Mission Tour 2010

Each year since 1998 the Pastor and up to 14 members and youth of Donegal Presbyterian Church have taken a week-long mission tour to "up-state" New York, outside the Adirondack Park. We work through the organization MINC (Mission In the North Country) to address the needs of those living with challenging conditions... un-insulated floors, deteriorated walls, leaking roofs, etc. We share Christ’s Love through the use of power tools, hammers, paint brushes, levels, tape measures, etc. The program includes “rugged” living (no TV!), early wake-up calls, hard work, nightly Bible-study, and concludes with a strenuous hike through some of the most beautiful country God has created. It is rewarding beyond description for all adults and youth who attend. Plans and preparation have begun for MT'10. We have frequent meetings and events that we hold to raise money and awareness. This year’s program began on July 11^th and ended on July 18^th.

COME SEE THE RESULTS ON OCTOBER 3, 2010, at 6:00 PM POT LUCK AND SLIDE SHOW

This year, we were assigned to 3 job sites, and by the end of the week, we finished 5 job sites—a miracle in its own right!

Three components to the Mission Tour program:

1. The work—the lasting end result, which serves the people who are in the most need.

2. The Fellowship among the MT Crews, past and present—a shared experience that is binding and profound.

3. Daily Reflection and Devotional Time every evening, when we review the schedule, the work accomplished, the people we reach out to, and a brief devotional lesson, applied to the next day’s work experience. Here’s an example:

“When you always find that you want to be ‘otherwise’ or ‘elsewhere,’ it is time to be PRESENT.

Be there, and use your gifts as best you can… The present is Holy Ground.”

The devotional concludes with a prayer circle in which all may take part, at their own choosing.

Everyone who has ever gone on a Mission Tour will attest to the value of the experience!

Why do we go back to the same location each year? Why not got to an area of extreme need, such as the gulf coast, following Hurricane Katrina, or Haiti, following the devastating earthquake? The answer is both need and cost. The need continues to exist in one of the poorest sections of rural New York State. It doesn’t go away just because there is no TV coverage of the area. The cost of the NY trip is nearly $5000 each year for equipment, supplies, housing, transportation and food. A longer trip would cost that much more.

Photos from the 2010 trip will be posted at a later date.

Here are some scenes from Mission Tour 2009:

Last updated 08/01/10