• San Angelo, Texas

A week of service — under construction!

The Service Adventure teams in front of the house they helped construct with Mennonite Disaster Service. Left to right: Christian Stoltzfus (Colorado Springs unit co-leader), Adriana Duerksen, Michael Bergen, Mir Knego (Anchorage unit leader), Ruben Veigel, Ian Unzicker, Sam Abrahams. Photo provided.
The Service Adventure teams in front of the house they helped construct with Mennonite Disaster Service. Left to right: Christian Stoltzfus (Colorado Springs unit co-leader), Adriana Duerksen, Michael Bergen, Mir Knego (Anchorage unit leader), Ruben Veigel, Ian Unzicker, Sam Abrahams. Photo provided.
Travis Duerksen

​​​​​​​​Travis Duerksen is a writer and multimedia producer for Mennonite Mission Network.

From March 2-6, Service Adventure participants and unit leaders traveled from the Anchorage, Alaska, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, units to join together in a house construction project with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in San Angelo, Texas.

San Angelo, along with wider Tom Greene county, was hit by torrential rain and flooding on July 4, 2025. The house Service Adventure participants worked on was a part of MDS’s rebuilding projects in that area.

Mennonite Mission Network’s Service Adventure program is designed for young adults ages 17-20. Through a 10-month service term (August-July), participants live together in a unit house along with unit leaders, serve with local nonprofit agencies, and connect with a supporting church congregation. Openings for the 2026-2027 service year are available — click here for more information and to apply.

On the first morning of service with MDS, the two Service Adventure units “arrived to the job and there wasn’t much to see,” recalled Adriana Duerksen, a participant with the Anchorage, Alaska, unit. “Just one wall was up. But not for long!” Photo by Sam Abrahams.
Christian Stoltzfus, co-leader of the Colorado Springs, Colorado, Service Adventure unit, gives a walk-through of the progress of house construction five hours into the first day the Service Adventure units joined the job.
By lunchtime on the first work day, all the framing was finished and the sheeting was on. Participants spent the afternoon putting up trusses, stapling building wrap, and doing plumbing work. This photo shows the house at the end of the day. Photo by Adriana Duerksen.
Ruben Veigel, participant with the Anchorage, Alaska, Service Adventure unit, helps put up trusses for a house under construction in San Angelo, Texas, with MDS. He reflected on the second day of their service trip: “Today we finished putting up the plywood and also got a good start on shingling. Luckily, it was cloudy, so it didn’t get too hot. Inside [the house], we got most of the wiring done as well as the plumbing. Lastly, we started doing the siding which we’re most likely going to finish tomorrow!” Photo by Christian Stoltzfus.
Service Adventure participants Adriana Duerksen and Michael Bergen work on painting the exterior of the house.
“On day three we finished the roof and started painting the walls,” Bergen wrote in an email update. “Inside the house, all the cables were installed and they also began working on the drywall.” 
Photo by Christian Stoltzfus.
Ian Unzicker, participant with the Anchorage, Alaska, Service Adventure unit, cuts wood for the day’s construction work in San Angelo, Texas, with MDS. Photo by Christian Stoltzfus.
Participants from the Anchorage, Alaska, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, Service Adventure units work alongside Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers to construct a house in San Angelo, Texas. The two Service Adventure units spent a week at the site working on MDS housing projects. Photo by Adriana Duerksen.
Mir Knego, unit leader for the Anchorage, Alaska, Service Adventure unit, at work on the day’s construction activities. Photo by Christian Stoltzfus.
Adriana Duerksen, participant with the Anchorage, Alaska, Service Adventure unit, fastens siding onto the MDS house in San Angelo, Texas. Photo by John Beck.
Sam Abrahams, participant with the Colorado Springs, Colorado, Service Adventure unit, takes a well-deserved water break during the week-long service project with MDS. Photo by Christian Stoltzfus.
The Service Adventure teams in front of the house they helped construct with Mennonite Disaster Service. Left to right: Christian Stoltzfus (Colorado Springs unit co-leader), Adriana Duerksen, Michael Bergen, Mir Knego (Anchorage unit leader), Ruben Veigel, Ian Unzicker, Sam Abrahams. Photo provided.
On the last day of their service week, Service Adventure participants started the morning installing insulation and adding a second coat of exterior paint. “Finally, we got a good start of installing drywall as well,” recalled Ian Unzicker, participant with the Anchorage, Alaska, Service Adventure unit. Additional work on the house will be completed by future Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers. Photo by Christian Stoltzfus.

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