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Learning and Serving Trips
Days and Rates
Questions
What Do I Bring?
Schedule
 Learning and Serving Trips
Work groups that come to the Mission will find a more holistic experience than a typical work trip. In addition to the traditional physical aspect of working in the community and on the Mission property, we also engage each group in learning about the principles of culture, race, and ethnicity, so that they return to their home congregations with a better understanding of justice. Because of the duality of the program, we refer to the work groups as ‘learning and serving groups’, to re-emphasize the importance of the learning aspect of the entire ‘work trip’ experience.
A trip to the Yakama Nation will allow youth, adult, and intergenerational groups the opportunity to serve within one of the poorest communities in Washington State. Not only is the community of White Swan directly impacted by the work of the groups, but individuals also return home with new eyes to see systemic racism and other oppressive structures. Many of these people go on to lead further mission trips, and the justice-love of God continues to grow!
Due to the continually changing dynamics of the community, it is hard to predict what work any one group may be doing in a given week. It is important to remember, however, that whatever work you are completing is sorely needed either at the Mission site or in the community. Required 1-2 hour workshops occur daily at various times that address various justice issues in a multi-cultural world. These workshops are critical to gaining as much knowledge as possible from your week here, and also for helping you understand the things you see around you in the community. Tours of the area, trips to the cultural center, as well as other excursions are likely to be included in the curriculum.
Trips are what leaders make of them. It can be a time of teaching human justice, culture, and ethnicity, in addition to helping a community emerge from oppression. To help you prepare, please contact the Mission. We will send you a packet of material to begin thinking about and exploring before your arrival.
Please keep in mind that learning and serving trips are available to all types of groups, including families on vacation that would like to stop by for a few hours or a few days. All are welcomed! The YCM provides housing and bunks for 20 people. Many more can come with any one group… we have a lot of floor space! There are spaces RV’s, as well as tent sites if that is your preference. There is one bathroom for women, and one for men; each has two showers for your convenience.
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Days and Rates
The Missions goal is to make a Learning and Serving trip available to everyone. This is truly a time of looking at what we have and how we can support others who have less than we do. Every group is encouraged to raise enough money to send two more people than they intend to bring and donate that money specifically for those who cannot afford to come to the Mission. On the other hand, if your group comes from a place that is economically depressed, let’s talk. There are groups who have donated recognizing that there is inner-city and rural churches who are lucky to raise enough money to make the trip to the reservation. Let’s make sure your group can make it!
People come to the Mission for many reasons. Fall break, Spring break, and Summer trips are the common times people make trips to the Mission. Your group, though, may be looking for something different from a Learning and Serving Trip and we are here to make it work. Whether it is a pastors class, a high school or college group trying to find a place to plan, a Sunday school class looking for a day to meditate, the Mission is happy to work with you for a short time stay. Call or email and we will do our best to make it work!
Rates per Person for 2007-2008
L&S Rates Fall 2007 and Spring 2008
1-3 day stay - 2 workshops: $200
4-5 day stay - 4 workshops $275
(A day begins at 1 pm and ends at ends at 12 pm the next day.)
L&S Rates Summer 2008
4-5 day stay - 4 workshops $275
Rates include lodging, food, and work supplies for trips 5 days or longer.
1-3 day stay does not include food or work supplies.
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Questions
There are oh so many. Which ones do I need to ask, what is important, what do I need to know, and what do the people who come with me need to know? Well, we are going to try to answer those that come up time and again. Of course, the one that you really would like an answer to is probably not here. Isn't that always the case? Take a look, and maybe, if the stars are aligned--just so--perhaps your answer is here. If not, send us an email and we will try to hunt down an answer for you! Good Luck!
We are arriving prior to Sunday (the beginning of the learning and Serving Trip) OR we are staying longer (past Friday), is there a place for us to stay?
Those of your who are looking for a place to stay either before or after your week out here can contact Englewood Christian Church (509-966-6550) or the United Christian Church of Yakima (509-248-6104); there are also several churches in Seattle who have hosted groups.
How many people can we bring?
Currently, we have bunk beds for 20 people. There are also several extra mattresses available for use without the bunks. This does not have to limit the number in your group, however! We have plenty of space on the floor of the church, and the basement, as well as big beautiful yard for tent camping! A typical week will see between 25 and 40 people. If your group is smaller in size, we will try to book another group as well. RV’s are welcome but please be advised that there is not a dump station, and depending on construction, water and electricity are not always available and enough electricity for air conditioning is never attainable.
What do we bring?
Personal: sleeping bag/bedding, towels, personal items, hiking/work boots, a sweatshirt, modest (no short shorts or spaghetti straps, please) clothes you don’t mind getting dirty/painted/ripped, work gloves, a hat, sunscreen, camera, daypack, journal, earplugs, and a WATER BOTTLE.
Group: In addition to personal items, and if you are arriving during the summer, all groups are requested bring a craft to share with the kids in the Summer Fun Program. Please keep in mind that you should bring supplies for 40-50 kids, ranging in age from four to twelve years old. The Summer Fun is a federally funded program, which means the activity cannot be religious in nature. Two or three folks from your group will have the chance to teach a craft sometime during the week.
