2012 Trip Details
The table below summarizes all trips for the summer of 2012. Click on a trip to see more details, or simply scroll down the page.
| Targeted Participants | Trip Location | Dates | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
College Students and Adults | 5/27 - 6/06 | $1700 | |
Current 10th-12th grades (must be 16 by June 22), College Students and Adults | 6/23 - 7/01 | $1375 | |
Current 10th-12th grades (must be 16 by July 6), College Students and Adults | 7/07 - 7/15 | $1375 | |
Current 10th-12th grades (must be 16 by July 6), College Students and Adults | Accion Ministries, Mexico | 7/08 - 7/15 | $990 |
Current 9th-12th grades and Adults | ReCreation Experiences, | 7/08 - 7/14 | $405 |
Current 6th-8th grades and Adults | 7/09 - 7/13 | $340 | |
Current 7th-12th grades, College Students and Adults | 7/16 - 7/20 | $95 | |
Current 9th-12th grades, College Students and Adults | MINC: Ministries in the North Country, | 7/21 - 7/28 | $320 |
Current 9th-12th grades and Adults | 7/22 - 7/27 | $425 | |
Current 9th-12th grades (Adult spaces are full) | 7/22 - 7/28 | $340 | |
Current 10th-12th grades (must be 16 by Aug 3), College Students and Adults | 8/04 - 8/12 | $1375 |
Columbia, South America
- Plant Teak seedlings in Colombia
- Participants: College students (2011-12 school year); Adults
- Dates: May 27 - June 6
- Contact: David Gifford at 703-743-2109 or gifford.dr@gmail.com
- Cost: $1,700 (Read more information about costs)
- 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 first ever SMP 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.
Jacmel, Haiti
- Teaching the
children of Haiti
- Participants: Current grades 10-12 (2011-12 school year; also must be 16 by date shown below); college (2011-12 school year); Adults
- Dates: There are three SMPs to Jacmel (all 9 days):
- June 23 - July 1 -- Must be 16 by June 22
- July 7 - July 15 -- Must be 16 by July 6
- August 4 - 12 -- Must be 16 by August 3
- Contact: Knox Singleton, knox66@cox.net; or Wanda Vander Nat, wevn@verizon.net
- 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: Register now through May 21 or until trip is full.
Accion Ministries, Mexico
- Construction of a dormitory
by a US Work Team
- Registrations are now wait-listed.
- Participants: Current grades 10-12 (must be 16 by July 6); college students (2011-12 school year); adults
- Dates: July 8 - 15 (8 days)
- Contact: John Morgan at morganjj@cox.net or Marna Morgan at marnamorgan@mac.com
- Cost: $990 (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: Register now but note that your registration will be wait-listed.
ReCreation Experiences, Asheville, NC
- Home Repairs with
Recreation Experiences
- Registrations are now wait-listed; adult positions are filled.
- Participants: Current grades 9-12 (2011-12 school year); adult positions are filled
- Dates: July 8 - 14 (7 days)
- Contact: Shannon Jordan, shannon.jordan@viennapres.org
- Cost: $405 (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: Register now but note that your registration will be wait-listed.
Pittsburgh Project, Pittsburgh, PA
- Home Repairs at the
Pittsburgh Project
- Participants: Current grades 6-8 (2011-12 school year); adults
- Dates: July 9 - 13 (5 days)
- Contact: Kim Snyder, kim.snyder@viennapres.org
- 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 4 or 5 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: Register now through May 21 or until trip is full.
Local Missions Week, Vienna, VA
- Local Missions Work
in and around Vienna
- Participants: Current grades 7-12 (2011-12 school year); college (2011-12 school year); adults
- Dates: July 16 - 20 (5 days)
- Contact: Barry Hill, barry.hill@viennapres.org
- Cost: $95 (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! Each day will have a different focus, ranging from helping the homeless to helping student ministries. In addition we will serve the low income population in and around the Cunningham Park Area of Vienna.
- Registration: Register now through May 21 or until trip is full.
Ministries in the North Country, NY
- MINC Home
Repair Projects
- Participants: Current grades 9-12 (2011-12 school year); college students (2011-12 school year); adults.
- Dates: July 21 - 28 (8 days)
- Contact: Bob Markle at rmarklejr@cox.net
- 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: Register now through May 21 or until trip is full.
YouthWorks, Raleigh County, WV
- Serving the Children at
YouthWorks
- Participants: Current grades 9-12 (2011-12 school year); adults
- Dates: July 22 - 27 (6 days)
- Contact: Bret Busse at bbusse(at)walterpmoore.com or 202-384-4934
- Cost: $425 (Read more information about costs)
- This YouthWorks Summer Missions Project is designed to provide a life-changing, Christ-centered opportunity for high school students and adults to serve those in need through Work Projects and Kids Club activities. Raleigh County, West Virginia faces challenges common to predominantly rural communities, including economic struggles and lack of resources. Our group will bring the light and love of Christ to Raleigh County residents by primarily serving the local children and completing home improvement projects. Examples of service sites that you may participate at are Kids Club and Work Projects. Kids Club is a hands-on program led by our youth offering high-energy games, crafts, skits, songs and interactive lessons all designed to help kids learn about Jesus. Work projects may include painting houses, performing minor home repair, cleaning up debris, volunteering in community gardens or other projects in the community. In addition, students may serve at places like: children’s programs, elderly centers, and thrift stores. They are all blessings to the community. Evening activities are designed to give participants insight into the lives of local residents and the culture of the area. Possible activities include: worship with a local church; tour a coal mine; and participate in a community cookout. On Friday morning, July 27, we leave the YouthWorks site and will spend the day white water rafting before heading back to VPC.
- Registration: Register now through May 21 or until trip is full.
Philadelphia Project
- Philadelphia Project Home Repairs
- Participants: Current grades 9-12 (2011-12 school year);
adult spaces are full - Dates: July 22 - 28 (7 days)
- Contact: Thea Lamberson at thea.lamberson@viennapres.org
- Cost: $340 (Read more information about costs)
- The Philadelphia Project offers a unique and powerful service and missions trip for our group. Students will be challenged to serve whole-heartedly in the community and to think critically about how God’s Word speaks to social and spiritual issues. The Philadelphia Project is modeled after the Pittsburgh Project, our popular middle school trip. Our work at the Philadelphia Project will mainly consist of home repair. These experiences will make an eternal impact on youth and those they serve, as well as a visible impact offering hope and restoration to the Philadelphia community. After repairing homes during the day, we’ll have free time, Bible study with our group, and the Philadelphia Project staff will lead us in a time of worship and a message. We’ll joyfully be serving Christ, “doing everything as if for God”, when we help to bring these homes and the community back to life! Join us to serve this community known for “brotherly love” and show them the love that Christ has for each of them! Visit their website at www.thephiladelphiaproject.com.
- Registration: Register now through May 21 or until trip is full.