Investiture Achievement/Guide/Serving Others

Standard Level

IMPORTANT NOTE: These Serving Others requirements have not to been updated to match changes to the AY honors. In an effort to follow the originally intended requirements we have shown the honor requirements as they existed when the Investiture Achievements were last updated. We also point you to the correct new or revised honors.

For Pathfinders outside the North American Division follow the General Conference-ADRA version of these Honors and for Pathfinders inside the North American Division follow the North American Division-Community Service version. There are some differences.

Requirement 1

Fulfill one of the following honor requirements: #3 of Crisis Intervention, #3 of Teaching, #3 of Community Improvement, #3 of Rural Development.

2. Discuss relationship, identity, racial, and cultural conflicts that teenagers in your community face today. (i.e. Relationship with parents, self esteem, friendships).

Teenagers are humans (contrary to some rumours) and therefore are subject to the same human needs as shown on the pyramid. However, as people in transition to an adult world, teenagers face additional decisions and challenges. With less experience in handling crisis situations than older people, teenagers may need to learn tools and skills to cope with life. Families are also comprised of humans who must function in relationships with each other. Families with teenagers are in for an interesting time as their teenagers grow up, leave home, study, find love and enter the workforce.

Once they get into a discussion, Teenagers will, however, focus on the human needs that are most pressing for them.

Discussion topics may include:

• Divorce and family recombinations that place stress on family members
• Decisions about school and career
• Job loss and economic crisis in the family
• Dating and romance
• Self esteem challenges
• Suicide thoughts
• Peer pressure to try illegal, unhealthy or immoral things
• Family violence and other types of abuse
• Loss of a family member or loved one
• etc

Often in any crisis whether it be a wide area disaster or the loss of a close family member the emotional crisis can be devastating to an individual. Not all people are emotionally equipped to react and continue to even function when facing what many would call an overwhelming situation. For these people immediate assistance is needed as they may have frozen themselves in a dangerous location, may become depressed even to the point of suicidal or may react in outrage and violent fashion.

To help to bring these reactions to a close or to a point controllable first the person must be helped to a place physically and mentally where they are not in immediate danger and they must be helped to realize this. In the case of the loss of a parent this may mean that the teen is helped to realize that they have many friends, and family, a community that will help them to go on and provide for their needs.

The human needs of any individual start with the same basics: shelter, water, and food. As Christians we recognize the need first for God and our relationship with Him and will remind those we help to keep this need first in all things. Beyond these basic needs there are possibly physical, medical, and emotional support needs that will be considered. A person injured in the fire that has destroyed his home needs medical attention before he needs emotional support (although the two may come nearly simultaneously at times). In professional occupations that deal with high stress matters or regular human suffering the emotional support to follow is most often called Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. This is a form of counseling that is important not only to professionals like firefighters but also to families and communities in need.

The stress of an incident can be overwhelming and may manifest itself some great time later or be a fixture in a person's actions and outlook to life. Although not all people are affected by such stress it is best to see to the potential needs of a person in crisis to avert the possible self destruction that may come. In this we consider not only what a person says they are feeling and facing, not only what they have gone through, but in the long term what they are like today vs. the person they were before their crisis.

In immediate intervention you will be a shoulder to lean on, someone to offer support, to be yelled at, to be cried to. You will offer encouragement and help to arrange for those basic needs of shelter, water, and food. You will report to your "supervisor" in intervention any issue you observe that may need to be referred to professional counseling. You will be a friend.

Families face a variety of crisis situations and some things that some may not consider to be a crisis can be devastating. For this purpose we will list common crisis situations:

• House fire
• Death of a loved one
• Loss of income
• Terminal disease
• Birth Defects
• Multiple Births (quintuplets for example, imagine five kids at one time could be stressful)
• Serious Injury
• Natural Disaster

4. Interview a pastor, a person who works with Adventist Community Services, ADRA Canada or an Adventist community development program, and ask how the church is meeting the needs of the poor in the community. Take notes during the interview.

Requirement #5 of the Community Service Honor reads:

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/ADRA/Community Service/R5

This can be the ACS Director/Coordinator for your local church, county, or conference. At least one church in your area will have ACS and all conferences have an ACS Director even if part-time. You should prethink the questions, but be flexible with followup questions too. The interview can be in person, by phone or other electronic means. Be sure to take notes and thank the person for their time.

