Mission-to Mission's Quilt Raffle!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! As you might already know, I am one of 4 sponsors taking the Youth at my church on our first Mission Trip this summer. The number of youth that are going has increased higher than expected, so our budget might have to increase soon as well. We have been raising funds like crazy, and are close to our initial goal.

This GORGEOUS quilt was donated for us to raffle off! The artist is a colleague of mine who has been quilting for 13 years, and he spent ~120 hours making this double-lap-quilt. The quilt measures approximately 60” x 72” and is valued at $400! I encourage you to click on the pictures to see all the quilting details that were put into this. AMAZING!

The Raffle will take place on the evening of May 6. Tickets are only $5 and you can buy as many as you'd like! If you are a friend of mine not in Austin, you can mail a check to me (made out to "Central Presbyterian Church" with "Youth Mission Trip" in the memo line) -- just be sure to include your phone number so we have a way of contacting you if you win! I would also suggest contacting me to let me know that a check is on it's way. Email me at shelleykasiske@gmail.com with any additional questions.

So how about this Mission Trip? I thought you'd never ask. This summer, 12 youth and 4 adults (myself included) will venture to Mission, Texas for one week. Chosen for more than the city's name, we will be volunteering our time within the South Texas community. Although our schedule is not finalized, we have the option to work with construction/repair, literacy, feeding, health care, and outreach projects throughout the Rio Grande Valley. For those of you unfamiliar with Texas cities, here is a map, from Austin to Mission.

On a more personal note, this trip means so much more to be than one week off from work. When I was a youth, I had the opportunity to go on several Mission Trips: Colorado, West Virginia, New Hampshire. (THANK YOU to the Youth Leaders of my past!) Since then, I've also gone on Mission trips (I think of them more as learning trips!) to Guatemala and El Salvador. I can guarantee that I would not have been so bold to go to Guatemala & El Salvador if it weren't for those first three high school trips.

Our Youth Group program has changed in the past few years. I am the most "tenured" Youth Sponsor at 1.5 years. The program itself meets more frequently, and we've added this Mission aspect to the curriculum. This will be the first Mission Trip for the Central Presbyterian Youth Group. (Or the first trip in a very long time -- I don't have confirmation on that yet.) Once this trip proves successful, we are hoping that Mission Trips become a standard part of the Youth Group.