posted Dec 15, 2011 2:41 PM by Joshua Dunham
What: High School Winter Retreat When: January 13-15, 2012 Where: SON Lodge in Welches, OR How Much: $60 per participant (scholarships available) Who Will Join Us: Moreland Pres, Hillsboro Pres, Multnomah Pres, and Oak Hills Reformed Extras: Skiing & Snowboarding at Timberline is an option on the retreat, but does cost extra. Talk to Josh for more information. |
posted Sep 26, 2011 12:56 PM by Joshua Dunham
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updated Sep 26, 2011 12:59 PM
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Please download and fill out this form and return it to Josh to make sure your youth is properly covered during our youth group activities. |
posted Sep 26, 2011 12:52 PM by Joshua Dunham
We also have a new opportunity this year to raise money for 2012 Mission Trips (High School Caravan Trip and Middle School City Camp), which we are calling the "Year of Service." All our youth are being called to do service work in our community and have their friends, neighbors, families, teachers, and more pledge money in support of them doing this work. Each high school youth is invited to work at least 20 hours from now until the end of the school year and raise at least $200 through the "Year of Service" that will go directly to fund your attendance on the Caravan Trip. Each middle school youth is being invited to work 10 hours and raise at least $100 to go directly towards their attendance at City Camp. This is a mandatory project for helping raise money for the trip, so start signing up your pledges now! The form is attached below. Please print this out and use to start signing up your pledges. Our first two service projects are:
Charles Loftus-Cole Work Day
Oregon Food Bank
Saturday October 22nd, 2011
9:00am-11:00am
Meet @ Moreland Pres
Wear close-toed shoes (i.e. no flip flops or sandles) Outdoor Sanctuary Cleanup
Milwaukie Presbyterian Church
Sunday October 23rd, 2011
11:30am-2:00pm
Meet @ Milwaukie Pres
Wear clothes & shoes you don't mind getting dirty & muddy
Thanks everyone and I hope to see you all at Youth Group!
- Josh
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Joshua Dunham
Youth Director
Milwaukie Presbyterian Church
youth@milwaukiepres.org
503-654-7782 (church)
503-501-6519 (cell)
http://www.milwaukiepres.org/youth |
posted Sep 22, 2011 2:03 PM by Joshua Dunham
High School Youth Fall Retreat
aka CPYA (Cascades Presbytery Youth Assembly)
November 18-20, 2011
Macleay Retreat Center in Salem, OR This is our annual High School Fall Retreat and this year it's gonna be awesome. We are heading to the Macleay Retreat Center, which has an awesome gym, heated swimming pool, huge fields for sports, and a coffee shop. The early registration deadline is Thursday October 20th ($75) and the final registration deadline is November 3rd ($100). Scholarships are available so please talk to Josh for more information. |
posted Sep 20, 2011 12:57 PM by Joshua Dunham
Middle School Fall Retreat
aka Middle School Mania
Friday 10/14 to Sunday 10/16
B’Nai B’rith Camp in Lincoln City, OR This is our fantastic Middle School Fall Retreat and I’m really excited for it this year, because we have a new location! Come have a blast. Early registration date is Thurs 9/22 ($50) or if you miss that date the late registration date is Thurs 9/29 ($75). Check the Milwaukie youth page or talk to Josh for the registration forms. This event is open to all Middle Schoolers, 6th to 8th grade. |
posted Jun 25, 2011 3:18 PM by Joshua Dunham
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updated Jun 25, 2011 3:26 PM
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By Becky Gutman
Today we woke up and packed our things. We were dreading the goodbye that was coming. We had made friendships that we didn’t want to end. Thank goodness for Facebook. Haha! As we finished up cleaning the church, we had our last laugh’s and we finally said the goodbye’s. But we had good news for the rest of the day, because we were headed off to Wild Waves and gonna spend the day there. But after only two hours of driving and 45 minutes away from Wild Waves our back tire popped and we were stuck on the side of the highway. We all got off the bus and headed to the top of a hill to wait for the AAA guy. Of course we had to have some fun out of it. So we started to get the semi trucks to honk at us by doing the truck signal for honking. A lot of them did honk at us either because they were nice or they felt sorry for us.
