UPC Children, Students, and Young Adults

09/01/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt! What a joy to see our community come together with laughter, teamwork, and a shared commitment to caring for our neighbors.

Together, we collected so much food to share with our local food pantry and families in our community.

06/30/2026

Day five: Today our group spent the day at Cedar Point! I’m so proud of so many of our UPC youth for stepping outside their comfort zones and trying bigger rides. It was so fun to watch them encourage one another and celebrate every victory.

I was with the “less intense rides” crew, so I only have a few pictures to share. The other group was too busy living in the moment to take many photos.

Today we’re taking it a little easier because of the heat advisory, with a few smaller service projects this morning and some indoor time this afternoon. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support this week!

06/29/2026

Day Four: a few more photos!

06/28/2026

Day Four: We started the day with worship, spent a few hours picking up trash around the neighborhood, and ended with a pool party at a church member’s house. A great day of serving, resting, and making memories together.

06/28/2026

Day 3 (Part 2): We wrapped up the day at a community fireworks show, and watching our students laugh, talk, and just enjoy being together is always one of my favorite parts of these trips. It's been so much fun seeing students from three different PC(USA) churches become one group this week. Now we're heading to worship together, and we're especially excited because four more UPC students are joining us soon!

06/27/2026

Day Three: Today was all about hard work! Right before we arrived, the church learned they needed to regrade the soil around their 100-year-old building to help protect its foundation to keep this church a part of the community for years to come. The group before us worked on the gutters, and today our youth hauled dirt, built up the grade around the church, pulled out dead weeds, cut back plants, added mulch, and planted more grass. They worked incredibly hard and got most of it finished! Now we’re heading to a community event to spend the evening building relationships and having fun!

06/27/2026

Day Two: We spent the morning painting and hauling dirt before helping host a neighborhood gathering with a slip-and-slide, food, and cotton candy. Our youth helped set up, serve food, spend time with families, and clean up at the end of the day.
I’m so proud of this group. They worked hard, jumped in wherever they were needed, and continue to learn that loving our neighbors starts with building relationships.

06/26/2026

Day One: We can’t believe we only arrived around 11:00 this morning! We’ve already packed so much into our first day.

We spent time playing with the kids at VBS, learned about the history of the community and the realities of generational poverty.

We wrapped up the day by caring for the church’s garden beds, making taco dinner together, and ending with a devotion.

06/25/2026

Our youth have arrived in Toledo, Ohio! They jumped right in and have already spent time playing with members of the community, sharing smiles, and laughter.
Now we are heading to lunch before continuing with the day’s activities. Thank you for your prayers as they begin this incredible week of serving, learning, and growing together. Please continue to keep our youth and leaders in your prayers throughout the trip!

04/28/2026

The Thrive students did such a great job in their performance on Sunday!

4 likes. "April 26th, 2026 - Children's Musical: Sticky Notes & Bible Quotes"