2015 Mission Trip Opportunities Mount Olivet community members understand themselves to be instruments of God’s grace and work in the world. We are doing God’s work in the world when we reach out to those who don’t have a decent place to live or enough food to eat. Mount Olivet is offering opportunities for those in middle school and older to bechurch in the summer of 2015, serving those in need around the world.

-Duluth MN -Denver CO -Nicaragua: Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity -Dar es Salaam, Tanzania -Camp Noah

Observations from previous mission trip participants:

I met several members from Msasani Lutheran Church when they visited Mount Olivet. Everyone seemed so “filled with the Spirit” and God-centered. I was immediately drawn to them and wanted to see how these people lived and how they could be so filled with joy! I expected to find people and places to rescue and save when we got there. What I found was a church looking for partners - not looking to be rescued.

On our last night in Tanzania, we wanted to say something memorable to our gracious, God-loving hosts to let them know what the experience meant to us. I have forgotten all the words said that night—except I remember very vividly when my son Brett the microphone and said, somewhat awkwardly but with true conviction, “If all the people in the world were like the people of Tanzania—it would be perfect!”

- Sam Riemensnider, Dar es Salaam, December 2011

I found this trip to be educational and impactful - the compassion, friendliness, generosity, and attitudes of the people we met and lived with during our time in Africa were impressive. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime!

-Bruce Finley, Dar es Salaam, December 2011 

I was at a Salvation Army day camp. There were kids who (lived) along the roughest street in Nashville. There was prostitution,drugs, lots of violence…unimaginable for us here. It was hard to say goodbye to the girls that I met and got to know so well. We talked about thunderstorms, and dogs, and the abuse they faced in their homes and saw around them. When I’m on a mission trip, I’m pretty worry free, in the moment, relaxing, focused on helping others, and being in touch with my faith. It's an amazing experience I only get to feel once every year."

-Andy Dickmeyer, Nashville, July 2014

Even something that you do that seems small and insignificant to you, can really make an impact on other people’s lives. We asked (a homeless gentleman) if he would want to share our lunch with us… That was the single best decision I made on this trip because we talked for about two-and-a-half hours about everything, from his life story to ours.

-Thomas Dickovich, Nashville, July 2014

I'm not accustomed to dealing with young children - they scream a lot and they're sticky - but I love them. But still I had a lot of anxiety (about going to Camp Noah). A couple weeks before I left, the anxiety just disappeared,and I just had this vision of smiling and happy children. And you know, that’s exactly how it unfolded.

-Scott Linge, Camp Noah, Lyons CO July 2014