This year, high school students and leaders traveled to Yakama reservation to learn from Mending Wings, a ministry run by Yakama people which is committed to reconciliation and healing. Participants are immersed in Yakama Nation culture by letting healing happen from the stories of the Yakama people’s history, by participating in indigenous worship, and by the opportunity to see the power of the Creator at work through all of us. We came as learners and listeners to the reservation and left with a new understanding of God’s transforming power.
Here’s what three students had to say about their experience…
“I really enjoyed this mission trip since I was able to learn more not only about how God connects to me personally, but the relationships he brings into my life. I also enjoyed being put into conversations that pushed my thinking and made relationships between people and their God or Creator. In general, I had a blast and loved every moment!” Riley Sellers, 11th grade.
“This mission trip has been such a unique experience. It challenged the way I thought about the Native American culture and how we interact both in the past and the present. I am still wrestling with the topics that we only began to scratch the surface of.” 12th grader.
“This trip has been such a great learning experience for me. Often times I come into trips like this with specific expectation and this year was no different. I was expecting to meet God in a very personal and intimate way through the Holy Spirit. However, I encountered God in a very different and unexpected way. I learned that there are so many different ways to talk about and worship God, and just because different terminology or traditions are used, it doesn’t mean God’s not present. I learned that faith isn’t just about reconciliation and relationship between God and me, but between other people and me. God calls us to be reconcilers. “ Sarah Hudson, Class of 2018
Check out the pictures from the trip here!