PAST SUMMER MISSION PROJECTS
Ciudad Victoria, Mexico
We first began taking trips to Ciudad Victoria, Mexico in 2000. Victoria is the state capital of Tamalipas, on Mexico's northeast coast, due south of McAllen, Texas. Over the years we have developed a deep bond with the church Puerta de Salvacion, a Prebyterian congregation in the heart of the city. We have had the privilege of having some of their men as interns at Cornerstone as they learn English before attending American seminaries. We have also been privileged to send our pastors and several elders to lead seminars for the church and the community on a variety of topics. In 2005, we sent our senior pastor, Chris Vogel, to teach for two weeks at the Mexican Presbyterian Seminary near Victoria. We look forward to continuing this partnership in the years to come.
Photos:
2000, 2001, 2003a, 2003b, 2006
Cherokee, North Carolina
In 2002, we elected to stay within the borders of the US and organized a mission project on the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina. The week was spent in Vacation Bible School and construction. Since then, we have dedicated our US missions efforts to the Menominee Indian Reservation within the borders of our own state.
Belgorod, Dnestrovsky, Ukraine
In 2004, Cornerstone sent its first missions team to Europe. Individuals from Cornerstone have done missions in Europe, such as Wales, England, Romania, and Ukraine. However, this was the first time we sent an entire team to Europe. The city of Belgorod is located about two hours north of Odessa. We lived and worked at a Christian medical clinic in Belgorod, doing Vacation Bible School at a nearby orphanage and for the Presbyterian church which meets at the clinic. A doctor from our church was able to offer some medical advice at the clinic and some of our team participated in construction on their building. We were also able to do a considerable amount of sight-seeing and learned much about the culture. This trip even included a twelve hour layover in Vienna, which was put to good use.
Photos:
2004a, 2004b
Menominee Indian Reservation
Cornerstone first began working with Menominee Orthodox Presbyterian Church on the Menominee Indian Reservation in 2003, sending a team for one day to play games with the children of the reservation. In 2004, a group went back for two days of Vacation Bible School, using the church in Zoar as a home base. In 2005, a team worked on the reservation for eight days, doing Vacation Bible School and door-to-door evangelism in two cities on the reservation. We also had the opportunity to attend a non-religious pow-wow and spent a memorable night at Wal-mart just south of the reservation. An estimated five hundred residents of the reservation were presented with the gospel. Plans are to continue strenghtening this relationship with Menominee Presbyterian Church and to continue sending teams for varying amounts of the time to the reservation for outreach.
Photos:
2003, 2004, 2005
