First Congregational UCC, Appleton WI

If you need mental health support as part of your recovery from the tornado that caused so much destruction to the Fox Valley, please consider this resource from Samaritan, one of our mission partners.

As we continue to learn about the extensive damage to the Fox Valley caused by today's tornado, please pray for our sister church, Congregational United Church of Christ, Neenah/Menasha.

We'll be paying attention to ways we can help our neighbors - stay tuned.

That was quite a storm system that moved through the Fox Cities today. We know that many people spent time in basements, including members of our church staff. We have heard about power outages as well. We wanted to check in with our community of faith. How are you faring after today's thunderstorm and tornado?

We're also mindful of those in our cities who are unhoused, and pray that they were able to find safe shelter, and will continue to work with our mission partners who strive to ensure that everyone has a safe place to lay their head.

2026 Youth Trip Day 6, Friday:
This photo is the picture definition of a week well lived. You know it’s true when only two people are fully sitting up.

We worked. We served. We played. We prayed.
We did not really sleep.

The bus ride home was a quiet one. Yes, there were occasional giggles heard, we stopped for lunch at the I80-Truck Stop again, but calm and exhaustion are felt.
We thank God for our experiences this week. I wish I could possibly explain how full our youth make my heart. I am so immensely proud of, and humbled by, the compassion and hard work our team showed this week. It is incredible to see and hear our youth interact with themselves and the world around them. Eva and Cameron took their young adult mentor roles seriously, remaining friends and also stepping up their leadership modeling. And it won’t surprise anyone that Lauren, Ben, and Rob took great care of your precious cargo - and also made them laugh very hard (perhaps more than they should have, but that’s why they’re such great chaperones😉)!
Thank you, FCUCC, for supporting this life changing experience. We were honored to represent FCUCC.

2026 Youth Trip Day 5, Thursday: Today was an eventful day, and a great last day of service.
First, two minutes away from Trinity church, where we sleep, is a different church’s garden that a man donated his backyard for. The girls put our work gloves on and weeded/cleaned up the garden that was overtaken with grass. The church’s garden keeper, Jimmy, much appreciated our help because he usually spends a couple hours a day working alone. Since we helped today, he’ll be able to get more things done for the church that he’s been meaning to do.
All of the garden’s crops get donated to the Omaha community.

Meanwhile, the boys toured Boystown, where they learned about Father Flanagan, the founder, and what he did/started for the community of troubled youth in the area. Boystown has had a significant impact on the community in Omaha. The program allows these kids, not just boys, to live a fantastic life after leaving.
After this, we had a free day! We all went to the Henry Doorly Zoo, which is in the top 5 best zoos in the world! We saw everything from aardvarks to zebras, and had a blast the whole time.
After we left the zoo, we went to Smash Park for dinner, where we had great food, and got to watch a Dachshund Derby. Finally, we went back to Trinity Lutheran. We had worship and packed up for a long bus ride tommorow. But not before continuing our tradition of the Senior Circle. Reese and Henry were showered with love and memories. We will miss them next year and already cannot wait for them to come back and visit. We celebrated our new friend, Elena, and returning friend, Marissa, as well, since both just graduated. Reese blessed us with their presence on this trip. We love when church members encourage others to join us!
What a great day.

~Annika, Easton, Elena