Guest will check in then participate in an introductory orientation of the program and facilities.

Arrive To: Check in from 3-5:00pm in the conference center Lobby.

Dinner: Enjoy a buffet style dinner with a salad bar, followed by dessert, in the Shepherd's Spring lodge dining room.

Evening: Become familiarized with the program, the work projects, the facility, and one another during our general orientation. A short video helps to explain the experience being created with the construction projects.

Lodging: Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministry Center

Meals Included: Dinner

The day will begin with a guided walk through the Heifer Global Village. Afterwards service opportunities will be discussed and initiated. In the evening various aspects of Heifer International will be presented through stories, videos, and talks.

Note: Specific service activities vary and change often. They generally involve some form of construction, maintenance, or groundskeeping. No experience necessary. Individuals should be able to stand or perform a physical activity for several consecutive hours. Professionals will be present during any work assignments to provide instruction and advise on safety concerns.

Breakfast: Enjoy a hot buffet style breakfast along with fresh fruit and cereal selections in the Shepherd's Spring lodge dining room.

Morning: Tour of existing homes in the Heifer Global Village followed by service work assignments with safety instructions. Begin service on chosen available projects.

Lunch: Enjoy an ethnical lunch representative of one of the homes in the Heifer Global Village at Shepherd’s Spring followed by an extended break.

Afternoon: Service opportunities continue with the Heifer Global Village program. Work on the livestock homes or the Tibet area homes is anticipated.

Dinner: Enjoy a buffet style dinner in the Lodge dining room.

Evening: Learn about the various aspects of Heifer International's history, mission, and programs through stories, videos, and presentations.

Lodging: Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministry Center

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Become a part of an organization that prepares several thousand meals a day for the greater Washington, DC area by helping prepare meals in the DC Central Kitchen. Then travel to an area food bank that tirelessly works to meet the needs of thousands.

Note: Be prepared to ride in a vehicle then stand for several hours in order to prepare food for the DC Central Kitchen.

Breakfast: A bag breakfast will be provided - participants have the opportunity to enjoy it en route to Washington, DC.

Morning: Work with trainees and other volunteers at the DC Central Kitchen in an effort to prepare the 4,000 meals they provide daily for distribution around the DC area. DC Central Kitchen staff will provide an introduction to the job training programs offered at the facility and a brief overview of the organization. Professionals on site will provide any training necessary to safely, hygienically, and efficiently complete the food preparation services needed.

Lunch: Lunch will be served at the DC Central Kitchen. The food that was being prepared throughout the morning by participants will have been turned into a gourmet meal for your enjoyment by the trainees. Dining with the trainees and staff will allow for ample time to ask questions and discuss experiences about the DC Central Kitchen.

Afternoon: Travel to and learn from a local farmer about small farm issues, free range animal husbandry and some of the issues facing today's US small farmers. A side trip to the C & O Canal Basin in Williamsport to experience some of the local history will round out our travel day.

Dinner: Enjoy a buffet style dinner with a salad bar, followed by dessert, in the Shepherd's Spring lodge dining room.

Evening: Encounter the struggles of the people in the New Canaan Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in Kenya through a presentation by Stewart Lentz. Stewart will relate how local efforts to improve the IDP's lives relate to the UN Millenium Goals.

Lodging: Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministry Center

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Resume service on the Heifer Global Village; some service work may be the same or may have changed from the previous day. Observe, walk, and learn about Antietam National Battlefield in four stops during the evening.

Note: Specific service activities vary and change often. They generally involve some form of construction, maintenance, or groundskeeping. No experience necessary. Individuals should be able to stand or perform a physical activity for several consecutive hours. Professionals will be present during any work assignments to provide instruction and advise on safety concerns.

Breakfast: Enjoy a hot buffet style breakfast along with fresh fruit and cereal selections in the Shepherd's Spring lodge dining room.

Morning: Service opportunities continue with the Heifer Global Village program.

Lunch: Enjoy lunch with a salad bar in the Shepherd’s Spring lodge dining room followed by an extended break.

Afternoon: Service opportunities continue with the Heifer Global Village program or you may choose to opt out and spend time as you wish. Self led exploration of Shepherd's Spring's 220 acres or numerous nearby historic attractions await.

Dinner: Enjoy a buffet style dinner with a salad bar, followed by dessert, in the Shepherd's Spring lodge dining room.

Evening: Venture to Antietam National Battlefield with Shepherd's Spring Staff at the lead. Four stops will be made throughout the battlefield -- The Cornfield, the Bloody Lane, the Dunker Church, and Burnside's Bridge. The significance of these points, the tragedies of Antietam, and the events surrounding the battle will be discussed by staff at each point. Afterwards relish in a cool treat an a local ice cream parlor.

Lodging: Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministry Center

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Service opportunities continue on the Heifer Global Village. In the evening learn and enjoy a meal prepared with ingredients from within 100 miles as a way to promote sustainability. Participate in activities delving into hunger and poverty issues.

Note: Specific service activities vary and change often. They generally involve some form of construction, maintenance, or groundskeeping. No experience necessary. Individuals should be able to stand or perform a physical activity for several consecutive hours. Professionals will be present during any work assignments to provide instruction and advise on safety concerns.

Breakfast: Enjoy a hot buffet style breakfast along with fresh fruit and cereal selections in the Shepherd's Spring lodge dining room.

Morning: Service opportunities continue with the Heifer Global Village program. Work will likely include the spring opening of all the homes in the village - putting out cultural items, repairing roofs, clearing rain barrels from winter debris.

Lunch: Enjoy lunch with a salad bar in the Shepherd’s Spring lodge dining room followed by an extended break.

Afternoon: Service opportunities continue with the Heifer Global Village program or you may choose to opt out and spend time as you wish. Self led exploration of Shepherd's Spring's 220 acres or numerous nearby historic attractions await.

Dinner: Participate in a "100 Mile Diet" dinner where each dish features local foods that are in season. Held at the Shepherd's Spring lodge dining room.

Evening: Learn about the next steps Shepherd's Spring is taking and ones you can take to help end poverty and alleviate hunger. Basic simulation games and a discussion will be held about these issues and how to become involved or learn more about other relevant organizations.

Lodging: Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministry Center

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Experience another culture by preparing traditional dishes in one of the Heifer Global Village sites.

Note: Participants will be spending the morning preparing meals and cooking over an open flame while using general kitchen tools (e.g. knife).

Breakfast: Enjoy a hot buffet style breakfast along with fresh fruit and cereal selections in the Shepherd's Spring lodge dining room.

Morning: Experiential learning is the goal of all Heifer Global Village programs, witness what such a program is like by being the actual participant in a Cultural Connections Program. Seek to immerse yourself in another culture by experiencing their diet through a lunch that you prepare using some traditional methods in one of the sites of the Heifer Global Village. A debriefing will follow.

Afternoon: Departure following debriefing of the Cultural Connections Program - approximately 1pm.

Meals Included: Breakfast