Youth Discover Rewards of Service
By Carla Ott-Oldre
Maple Grove Lutheran Church high school students experienced the rewards of serving others during their mission trip July 18-26 to Arizona’s Fort Apache Indian Reservation where they helped run a Kids’ Club and repaired an elderly woman’s home.
One Maple Grove youth, Kevin Chiles was moved to personally provide and look after two young brothers 2 and 4 who attended the Kids’ Club. The brothers, arriving hours before the other kids, came without diapers, dressed in clothing that was too big for them. Kevin donated his spending money and bought wipes, diapers and toys for the boys. (The local stores had no clothing for him to buy.) Because the parents weren’t home during the day, the children needed care, so Kevin volunteered to look after them. During Kids’ Club there was a lot of free time for youth to give piggy back rides, play games and connect with the many kids who attended, many of whom came from families where poverty and alcoholism marred their home environment. Maple Grove Youth Director Todd Grover said the youth were exhausted after leading Bible songs, playing games, and performing a skit for the kids. Jared Wall said, “The best thing about the trip was the look in the kids’ eyes when you gave them a hug or piggy back ride. You knew that you made them feel important.”
Youth also helped Emily, an Native American woman in her early nineties, fix up her home. Chaperone Elizabeth Redman reports, “We scraped, primed and painted, and well as repaired a wood porch and stairs.” Elizabeth also reports Rachel Weiland, another MGLC youth, worked hard to clean the entire home. Emily was moved to tears of appreciation for their help and enjoyed visiting with the youth. During their stay Emily’s last surviving sibling died.
One day, while the youth were making repairs, they watched Emily walk to the end of her driveway to meet her brother’s funeral procession which was passing by. As the procession passed her by, with 20 Native Americans on horseback walking behind her brother’s hearse, the youth heard Emily crying for her brother. Since none of the cars in the procession stopped to pick Emily up to attend the service, she walked back to the house. Todd Grover and a chaperone from another church, asked Emily if she needed a ride, and after considering the offer she accepted. Todd drove her to the service where the other chaperone walked her to the casket to see her brother. Emily thanked Todd for the ride, and that was the last time they saw Emily.
About 55 youth from Maple Grove Lutheran Chicago and West Virginia Presbyterian churches worked, served, learned, and played together at the reservation. Each church group was divided into two groups, so that kids from different parts of the country got to know youth from other parts of the country. Each group spent 2 days helping Emily, and 2 days helping to run a Kid’s Club for younger native children. In addition one of the groups visited a Pregnancy Center which they helped clean, while the other group visited an orphanage where they played with the kids.
The nights were busy on the Reservation. The first night a local pastor shared the history of the reservation and the history of Christianity on the reservation. The next night two Native American women discussed how Native Americans merge their Native Culture with Christianity. On the third night the youth worshiped at the Assembly of God Church on the reservation, and enjoyed the passion and liveliness of the worship. The final night on the reservation there was a community barbeque to which all the Kids Club kids and their parents were invited.
In addition to the nights on the reservation, the Maple Grove Lutheran youth spent one night in Phoenix before driving to Sedona where they worshiped and stayed at Christ’s Lutheran Church and toured the area. The group also visited the highest mountain in Arizona, Humphrey’s Peak at 12,000'. However they were unable to take the cable car to the top due to a lightning storm.
Maple Grove Lutheran senior high youth who attended the summer mission trip included: Kevin Chiles, Ben Hanson, Nick Hughes, Kristen Reishus, Kiana Temanson, Jared Wall, and Rachel Weiland. Elizabeth Redman and Todd Grover chaperoned.