St. Mark Mission Trip - North to Alaska!

Earlier this year a group of eight teens (along with six chaperones) from the St. Mark Orthodox Church (http://www.stmarkoca.org) parish in Bethesda, MD made a commitment to serve His Church by making a missionary trip to Alaska to work at St. Herman Seminary on Kodiak Island (http://www.sthermanseminary.org/. This is the first such trip in the history of our parish.

As background, this trip was borne out of our first Church School "Parents Session" of the recent school year (last September). The parents and clergy discussed various topics on that day and were asked of each other to consider activities where our children's service/charity efforts could directly be of help to someone/someplace and at the same time have an impact on the child's life - perhaps a profound "life-changing" effect. It was then decided that we should explore organizing a mission trip for our teens.

Due to unforeseen circumstances our initial plans to travel to Mexico needed to be reconsidered. The parents and teens quickly regrouped and were provided with an opportunity to give much needed help at St. Herman Seminary in Alaska. With much enthusiasm the team agreed to travel to Alaska although the journey would be more difficult and expensive.

At that point, the teens were asked to prayerfully consider and commit to their participation and each member was asked to submit $100 to reserve their spot on the team. In revelation of His will, as mentioned above, eight of our teens have made this commitment. Furthermore, we have been fortunate that these students will be chaperoned by Fr. Gregory Safchuk and several adults. (It is noted that adult supervision on such a trip was an important element for the parents of the teens.)

Early on in the planning, it was made clear that every team member would be responsible for his/her expenses (~$1500.00 each - the airfare is very expensive) BUT that we would work as a team to raise funds to offset these costs. As such, the students have had several group activities which they have led or supported such as Souper Sunday, bake sale,pancake breakfast, picture taking project, parish sponsorships, the FOCA Sock Hop, etc. However, just as important, the members have been required to raise funds on their own via sponsorships, baby-sitting, grass cutting, and other similar kinds of things ... things which they have done.

By the grace of God our group, we have given the opportunity to serve God and His Church. As a reminder, the reason for going to Alaska is to work (really really work!!) and will include the repair of facilities, painting, cleaning, grounds maintenance, clearing brush, and other similar things. We also hope to have the chance to visit the peoples, hear from local clergy, and visit holy places of the region.

Please pray for the team and follow us as we travel! Deacon Mark