Youth Mission Trip to North Carolina

For a little over a year, high school youth have been preparing for their summer mission trip to North Carolina to do disaster relief work following the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. From July 24 – 31, eighteen high school youth and six adults will serve our brothers and sisters in Christ in Asheville, NC and the surrounding areas. We’ll partner with the organization Praying Pelican Missions and their ministry partners in Asheville.

Since the flooding in October 2024 the short-term needs of the Asheville community have been met, but long-term effects of the disaster are still being addressed. The area where we’ll serve received a significant amount of rain this past May and June. The rain caused some roads to partially wash out again, and certain areas have received up to six inches of rain, causing flooding and a lot of emotional flashbacks for the community. Homes are still being rebuilt, community donation centers are still being utilized, and the community is still healing.

Our team won’t know our specific projects until we arrive, but we’ll likely help with painting newly built homes and moving debris. Whatever work we end up doing, we trust that we’ve been called through the Gospel to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39), and to meet people where they are at. We’re looking forward to connecting with the community, listening to the stories of the people we work with, and helping our ministry partners. During our week in Asheville, we’ll also get to experience the local community through food, activities, river rafting, and art. We pray for this community’s continued safety and healing, and for the relationships we’ll get to build as we work alongside our local ministry partners.

We know that it’s only by the grace of God and the generosity of the St. Luke congregation, our families, and friends that we have this opportunity to go on a youth mission trip. Your support, through prayer and fundraisers, have made this mission trip possible, and your significant participation in the silent auction and raffle baskets in March made a huge difference. The event raised $13,872.00 and completed the group’s fundraising goal! To say we are thankful is an understatement, but we’ll say it nonetheless: Thank you for the many ways, financial or otherwise, that you have supported the 2026 Mission Trip Youth.

We thank God that we’ve been blessed by you, our brothers and sisters in Christ at St. Luke, and that we have been sent out to go be a blessing to others. We give thanks that we have ministry partners in Asheville who have been following their calling to serve their neighbors at home, and that they are providing us with this opportunity to support them in their work.

We welcome your prayers as we travel, complete our projects, and lean into all that God has in store for us. You can follow along with our travel and daily activities on the St. Luke blog. And mark your calendars for Sunday, September 20 when the mission trip youth and chaperones share their mission trip experiences at worship. For the many ways you support youth ministry and youth mission trips, thank you.

Your Sister in Christ,

Jacque Larson