About an hour and 45 minutes later we finally made it to Wild Waves and we all had a great time on both the dry rides and the water rides. We were there for about 5 hours and it was time to pack up and get back on the bus to go to dinner. We ate at the Engine House No. 9. It was a place that had once been a fire house but they changed it into a restaurant. They had really good food, mostly hamburgers and salads. As we finished up dinner we decided it was time to head to the church we would be staying at, Skyline Pres. Church. We met the youth group leader from that church and Kate and I went off to make awards, while everyone else played hide and go seek. Kate and I finished up the awards and we had an award ceremony where we past out the awards. I got the "Most Likely To Marry Sandro Award.’’ Sandro was one of the helpers we worked with. After the ceremony it was midnight, so that meant lights out and we all knew we would be finally getting home the next day. |
posted Jun 25, 2011 3:17 PM by Joshua Dunham
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updated Jun 25, 2011 3:28 PM
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By Cole Johnson
Well today was the last day of work for us on the trip and I thought it had turned out to be a good day. We began the day by finishing work on the previous day’s site, clearing out the last of the weeds and bagging them for the site coordinator to pick up.
After finishing with the first site we were taken to a new site closer to where we are staying. We were immediately introduced to Thelma, a ninety-four year old woman who had the kindest of hearts. She was also filled with jokes and fun facts for us.
Once we had finished the introductions we began work on her yard. I was eager to start swinging an axe again so I immediately grabbed it out of the truck and headed to the back to look for things to chop down. Sadly there was nothing to chop, but I did get to saw many tree branches away from the house.
After working for about a couple hours we decided it was time for a lunch break. As we all searched for shade where we could sit in as we ate, one of us suggested getting back in the van. Which everybody seemed to like because we all pilled onto the van except for the staff and the chaperones. About half way through our lunch Steven and Daniel (two of the interns) began a water fight with each other and it provided some good entertainment, but the best part was when Steven tore the bottom of his shirt so that you could see his belly and used the excuse that his shirt was shrinking because of it getting wet.
Once we had all had a good laugh and finished our lunch we began work again for the last hour of the job. Soon after cutting a few more tree branches and some more weed whacking it was time for us to leave. But first we enjoyed some more of Thelma’s company then we headed off.
As soon as we got back to the church where we are staying we grabbed our shower things and headed to the showers. After the showers we had some free time and we all had agreed to head over to a local market that we all wanted to check out. When we got there we all found it to be marvelous and we all acted like we had never seen anything like it before when it was really nothing more than something like a Fred Meyers or Wal-Mart.
After our free time we headed out to Fort Simco for a BBQ and some games to end the day. All in all it was a great day to end the working part of the week. Tomorrow we head out early for Wild Waves. |
posted Jun 25, 2011 3:11 PM by Joshua Dunham
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updated Jun 25, 2011 3:26 PM
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By Ali Henn
Well today is day 4 on our journey of being one with other cultures. We have learned a lot these past couple days on our job sites. One being that people aren’t always as they seem. Another that you cannot judge someone because of where they might live. Today also opened my eyes to cultures totally different from my own.
Well back to the topic of why i am blogging, today is day 4 and the high of the day being 95 degrees. Needless to say it was a very hot and sunny day, in the town of Wapato, home to Yakama Natives living on the Reservation. We were lead to our job site a little differently today than what we were previously used to: such as, being driven straight there, getting introduced to the people we were lending a hand to, and then starting our 5 hour work day. I know what you are thinking, 5 hours is a lot. Well it is, but it goes by quicker with friends and lot of work to be done.
But today we started off at a museum about 8 minutes from the church in which we are staying. At the museum we met up with a small youth group that took a 30 minute drive from their home in the Yakima Valley to meet us here in Wapato. We entered the museum and right through the doors we paid our way and entered the small gift shop. We were able to look around for a good twenty minutes before entering the museum itself. As we looked through the shelves and racks of hand made clothes, shoes, beautiful hand made jewelry, and other various items, it was apparent that these people have a skill for crafting and the finished product is just BEAUTIFUL!!!
