Mission Service Teams
At the Upper Sand Mountain Parish, Mission Service Teams are groups of children, youth and adults who volunteer time, skills and resources. Mission Service Teams may be comprised of any age group. Youth teams must have one adult leader or chaperon for every seven youth. Teams should plan to divide into work groups of 6-7 persons for different projects during the day. Mission Service Teams may serve for a day, several days or a week long experience.

Possible projects for Mission Service Teams fall into the following areas:
1. Building new homes through the Heart and Hand Home project
2. Painting or repairing low-income houses
3. Gardening and gleaning vegetables from area fields
4. Jammin' and Preserving food at the Better Way Cannery
5. Maintaining and constructing parish and church facilities
6. Building ramps to make homes handicapped accessible for the elderly or disabled
7. Other current missions of the parish

The basic schedule for the week is late Sunday afternoon through Saturday morning. Mission service teams are housed at churches with showers/kitchens, etc. Teams will be responsible for their own meals. Mission Service Teams are responsible for liability and medical insurance. The total cost for the week is $175.00 per person, which is used toward materials and supplies that you will need and for support staff. To secure the work camp dates that you have requested, a non-refundable deposit of $250.00 is required.

Former Upper Sand Mountain Parish Mission Service Team members share from their experiences...

"It was great to see a project completed and to know in some small way we have made life a little better."
"It was worth it to see the faces of those working and those being helped."
"I enjoyed working with the people. When you got the chance to listen to their stories, you had the chance to actually get a feel for what these people were going through. It really felt good to be able to help them in their time of need."

To receive information on becoming a Mission Service Team at Upper Sand Mountain Parish, contact Tayna Rains at (256) 638-2126 or vie e-mail at usmp@farmerstel.com