Learn & Serve Retreats

Whether you are interested in a weekend retreat or our summer Learn & Serve week, let us help you plan the best trip for your group! Find more info below or by using the menu to the left, see available dates and get started by filling out our  Group Interest Form. Questions? E-mail learnandserve@sifat.org and one of our campus staff members will help you plan your next visit to SIFAT.

What is Learn & Serve?

Learn & Serve (L&S) is a ministry of SIFAT that provides an opportunity for Americans to gain a holistic view of the developing world.  Throughout the year, churches, universities and school groups visit our 176-acre campus to learn through interactive programming and simulations. A simulated rural Global Village and Urban Slum are used as teaching tools to let people experience the lives of our brothers and sisters living in the two-thirds world. We believe, as our co-founder Sarah Corson wrote, “When we walk in their shoes and feel what they are feeling, reasons for poverty become much clearer. Then we begin to understand the Biblical teachings on our responsibility in the face of poverty and need.”  After receiving a global view, we challenge Americans to take what they have learned and respond in their local communities with action.  L&S programming is offered year-round. During the summer, we offer youth our Summer Experience. Throughout the rest of the year, you can get involved with L&S by scheduling a retreat, an Around The World field trip or a Global Health Day.

Learn & Serve Programs

Retreats

Choose a retreat package or build your own! We offer retreats August through May (plus limited summer dates) and can work with any group to customize your trip. Click here to start planning!

Learn & Serve Summer Experience

Join us this summer for our L&S camp experience, Sunday afternoon through Thursday morning. Students will connect with their group in a new way as they go through our full learn & Serve programing and local mission project, which changes yearly. Click here for this year’s dates and details.

Around The World Field Trips

Around the World allows a group of participants to visit many of the homes in our Global Village, which is comprised of nine homes representing different countries around the world. Some of these houses were even built by SIFAT graduates from the country represented. It is a special experience to tour the houses, learn about each country and experience a look into the culture. This is a great program for school field trips and can be adapted for any age. Click here to learn more!

Global Health Day

One of our newer programs is designed specifically to train individuals and groups how to see a problem and then how to use critical thinking to bring effective change. One of the ways we do this is by educating nurses, social workers and other healthcare professionals through our Global Health Days (GHDs). University classes from throughout the south come to SIFAT for a day of training and to experience the realities of people around the world. We do this through the problem-solving of case studies, where students must assess the community situation and use critical thinking to decide what the problem and solution might be. First, we are educating students on global poverty and helping them to understand the difficult circumstances that most of our world faces daily. Then, they begin understanding that, sometimes, taking time to notice what is happening in the background is just as important as the words a person might say. We must see the whole picture before we can truly diagnose the whole problem. It is easy to treat a person’s symptoms, but often we miss the deeper issues. Our GHD is a great way for students to begin their journey in any career that works with caring for individuals. Click here for more info!