Youth and SSP News.
The Corona United Methodist Church (CUMC) has been an active participant in the Sierra Service Project (SSP) almost since the program’s inception. For the past 30 years, senior high age youth have participated on various service projects from Oregon to the Mexican border and as far eastward as the Navajo Nation in Arizona where they will be returning to this summer the last week of June. Because of their long standing tradition of SSP participation, CUMC families are sending their second and third generations to labor in the hot sun, and it is not uncommon for the adult counselors traveling with the SSP youth to have been volunteers themselves back in high school.
The young volunteers learn not only the value of service, but they learn about the culture of the people whom they are assisting. One evening in each week of service is given over to the host community’s members sharing their traditions. This informal lesson promotes understanding – not only of the differences in cultures, but also the similarities. Over the years, Corona youth have learned to experience God in ways they never dreamed and found friends on places they never knew existed before their week of service began.
For Corona youth, taking part in an SSP project is more than just putting in a week of manual labor. The process begins for the youth of CUMC about nine months prior to that. Contrary to the preconception of today’s teenagers as being unfocussed and lazy, the volunteers plan out their fund raising activities, awareness campaign and even the travel itinerary down to what places they will stay and what roads they will travel. Each youth is responsible for $575 dollars to cover their trip this year.
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In addition to their sweat, the teenagers are giving up amounts of their time and money to make the journey to a reservation. Some have participated for five years – the maximum possible. Several past volunteers from CUMC have gone on to become staff at SSP work sites while others have continued to perform service at home and missionary projects overseas. The rewards last a lifetime for just a week of service. Help us to help those who need it the most. | 
