Skagit Valley Mission Trip - Day Four

We hear it rained a lot in Bellevue last night!  While it did rain here, from the looks of pictures we have seen of flooding in Bellevue, it didn't rain as much here as it did back home.  A few of our tents had puddles in them this morning, but Missy, our camp cook, spoiled us by doing some laundry to wash and dry wet clothes and dry several sleeping bags.  We also had two parents drive up with more tarps, dry towels, and a lot of other items to make sure we get through the next few days comfortably, rain or shine.  After drying out this morning, we had a great day!

This morning we headed up to Bellingham to pick blueberries with Small Potatoes Gleaning Project - part of the Bellingham Food Back that picks excess crops from both commercial and home farms.  They pick over 60 tons of food annually from local farms and make it accessible to families in need.  Our job today was picking blueberries at a home orchard that were distributed to families in Bellingham this afternoon.  You won't get produce that fresh at the grocery store!  It was a bit cold and wet in the orchard, but we still picked over 500lbs of blueberries and felt very proud of our work!

This afternoon we worked at a mobile medical clinic and health fair put on by an organization called Sea Mar.  Sea Mar in Skagit County serves a lot of the Hispanic migrant and farm working families   The clinic was held at St. Charles' Catholic Church in Bellingham which also runs a food bank out of their property.  We split the youth up to serve in many different capacities. We helped to set up the fair, passed out donated items to families, assisted with the food bank, did arts and crafts, and played soccer with the kids.  It was a joy to not only serve the community, but also to spend time in play and conversation with both the children and parents who attended.  

Over 150 families attended the health faith and received a meal and fresh food from the food bank.  There was fun for the kids, dentists, doctors, health education, and even a work out was offered for the participates.  This was truly a community event.  It was so fun to watch our youth engage the kids and hear a little bit about their lives.  As we debriefed the day with our youth, many of them saw God's provision and presence during our time at the health fair, and were able to give and receive God's love in meaningful ways.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we want to finish this mission trip strong: that the youth would love each other well, be kind and generous to one another, get plenty of rest, and continue to work hard serving this community.  Thank you!