Community: If you want to help the Mission by bringing items from your congregation or community to White Swan, please see the Mission’s wish list.
What shouldn’t we bring?
IPods/CD players, snacks/candy, walkie-talkies (if you bring them for the drive out, please leave them in your vehicles…), inappropriate clothing (think: conservative school district rules- no skimpy tops, short-shorts, no obscene or offensive graphics), tobacco products, and cell phones (one per group for emergencies only, please).
How are our meals managed?
The Mission will buy the needed food for your stay. The group(s) will work together in the meal preparation and the cleanup afterwards. This is meant to be community-building time, giving everyone an opportunity to get to know one another and build relationships that go beyond the reservation experience.
What will we be doing?
Learning: You will be engaging in important daily workshops (of your choosing) exploring topics ranging from human justice issues of race, culture, ethnicity, dominant culture, and privilege to sustainable agriculture and ecological responsibility. These meetings will push edges; they will be difficult and at times, uncomfortable. They will be mentally and emotionally challenging, and will require hard work from every person, but will ultimately give you tools to take back to your own communities and share with your congregations, to further the justice work of the Mission.
Serving: In addition, you will have the opportunity to do some physical work on site at the Mission and out in the community. This work will run the gamut of manual labor, from weeding, to digging irrigation ditches, to painting. It just depends on the need at the moment and the availability of supplies.
How do we prepare for the trip?
You should plan to send at least one representative to Volunteers in Mission’s (VIM) Workgroups Leadership Training taking place at the Mission in the Spring (contact the Mission for this years dates). Even if you have led work trips in the past, you will find this training invaluable. VIM has compiled work trip ideas used successfully by people who have led work trips around the world, and presents them in a simple, common sense manner. If you or a representative cannot attend the training, contact the Mission and arrange to have a director visit your congregation to meet with your trip leaders for weekend training.
Additionally, please contact VIM and request their free book Get Dirty For Jesus. You will find this book to be full of ideas for fund raising, preparing your group for the trip, as well as worship ideas.
What else should we know?
- There are no laundry facilities on the grounds. There is a Laundromat two miles away.
- We will begin the week on Sunday night at 7PM. Please schedule flights/driving time accordingly. Don’t forget rest stops, meals, etc. We ask that you arrive around 5 in order to unload, settle in, and REST.
- Pets. If you wish to bring a pet with you, please bear four things in mind: 1) If fluffy has a taste for skin (especially curious-kid skin), leave him/her at home. 2) Remember: generators are not allowed to run on-site. If Fluffy is a Malamute, your RV is not well ventilated, and it’s 100 degrees outside, Fluffy may not be very comfortable. 3) There are coyotes in the area. We cannot guarantee that if Fluffy comes with you, Fluffy will be leaving with you. 4) Fluffy must remain staked and/or leashed at all times.
- Phone service: The closest phone service for your group is in White Swan, two miles north of the Mission.
- Internet service: There is no internet service.
How do I prepare my group for the trip?
Watch for a curriculum coming from the Mission in 2005. Until you find it on the Website, here are some questions that people commonly ask during their week here. Have your group discuss these questions in the context of your community. As your discussion develop, please remember that these are questions to think about and have in your mind, not questions with right or wrong answers that we want you to solve ...
- What is the trash all about (or lack of trash)?
- Why are there car collections in people’s yards?
- Why all the satellite dishes?
- Why paint houses that are wealthy enough to have computers?
- Why don’t people come out and work with us when we are working on their house?
- Why do we have to pull weeds?
- Shouldn’t there be accountability for the poor?
- Why can’t we go into the mountains?
- Shouldn’t people be educated on how to maintain a building after we repair it?
Keep in mind issues of race, culture, ethnicity, dominate culture, and power, as you are thinking about these ideas. By talking through these question, you will also get a chance to understand better where your group is, and what reactions you should be prepared for during you week at the Mission.
In a nutshell, what do I need to do to make a trip happen ?
- Review the Mission's Website.
- Print the Reservation Contract and email or mail it to the Mission.
- Obtain a letter of insurance and mail it.
- Mail in the Deposit Fee.
- Schedule a Leader to attend the Mission's Spring VIM training (March 20-25, 2005) or schedule to have a Mission director visit your congregation and lead a day and a half training for your trip leaders.
- Have your group get together and talk about the workshops offered for the summer, choose a workshop, and inform the Mission so they can prepare for your trip.
- Have one leader from you group read Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and have them lead an evening discussion with the group.
- Contact the Mission and have your email address added to the Mission's Weekly Journal
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What Do I Bring?
Clothing
Closed Toe Shoes
Shorts
Long Pants
Hat
Gloves
T-Shirts
Coat or Jacket
Hiking
Water Bottle
Day Pack
Swimsuit
Bed Articles
Pillow
Sleeping Bag
Bedbugs
Food
None!
All Food provided by the Mission
Know that due to high rates of diabetes, soda/pop and candy are not allowed at the Mission or on projects sites during the week.
Toiletries
Comb / Brush
Toothpaste and a brush if your finger won't due.
Deodorant, for your roomates!
Soap
Towel
Container to carry toiletries to and from the shower
Personal first aid kit...and other stuff
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