Youth Outreach Projects

Mission Trip Experiences 2010

By Hannah Northrop -- The definition of the word Philadelphia is "brotherly love." Eleven youth and three adults from King of Kings Lutheran Church went on a mission trip to Philadelphia to spread this brotherly love throughout the community. This exicting trip began Sunday, July 25th and lasted until Saturday July 31st. At the beginning of the week, each of us were separate individuals. However, by the time Saturday had come around we had all truly molded into one united family. This trip was a life-changing experience that made each and every one of us expand our comfort zones. The bland word "trip" may not even be the correct noun to describe the week. A better choice would be the word "adventure." This is due to the fact that none of us knew the tasks we were going to be performing throughout the week. It was indeed an adventure, because at one point or another, we were all fearful, but we pushed through and conquered those fears.

Every day was filled with activities and jobs as it began at 7:30 in the morning and ended at 11:00 at night. Our main task was to work with the children at Harold O Davis Summer Camp which was at a church close to where we were staying. Every day we stayed at the church from 9:00 to 1:00 pm. Because we were there for several hours every day, we really connected with the children and created a strong bond wtih them. While at the church we did several activities with them such as singing, dancing arts and crafts, swimming, and playing outside.

Besides visiting Harold O Davis daily, we also went to other places throughout the city to spread the brotherly love. On Monday we went to a nursing house called Simpson House. The first thing we did while there was make room visits, visiting the residents and just simply talking with them. We then gathered them in a room and sang church songs to them, which was followed by a short devotion to give them hope. That night we did an activity called "Hands of Hope." We made twenty bagged lunches, broke up into small groups, and went out into the city distributing the lunches to homeless people. However, we didn't just provide them with food. We also spent a great deal of time just talking with them and listening to their life stories and the harsh obstacles they were forced to face.

On Tuesday we were split up into groups and given one dollar each for lunch. We were then told to disperse throughout the city and figure out how to find a cheap lunch. The purpose of this activity was to show us how hard it is for homeless people to not only find lunch but also to survive. On Wednesday we went to Mary Jane Enrichment Center, which is a center that has helped the community for over forty years. There we helped make meals and sorted through a variety of different donated clothes. Our last work day consisted of going to Camden, NJ, and weeding a woman's garden. Clearly, this adventure was filled with a variety of different tasks. Most of these tasks dealt with spiritually and emotionally connecting with the people of Philadelphia. Our true gift to them was the brotherly love that we brought with us.