee, SD looks to be awesome while we're there. Head 'em up - move 'em out!

3 more days!

The countdown has officially begun. Yesterday we had our commissioning service at Second Pres, so now all we have to do is last-minute laundry, packing, form collecting, and other little things to prepare for what looks to be our best trip ever. We are taking our largest group with 20 youth and 7 adults, 1 bus, and 2 mini-vans across 3,000 miles and 9 states in 10 days. Woo hoo!Once again we are heading to South Dakota to work with the amazing Lakota people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. About half of our group has been on this trip before, and the other half are excited to experience it for the first time. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this awesome journey.

Finally More Stories from the Youth

Wow, I am SO sorry it has taken this long to post the rest of the stories. The summer has flown by. But, here they are. We hope you enjoy reading them and that you can see how important and meaningful this trip truly was.

The mission trip to South Dakota was a really life-changing experience. I became closer with my youth group as well as a stronger relationship with God. We were able to meet a lot of the natives there, especially at Kids Club. Seeing how little these kids had and how bad their family lives were, but how they could still be so happy was so eye-opening. I really enjoyed getting to meet them and becoming close to all the people there. We also painted a man’s house there. It was a lot of hard work, but seeing the finished product made it all worth it. Overall it was an awesome trip.
~ Carrie

The trip this year was awesome! The group this year definitely made the experience that much better. Everyone got along extremely well and the people who did not know each other before got to know each other really well. The trip to South Dakota was fun and I liked seeing the monuments before going to the work site. The group for this trip felt like a second family for sure. When we arrived at the work site I wasn’t sure how it was going to go because most of the girls were quiet and kept to themselves but as soon as the night activities started everyone was really cool and the staff was extremely chill and easy to talk to. The first thing that made me feel at home was Club the first night when everyone started singing together. The feeling in the room was unbelievable. I felt connected by a higher power. When I got to meet my work crew for the week at breakfast clean-up we really hit it off; it was awesome. The second night we went on a hike to the Badlands which was amazing. Before the hike I was scared of snakes but I decided just to go with it and the guys in my work crew definitely helped push me past my comfort zone. I was climbing like a pro by the end of the hike. The first two days, Kids Club was awesome and the smiles that were on their faces were absolutely priceless! The feeling I received while playing with the kids was indescribable. The second two days I had to paint a man named Tony’s house, who would lose insurance if we did not help him. The work was quite repetitive but the feeling was worth it! One of my favorite parts of each day was Devos in the morning, a time of calm and relaxation and connection with God. Another favorite part by far was Club, a reflection of the day. I loved the “hewoahs” and the “yea Gods” but my favorite part was the singing and group time. Our group time every night was the perfect way to end the night, considering the closeness of our group. On the last night I knew what was coming but I forgot how powerful the moment truly was last year. This year though I felt a significant amount closer to God and our group. When Angela washed my feet and what she said to me in her prayer was exactly what I needed at this moment in my life. Not to mention the emotion in the room, I completely broke down and began to cry. The group time after the feet washing was absolutely amazing and will be something I will never forget. I will also never forget what Cathy said to me that night. It completely changed my outlook on God and my life. This trip was extremely powerful and something I will never forget. I urge you to go to South Dakota because it is absolutely beautiful and an extremely different and fulfilling experience. You also have to see the 30 some feet cross made out of scrap metal. The cross was amazing even though we got stuck in the mud. You have to go on a Youthworks trip if you have never been on one without a doubt. The youth leaders definitely made the difference in the trip. They are all amazing role models and I would not change a thing about who came. I had one of the best times of my life. If I had a choice to return to South Dakota for a third time I would say yes in a heartbeat.
~ Emily

The phrase I would use to sum up this trip is life changing. This being my first mission trip, I had no idea what to expect. This week I feel like even the little things we did had a big impact. This week was overall just amazing. I feel like I grew closer to God and closer to this youth group, which were two of my goals for the week. When we helped out with Kids Club, I felt a special bond with the kids from the reservation. Just seeing how happy they were and the smiles on their faces was so rewarding. I’m really going to miss that. Also another rewarding thing was seeing how appreciative Tony was, about us painting his house. Just knowing that was helping him get insurance coverage made it that much more special that we were helping him. Youthworks is an amazing program. The staff was incredible. They were so enthusiastic and into the work they were doing. The memories and friends made on this trip will never be forgotten! I’m so grateful to have been able to join 2PC for this trip. I will always remember this mission trip. It has been so inspirational and has brought me closer to the Lord. I truly believe mission work is the way God wants me to serve. I thank the Lord for this week and everything that happened. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of this week!
~ Kirby