Then it was time to go into the museum. It was a giant room that led you in a big circle. It showed you the past and some of the present of Indian’s from all parts of the country, spanning from the West Coast to the East Coast. Something that stood out to me was all of the mannequins depicting different tribes. The most interesting thing about them was realizing that they all looked and dressed differently. Which brings me back to my point that everyone is different. So if you go to a place you’ve never been before, you cannot expect to know all about it before you arrive. I believe this saying was a big part of our trip this week.
After finishing our time at the museum we all piled in our beautiful church bus, and drove back the way we came. We headed to our job site close to the church. There we met a lady named Elaine Moss. She owned a nice home in town, and we were told to clean up the flower beds and clean out a space behind the shed that needed a little T.L.C.
Now because we were able to go to the museum our work time was shorter than normal. It went from being 5 hours to lasting only 3 hours, which meant that we had to work double time to get all of the work done.
While working, Elaine came out and told our female leader Kathy Stromvig how grateful she was that we were here giving her a hand around her house, because she was no longer able to tend to her gardens around her house. Hearing that made us finish out our day strong and on a good note, even though it was during the hottest time of the day.
Immediately following our work, we rushed back to the church and we were able to relax before leaving again for a very humble man’s home. We had met him earlier in the week, when he came to speak to us about his culture. His name is Cory and he invited us to his home for a feast of fry bread (which is some amazing stuff), and FRESH salmon prepared on a Cedar plank, which made the fish taste and smell extremely good! After eating, we were entertained by a traditional dance, and in the second dance, we were able to join in the dance of friendship. It was a great way to get thrown into the culture, and meet new people. My partner was a girl going into her first year in high school here in Yakima. Her name is Kayla, and from the first time we were introduced we hit it off and spent most of the night talking with each other.
Today was a day of experiencing new things, being one with a new culture, meeting new people, and it is only the middle of our week here in Yakima. I know I can speak for our entire group that even though we are tired, we will be able to finish this week stronger than we started!! |
posted Jun 25, 2011 2:53 PM by Joshua Dunham
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updated Jun 25, 2011 3:28 PM
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By Kate McCredie
Today was hot and sunny. Everyone drank lots of water and put on sunscreen, but even with our precautions I came out with a sunburn. We took the Moreland bus and followed our site leaders, Steven and Daniel, to a modest home not more than ten minutes away from town. There were fields of overgrown grass with large trees offering us shade. The owner’s name was Amelia and she was a sweet older woman. She was very grateful to us for the work we were doing. We evaluated the plot and started by pulling out the truffle weeds in the front work. Weeding is hard work! A few of us grabbed clippers and axes and started hacking away at the weeds on the side of the house. It was a collection of larger bushes, with many smaller integrated trees. After a few hours of hard work, we finally cleared out the invasive plants and the difference before and after was clearly visible. It is an instant gratification when you can see the good work you’ve done. It makes it all worth the while.
We mowed the other side of the yard, raked up tumbleweeds, trimmed rose bushes, cut down trees, cleaned up trash and did various other small tasks. It was a long day with many water breaks, but we pulled through it. We showered, and then Josh rewarded us all with Dairy Queen. The sweet ice cream and cold AC brightened up the day. After returning to the church, some of us retired to our rooms for some much needed rest, while others stayed downstairs to play cards. Around 5:30 we were joined by another church from Yakima and ate pizza for dinner with them. We all loaded up and headed to Cory’s home for talking circles and s’mores. Cory is the leader of the Mending Wings program and he has a big personality. There were about 100 of us in a giant circle in his back yard. In the middle of the circle was an eagle feather, sage, the Bible and a talking stick.
