Chapel teaches base youth about 'service before self'

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Francesca Carrano
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  This August more than 20 young people from Edwards will join the more than 25,000 "Youth With A Mission."

The Edge, the Edwards Chapel youth group, is traveling to Tijuana, Mexico Aug. 7 through the 16 to participate in the Youth With A Mission's Los Angeles/Tijuana summer program.

Youth With A Mission is an international, ecumenical organization dedicated to meeting the needs of people around the world.

"(Youth With A Mission) began in 1960, with their main focus aimed at getting youth into short-term mission work and giving them opportunities to reach out in Jesus' name," said Tech. Sgt. Dennis Funk, 95th Air Base Wing chaplain assistant and volunteer leader for the Edge chapel youth group. "The Los Angeles/Tijuana summer program fits into three main categories: evangelism, training and mercy ministry."

The students traveling to Mexico this summer will build a house for a homeless family, visit an orphanage and serve as young "ambassadors."

"The Los Angeles/Tijuana summer program combines four days of training in a camp-like setting in Los Angeles," said Denise Funk, family member and volunteer leader for the Edge chapel youth group. "The group going to Mexico will be trained in everything from puppets, music and dance to the skills they'll need to build a house from the ground up."

Following the training in Los Angeles, the group will head to Mexico for six days of cross-cultural outreach in Tijuana.

"Because very few of the teens going on this trip speak Spanish, they have to learn how to communicate without words," Mrs. Funk said. "Aside from building a home, the students will also be spending time visiting and entertaining children in a local orphanage. We hope this trip will 'stretch' our students."

One of the themes at the Edge is learning to be 'stretched' beyond what is normal or everyday.

"We encourage our young people to step outside their comfort zones and really appreciate what they have," Sergeant Funk said. "This trip is a great opportunity for these kids to see what life outside the United States is like."

The YWAM program mobilizes young people to change the world around them, Mrs. Funk said.

The trip this summer will cost almost $14,000. The Edge students have already started raising money to fund their trip.

On March 5, the Edge held their inaugural Chili Cook-off and raised more than $1,100 toward their trip, Mrs. Funk said.

"We have to raise not only the money for the students to go -- like lodging and food costs -- but we are also raising all the money for the building supplies and furnishings for the home," Sergeant Funk said.

The youth group will raise the money to build a 16' by 20' two-room home and provide a stove, table and chairs, and a few cots.

The home building portion of the trip is called "Casas de Esperanza" or the "Homes of Hope" program. Last year alone, more than 235 homes were built in Northern Baja and all the work was done by young people empowered to change the world around them, Sergeant Funk said.

"I am really looking forward to this trip," said Kristen Briggs, family member. "I think it's important to help people who may not have had as many opportunities in life as I have."

The older teens in the youth group understand what service is all about and know how important it is to be a servant-leader, Mrs. Funk said.

The Edge students are taking full responsibility for this trip, from organizing and planning fund-raising events to preparing themselves for immersion into a new culture.

"We hope this trip will be life-changing for the students participating," Sergeant Funk said. "This is truly a win-win situation. Not only will the students have a chance to impact and change the life of a family without a home and the children they meet in the orphanage, but this will be a time for them to grow, get out of their comfort zone and have the reward of seeing what they are really capable of."