Man, what a trip! Like last year the trip was very moving and there was never a dull moment. On the trip there, we went to the St. Louis Arch, Mt. Rushmore, and Crazy Horse. But even though those monuments were cool the trip really started when we got on the reservation. The first half of the week I was on work crew which was awesome because we got to bond with the other youth that we did not know. Plus the best thing was that we got to help the people in the community, which was fun to do and extremely rewarding. At open point on the trip we visited the Badlands which were absolutely beautiful, and when hiking through them you were overwhelmed with the beauty of God’s creation. This part of the trip was one of my favorites. Then I switched from work crew to Kids Club. Originally I was nervous about doing it because I did not do it on my previous South Dakota trip. But once we made ready for the kids at the Crazy Horse School we were using we headed out to pick up the kids. It was when we entered the children’s neighborhood that came to a revelation. I did not need to worry about my discomfort but totally concentrate on loving the children with all my heart. So during Kids Club I would not refuse piggy-back rides and did whatever I could to make Kids Club joyful and full of love. Thursday morning all of 2PC got up early (5:00 am instead of 7:00 am) to look at the Iron Cross. To get there it took roughly half an hour. I originally did not think getting up early would be worth it. That thought turned out to be totally false. On the trip there the sun rose and spread a pinkish hue through the hills and a fog partially obscured the landscape. This scenery alone was worth getting up. When we got on the road right in front of the cross, both the bus and the van got stuck in the mud. But, this turned out to be a good thing because it gave everyone a chance to bond even further and admire the great Iron Cross and God’s wondrous works. But the thing that will stick with me more than anything was on the last night in Kadoka. What happened was that the Youthworks staff washed the adult leaders’ feet. After this, the adult leaders washed the feet of the youth and prayed over them. When it came to me Willy washed my feet and prayed over me. When this happened I started crying and could not stop. Then I went over to give a hug to Cathy and she said some very kind words and I started bawling. This trip was amazing and I can truly say I love everyone who came on the trip. I grew closer to God and my faith has grown over the length of the trip. I will definitely go on whatever Mission Trip we do next year.
~ Ben

South Dakota this year was amazing! From working with the children to the scavenger hunt at Wall Drug to meeting some of the greatest friends I could imagine, I grew closer to God in so many aspects. The location in South Dakota this year was very different from the location last year and provided a different experience as well. By sleeping with people other than solely our church group, I was able to grow even closer to many of the girls from different areas on the trip. I was able to see and experience God’s love through the children’s excitement to be loved by us, the extreme appreciation of the people whose houses we painted and worked on, and the ability to relate and grow closer to everyone on the trip. Like many trips, the fun happens when things don’t go as planned. When our church went to visit an absolutely beautiful, man-made steel cross made from the simplest things in life to create something so gorgeous, we got the bus stuck in the mud. Through this experience, we really got to see the cross in its absolute beauty, along with meeting the man who made the cross, who ended up being an exceptional, interesting person. This whole trip would not have been so amazing without such wonderful leaders. They are all exceptional role models and were a big part in strengthening my relationship with God. To anyone that is debating on whether or not to attend one of these trips, I would highly urge everyone to go because it is truly a life-changing experience.
~ Sarah

The trip to South Dakota was extremely eye-opening. I had heard a lot about it, but it took actually going to understand. I saw poverty and distress, but I also saw hope and strength. Not only was the trip spiritually satisfying, but it was also a ton of fun. The people were all outgoing and overall fun to be with. The trip for me was a life-changing experience.
~ William

This trip is truly a life-changing experience. You make long-lasting friends and grow closer to God. I’m already looking forward to next year.
~ Anna

This was my second year going to South Dakota. I thought this year made a bigger impact then the last year. This year I easily related to the theme “Be Different!” I related to this theme because being different is something I try to do; therefore I used personal life experiences to relate to the theme. Also everyone really bonded this year. I made life-long friends that I will never forget about and they made a huge impact in my faith of God. I felt that everyday my faith and understanding of God grew. The experience in a whole was life-changing and definitely changed my perspective on everything. In the end, I have become extremely thankful for everything and I’m trying to turn my life around.
~ Katherine (Katie)

