This past summer, Youth/Instructed/Empowered/Loved/Discipled, also known as YiELD, journeyed to the SDA Camp Pioneer in Palmer, Alaska to help with camp renovations and maintenance. YiELD missions is a youth group started by Pastors Geoff Starr, Nate Dubs, and Kurcio Mota for students from CA high school, McDonald Road Church, Collegedale Community Church, Collegedale University Church, Ooltewah Church and homeschool.
YiELD had been looking for a summer mission for students, and Pastor Starr heard about Alaska at a pastor’s convention in Kentucky. “I went online, and emailed the conference three times, and didn’t hear anything,” he said, but he didn’t give up. “Eventually I called the guy and told them that we were coming up.” After several long flights and figuring out logistics, the YiELD mission group arrived at the camp and immediately got to work.
The groups worked hard by doing grounds, construction, kitchen, and painting. Over the week they had finished up 12 cabins. They isolated the cabins, and put up plywood and trim over it. The grounds team worked on picking up sticks, raking, pulling down trees, and mowing. They made two campfire sights by clearing two heavily filled with brush areas. Sophomore Elly Pena who did grounds and painting says, “ It was fun and relaxing to mow, I learned how to mow by the way.” The painting crew painted the Alaska Book Center, Information Center, and trim on two bunk houses and 12 cabins. The last crew was the kitchen crew. The kitchen crew was made up of two people from the trip who got to help out in the kitchen for the day. The crews sometimes switched around so the students could learn new skills and so had to adjust to the new changes every day.
On the excursion day, they visited the beautiful Matanuska glacier where they hiked a beautiful and slippery glacier, participated in a “facial glacier”, drank freezing cold glacier water, and learned to trust their gear or otherwise fall on the hard ice.
The day before departure was a beautiful, warm Sabbath day. Everyone visited the Palmer church and enjoyed Sabbath school, church, and a very tasty potluck with the Community. The day they arrived and Saturday were the warmest days experienced during the week. As the weather was quite chilly in the mornings and evenings, the afternoons were appreciated and enjoyed by all while working.
The YiELD mission trips are well loved by everyone who goes. The participants have an amazing time and always encourage their peers to try out the next one. YiELD is going to Fiji next summer to work on a medical clinic and do a VBS for the kids.
