West Side Presbyterian Church
Seattle, Washington

Youth (8th-12th grade)

West Side sponsors yearly short-term mission trips (or training events) for our youth.

2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003

2008 - Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic, July 4-14

Gracia to all who participated in the Dominican Republic Mission Dinner and Auction on April 19 through your donations, attendance, generous support and helping hands! We raised $22,945.50 to support the 14 students and three adults heading to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic from July 4-14, 2008. The team was overwhelmed with your generosity and hopes you had a great mini-vacation to the Caribbean! Thank you!! Melissa Shults

2007 - Work Camp to Desmet, Idaho

Recap to be posted.

2006 - DCLA 2006, August 8-11

12 students and 4 adults traveled to LA for the DCLA training event.

2005 - Dominican Republic, July 30 - August 14

11 Students and 4 adults traveled to the Dominican Republic to work with Kids Alive. They prepared a school for the beginning of classes and worked with two different day programs.

Kids Alive Web site (ministry locations):
http://www.kidsalive.org/mloc.htm

More about Vic and Leslie Trautwein, West Side sponsored missionaries with Kids Alive:
http://kidsalive.org/missionaries/trwein.htm
 

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2004 - Yakima Reservation at White Swan, Washington

14 students and 4 adults. The group spent one week in July serving the community by painting buildings and helping out a children's day care.

2003 - Ensenada, Mexico

12 students and 4 adults -- the group spent one week involved in Vacation Bible School and work projects.

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Adult

News (9/23/07):

• SHORT TERM MISSION TRIPS - Are you planning or even considering going on a STMT in 2008? If so, now is the time to be in touch with the Outreach department. All departments are currently in the process of scheduling events for the coming year, and Outreach needs to hear from you so that we can advise you in planning any fundraising you might need to do. If this applies to you, we need to have your mission trip proposal before the end of October. If you have any questions call Ken McLaughlin (Elder, Mission Liaison).
   
• KIDS ALIVE VISION TRIP - Have you ever wanted to go to Jarabacoa and visit The Ark - the happiest place on earth? Or go up in the hills to Constanza to see the wood shop where boys learn woodworking and build furniture for other ministry sites? From November 3-10, Kids Alive is leading a tour of their ministry sites in the Dominican Republic including ANIJA, Palo Blanco, Caraballo, and a trip into Haiti to see their newest ministry in its infancy. This opportunity is open for anyone who wants to see firsthand what the Lord is doing in the lives of children who have been blessed with God’s love through the staff and volunteers of Kids Alive. For more information contact Ken McLaughlin (Elder, Mission Liaison).

A sample of recent trips:

• Dominican Republic in partnership with Kids Alive, July 7-17, 2006
   
• Youth Compass Project Compassion
  Romania, April 7 to 22, 2006
   
• Hurricane Relief Rebuild/Repair Team
  Lake Charles Louisiana,
  February 23 - March 2, 2006
   
• "Ora Et Labora" -- "prayer and work" mission project; Germany, July/August 2005

2006 - Dominican Republic, July 7-17

The college-age/young adult West Side team left on July 7th for 10 days in Dominican Republic, serving at the Anija school in Jarabacoa, with Vic & Leslie Trautwein (Kids Alive Ministry).

As in previous DR trips, the West Side community collected and supplied the team with school supplies and clothing to take down. The supplies are much needed by the Kids Alive Ministry and included basic school supplies -- pens and pencils, liquid paper, contact paper, erasers, dry erase markers, glitter, tissue paper, brads/paper fasteners, new or gently used book bags, clipboards, DVDs of good kids movies with Spanish or subtitles -- and clothing such as black shoes, tennis shoes, new khaki pants, blue short sleeved button-up shirts, kids clothing (new or gently used).

A description of the work activities and some reflections will be posted soon.

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Youth Compass Project Compassion -- various locations in eastern Europe

This has been an ongoing mission project in partnership with Youth Compass Ministries, headed up by Tom Speckhardt (who previously attended West Side). Craig Chamberlain organizes the trip. Previous trips have included groups of 2 to 12 adults and have been to the following locations:

• Romania (2003, 2005, and 2006)
• Slovakia (2004)

Romania 2006, April 7-22 -- West Side sent a team of six for this year's trip. The team included Craig Chamberlain, Lisa West, Jamie Foulk (attended both weeks), and Trudi McLaughlin, Erich Fleck, and Jim Morey (attended the first week). 120 kids attended the first week and 60 kids the second week which worked well with the team schedule.

We headed back to the same location as last year, Taut Romania. We worked on several construction projects at a kids’ camp for the ghetto children in Arad, and we again partnered with International Students from Youth Compass ministries.

More photos from this year's trip and past trips.