This trip to South Dakota was my first mission trip ever and one of the most special, unforgettable, and fun weeks of my life. Not only did we do physical labor and see the tangible difference we made, but also we grew in our relationship with Jesus and with each other. To me, the latter two were the most impactful elements of the trip. We learned about being different within our communities just like Jesus was. We learned that though forgiveness is hard, with God’s help it can be done. Singing praise songs was another way we grew as Christians and as friends. Personally, I grew from this trip because I realized how blessed I was when I went through the neighborhoods of my new friends in Kids Club on the Lakota reservation. I don’t think I’ll complain much at all now. I took much for granted like food and family. Seeing how these children live without these things I consider normal and necessary, opened my eyes and made me reconsider how much I really do love my family. All in all, God’s presence could be felt every moment of the week. This is really what made it so beautiful for all of us. It showed me when you take time to talk and listen to Him and to notice He’s everywhere, life is fuller.
~ Sidney

On Thursday, June 16th, I and nineteen other people arrived at the church at 3:00 in the afternoon. After standing around in the heat of the sun, crunching on ice from the kitchen, waving goodbye to our parents, and of course a quick prayer, we all piled into the church bus and van, and departed for 10 days of travel, work, worship, and loads of fun. Our first day of travel wasn’t terribly long, and, with the coupled factors of me having traveled long distances in the car and already being thoroughly excited, the approximately 7 hours of travel seemed even shorter. We arrived at the hotel a tad late, got our room assignments, and (most of us being tired) went to bed. I was roomed with Sarah, Emily, and Kate Rob, and I can assure you it was a rather interesting experience in itself just to room with them. The Super 8 we stayed in was … well, not the most luxurious hotel ever, but at least it was memorable (our shower spit black gunk when I turned it on!). Waking up the next morning, albeit a little sleepy, we grabbed some breakfast, and hopped in the vehicles to once again hit the road. Our main event of that particular day was the St. Louis Arch, which towered magnificently before the flooded Mississippi River. Riding tiny, “Willy Wonka-like” pod elevators, we reached the top, getting a great view of the city, looking around for a bit, and eventually, piling back into the bus once more. The rest of the day was filled with trivia games in the bus/car, a huge thunderstorm and plenty of the typical music played on our youth group trips. We stayed the night in Missouri, got a bit more sleep, and then hit the road again the following morning. Even now, after only a few days of travel, the group was already starting to bond. I’ve since learned, after being with this youth group since 6th grade (I’m a rising Junior now!), that all sense of different schools, different backgrounds, personalities, and just all around things that normal set up a boundary between people always seem to dissolve when we all get together to do God’s work. Simply put, it’s a pretty amazing thing, how we can all bond so quickly. After our longest day of travel yet (roughly 12 hours)we reached Keystone, South Dakota, for our last hotel (and nicest hotel, surprisingly still being a Super 8!) before we reached our site in Kadoka. As usual, we got up the next morning, grabbed some breakfast, and hurried to the road. Now, the rugged, pine-dotted peaks of the Black Hills covered the landscape (so much different from the endless fields of corn found in Nebraska; Nick particularly detested the corn.). We stopped for a bit of site-seeing at Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse (both of which I’d seen last summer on my family road trip, and both of which hadn’t changed much since I last viewed them), and did a little shopping at Wall Drug (if you’ve ever driven to Myrtle Beach, think of South of the Border!). A short drive across the grasslands later and we finally pulled into the tiny little town of Kadoka, SD. Despite its small size, the town had its own charm, with green trees, a children’s park, and an array of small houses. 2nd Pres wasn’t the only group coming on this mission trip, of course! Churches from Iowa, Colorado, and Illinois all showed up for this amazing experience. We all gathered together in the Presbyterian Church of Kadoka, where we spent most of our time as an entire group. Bonds of friendship were quickly forged, and we could all be assured that this was going to be well worth the 4 days of travel! Thinking back on it, I could probably write ten pages just about my time there with everyone, but Angela advised me to “not write a novel” so I’ll have to do my best to be as concise as possible. Everyone was divided up into six different crews, each of which would get separate assignments as the week progressed (I’m speaking as a proud member of the “Wicked” crew here!). My first two days were spent working with Kids Club. This basically consisted of keeping a large group of the Lakota children entertained and out of trouble for a few hours each day. At 12:30, we went to go pick up the kids and bring them over to the school gym that was posing as our “headquarters.” This was one of the harder parts of the trip. We made our way through the scores of dilapidated houses. Graffiti covered the walls and various objects littered the yards; not to mention, the dreary weather didn’t help the atmosphere much either. However, at least you could see the smiles of excitement as the kids piled into the bus; that was certainly a spirit lifter. During the actual Kids Club portion, children raced across the gym, colored, and pleaded for piggy-back after piggy-back (I took a rather painful face plant giving one of those piggy-backs!). Although a few tense moments broke out, and some of the kids got into fights, by the end of the two days, you could tell you had really made an impact on these kids’ lives. They clung to us when we had to leave, and begged for us to stay with them. It really is amazing how God’s love can work through us to uplift these kids. Saying goodbye after becoming so close with them after only two days was heart-wrenching. Although it was sad to wave bye, and I wished I could have stayed longer, at least I helped to make a difference in these kids’ lives. The next two days, my crew spent working on painting one of the locals’ house. Perhaps we got paint all over our clothing, exhausted ourselves in the heated sunshine, but it was fun. We scaled the ladders to reach higher points on the wall, and made sure to cover every inch of that house. At the ends of it all, we could all stand back and proudly say that we had completely changed the house for the better, finishing two coats of paint and trim. The feeling was so rewarding, it’s hard to describe. The only thing I can say is that you should find out for yourself, and really live the experience. Being able to serve someone in a way so basic as painting their house… it’s pretty spectacular. Now, aside from chasing kids and painting houses, we did loads of other things as well. In the mornings, we did devotionals (“Devos” for short) where we spent time exploring the theme “be different” by ourselves in silence. At night we had Club, where we all gave each other “hewoahs” (to acknowledge each other’s good deeds), presented “yay Gods”, sang together, and almost a sort of sermon. One morning, we even visited a nursing home, and took some time to get to know the elderly who lived there. In the evenings, we did everything from a magnificent hike in the Badlands, a scavenger hunt in Wall Drug, a cookout in the park, and listened to two locals (Marvin and Abel) share a bit of their lives with us. All of these activities in a way, bonded us closer as a group, and brought us close to God. Seeing the cross that was constructed of metal parts was an adventure in itself, which I haven’t got the time to delve into (all I’ll say is that it involved one sticky situation!). Each night, we gathered as Church groups to discuss our own personal experience of the day (one of my favorite things we did, actually!). But, by far, the most memorable experience of the entire trip was the feet washing on the final night. The experience of it all is extremely difficult to describe in full, but it was so moving, and brought me (all of us, really) so close together and to God that it brought me to tears. The adult leaders of our church wash our feet, and say a prayer just for us. Very humbling, very moving. It may sound simple as I write, but it’s far beyond that. After a final, tear-filled church gathering, we went to bed and rose the next morning to bid our goodbyes to the friends we would be leaving behind. But even if we are leaving so much behind, the memories and experience will be something I will cherish forever. This trip was perfectly eye-opening to the world, and brought me not only close to each other, but so very close to God. I really hope to carry the experience and lessons I got from this trip into my everyday life, and can’t wait for next summer (New York is our current plan!). Now, we travel home, and once again jump into our normal lives. But if anything, this trip would have made our lives a little less normal, and hopefully it has given us a change for the better.
~ Alex

