Meet Team Russia!

How I spent my summer vacation--Russian edition

The Russia SMP team had some "interesting" sleeping arrangements this summer . . .

on trains . . .
(clockwise from bottom left--Mandy Gelderman, Kelly Vandermeer, Sam DeJong, Jessica Braunschweig)


on beds that were (almost) long enough . . .
(below left: Ryan Schreiber)


. . . and sometimes even in the great outdoors!
(Samantha DeJong and Ryan Schreiber making the most of their "luxury" accommodations)

¿Donde está el SMP de México?

(left to right) Seth Kuiper, Noe (from Tapalpa, Mexico) and Mark Hofman take a break while working together to install a water tank. Church leaders in Tapalpa were excited to have Seth and Mark there to show the local youth that young people can be vibrant Jesus followers, and not just older adults. Seth and Mark, along with other SMP participants across the globe, shared not only their hands but also their hearts this summer as they built community and shared fellowship.

One really good way to get your pictures posted on the blog

. . . is to be wearing this fabulous t-shirt!!!

of course, actually SENDING your pictures to us would be really helpful, too . . .

The rest of the team

Some of you may not know that SMP not only has teams from all over the US and Canada, but that we also have an SMP team sent out from Faith Community CRC in Fullerton, California, who spent the summer in Japan after attending orientation at their home church. We want to share a few details with you about the Japan SMP team and what they've been up to this summer!

Special thanks to Tina Lee for providing us with these pictures and the stories behind them.