Welcome

Welcome to the SooCityMission2008 blog spot! This space will be used to tell the story of our 2008 Youth Mission Trip to Sault Ste. Marie, MI. On Saturday, June 21, twenty eight middle school and high school youth along with five adults will head north to the Upper Peninsula to work with folks who have been hard hit by a changing economy. The closure of an Air Force base and the slowing of shipping through the Great Lakes and the steel/iron ore industry have helped to create an unemployment rate over 8%. Seventeen and a half percent of the population in Chippewa County live in poverty.

Our work in this city, which has been an active area since the French fur traders settled here in the 1600's, will be in multiple arenas. We will work with children who are participating in a day care program called "Kids Club", working with senior citizens in a long term care facility, helping the Salvation Army with food and clothing distribution, and participating in the renovation of a local community theater. There may also be an opportunity for our high school age participates to help the local Habitat for Humanity organization.

We will begin entries to this blog site on Saturday morning, June 21 as we begin our journey. The first night features a stop at a Disciples of Christ church in Lansing, MI. They have promised a place to sleep, along with dinner, entertainment by their praise band, and games and conversations with their youth group. It will be great for our kids to meet each other, and see that their "church family"is larger than what they can see in Jeffersonville, IN. With technical success, pictures and stories from the youth will begin to appear on this page.

YouthWorks is our partner on this mission trip. To learn more about them, click here:
http://www.youthworks.com/ We utilized this organization last year for our Birmingham, AL trip, and our young people had one of the best experiences we have ever had on a mission trip. Well organized, fun, spiritual, and challenging. Check daily for posts and please keep us in your prayers.