SMP Trip Details
The table below summarizes all trips for the summer of 2013. Click on a trip to see more details, or simply scroll down the page.
A list of emergency contacts for each trip is shown at the bottom of this page.
Registration is now closed for all SMP Trips.
Local Missions Extension: Slots are still available for the Local Missions SMP 07/22-07/26. If you are interested in this SMP, please contact Barry Hill at 703-938-9050 x130 or Jeannie Morris at 703-938-9050 x155.
| Targeted Participants | Trip Location | Dates | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
College Students (must be 18 by June 1) and Adults | 6/13 - 6/24 | $1,600 | |
Current 9th-12th grades, College Students and Adults | MINC: Ministries in the North Country, Presbytery of Northern NY | 6/22 - 6/30 | $320 |
Current 10th-12th grades (must be 16 by June 24), College Students & Adults | 6/25 - 7/2 | $1,375 | |
Current 10th-12th grades (must be 16 by July 8), College Students & Adults | 7/09 - 7/16 | $1,375 | |
Current 9th-12th grades and Adults | 7/06 - 7/13 | $395 | |
Current 9th-12th grades and Adults | 7/07 - 7/13 | $399 | |
Current 10th-12th grades (must be 16 by July 5), College Students and Adults | 7/07 - 7/14 | $950 | |
Current 6th-8th grades and Adults | 7/15 - 7/19 | $340 | |
Current 7th-12th grades, College Students and Adults | 7/22 - 7/26 | $99 | |
Current 9th-12th grades and Adults | 7/28 - 8/02 | $350 |
Colombia, South America
- Plant Teak seedlings in Colombia
- Participants: College students (2012-13 school year; must be 18 by June 1); Adults
- Dates: June 13-24 (12 days)
- Contact: David Gifford at 703-743-2109 or gifford.dr(at)gmail.com. See list of emergency contacts.
- Cost: $1,600
- Stretch yourself… way south of the border, to Colombia, South America for an adventure in service to others and personal spiritual growth. This year VPC will commission 10 Christian servants literally to “plant seeds for the future” of the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia. If you are college age or older, you are invited to join Dave and Joan Gifford on VPC’s Missions Project to plant Teak seedlings with the Presbiterio de Urabá. This is a long-range effort to provide a source of retirement income for pastors serving churches in rural Colombia.
- Read more detailed information about this trip.
- Registration is now closed.
Ministries in the North Country, NY
- Participants: Current grades 9-12 (2012-13 school year); college students (2012-13 school year); Adults
- Dates: June 22-30 (9 days)
- Contact: Bob Markle at bob@markle.com. See list of emergency contacts.
- Cost: $320 (Read more information about costs)
- Ministries in the North Country (MINC), operated by the Presbytery of Northern NY, has two clusters that include 11 churches, all but one with membership well below 100 members. Through the Rural Rehab Program during the summer building season, visiting work groups of more than 2000 volunteer workers have helped about 350 North Country families. We build new roofs for mobile homes, install exterior insulation and vinyl siding, build handicap ramps, paint houses to prevent further deterioration of existing siding, replace entrance stairs, shingle roofs, and replace windows. Our motto: safer, warmer, drier. VPC has been supporting MINC financially and by sending missions trips for almost twenty years. For more information see www.presbyteryofnny.org/MINC.html.
- Registration is now closed.
Jacmel, Haiti
- Teaching the
children of Haiti
- Participants: Current grades 10-12 (2012-13 school year; also must be 16 by date shown below); college (2012-13 school year); Adults. (Note: Because the focus of the Haiti trip is to provide an opportunity for high school and college age young people to experience international missions service, there are a limited number of adult slots.)
- Dates: There are two SMPs to Jacmel (both 8 days):
- June 25-July 2 -- Must be 16 by June 24
- July 9-16 -- Must be 16 by July 8
- Contact: Knox Singleton, knox66@cox.net; or Wanda Vander Nat, wevn@verizon.net. See list of emergency contacts.
