"It Challenged Me To Be Selfless"
Andrew Chen did not know exactly what to expect from a two-week trip to the Alaskan outback, but the change that he saw in his older brother, Daniel, after his trip to Alaska made him want to find out.
Andrew, 15, is one of more than 20 volunteers who spent two weeks in the Alaskan wilderness as part of the 2018 HOPE worldwide Alaska Volunteer Corps. During their time on the Volunteer Corps, the volunteers updated and made repairs at the Gateway to the Arctic Camp and befriended local youth who participated as campers at the camp.
“We got to sand a house down, cut down wood for the fires in the winter because it gets cold; we got to decorate and make trails...and that was just the first week,” said Andrew. “The second week we met campers, underprivileged kids who spend their summers there. We got to be there for them and…kind of love them and be their friends.”
Headquartered in a clearing in the woods, the youth campground includes a lodge, fellowship hall, greenhouse, trails, and cabins. Volunteers spend their time building fences, pulling garden weeds, clearing land, and interacting with local youth. Time was also set aside for worship, reflection, and discipleship groups. Approximately ten interns were on site to facilitate events and discussions.
Renewing the campground and getting to know local youth is but one outcome of the Corps experience. Another is personal transformation.
“I heard from a lot of people that it was a life-changing experience,” said Kayla Smith, 17, of Woodland Hills, CA. “I struggle a bit with a lack of motivation so I felt like Volunteer Corps would give me a big push.”
Working with local youth was both transformative and enlightening. It was a job, said Andrew about his local partner. “He was 16. He was older than me,” said Andrew. “He had autism. It was challenging. First, we would work on the campgrounds and then I would work with my partner. He wanted to play Nerf. It challenged me to be selfless. I wanted to be compassionate. I wanted to be there for him.”
Kayla said that scheduled times of reflection allowed her to draw closer to a Californian friend who also came on the trip. She sat with her friend and shared almost everything about herself. “Like my whole life story, my walk with God and everything I struggle with…and then she started crying hysterically. We were laughing together ‘cause like everything I said, she felt that. It made us get a lot closer. She told me things she had never told anyone else before. It was a bonding moment for us,” Kayla said.
Placing city youth in rural spaces to complete a mission for the common good is work that can be transformative, said Claudia Smith, Kayla’s mom and a Youth Teen Coordinator for The Valley Church in Los Angeles San Fernando Valley. “There’s something about putting yourself aside and serving for a bigger cause that really impacts their hearts,” she said.
“The biggest change has been his resolve to pursue a deeper relationship with God, his initiative to seek advice, and he makes a bigger effort to help when needed and not when asked to,” said Andrew’s mother, Tanisha.
Weeks after the volunteers returned home to California, Kansas, Ohio and other cities across the globe, someone created a group chat through which the volunteers keep in touch often to share scriptures and encouragement. The impact on those who went still lingers.
