The dates chosen for next summer’s trip are July 30 - August 7, 2016 with Spokane, WA, San Diego, CA and Tsaile, AZ as possible locations. All youth currently in grades 8-12 are eligible to participate. Priority registration deadline is November 10. Contact Holly for information on how to register.
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Yes! It is already time to start thinking about Summer 2016.
We will meet on Oct 18 at 11:30 to discuss our preferred dates and locations. We need to get our choices and registrations in early so we can have the best chance of getting our first choice of dates and locations. Please come if you are even remotely interested in participating next Summer. Any youth who is currently in grades 8-12 is eligible. See below for possible dates and locations. Come with your calendars and your preferred dates in mind. 2016 Dates Week 1: June 26 – July 2 Week 2: July 3 – July 9 Week 3: July 10 – July 16 Week 4: July 17 – July 23 Week 5: July 24 – July 31 Week 6: August 1 – August 6 LOCATIONS Native American Communities
Urban Communities
Rural Communities
This just in! We will be going to SSP in Sacramento for a Weekend of Service on October 23-25. We will be pairing up with the youth from First Congregational Church in Palo Alto for a weekend of SSP fun and service. More details will be coming soon.
Sorry for the combined post here, but posting on site became incredibly difficult with connectivity issues and limited time. Thursday was a great day of work for everyone, but the big highlight of the day was the evening program. We drove about 10 minutes from our home site to an amazing spot where we could se the beautiful desert hills and dramatic clouds on the horizon. We participated in different types of guided meditation and affirmation. It is lot really something that is easily described in this form of communication. Best to ask one of the youth about their own experiences on the walk. Friday was our last day of work and each team worked hard to get that final push and set next week's teams up for success. The program for the evening consisted of SSP's traditional "candle" where everyone gets a chance to briefly share their thoughts from the week. And following candle we participated in a love feast where people are invited to feed one another (this year was chips and salsa) as a sign of friendship and love. Friday night program is always a powerful experience. Saturday morning came too quickly and many were sad to be packing up to leave. After we packed the vans, we all pitches in the clean the facilities for the next group of campers who arrive again on Sunday at 2pm. Then we ate breakfast, took photos, have hugs, and were on our way by 8:30. On the way home we stopped off at Holly's in-laws home in Sacramento (which is just off the freeway) for lunch and a quick dip in their pool. It was a fun and delicious way to relax after a week of hard work. Thank you, Connie and Kevin Kennedy, for opening your home to us! We arrived back home at 4:00, safe and sound and thankful for a great week of service. Thank you, Ladera Community Church, for all your love and support! We couldn't have done this without you! See you on July 19 for our special SSP worship service. We've come to the middle of the week! Typically on Wednesdays we would work a half day and then head to a watering hole of some kind for a refreshing dip. But today we were given the whole day off, so it was quite a treat. After breakfast and morning chores we piled into our vans with our church groups (vs. our work teams) and drove to nearby Yerington where we filed into a theater. We were given an opportunity to watch a few short films directed by Winter Carrera, a nature photographer/cinematographer and member of the Walker River Pauite Tribe. The first film talked about the tribe in general and showed us some of their culture that they are trying to preserve. The second film was about a place called Hodden Cave, an archeological site on the reservation that has great historical significance to the Paiute. Afterward we had a Q&A session with Winter and some of the tribal elders. It was a really great experience. After the films we came back to the gym to grab our stuff and to change into our swimsuits. We very quickly piled back in the vans and drove to Weber Reservoir for swimming, free time, and dinner. The swimming has been the highlight of the week so far for pretty much everyone. It was great to be in the cool water and to have a relaxed afternoon chatting and playing games. When dinner time rolled around we had yet another bout of crazy weather. Just as we were laying out the food an intense wind kicked up which made it impossible for us to enjoy our meals outside. We all sought shelter in our vehicles while we are. Despite the craziness, the food was great. After dinner we came home, got ready for bed, had our evening devotion and then it was lights out. Tomorrow we will hit it full force with another full day of work. (Sorry, no photos today due to technical