- Cost: $1,375 (Read more information about costs)
- Consider a week of service in Jacmel, Hait, a town devastated by the January 2010 earthquake. Our SMP team will support the ongoing work of the Community Coaltion for Haiti, whose goal is to empower the people of Haiti to work to complete home and school repairs, clear areas for school gardens, visit local orphanages and conduct Vacation Bibale School, and for feeding programs for local children. If you feel called to service for Christ in this neediest country in the Western Hemisphere, please submit a registration (see below), or email one of the contacts listed above for more information.
- Registration is now closed for both Haiti trips.
Adventures in Missions, Nashville, TN
- Nashville, TN
Homeless Musician
- Participants: Current grades 9-12 (2012-13 school year); Adults
- Dates: July 6-13 (8 days)
- Contact: Anna Robinson at annarobinson22@gmail.com. See list of emergency contacts.
- Cost: $395 (Read more information about costs)
- Everyone wants their voice to be heard, but here in the Home of Country Music, precious voices are suffering in silence. In a city with a high number of Christian music labels and Christian publishers, it sometimes feels like faith is for sale. Nashville needs more love and passion, and less religion and sales pitches. Nashville has a high homeless population – of the 600,000 residents, more than 20% live below poverty level. In addition, refugees from around the world have found safety in Nashville, but they face challenges adapting to the United States. Many come from temporary camps and have no skills or trade to produce an income. Nashville needs your help to bring action to the words the city is singing. Your team might work with local homeless shelters and food distribution centers, or possibly hand out water to the thirsty on the streets. You could have the opportunity to serve in children’s ministry and teach a new generation about the hope and grace of Jesus. You’ll learn for yourself as you show children what it means to go and serve. In your free time, visit the Grand Ole Opry of the Country Music Hall of Fame, or take some time to explore the beautiful rambling countryside on the outskirts of the city. In a place known for country music, will you be a new voice of love? For more information see www.adventures.org/trips/mission-trips.asp?locID=184&typeid=4&subtypeid=2.
- Registration is now closed.
ReCreation Experiences, Asheville, NC
- Home Repairs with
Recreation Experiences
- Participants: Current grades 9-12 (2012-13 school year); Adult
- Dates: July 7-13 (7 days)
- Contact: Kevin Miller at kevin.miller@viennapres.org. See list of emergency contacts.
- Cost: $399 (Read more information about costs)
- ReCreation Experiences is a ministry serving persons living at or below the federal poverty line ($739 per month for one person, $1,508 for a family of four) who live in dilapidated homes. ReCreation serves two populations:
- The majority of clients are elderly people living on fixed incomes. For many of these people, a choice has to be made each month between buying food or medicine. At the end of the month there is no money left over to pay for maintenance or repairs on their homes.
- The second population ReCreation works with is the working poor. This is a population of working individuals or couples who have jobs but whose income is not enough to pay for home repairs.
- Registration is now closed.
Accion Ministries, Mexico
- Construction of a dormitory
by a US Work Team
- Participants: Current grades 10-12 (must be 16 by July 5); college students (2012-13 school year); adults
- Dates: July 7-14 (8 days)
- Contact: John Morgan at morganjj@cox.net or Shannon Jordan at shannon.jordan@viennapres.org. See list of emergency contacts.
- Cost: $950 (Read more information about costs)
- "The extraordinary beauty of the land, the friendliness of its people, and the enchanting Mayan village culture both attract and invite many who want to come, explore, and experience the Mayan while at the same time working hand-in-hand with their Mayan Christian brothers and sisters across the Yucatan Peninsula." (From the Accion Brochure) Since the early 1980's, we have supported Accion Ministries headed by the Oscar Dorantes Family, by sending high school and college students along with supervising adults to small villages in the Yucatan State of Mexico. As guests of selected Mayan congregations, we have worked together to build church roofs and floors, conducted a Vacation Bible School, operated an eye-glass ministry, run a sports ministry, as well as participate in worship activities with the congregation. We live in huts of the families, sleep in Mayan hammocks, and participate in a variety of village and cultural activities. We make time for our spiritual growth through regular worship, music and drama. There is a wonderful opportunity to use and practice Spanish although it is not required. The trip is physically and mentally challenging, living in heat and primitive conditions. However, we always seem to find a lagoon, beach, or cenote as well as Mayan ruins to visit. Recreation on the final day will be in Cancun. This trip promises great rewards as demonstrated over the past 30 years. See for yourself. Visit their website at www.friendsofaccion.org/.
