Wainwright chapel team heads north, makes a difference

By Sheryl Nix, Fort Wainwright PAOJuly 8, 2010

Sawing logs
BEAVER, Alaska - Chief Warrant Officer 4 Tom Fritz, U.S. Army Alaska aviation safety officer, clears trees from a lake to allow a seaplane to land near Camp Nahshii 10 to 20 miles north of Beaver, Alaska, on the Yukon River. A team of 19 Soldiers, fa... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - Summer vacations take on an almost epic proportion in Alaska as Soldiers, family members and civilian employees scatter to the woods and waterways taking advantage of the midnight sun.

While fishing, boating, camping and exploring are common excursions for vacationers here, spending a week in the wilderness of the northern Yukon River, working more than 12 hours a day on grueling tasks like hauling logs from the water and clearing layers of untouched brush to benefit people they will never meet will most likely not top the lists of those flocking to the Last Frontier this summer.

But hard work and wilderness conditions did not scare away the 19 Soldiers, family members and civilian employees from Fort Wainwright who recently gave a week of their time, blood, sweat and tears to help Alaska Natives in the Interior.

Fort Wainwright's garrison chapel community sponsored a mission trip June 20 to 26 to help expand a camp for Native youth north of Beaver, Alaska, along the Yukon River and according to Maj. Dan Hart, executive officer, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, and chapel outreach coordinator, the purpose of the trip was not just to build a camp, but also to build relationships.

"I think anytime that we go into a (different) culture and interact on their ground and on their terms there are definitely some strong bonds built," Hart said.

The chapel group joined with This Generation Ministries who operates Camp Nahshii, a summer camp for Native youth. Although TGM is out of Fort Wainwright's neighboring community of North Pole, ministry workers built a camp in a remote area on the Yukon River 10 to 20 miles north of Beaver to reach the youth and families of six Interior Native villages. "We're kind of going along with exactly what that ministry did in going to the people rather than inviting them to come to us and take part in what we're doing," Hart explained. "I feel like some bonds will be built and strengthened later on."

The mission of Camp Nahshii, or camp healing in English, to bring the message of hope to Native youth who have seen a rise in suicide rates in recent years, struck a chord with the chapel community, said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) David A. VanderJagt, garrison chaplain.

The Alaska Native population continues to see soaring suicide rates much higher than the national average and according to the Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the second leading cause of death among Alaska Natives ages 15 to 34.

"Life has hope," VanderJagt said. "They named the site Camp Nahshii because obviously they are hoping that people will catch the vision that even when things are hard there are people who care and love them."

The biggest needs TGM staff had were not for ministers to work with the youth, but for laborers to work and build up the camp, VanderJagt said.

"We did exactly what we thought we were going to do," he said. "We knew we were not going to be working directly with Alaska Natives; that was not our purpose. Ours was to prepare a place for them to go. That was worth the effort, knowing that it's going to be used for a good cause."

The chapel group tackled projects including building an emergency landing helipad, constructing a "low ropes" obstacle course, clearing a trail to the river and even clearing trees and logs from the lake so a seaplane can land.

"I've never been on a mission trip before," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Tom Fritz, U.S. Army Alaska aviation safety officer. "It wasn't a wasted week. We worked hard and did a lot of good work. You could see that the stuff we did was going to have an effect on the people visiting (the camp) in the future."

Providing a quality place for youth to come for fun, fellowship and to learn about Native traditional ways to do things was very important, but it was about even more than the physical camp for 1st Lt. Aaron Treesh, executive officer to the USARAK deputy commander.

"We built a place that's attractive and that they will want to come to; that they will enjoy being at so they can find healing because ultimately healing comes from learning about a relationship with Jesus and I think, in my opinion, that is what they are missing right now," he said.

Another byproduct from the trip was the affect that the experience had on each participant, VanderJagt said.

From testing their own mettle in the wilderness of the Yukon River and living in austere conditions to eating unfamiliar foods like bear stew and moose gravy and biscuits, the experience was a first for many of the participants, particularly the teenagers.

"It was extremely hard labor. We got up every morning and had devotions together and sang some songs. The meals were unique," VanderJagt said. "None of the meals were the same as what you would get back home."

As the group left for their journey, Hart said he hoped their experience would do even more than provide improvements for the camp and expose the Wainwright group to new living conditions and food, but would also change their lives.

"I think almost more importantly, my hope is, and I know the hope of the leadership in the Northern Lights Chapel is, that the lives of the guys who go will be changed," he said. "I hope that they will realize there is a world out there that is not plush and comfortable like our own and there are people living in it and people who need to hear about Jesus; there are people who need help, and my hope - especially for the young guys, the (eight) teenagers going - is that their eyes will be opened just to realize that they are blessed and that God wants to use them to minister and to serve people to the ends of the earth whether it be 120 miles north of here or the other side of the ocean."

Participating in mission trips, including one like this that encompassed hard work and challenging living conditions, is something teenagers need to experience, said Jonathan Franklin, 17, son of Margaret and Chaplain (Maj.) Herb Franklin, 1-25th SBCT chaplain.

"For me, this helped (me see) my own world I see every day with school and church and opened my eyes to see other peoples' problems, like the Native peoples," he said. "It broadens your perspective."

Franklin said this experience also convinced him that he can make a difference. "This showed me how doing something small like building the low-ropes course I built will affect people for as long as the camp is running," he said.

VanderJagt said the experience caused a lot of introspection and bonding in the Wainwright chapel team.

"I think it always does. It fills you with a vision and purpose," he said. "As a pastor, I never want us to be only focused on our own self-growth. We are part of God's kingdom and God's grace and love is to support and love others and a great part of the mission is that it was a sacrifice of service - it was not preaching; it was not teaching; it was not spiritual to others, but it was a sacrifice of service and in that sacrifice of service we found spiritual growth ourselves."

While the 19 participants completed the work during their week on the Yukon River, Hart said the project was definitely a chapel-wide effort.

"There were a lot of people from the chapel who donated time, money and materials to make this trip a reality. There are also people who wrote notes of encouragement to the team that went and a lot of people who (prayed) for the team that went. In total it has been a congregation-wide effort, not just the effort of a few people," he said.

The chapel community plans to partner with TGM and Camp Nahshii again in the future and to continue seeking more outreach opportunities.

"The goal of the outreach ministry is to involve the people of the chapel in outreach that both meets the needs of the church and the larger community and also develops a sense of service within the congregation," Hart explained.

"We definitely have to do another mission trip," VanderJagt said.

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