By The Rev. Dr. Carl Grosse

The Youth Group from Yorkfield Presbyterian Church in Elmhurst, IL is staying overnight on their way to a mission project in NC. They’re partnering with an organization called Youth Works, which was founded in the mid 1990’s for the specific purpose of providing summer youth mission trips. When Pastor Matt from Yorkfield mentioned Youth Works, it brough back memories. Paul Bertelson started Youth Works while he was Senior High Youth Pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, MN. I had more interactions with other staff at Christ Presbyterian, but I knew about Paul and had met him a couple times. When the youth leaders at my church in Farmington suggested a summer mission trip, I contacted Paul and got us hooked up with a Youth Works team heading to Browning, MT and the Blackfeet reservation. 

I happened to know several people on the Blackfeet reservation from working at Johnson’s Café in St. Mary, where I met Denise. Randy Johnson, the High School principal in Browning, was the son of owner Lester Johnson. Lester’s grandson (we called him Little Lester) was a tribal attorney and member of the Blackfeet Nation. So, while our mission team worked on painting a house and running a VBS program, I made contacts and we got some great food, an awesome mini pow-wow, and a guided tour of the Museum of the Plains Indians to supplement the planned activities (yes, I also helped with the painting and the VBS!). 

I could go on about the memories that simple reference to Youth Works triggered. Funny thing is, I’m not sure what those memories mean or what else to say about them other than I feel so blessed. Now God has me showing up here in East Tennessee of all places, and the blessing continues as I meet new people who love God, want to do good, and who are generally decent.