After arriving at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on the evening of July 12, we were welcomed with pizza, cookies, and cold water—a much-appreciated treat after a day of travel! Our host pastor, Pr. Jane, along with Pr. Myron, our Service Learning partner, introduced us to the week’s schedule, shared what we could expect during our time in Milwaukee, and gave us a glimpse into the city we’ll be serving. The evening wrapped up with games, laughter, and a chance to relax together before the work began.
Monday, July 13, marked our first full day in Milwaukee, and it was a busy and rewarding one!
Our morning began at Good Shepherd Trinity Church, a unique congregation made up of both Presbyterians and Lutherans. Their church building is over 30,000 square feet—far more space than their current congregation needs—so they recently sold most of the building to a Pentecostal church. They will continue worshiping in the original sanctuary, but many areas of the building, including classrooms, offices, and bathrooms, had gone unused for more than three years.
Our group jumped right in, helping Pastor Jenny move furniture, clean bathrooms, and even chase away a few spiders that had made themselves at home!
After lunch, we headed to Tippecanoe Presbyterian Church, where we tackled yard work in the summer heat. Once the temperatures got the better of us, we moved indoors to help prepare materials for an upcoming children’s camp.
After a full day of serving, we enjoyed well-deserved showers before taking a relaxing boat tour of Milwaukee. We ended the evening with supper, devotions, and some much-needed rest, grateful for the opportunity to serve together and excited for what the rest of the week will bring.
Milwaukee Youth Mission Trip Day 2 – Tuesday, July 14
Our morning began with breakfast and First Word before heading to Kinship Community Food Center. Kinship is an organic garden that grows a wide variety of vegetables to be distributed to the community every Tuesday and Thursday.
When we arrived, it was time to grab our gloves and knee cushions and get to work! Our first job was harvesting green, yellow, and purple beans. The kids did an amazing job—you can see how much they filled the 5-gallon bucket! After a much-needed water break, we moved on to harvesting collard greens. Even though the temperature was already pushing 90 degrees, the heat didn’t slow anyone down. The group worked hard and accomplished so much!
After our morning of service, we enjoyed lunch together in the shade before heading to our afternoon worksite.
The afternoon was spent serving at Father Gene’s Help Center. Started by a priest in the 1960s, Father Gene noticed the tremendous need for clothing in his community—a need that still exists today. The center receives more than 200 bags of donated clothing every day! Individuals can come and select up to 20 pieces of clothing, while a family of four can receive up to 40 items, all completely free of charge. Families are welcome to return every couple of months for additional clothing. Everything behind the scenes—sorting, hanging, and stocking the racks—is done by volunteers. Clothing that is stained, damaged, or no longer usable is donated to the Salvation Army, and whatever cannot be reused is recycled through a textile company. It truly is a remarkable ministry, and our youth loved being part of the work that keeps it running.
After a day of sweating through the heat (there’s no air conditioning at Father Gene’s except in the shopping area!), everyone appreciated a well-deserved shower. We then headed to Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward for a little shopping before returning to our host church for supper, evening devotions, and some free time together.
It was another full day of serving others, building friendships, and seeing God’s love in action. We have so much to be thankful for!
Milwaukee Youth Mission Trip Day 3
We started our day serving at Pathfinders, an organization that offers a variety of programs and resources to ensure young people’s immediate safety and long-term stability. Youth play an active role in shaping these programs to make sure they truly meet the needs of themselves and their peers.
One of Pathfinders’ services is providing free clothing to the youth they serve. Our group helped sort through donated clothing, deciding what was in good enough condition and what young people would actually enjoy wearing. After sorting everything, we hung the clothing and organized it on the racks so it would be ready for those who need it.
After enjoying our sack lunches on the road, we headed to Franciscan Peacemakers. This incredible organization provides a pathway to sustainable, healthy, safe, and productive lives for women who have experienced trauma, human trafficking, prostitution, and drug addiction.
One way Franciscan Peacemakers supports its mission is by creating and selling soaps, lotions, candles, and bath bombs. We were able to help by bottling lotions, packaging products, cleaning offices, and washing windows. With the exception of poor Steve, who tackled the outside windows in the heat, we were all especially thankful for the air conditioning today!
After a rewarding day of service, we returned to shower, enjoyed a delicious supper (be sure to check out Isaiah’s huge burger!), and, of course, ended the day with frozen custard at Kopp’s.
Today was another reminder of how meaningful it is to serve others. We are grateful for the opportunity to support these wonderful organizations and found so much joy in the work we were able to do.
Milwaukee Youth Mission Trip Day 4
We got up a little earlier this morning to pack up, clean our rooms, and head to our final service project at Feeding America. As one of the largest providers of food for Eastern Wisconsin, Feeding America works alongside generous donors, suppliers, food pantries, and compassionate volunteers to provide nutritious food and essential resources, turning hunger into hope for families, children, and seniors.
We joined another community volunteer group, and our job was to sort and pack boxes of frozen food. We inspected frozen beef, chicken, pork, and other items, deciding whether they were still good for distribution, needed to be discarded because of damaged packaging or severe freezer burn, or could be donated to big cat sanctuaries if they had only minor freezer burn.
Together, our volunteer groups sorted and packed 7,829 pounds of food, which will provide the equivalent of 6,524 meals. Most of that food will begin reaching those in need starting Monday.
After wrapping up our project, we hit the road for home, enjoying our lunches in the van along the way.
It was a short trip, but a meaningful one filled with opportunities to serve, grow, and make a difference. Thank you, Zion, for your generosity in helping fund this incredible mission trip. Your support made this experience possible, and we are grateful for the chance to share Christ’s love through service.