difficulties) Today was our first full day on our worksites. We woke up bright and early, had yummy breakfast burritos, did our morning chores, and left four sites. The painting groups continued to scrape and prepare the home for primer. Other groups are building either a ramp or a set of stairs. And a few groups are removing old roofing and boards in order to put on new boards and shingles. Despite a few groups having to wait for materials, it sounds like much progress is being made on each site. One team had a bit of a set back as one of the youth (not from our church) fell through the ceiling sheetrock, luckily she went only about half way in, landing quickly on a shelf below her. There was a bit of excitement, but everyone is ok. At the end of the work day we had shower and free time. Always fun with board games, basketball, and napping. Dinner time rolled around and so did another storm. Just as we were starting dinner, it began to rain and we could see lightening in the distance. To be cautious, we ate in the gym again. Everyone is being really flexible and understanding of the unusual circumstances. Our program was led by one of the homeowners, Patty, who taught us several Paiute circle dances. It was fun to get a small taste of Paiute tradition. Tomorrow we are taking the day off from working to learn more about the Paiute and we'll spend the afternoon at the Walker River Reservoir for swimming, relaxing, and dinner. Our first day on the worksites went well. We awoke to the sound of our lovely staff singing Rise and Shine. After a short morning devotion we headed over to the church for breakfast, and we listened to some safety tips while we waited for the food to be ready. After breakfast we joined the construction staff for a tool demonstration where everyone got a chance to use a drill and a circular saw. Once training was over our teams got to work gathering supplies, making lunches, and filling water jugs for the worksites. And then we followed our construction supervisor out to our sites for the first day. Due to the extra safety and construction training we didn't have a full day of work, but we certainly felt the 100* heat. All of the groups are working outside on roofing, painting, and building, so staying hydrated is one of our main tasks during the day. After working, we came home for showers and free time. As dinner approached the wind started to pickup and the weather got very exciting. So exciting that in the middle of dinner, where we eat outside, we needed to head back to the gym with our food firmly in hand in order to escape the intense wind. After all the excitement at dinner chores were completed and we had our program time focused on the theme word for the day: Restore. It was a good day full of unexpected twists. We are looking forward to seeing what Tuesday brings. We left LCC on Sunday morning at 8:30 with our whole crew except one. We picked Joanna up 3 hours later at our lunch stop in Soda Springs where she and her mom were having a little mini vacation. We made great time, arriving in Schurz around 2:45, and were greeted by an enthusiastic group of SSP staffers. We played games while waiting for the other groups to show up. We are being housed on the Walker River Paiute Reservation in the tribal community gym. We are lucky to have showers on site and we eat our meals at the Methodist church just a short walk away. After dinner we were all split up into our work teams for the week. There are 8 teams whose work will range from building a ramp to roofing to painting. The energy is great all around so I expect we will have a great week. 6am wake up call is coming soon. Gotta start working before it gets too hot. The work begins today. Our team of 5 youth and 1 adult will be heading to the Walker River Paiute Reservation in Nevada on June 28 - July 4. We will spend the week doing home repair, learning about the local Indian tribe, and meeting God in new and exciting ways. If you bought stock in May, keep an eye out for a postcard in your mailbox that week.
We would love to receive letters and care packages while we are there. Our team members this year are Bradley, Wesley, Sarah, Joanna, Matthew, and Holly. You can send mail to: Camper Name General Delivery Sierra Service Project Schurz, NV 89427 Please only mail through USPS. Check delivery times with your local Post Office before mailing as this location is quite remote and packages may take some time to arrive. |
What is SSP?Sierra Service Project’s (SSP) mission is: “Building faith and strengthening communities through service to others.”
SSP is a Christian non-profit organization providing life-changing experiences through acts of service repairing homes in rural and urban communities and serving in Central America. SSP invites middle school and high school youth and young adults to experience the profound power of serving people who have a culture and life experience different from their own. Archives
November 2015
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