Option 3

Requirement #3 of the Teaching Honor reads:

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Vocational/Teaching/R3

Option 4

Requirement #3 of the Rural Development Honor reads:

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Outreach/Rural Development/R3

4. Read about why there are poor people among us in the book Desire of Ages written by Ellen G. White (Chapter 70, "The Least of These My Brethren.") Describe to your instructor what you learned.

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Outreach/Rural Development/R3a

Requirement 2

Fulfill one of the following honor requirements: #4 of Crisis Intervention, #s 5 or 6 of Teaching, #5 of Community Improvement, #5 of Rural Development.

For your reference, the requirements are listed here. For instruction and tips on meeting the requirements, please see each honor at AY Honors.

4. Discuss your own motives for wanting to help your friends when they face personal or family crisis. What about strangers? This may be done in a group discussion setting.

Requirement #8 of the Conflict Resolution Honor reads:

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/ADRA/Conflict Resolution/R8

The point of this requirement is for the individual to examine his own reasons for wanting to help someone. Unfortunately, there are many more bad reasons to want to get involved than there are good reasons. The only valid reason to get involved is out of love. Invalid reasons include curiosity, the desire to gossip, the desire to feel better about oneself for helping, or out of a sense of wanting to control the other person's life. Sometimes people think that their friends cannot get themselves out of their mess without their help. There are almost certainly more invalid reasons for getting involved than those listed here. But that doesn't mean you should not get involved. Just be sure you are doing so for the right reason!

6. Spend at least four hours in one of the following field trips as a participant:

Get out there and serve.

a. Go out with a street ministry team that provides food, blankets or clothing to the homeless.

If you live anywhere near a city, you can organize this activity yourself or join an existing team. Collect the items at your church for about a month ahead of time. This can be done by placing a large box in the church foyer and having its purpose announced from the pulpit and in the church bulletin. Make a sign for the box as well, and decorate it (use gift wrap) to make an attractive, eye-catching display. This may also be done as a Sabbath School class project over the course of a quarter (three month period).

b. Go out with a health screening van.

The Adventist Church runs such programs across North America. You do not need to be a medical professional to help with a health-screening van. They often serve refreshments and need paperwork to be filled out. A youth group could assist with either of these aspects of the program. Health professionals will manage the medical aspects.

c. Go out with a Christian work team that is repairing or building housing for the poor.

Since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, the concept of "voluntourism" has become popular. "Voluntourists" are people who spend their vacations volunteering in an area needing help, such as one that has been struck by a natural disaster. Often, the volunteers will take a day off during their visit to tour nearby, unaffected areas.

Other options including signing up with Habitat for Humanity, or Maranatha Volunteers International.

e. Work in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.

You can find local soup kitchens and shelters in your phone book. Call them and ask how you can help. Work with the staff to find a need they have that your group is able to fill. Then do it! The Salvation Army is very active in this area.

f. Volunteer with an Adventist Community Services or ADRA Canada community development program.

In the USA visit http://www.communityservices.org/ to find an ACS center near you. If there is not one near you, choose one of the other options in this requirement.

Requirement #7 of the Community Development reads:

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/ADRA/Community Development/R7

Option 3

Requirements #5 and 6 of the Teaching Honor reads:

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Vocational/Teaching/R56

Option 4

Requirement #5 of the Rural Development Honor reads:

Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Outreach/Rural Development/R5

Frontier Guide

Requirement 3

Complete Guide requirements

You must complete the requirements listed above this one on the current page.

Requirement 4

Complete one of the following honors, not previously earned: Crisis Intervention Teaching Community Improvement Rural Development

Template:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Problematic requirement The ADRA Urban Development Honor is obsolete. Don't try to earn it as you will not be able to get the honor token.

Inside the North American Division

• Crisis Intervention.
• Community Improvement Honor replaced the old Urban Development Honor.
• Rural Development Honor
• Teaching Honor

Outside the North American Division

• Conflict Resolution is the applicable honor instead of Crisis Intervention.
• Community Development Honor should be acceptable because it is a combination of the old ADRA Urban Development and ADRA Rural Development Honors.
• Teaching Honor