East Ohio Youth Serve with Blue Rose Mission
Dover First UMC Youth Mission Trip 2024 (recipients of the NCJ Directors Scholarship)
Bue Rose Mission
July 14-17,2024
Sometimes the best experiences are close to home, and this was indeed very true of our trip to Mansfield, Ohio this summer. Why drive 8 hours with a van full of teenagers when the adventure of a life time is only 1.5 hours away? We are glowing with joy after spending several days with Blue Rose Mission in Mansfield, Ohio.
After last year’s mission trip, the boys in our youth group requested that the next trip be “hands on dirty work” and oh did we deliver! Mr. Garland Harvey of Blue Rose Mission organized, with the help of Jeff (the most amazing worksite manager and teacher I’ve ever served under) the perfect mission project for our youth group. We spent 3 days demolishing an old porch, rebuilding it, and then building a 24-foot disabilities accessible ramp for the two most wonderful ladies. This job was 100% hands on! Jeff was so good at instructing our group on exactly what to do and how to do it safely. He took the time to show each of our youth how to properly and safely use the tools needed (they used power drills!) Not only did we get to serve, but we took home useful skills and fond memories.
We had fun too, of course. We are a youth group after all! One afternoon we took a trip to Charles Mill Lake to swim at the beach, we will call it a prewash. Another day after a hard day’s work we spent time playing mini golf, then ate cheeseburgers the size of plates. Garland arranged for us to stay at the Rural Life Center of Richland County where we enjoyed God’s great playground of acres and acres of woods with so many paths to explore.
For a youth leader, there is nothing quite as rewarding as seeing joy on the faces of 8 young men who have done something so very good to serve the Lord. We finished the porch and ramp in 3 days! Our youth were blessed to watch their two new friends enjoy the fruits of their labor. This trip was truly special.
I am highly recommending Blue Rose Mission to all of our UMC youth groups. It was well organized, instructive, meaningful, fun, and very affordable.
Many Blessings,
Deena Wolfe
Director of Children and Family Ministry
Dover First UMC
EOC CCYM Coordinator
