MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- Twenty youth and adults from the Catholic and Protestant parishes at Malmstrom traveled to Minneapolis, Minn., to participate in "A Week of Hope" July 7 to 14.
The volunteers participated with almost 100 youth and adults from seven states and logged a total of 560 service hours at 25 different worksites.
"'A Week of Hope' is a humanitarian service project designed to help the needy," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Pat McCain, 341st Space Wing chaplain.
The crews cleaned and refurbished homes, tutored special needs students, participated in reading programs and hosted activities for the elderly in assisted living centers.
The volunteers split up into separate "crews" of five youth and were accompanied by at least one adult leader.
"As an adult leader, we left the leadership up to the youth in the "crews"; I was impressed with them," said Master Sgt. Aaron Skrok, 341st Medical Operations Squadron bioenvironmental engineering NCOIC and project officer for this year's trip. "We bonded really well and gelled quickly."
Sergeant Skrok said each crew member had specific responsibilities. The crews were comprised of: a director who organized their operations: a quartermaster who was in charge of the crew's supplies; a devotional leader that lead bible study; a break-maker who made sure everyone had meals and water; and a reporter who told the story of what they did daily to inform leadership of any problems or special needs the "crew" experienced or required.
Aaron Roberts, 15, tutored children at the Plymouth Christian Youth Center in math and reading.
"It was incredible to see the compassion, maturity and love emanating from my companions that week," Aaron said.
Aaron made friends with a young boy named Roy who gave him a "Shrek" toy on their last day in Minneapolis. Receiving the toy from Roy made a lasting impression on him.
"We were at the roller skating rink and I bought Roy a slushy. Within a few minutes, another child knocked it over and so I bought Roy another slushy," Aaron said. "Feeling bad about this, Roy told me that if I had another dollar he would win me a prize out of a prize-grabber machine. It took $2 and three tries, but he finally won the toy and insisted I keep it."
Aaron was going to give the toy to Roy, but remembered a story in C.S. Lewis's book, "Mere Christianity." The son in the story goes to his father for sixpence to buy his father a birthday present. The father knew he had the love and devotion of his son and the gift was from the heart, thus making the fact that he paid for it irrelevant.
Airman 1st Class Joseph Devera 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron STRATCOM technician, chaperoned a group of Malmstrom youth at two different worksites.
"In the mornings, we worked with the YMCA reading books, doing arts and crafts, math and reading worksheets, and science activities that involved measurement of length and volume," Airman Devera said. "In the afternoon, we worked at the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul, Minn., where we helped with various cleaning chores within and around the facility."
The Dorothy Day Center provides meals, food and medical care for homeless and near-homeless people in the metro area.
Airman Devera went to Minneapolis to chaperone youth , but discovered a deeper reason for his presence there.
"I guess God had a better reason for me to go," he said. "The work we did was phenomenal. It may seem like a small thing we did to most people, but it was a huge thing for the people we did it for."
The most memorable aspect of the trip for Airman Devera was his appreciation for having the chance to go.
"It was such a gratifying experience," he said. "I thank God I was able to go on this trip and serve him by serving others."
Steven McCain, 13, also enjoyed the experience.
"It felt good to help [people] who couldn't help themselves. They were people who truly needed the help," Steven said. "It was nice to put my faith into action."
The Malmstrom base chapel goes on a mission trip every year to a different location. The group is funded by donations from the chapel community and various other fund-raising projects.
"I am looking forward to next year's mission trip," Airman Devera said. "I'm sure it will be another worthwhile trip and the experience we get out of it will be phenomenal."
The chapel youth group is hoping to go to Peru or Puerto Rico next year.
For more details on "A Week of Hope" and the Dorothy Day Center, go to
www.groupworkcamps.com or
www.ccspm.org.
To learn more about next year's mission trip with the Malmstrom base chapel, call Sergeant Skrok at 731-4406.