Syracuse, NY - Rancho Grande

FEBRUARY 2025 TRIP INFORMATION MEETING: Wednesday, September 18th, 7PM at DeWitt Community Church

APPLICATION IS AVAILABLE THROUGH LINK BELOW…

2025 represents our 19th year of relationship with the wonderful people of Rancho Grande and Bajo Lempa! From a small group of kids and adults from Young Life and Holy Cross Parish, life-changing friendships were developed with faith, love and hope at the center. For more information read our history section.  To enjoy highlights from past years’ trips, you can visit our VBL Vimeo Page or the VBL Instagram.

None of us could have imagined what would happen after our return from El Salvador in February of 2020, but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the world changed dramatically. To help our friends in Bajo Lempa, we teamed up with Young Life Central America with the Walk for Hope and raised over $40,000 to feed over 300 families for up to 3 months! As we monitored the situation, we had to postpone our normal February trip in 2021, but a smaller group of @30 of us traveled to reunite with our friends in June. All of our hearts were warmed as God allowed us to enjoy the pleasure of each other’s friendship. 

Incredibly, we were able return with a smaller group of friends in June of 2021 and then nearly 125 students and adults made the “annual” trip in February of 2022. In essence, the week felt more like a reunion than a service trip. What a wonderful celebration! In 2023 we were back with over 150 students and adults and in 2024 we are still growing with over 175 students and adults! We can’t wait for what 2025 has in store!

For people from Syracuse, in order to be a part of this trip in 2025, you will need to fill out an application. The Application is a simple GOOGLE FORM. Click that link to apply. The process shouldn’t take more than 15-20 minutes.

Applications will be due by September 26th, 2025.

For people from Syracuse, please contact Marge Palmer at ylmarge@gmail.com with any questions

If you are outside of Syracuse, but interested in taking a group of your teenagers with us to El Salvador, please contact Dc Nathan Gunn with Young Life at gunner721@gmail.com. Our team will be able to get you everything you need to onboard you and your group into this amazing adventure.

We routinely update this page to help with the application and trip planning process. Check here to find upcoming information, important documents, and frequently asked questions. (For mobile users: click the "+" above to get a full menu of options)

 
 
A few of our favorites from our Trip in 2011. In case you don’t know, next Thursday, January 11, 2018 we’re holding a Pasta Dinner to benefit our trip this year. Join us at Holy Cross Church in Dewitt anytime betwen 5-6:45pm on Thursday,
These men showing their true grit. Here's to another venturesome trip in February. Look for opportunities coming up soon to support the trip.
It won’t be long now before we’re back here. 🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻🇸🇻 Don’t forget there is a meeting tomorrow night (Dec. 7) for the Syracuse Trip to El Salvador. New start time of 7:30 pm. At @holycrossdewitt - Parents are enc
If you’ve been accepted for the Syracuse Trip to El Salvador don’t forget to fill out your trip form. Check the trip roster at visitbajolempa.org/syracuse . Send us a message if you didn’t get a trip email but think you should have.
#tbt Here are few photos from our 2008 trip.
Applications are due on Friday, September 22nd for the Syracuse Trip to El Salvador. Find applications online at visitbajolempa.org/syracuse-app ------------------ Tag a friend in the comments so they don't forget.