Youth Mission Trips

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Chi Rho July 10-18, 2004, Puerto Rico

14 students and 3 adults traveled to Gurabo, Puerto Rico for our Chi Rho mission trip. Along with 500 other students and adults from around the United States we were able to paint and roof over 70 houses in the Alegre Community in Gurabo. It was an amazing experience for us all serving others in the name of Christ, and we even had time to do a little sightseeing!

Connections June 20-25, 2004, Newport, Tennessee

8 students and 2 adults served others in Newport, Tennessee on our Connections summer mission trip. We served by painting, sorting, playing, leading a Bible School called Kids Club and by visiting shut-ins in a nearby nursing home. We had a great time serving others and getting to know one another better and meeting people from around the United States.

Connections July 14-18, 2003, The Pittsburgh Project

Connections returned once again to the Pittsburgh Project for a third consecutive year. We keep going back because it provides an incredible opportunity for our middle school students to serve others in the name of Christ. We stay in the Pittsburgh Project building in dormitory style housing. Each day, we drive to our worksite and assist those in need through basic home repair and maintenance projects. This could be yard work, painting, or building a new staircase. We return in the evening for dinner and a nightly program where the Project Director leads us in worship and challenges us to live our lives for God in service to others.

Chi Rho June 20-28, 2003, West Branch, Michigan

Chi Rho joined up with Group Workcamps for another great mission trip experience. Since 1977, Group Workcamps have brought more than 100,000 teenagers and their adult sponsors to hundreds of communities across North America to assist needy families. Through the experience, our devotions, and special activities, young people leave with a deeper faith. Each day, the students break up into work teams that consist of 1 adult leader and 5 students and head out to their worksites. They return in the late afternoon for dinner and the evening programs which center around worship and a message. This is an exciting time and an incredible experience for all those who attend.

Connections, July 8-12, 2002, The Pittsburgh Project

In 2002, Connections went back to the Project—the Pittsburgh Project, that is. Everyone who attended had a great week, and all of us were challenged in our faith to consider what it means to live that out in service to others! We are called by God to serve one another and to look after those in need.

Chi Rho went down south to Morristown, Tennessee, located near the Smoky Mountain National Park. This was an opportunity to make a real difference to people who live without hope in dilapidated shacks with no formal education and a heritage of bitter poverty.

Connections and Chi Rho went back up north for another weekend at the Toledo Service Project. This was a great weekend of service work for others in need. We painted and repaired homes.

We are committed to journeying with youthworkers as we train young people toward Christ-centered worldviews. We do this by immersing students in hands-on service and in creative worship. We spent days painting, drywalling, and repairing homes for in-need urban residents, and evenings in worship, singing, recreation, and discussion in large- and small-group settings.

In Somerset and Kennebec counties, the economy was hit hard by the closing of several local paper and woolen mills, and major employers have experienced multiple layoffs. More than 18,000 residents live below the national poverty level. The Northeast’s famous harsh winters are extremely damaging to Maine’s homes, making it very difficult for residents—particularly the elderly—to maintain the exteriors. We helped with general home repair, including roofing and painting.