First Church has sponsored mission trips for over 15 years.
Our first trips were to Oaxaca, Mexico, where we worked with Simply Smiles and Casa Hogar. We than gravitated from western Mexico to the Yucatan peninsula, working with Solyluna, in Merida, Mexico. Solyluna is a school started by a Dutch national for severely disabled children, many who were not expected to live beyond a few years. Four years ago, we partnered with the Tiny Pine Foundation in northern California to assist survivors of the wildfires that have ravaged that area in recent times.
Last July, our team of 9 returned to California to assist the Tiny Pine Foundation. We completed a “tiny home” on a trailer bed that we had worked on the prior summer. The highlight of that effort was having the honor of witnessing the presentation of it to its new owner.
That humble young man, who after escaping a wildfire in his community, realized that some of his neighbors were still in the fire area. He turned his pick-up truck around and went back into the fire zone to help others escape. He lost his home to that wildfire and had been couch surfing at the homes of relatives and friends until he received the home from the Foundation.
We also framed a “tiny home” on a concrete foundation in a remote area outside of Oroville. This is the new focus of the Tiny Pine Foundation with the objective of providing more permanent housing to victims of the wildfires. The home was for a couple in their 70’s who welcomed us to their lot with open arms. The foundation was poured just prior to our arrival, and they were delighted to see a home being built on a small plot of land that had been in their family for generations. The husband helped with the framing, and the wife prepared us coffee every morning and made us lunch one afternoon.
We will be doing the same this summer. We will be building homes on concrete slabs but are flexible and our team will do whatever else is needed for the wildfire survivors. We are excited not only because we are returning to Oroville, California, but because our team will include 4 people who are participating for the first time! Another 9 on the team are “veterans” of First Church Mission Trips.
Our team braves intense heat (temperatures were around 105 degrees every day last year), working outdoors. We thank God for the opportunity to use our gifts and energies to give others a lift in life. We are also thankful for the support of so many who financially support the mission trips. The ministry and impact of the First Church family continues to reach far beyond Winsted and in ways that we never imagined possible.
You can assist by contributing to the First Church of Winsted Mission Trip Fund. In addition to cost of travel, lodging and food, we also pay for all the materials that we use in our projects. While each participant contributes what they are able, the majority of the costs for the Mission trip are covered by fundraising efforts and generous donations.
