This trip report was included in the July UCC Newsletter

2012 Youth Mission Trip Report

The 2012 Youth Mission Trip was an amazing experience! We all learned a ton, thought about even more, did a lot of great work, and treated each other with love and kindness. Did I mention we worked a lot? It was very busy.

32 youth and 6 adults arrived at the Austin Airport on Monday, June 4^th , excited about the upcoming adventure (19 of the youth were from United Christian Church, joined by youth from United Christian Church in Taylor, Congregational Church of Austin, and University Christian Church).  We got through security and on the plane without incident and arrived at Denver as scheduled, but we had some baggage problems once we got there.  This meant that we arrived late to Englewood United Methodist Church, which would be our home for the week. We got to bed late…lack of sleep was one of the themes of the week – but thankfully not the dominant theme.

The next morning, we divided into van groups of 5-6 youth and an adult. Because some of the worksites had age restrictions, each group was either all middle school or all high school. The groups travelled together throughout the week; sometimes more than one group would meet for an activity, but each group stayed together all week. (The good part of this was that the groups became very close through the course of the week; the downside was that we didn’t get to work with everyone all the time like we have on some trips in the past.)

There will be an important meeting on Sunday, May 20th for youth and parents at 6:00pm at University Christian Church.

The youth will get to spend time getting to know the other youth who are going on the trip. Parents will get the final information on logistics, locations, what-to-bring, etc. 

Please try to be there and let Ken know if you're not going to be able to make it!

For our 2012 youth mission trip, we will fly to Denver, CO and work with various urban groups under the guidance of Denver Urban Ministries. This help may involve everything from light construction to helping other youth. Our group of 40 youth will be split up into work groups and go to different places during the day before meeting back up together in the afternoon.

The youth that will be going include youth from Congregational Church, University Christian Church, United Christian Church of Taylor, and United Christian Church of Austin. About 20 youth are going from UCC Austin, and Ken White and Ian Stahl will be the adult chaperons from UCC Austin. There will be a total of 6-7 adult chaperons going on the trip, almost all of whom have worked together on prior trips..

This is a little different from some other mission tips we’ve been on, schedule-wise. We will be leaving on the Monday after graduation. We will also be working 5 days instead of 4 days, but we will still have a fun day in the Rockies on Sunday. We will return on Monday evening. The schedule is below.

The out-of-pocket cost of this trip is $200 per youth. Scholarships are available for families with financial need. The difference between the out-of-pocket cost and the actual cost is about $450, which will be made up with fundraising, so it is very important that everyone participate in fundraisers.

Schedule:

June 4:

          Meet at airport ~ 4:30?

                  Arrive Denver 7:55 pm

June 5^th – 9^th: Workdays!

·         7:00 am - Rise and Shine, it is time to work! Groups will volunteer at any of the 20+ local nonprofits partners. Groups larger that 10 will be split into different work teams during the day and require separate transportation. Usually, what one group does one day, another group will do later. This way all participants get similar experiences.

·         8:30 am – Arrive at the worksites. Traveling directions, worksite expectations, and contact information are provided by the Urban Education Manager. Worksites include, but are not limited to: preparing and serving meals for the homeless; sorting and packing donations in a food bank; building or improving low-income housing; painting homes, nurturing and tending gardens and working with children of economically disadvantaged families, individuals with disabilities and the elderly.

·         12:00 pm - Lunchtime! Urban Education groups should expect to bring their own sack lunches to the worksites with them. Then it is back to work!

·         4:00-7:00 pm - Relaxation time! A couple of the afternoons may be set aside for educational activities such as a Downtown Walking Tour or the Game of Life. Other afternoons are free, allowing time to explore the city of Denver, take a nap or shower. This is a great time for groups to discuss their experiences in Denver and reflect on the bigger social issues.

·         7:30 pm - One evening will be devoted to a discussion with someone who has experienced homelessness first hand. Other evenings your group might choose to plan activities: eat dinner at a local ethnic restaurant, head to the mountains, enjoy a Rockies game, shop at the 16th Street Mall, or schedule the Denver Hunger Meal. Information is available for possible evening and free-day activities.

·         9:30 pm - Evening discussion and worship. This is a great time to reflect on what the impact of serving is having on your personal and spiritual lives.

·         10:30 pm – Bed Time

June 10^th”: Fun day in the Rockies

June 11

• Depart Denver flight #149 2:50 pm
• Arrive Austin 5:50 pm. Youth are picked up from the airport.

The 2011 mission trip was a great experience! Unlike previous years, this year we decided to stay in Austin and work locally - and it was one of the best trips we've ever had.

On Saturday, July 2, 30+ youth from United Christian Church, Church of the Savior, Round Rock Christian Church, Congregational Church of Austin, and University Christian Church met at Round Rock Christian Church. We put our things away and then went to a Round Rock Express game, after which we came back to the church and played some games, worshipped, and went to sleep. On Sunday morning, we got up, put on our "Keep Austin Loved" t-shirts, ate breakfast, and worshipped with Round Rock Christian Church. That afternoon, we made our way to Life Church in Leander, which would be our home for the next 5 days, which is wher we met the othe 50+ campers from around the country that would be participating in this week with us. That evening, we were split into work crews for the week. A work crew consisted of 4-5 youth and an adult - all from different churches. The crews participated together in morning and mid-day devotionals, as well as going to work sites together.

Monday was July 4th, so there wasn't a whole lot of work for us to do. We went to the Round Rock parade and planned to help out there, but they had most of the positions covered. One lucky work crew got to walk behind the horses and shovel poop, but the rest of us just watched the parade from the sidewalk. That afternoon, we went to Zilker and helped around there, doing things like picking up trash and handing out water to people.

For Tuesday through Thursday, the workcrews went all over Austin. We had youth who went to east Austin to help serve meals and lead community-building games in some apartment complexes. Some went to people's houses who needed help, and some crews went to nursing homes and teen pregnancy centers. We had a crew go to the Prayer Cafe downtown and a couple of crews work at section 8 housing in Georgetown. Each night, after the large devotional that included everyone in the camp, our group of churches would garther together for worship. Here we would discuss things that had surprised us or what we had learned, and we had some great discussions about where we see God and how God is revealed to us in one another, in service, and in the Christ.

On Friday, we left the church and went to Great Wolf lodge in Dallas for the night. We returned on Saturday. The next day, during Sunday school, the youth decided that we should continue our service projects in Austin, so that's what we're doing. We're partnering with Urban Connection Austin to find ways that we can build relationships that cross I-35 - an assumed geographic barrier for many in our local community. In a very real way, this year's mission trip could last 52 weeks, and will hopefully grow to include not only all the youth at UCC, but everyone who is interested in joining this effort to keep Austin loved.

Huge thanks go to the numerous supporters of this trip, including not only the adults who participated, but all those at UCC who continually provided encouragement, financial support, and prayer. Your support changes lives.