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Hurricane Relief Rebuild/Repair Team -- Lake Charles Louisiana,
February 23 - March 2, 2006

Our team of six from West Side Presbyterian Church traveled to Louisiana to help the congregation at the First Baptist Church of Vinton Louisiana. Under the direction of Reverend Bill Holifield, the church Pastor, we cleaned up the church properties and yards of several members of the church and others in the community that were elderly, ill, and incapacitated or unable to do the work of removing trees, limbs, and all other imaginable debris. We raked the yards and hauled the debris to the roadside for FEMA to pick up. One large property needed sand filled into ruts left in yard by roofing trucks-- the owner had just returned home from surgery at the hospital.

Our expert carpenter, John Marshall, provided plumbing repairs and carpentry work including moving a wall and installing some much needed lavatories. The repair of a broken pipe under the home of Widow Miss Lilly where we took our showers was skillfully accomplished by newly certified plumber Lucian Smith under the direction of instructor brother A.J. AKA Jimmy.

On Sunday after a great service by Pastor Brother Bill and a delicious meal, we had Miss Susan escort us to the southern region on the gulf to the towns most severely damaged. A community of several hundred (Holly Beach) was totally removed by the hurricane with winds exceeding 130 mph and a 28-ft. wave taking everything with it, burying and moving homes several miles from their lots. The next town, Cameron, was devastated with no buildings left habitable. Large buildings, stores, schools, churches and homes were ripped apart. It’s hard to believe until personally seen. These will be the next communities that volunteers will concentrate on helping. I would like to see West Side Presbyterian Church get involved again and send a team of volunteers later in the year to do God’s will in those devasted areas.

The Pastor and the people of the First Baptist Church in Vinton were among the most hospitable and gracious of any our team has ever met. They fed us tasty Southern meals, they opened their homes for showers, and they offered friendship, fellowship, and love. We felt truly blessed by the opportunity to do God’s will and help their church and community in this small way

In Christ,

Jerry Williams
With Louisiana Team,
Nan Gionet, John Marshall, Bill Batts, Lucian Smith, Mark Koelling

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"Ora et Labora" -- "prayer and work" short term mission project -- July/August 2005

Objective: to help German Pastor Thomas Meinhof with much needed repairs both to one of eight churches he pastors and to a youth center he serves. The church being renovated was built in 1150 A.D. and the Christian youth center dates back to 1740 A.D. The facilities came into disrepair under the Communist rule from 1948 to 1989.

Location: Seyda (population 1000) and Mellnitz (pop. 180), located in the heart of Germany where Martin Luther took his bold steps that led to the great Reformation movement in Europe.
 

Article from The Good News newsletter (September 2005): God Answered Prayers for Short Term Mission Trip Ephesians 3:20 describes God as the One Who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. If you should ask any of the nineteen people who took part in the "German Church Rebuilding" project this summer, they would each say they realized the truth of this verse in our lives in amazing new ways. Each one of the prayer requests listed for you in the June edition of the Good News was answered immeasurably more than we asked or expected. God gave supernatural unity of purpose to our team and with Pastor Meinhof. The bumpiness of language and cultural barriers smoothed miraculously. For example, God gave amazing new friendships between us and the host families, although, in many cases, we couldn't speak each other's language. This section of economically depressed former Communist East Germany, where unemployment now runs at 25%, rarely sees American tourists, much less interested volunteers with helping hands from the USA. The local paper circulated in 17 small cities and villages ran four extensive articles on our involvement in renovating a 12th century village church and an 18th century house dedicated to evangelizing and discipling young people in the area. One of the great answers to your prayers was the enormous amount of work we were able to accomplish. It was a daunting challenge to treat all of the church benches for wood worms and to fully prepare them with 4 coats of primer and stain for usage within the time frame given us. Close to the deadline all nineteen of us cancelled a planned excursion to Berlin in order to complete the benches and the priming and painting of numerous support and cross beams of the small medieval church. With much trepidation we installed the benches and held a moving Church Service with Communion on our final Sunday in Mellnitz. The Superintendent from Wittenberg gave the sermon and I translated. The church was packed and God blessed our fellowship abundantly. One final note: our German hosts continued the other part of our work on a separate Youth Center after our departure August 2. Two of our younger volunteers who had intended to visit Paris returned August 7 to help with finishing touches on the Youth Center. The "Middle German Newspaper" carried this Headline, "Young Americans would rather work in Seyda than visit Paris." Affixed next to the entrance door on the Youth House is a bronze plaque noting the historical value of the Youth House and thanking the many volunteers from West Side Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington for their labor of love in the restoration of the facility. Thank you for the co laborship of your powerful prayers in this venture. Pastor Louis Platt   back to top