We were participating in a traditional Indian worship ceremony. It was wonderful and powerful. The sun was in a position to light up the low-hanging clouds and the blue sky contrasted with the brown mountains surrounding the valley. The farthest mountains faded into blue to look like a beautiful painting. The world felt expansive and surreal as each one of us was “smudged” with sage to clean our mind, hearts and bodies. Smudging is an ancient practice to clean oneself. Cory burned sage in a seashell and waved it over each one of us with the eagle feather to cleanse us. Even a spot for Jesus was prepared, because he was present there with us. The talking stick was then passed around, giving everyone their chance to share a prayer, statement, concern, thoughts and songs to the group. Many people shared thanks to God for opportunities, knowledge and awareness. Many people prayed for strength for hardships and struggles with friends and family. Some people passed, some people were emotional with sadness and happiness, but most listened with intensity and open minds. It was a community of trust and love, one that I have not found within the church before. Instead of closing with communion, we each were given a dixie cup that was then filled with “choosch” (water) while Cory played the drum and sang a mesmerizing chant. Once everyone had their cup, we said “choosch” and together we drank.
Cory offered some closing words and we dispersed to play basketball, football, make s’mores and to socialize with others. We played a game of basketball, Moreland and Milwaukie kids versus staff, while the sun set. The game ended with 78 points for the kids, and 2 points for the staff. (Josh’s note - there may be a bit of exaggeration in the discrepancy of this score) The staff were terribly sore from losing, but we still respect them for trying. We all came back to the church with bug bites, scratches, and scrapes from a rough game of basketball. |
posted Jun 25, 2011 2:40 PM by Joshua Dunham
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updated Jun 25, 2011 3:28 PM
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By Ian McCredie
Eighty degrees, no clouds, and five hours of community service. A great way to start off a great trip. Honestly, I thought we would be worked harder. Even though, we left the owner with a smile on her face. It was a warm, happy feeling when we finished. We do it for free, but when you turn around and see the yard, or the people you have pleased, it makes it all worth it.
The first job was put on me mainly because I am “too young” to use the other tools. This job was none other than trimming trees with hedge clippers. I went to work on this one, ladder and all (the ladder made my day). I cut twigs, I cut branches, I almost fell over twice. It was a surprisingly challenging task, but I managed to get it done with the assistance of Cole (and his axe collection).
Next came lunch. That lunch was possibly the longest lunch I’ve ever had. It lasted about two hours. Two hours of laughter, and football. I was questioned as to why we were allowed to take so much time off, but it made some good bonding time and I (think I) got to know the crew.
After lunch it was time for the big guns. Weed whacking and lawn mowing. This was where my eyes lit up, as mowing lawns is my life and my expertise. I gripped the pull-string and the familiar smell of gasoline arose from the tank. A voice said in my head, “let ‘er rip!” and I pulled like it was nothing. It was nothing, I do it twice a week. The mower roared, it rumbled, a burst of smoke, and it was going. Working with Michael (exquisite weed whacking skills), we took down a forest of grass all the way around the house. Of course, the entire thing was all of our efforts, but I’m the one writing this blog.
The whole day was a mixture of work, play and a little bit of relaxation. And we were rewarded afterwards with some nice showers (accompanied by the singing of “Old MacDonald” by the person in the stall next to me). The day seemed to last a very long time, coming from Portland I’m not used to so much sun. But still, it didn’t end there.
Tonight we watched a long, long, presentation by Philip, a very motivating and inspiring speaker, accompanied by his comedic friend, Cory. They told us the story about the Yakama tribe, and how this reservation came to be. They also told us about the current wealth of the reservation, and how you can pretty much survive just off what you find in the valley. We were amazed and laughing by the time they finished, but also tired. By the time they got wrapped up, it was 9:00pm. It was 9:00pm and the sky was still bright blue, what a perfect time to play soccer. We all went outside for the next half-hour or so until it got dark. At this point, it was time for our Devotionals.
Devotional time is a time set out for thinking and reflecting on a series of passages from the Bible. Tonights was on a message portraying “there is no faith without work, and no work without faith.” It was basically an explanation saying that you can't just say you’re a Christian and get away with it. If you don’t do any work, you’re not a Christian. Not by a long shot. This goes both ways.
I can already feel this trip changing me, the way I act, the way I feel, and just my basic understanding of the native culture (my understanding of the common native american was way off). I really like the interns and staff, they know how to make you smile and laugh from anything you give them. All-in-all, I hope to leave here knowing I’ve done something useful, something that other people will actually like me for. Something worth the trouble. |
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