St. John United Church of Christ

920 East Gravois Ave, St. Clair, MO 63077

“Never place a period where God has placed a comma,

                God Is Still Speaking . . . . . . .”

Heifer International Ranch is a hands-on learning facility located in Perryville, Arkansas.  At the ranch participants learn about world hunger, resources, and ways to help ensure that all the world’s people have enough to live.  10 youth and 4 adults from St. John spent time at the ranch from June 25 - June 28th.  It was a great trip and the following pictures document some of our experiences while there.

On the way to Perryville we stopped and stayed at St. John’s Chapel UCC in Springfield, MO.  We bunked in one of their fellowship room areas and played a few games before going to sleep.

During our first night at the ranch we stayed in the urban slums, a mock slum that exists on the outskirts of many of the world’s largest cities.  As you can see the conditions were not what we were used to.  We had some rice and vegetables to cook over a fire for dinner, and oatmeal the next morning.  Sleeping was on dirt, uneven brick, and plank wood floors.  As you can see, sleeping bags and pillows got rather dirty and the morning turned out to be a little chilly.

After our night in the urban slums, we were happy to graduate to the Heifer Hilton, an open-air barn with bunks and animals roaming around underneath.  There as no shortage of bugs to keep us company at night, but we were happy to be off the ground, and to have a meal with sufficient calories and nutrition.  Unfortunately, we learned just how many people in the world don’t even have something as nice as the Heifer Hilton to sleep in at night.

We did challenge courses including a giant swing pictured above, and a 40 ft. rock wall as seen on the right.  Everyone participated in the challenges, as you can see on the rock wall our peers were holding the security lines in case of a slip.

Camels

Ducks

Goats

Rabbits

Roosters

Water Buffalo

“I was hungry and you fed me”