First Presbyterian Church Mt Pleasant Iowa

06/15/2026

All church fellowship night!

06/11/2026

06/07/2026

Des Moines Mission Trip Day 4 - Headed Home!

This morning we packed up and headed to Clive to worship with the saints at Heartland Presbyterian Church. What is unique about them is that they have an in-house jazz band that provides all of their music. They are also a very welcoming and affirming church and were very decorated for Pride month which the youth loved.

Pastor Alex Thornburg recognized us and we even joined the children’s moment. Pastor Sarah reconnected with many friends from Synod School. And Pastor Larry Mitchell now worships here - former long term pastor in Mt. Pleasant.

It was a great way to end our experience in Des Moines. We are so thankful for the support of our church community and for the love and guidance you show our young people. This will truly be something we all remember for a very long time.

06/07/2026

Des Moines Mission Trip Day 3

We had a slower morning to recover from our big day yesterday. Our first stop this morning was to meet Pastor Ekram at the First Arabic Presbyterian Church which is mostly composed of refugees from Sudan and South Sudan. Ekram has an incredible story of perseverance and persistence. They currently share a building with a Baptist congregation. We learned a lot and I think our young people’s eyes were opened to new things. (Ekram is also a regular Synod School attendee!)

After lunch at the house we went to Westminster Presbyterian Church for some work in God’s Garden. God’s Garden has 22 plots. 20 of them
are gardened by refugee families mostly from Burma. The other plots are kept by the church and produce is sold at coffee hour. The proceeds go to the food pantry. They also put produce in their little free pantry. We worked on two projects: netting peaches on a large peach tree and then moving a giant compost pile from inside the garden to the parking lot so that it could be collected by Lutheran Family Services. Our group worked so hard!

Their youth director Amy Withers (who has worked with Sarah and Kelly at Synod School) gave us a tour of the church.

We ended the night by grilling burgers and hot dogs in our front yard and playing 9 square. Our final activity was a fashion show with what we purchased at the Hope Ministries Thrift Store yesterday. It was so fun!

06/06/2026

Des Moines Mission Trip Day 2

This morning we packaged meals for two hours with Meals From The Heartland. These young people worked so hard! We packaged bulk meals and filled 70 boxes. Altogether the volunteers this morning packaged 37,800 meals which will feed 147 kids for a year. Today’s shipments are heading to Senegal, Zambia, and El Salvador.

After lunch back at the VRBO we went back to Bethel Mission. We packaged 120 pod packets that included inspirational cards for the residents. The shelter offers free laundry service. We also met with Scott who is a case manager. He shared his story with us that included a history of addiction and mental health issues that led him to eventually want to work with people who are experiencing a similar path. Because of a health concern that included a resident being taken to the hospital via ambulance we did not get a full tour of the shelter.

We had a little more time so our amazing adult leaders came up with a challenge. We visited the Hope Ministries Thrift Store and each person had a small budget to purchase items for a fun activity that will be revealed tomorrow! While we were there we learned that a couple of their employees had completed the recovery program at Bethel Mission.

After a taco bar dinner at the house we ended the night at the Iowa Cubs game!

06/05/2026

Des Moines Mission Trip Day One

We loaded up this morning to begin our journey! Our first stop was lunch at a Des Moines staple, Tasty Tacos! Then we stopped for a group selfie by the Iowa State Capitol.

At 1pm we gathered at Bethel Mission which is part of Hope Ministries. Bethel is a shelter and recovery program that houses up to 110 men and is available for 3 meals per day. We participated in their escape room experience where our youth used teamwork and problem solving skills to unlock clues and move through the three rooms. This was a brilliant way to introduce the youth to poverty, addiction and other factors related to homelessness.

We checked into our VRBO and got settled. Dinner tonight came from another Des Moines local place Dough Co.

Our day ended with evening devotions, preparing the group for tomorrow, and working on Inspiration Cards for the Food Bank of Iowa backpack meal program.

See you tomorrow!

06/01/2026

05/24/2026

It was a joy to recognize graduating Seniors today! We pray that each day they are reminded of their community here and that they know they will always be a beloved child of God. Congratulations, Ashlynn, Zoe, and Karilyn!

05/18/2026

We hope to see you on June 6th at the Mt Pleasant Golf and Country Club ⛳️

Don't forget to register your team - it helps us plan for food and carts!!
https://forms.gle/9GH4qH8hxvExgvA87

Can you do us a favor and share this flyer? It's our big event of the summer, and we would love for the day to be a busy, buzzing one! 🐝