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Fall Mission Work Camp took place the weekend of October 7 to 10, 2005, at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, in Laurelville, PA. Three churches, Bethany E.C. from Leesport, PA, Lisbon United Methodist Church from Lisbon, MD, and Zionsville Bible Fellowship from Zionsville, PA. The nearly 30 participants tackled jobs such as painting, replacing a roof, putting up a dividing wall in the gym, and demolishing a cabin.
Following are thoughts a teenager had about the Fall Mission Work Camp.
What is the first thing you think of when someone says, “Work Camp?” Well, what you just thought now, is what I thought before attending. I had second thoughts about if I wanted to give up a weekend and go do work that you didn’t get paid for. Surprisingly, I got more out of it than I put into it. Fall Work Camp 2005 held October 7th through 10th, involved much work. Involved was demolition/tear out, painting ceiling tiles and front porch railings, roofing, and more. Memorable moments include: sitting on a porch painting and singing silly kid songs, long talks at night in our room, playing SPOONS, and waking up at 6:30 in the morning because of the roosters crowing.
On Sunday for our worship service, we gathered like we have in past years and sang four or five songs. The music was great. What was even better was what was about to take place next. Sam Yeager (the ministries director for PACE) handed everyone a piece of paper and explained that we were going to have some alone time with God. Well, I thought it was just another message that wouldn’t pertain to me. I got my paper and walked outside and sat down on the porch. First I prayed asking God to open my eyes to something I hadn’t known before or something that I may have known but forgot. I read the first question. It asked us what object in nature describes our relationship with Jesus. My answer was, “a seed” and how everyone is like a seed and has steps in their lives----steps that help them to grow. As Christians, we take steps in our life to grow stronger and closer to God.
Sitting there made me think of a lesson that Steve Holubec (my youth pastor) had done a couple of weeks before we came to work camp. It was a lesson on living out loud for Jesus. Taking the extra step to do more for Jesus and not be ashamed to express oneself in front of friends and family-----how Christians should be living examples of Jesus. At the end of Steve’s lesson, there was a place you could sign if you wanted to take the major leap and live out loud. There was also a space where you listed three or more areas where you felt that you should improve your life to become an active leader in the youth group. There also were three spots to write the names of three non-Christian friends or family members who you would pray for everyday. I started to pray to see where God wanted me. It was amazing. After doing the Sunday morning message at Fall Work Camp I decided to jump in and live my life out loud!
I think the biggest lesson that I learned at Fall Work Camp is that we teenagers have to step out of our comfort zones and live our lives for Jesus and not step down to anyone. We have to be like seeds and grow in our relationships with Jesus. We should not let someone else pull us down, but we should bring others up with you.
-Katie Dietrich, Bethany E.C. Church, Leesport, PA
For more information: eventinfo@pachristianendeavor.org |