This year’s trip to South Dakota was yet another phenomenal experience. This was my second year at this site, so I had a rare opportunity to return and serve in Kadoka and Wanblee, South Dakota. This provided for an even more meaningful trip for me. I had the gift of seeing kids I met two years ago and seeing the finished house that I had originally helped work on. I also was blessed with reliving incredible memories and seeing breathtaking sites I only dreamed I could see again. For the fourth year in a row we saw the normal touristy locations such as Mt. Rushmore, St. Louis Arch, Crazy Horse, etc. but also places my friends had never explored like the Badlands, Wall Drug scavenger hunt, and a breathtaking 38-foot-tall man-made cross. This year like all the others, God had His way of showing His plans for us along with His beauty. He definitely had a reason for everything that happened. Even when the kids at Kids Club acted up, it was an opportunity for us youth to grow together and show the kids Christ’s unconditional love. Another way was seeing the cross. We woke up at 4:45 to go and see it. At first I was skeptical because we were not waking up in time to see the sunrise. It turned out that the sun was rising while we were driving out. In every sunrise or sunset, you could see the absolute beauty of God and His creations. We also got stuck in the mud at the top of the hill. At first we were frustrated and worrying about the rest of the day. We then reevaluated the situation, stopped worrying about the past and future, and lived in the current moment. This gave us the chance to take in the glory of the cross. We also had a rare chance to meet the creator of the cross who helped get us back on schedule. This year for my work group I worked with Phillip (third time in a row), a few youth from our church, and others on scraping, painting, and doing minor repairs on a man’s house to help him keep adequate insurance. This gave me the chance again to face fears of ladders, or to do tedious tasks like scraping and have a few moments out of a hectic day to think about stuff on my heart. This trip helped me grow with Christ in unspeakable ways, and grow with my brothers and sisters in the youth group. I would like to thank the church for allowing me to go on this trip once again. I also would like to thank Phillip, John, Cathy, and especially Willy and Angela for their strong leadership and the time they give up.
~ Kate Rob