Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries

So you want to come on a mission trip that engages with other cultures?  That also addresses complex issues like poverty, housing, or community health?  A mission trip that doesn’t require your students/volunteers to have a passport?  Maybe a trip that is a little closer to home?  A trip that could include a water slide and the fire department spraying water into the air for a 60+ adorable children to dance and play in? We think FIRM is a good place to start.

We regularly have mission groups come to serve at FIRM, including youth groups, adult groups (even groups of seniors) and mixed age groups. The first step is checking out our website.  Look at what programs and services we are currently providing to Fresno refugee communities (so you know what you’re getting yourself into).

The next step is initiating contact with Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley or  Rev. Sophia DeWitt,.   Ask us any questions you have, tell us where you are traveling from, and offer some potential dates for your group’s trip.  Summer and spring break are great times for your mission trip.

Then fill out the Mission Group Registration Form.  On this form, you can select which FIRM experiences you would like to include in your group’s visit.  We strongly encourage out of town groups to help sponsor an outreach festival to the kids in our neighborhood.   We try to schedule multiple groups in the same week to help with these festivals, including some groups from within Fresno.   Festivals last 3 to 5 weekdays, every evening from 5-8, although we also occasionally do 1-2 day outreaches.   Groups bring crafts, games, activities, bible stories, which are almost like booths at a carnival.  The neighborhood kids freely float from station to station.

During the day, you can tutor Southeast Asian and/or Slavic elders in their morning ESL/Citizenship Class.  The elders in the class love having private tutors to help them study for the big citizenship test.   Other opportunities may include: site repairs and construction, assisting FIRM’s multi-cultural Community Organizing, Community Gardens, or other programs. We can provide a list of churches that may be able to offer lodging options for your group.

Once a set of dates has been chosen, start your planning. Your volunteer coordinator can help you focus your planning, but usually, we recommend you start coming up with games, crafts, and activities.  (If you are stumped, ask your church’s Children’s Ministry team or any elementary school teachers that you know for suggestions.)  We would love for you to bring music, and/or skits, as well.  Almost all of our kids speak English as a second language. We sing simpler songs, and we explain complicated concepts in English and in Hmong.  Sometimes volunteer groups like to sing songs in the kids’ first languages too (We’ll teach them to you!).  The kids LOVE watching their friends put on silly costumes to help with bible story skits, but will need a lot of support.

Be sure to purchase and bring with you supplies for all your activities, as well as snacks and cups for water (if needed). Talk to your volunteer coordinator to see what other supplies might be needed during your visit. When you arrive at FIRM on your first day, a FIRM staff member will provide a cultural orientation to your group, so that they can communicate and interact better with our many FIRM friends.  If you are interested in having a speaker talk with your group about the refugee experience, or connect to refugees in the Bible, please ask someone on staff for additional resources.

What the Experience can Include:

• FIRM provides a cultural orientation, suggestions for local lodging at churches, inexpensive dining with local ethnic restaurants, multicultural staff and language support.
• We frequently can provide linkages with God’s Asian Youth Group (affiliated with FIRM and University Presbyterian Church) and/or interactions with other multi-cultural youth from refugee family backgrounds such as Hmong, Lao, Cambodian, or Ukrainian cultures).
• If your group is interested, neighborhood tours are often available upon request, as well as special group meals (such as “Lao Lunch with the Elders” or other food and cultural interactions) can be arranged at a cost of approximately $5 per person, per meal.
• If your group desires to coordinate your service with other Fresno ministries during your visit here, our staff can easily refer you to other organizations.

Important Details:

• Volunteers are normally ages 13 and up.
• One adult required on site for every five youth.
• Cost to your group is $7 per person per day, to cover staff time and group cultural training.
• Depending on projects, additional minimal supply costs may be necessary.