Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Children do missionary work in Ironwood

IRONWOOD - Sixth through eighth grade members of the Valley Community Presbyterian Church of Golden Valley, Minn., came to the area to offer a helping hand.

On Thursday afternoon, the group of kids was washing the Ironwood Public Safety Department's fire trucks.

"We're here doing missionary work and helping out the city," said Andrew Gillett, a member of the Minnesota church and chaperone on the trip.

Gillett said the group of junior high schoolers and chaperones arrived in town Wednesday night and will stay until Sunday, performing various tasks.

"It gets the kids out doing some work," Gillett said. "They'll do anything. People underestimate how hard they work."

Gillett said this is the third year of his involvment with the community service projects, having been to Milwaukee and Duluth in previous years. Every year, the junior high group travels to different cities in the tri-state area: Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

The church also has a group of high schoolers who perform more extensive service for longer periods of time, such as helping with a homeless shelter in Detroit or serving in Missouri, where they will be this summer.