- Registration is now closed.
Pittsburgh Project, Pittsburgh, PA
- Home Repairs at the
Pittsburgh Project
- Participants: Current grades 6-8 (2012-13 school year); adults (space for 10+)
- Dates: July 15-19 (5 days)
- Contact: Kim Snyder, kim.snyder@viennapres.org. See list of emergency contacts.
- Cost: $340 (Read more information about costs)
- Hop in the van and join us for an urban missions trip in Pittsburgh, because you won’t believe how much you’ll learn about God, how much you can make a difference, and how much fun you can have doing that until you try it! At The Pittsburgh Project we’ll join 200 other middle school students and adults, from all different cultural and church backgrounds, to spend our days doing home repairs for needy residents in downtown Pittsburgh. Our VPC team will split into 5 or 6 groups that will adopt a resident to care for, and a house to work on. Through this, you’ll bear witness to God’s great love for all people, and experience what it’s like to be Jesus’ hands and feet in this world. In the evenings, our VPC team will gather back at The Pitt. Project for a worship service and games, and you’ll get to sleep in the dorms on The Pitt. Project campus. Check out The Pittsburgh Project at www.pittsburghproject.org!
- Registration is now closed.
Local Missions Week, Vienna, VA
- Local Missions Work
in and around Vienna
- Participants: Current grades 7-12 (2012-13 school year); college (2012-13 school year); adults
- Dates: July 22-26 (5 days)
- Contact: Barry Hill, barry.hill@viennapres.org. See list of emergency contacts.
- Cost: $99 (Read more information about costs)
- Local Missions Week will satisfy the call to serve in “Jerusalem, Samaria, and the ends of the earth” by serving in our own backyard! This will be our third year of running a free day camp for kids (ages 6-12) who wouldn't be able to afford a camp otherwise. This year our camp will be held at Thoreau Middle School and we will be serving the community in the immediate vicinity of the school.
- Registration is now closed.
YouthWorks, Logan, WV
- Serving the Children at
YouthWorks
- Participants: Current grades 9-12 (2012-13 school year); adults
- Dates: July 28-August 2 (6 days)
- Contact: Thea Jeschke at thea.jeschke@viennapres.org or 703-938-9050 x128. See list of emergency contacts.
- Cost: $350 (Read more information about costs)
- The beauty of the Appalachian Mountains surrounds Logan, West Virginia. The rustic, wilderness setting is inviting, as is the hospitality of the Appalachian people. The county’s rural location, however, presents economic challenges for the small community. Many people in Logan are employed in mining coal and logging. YouthWorks is an established missions organization in the community. Our group will primarily partner with existing organizations that offer the community encouragement and assistance. This could include working at a food bank, doing minor home repairs and improvements, or working with children at a Kid’s Camp. West Virginia may not be the most glamorous location to travel to, but it offers an excellent opportunity to put Jesus first and our own needs last and serve this community while learning a lot along the way! Join us as we bring God’s love to the people in this small town!
- Registration is now closed.
Emergency Contacts
The table below lists the leaders and emergency contacts for all SMP trips. The emergency contacts are all on staff at VPC. During normal business hours you should try to call them at VPC at 703-938-9050 before calling the emergency number.
| Trip | Dates | Leader | Emer.Contact/ Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Colombia, | 6/13-6/24 | Dave Gifford | Sue Hamblen | |
MINC, | 6/22-6/30 | Bob Markel | Mary Flounlacker | |
Jacmel Haiti | 6/25-7/02 | Knox Singleton | Barry Hill | |
Jacmel Haiti | 7/09-7/16 | Knox Singleton | Doug LeMasters | |
Adv/Missions | 7/06-7/13 | Anna Robinson | Mary Monie | |
ReCreation | 7/07-7/13 | Kevin Miller | Mary Monie | |
Accion Min. | 7/07-7/14 | John Morgan | Sue Hamblen | |
Pittsburgh | 7/15-7/19 | Kim Synder | Doug LeMasters | |
Local | 7/22-7/26 | Barry Hill | Barry Hill | |
YouthWorks | 7/28-8/02 | Thea Jeschke | Mary Monie |