May 24 through May 28, 2008, Miracle Camp in Lawton, Michigan opened its doors to interns from all over the Midwest, Washington, California and Canada to engage in their training with Experience Mission. Interns will be serving this summer with Experience Mission in sites and communities all over the United States, Mexico, Jamaica, and Costa Rica.
 
This week Team Tecate/Seattle finally met in person. The first two days were spent learning first aid, CPR, and wilderness medicine skills so we can ensure that all trip participants are kept safe.  We learned that Yonathan is scared of blood so the girls will handle any emergency.  We also spent time discussing the various responsibilities that interns have, and we divided these up amongst ourselves according to our prior experiences, skills, and passion for the area. 

Experience Mission’s founder and director Chris Clum also spent an afternoon going over the philosophy and values of Experience Mission, and we took time as a team to discuss how these would be reflected in the work and relationships that we will be building in Tecate and Seattle. While there was a lot of business to be taken care of at training, we also found time for some team bonding through creative activities such as video projects, scavenger hunts, and boat building. 

One afternoon, we had a scavenger hunt that lasted five hours and took us all over nearby Kalamazoo and Portage, Michigan. The last step of this scavenger hunt was to build a boat with at least four different supplies, on a limited budget, and the boat had to hold all three of us and be able to paddle around a quarter mile course on the lake.  We built a very successful boat, and our team placed second. This activity was a lot of fun, and helped us to learn how to work together during situations that require efficient problem solving skills in a short period of time.

This summer will be an adventure, but we are ready to handle any curveballs that come our way and are looking forward to meeting the communities in Tecate and Seattle as well as working with the participants on our trips!

- Yonathan Moya, Sarah Lacy and Allison Butelo
Team Tecate/Seattle