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Mission Work Camp Clarifies My Calling
by Regina McClure, PACE Intern
From June 18-July 1, 2005, more than 160 teenagers and their leaders from various churches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey sacrificed their summer vacation to serve the Lord by aiding those in need in Fayette County, West Virginia. This summer was PACE’s fifth summer working in the naturally beautiful, yet poverty-stricken area of West Virginia. Youth groups, both returning and new, waited anxiously for nearly a year for the opportunity to praise the Lord, fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, and make a positive impact on the community. By the end of the two weeks, 15 families in the Fayette County community were living in better conditions. Some of the work that was accomplished included: installation of heaters, windows, siding, ramps, guttering and porches; gutting and re-building interiors; scraping, spackling and painting interiors and exteriors; roofing; electrical and phone wiring and plumbing installation.
Some churches, including Covenant Presbyterian Church in Doylestown, held skill-building workshops prior to the trip. Skilled adults from the congregation took their time to instruct teenagers and youth leaders alike in basic construction. This built unity in the church body as those not normally affiliated with the youth group came out to help and it instilled confidence on the part of the volunteers who would be going to West Virginia.
PACE staff anticipated the two weeks spent in West Virginia with enthusiasm and eagerness. Being a PACE intern, I was no exception. This summer was my third year of having the pleasure of working with the staff and volunteers at Pennsylvania Christian Endeavor. The Lord has used each summer to teach me more about His Son and about the inner-workings of ministry. Though the past two summers had a great impact on my life, the Lord opened my eyes this summer to what He is calling me to do with my future.
I am a sophomore at Geneva College. I started my freshman year as a Missions major. Through my experience attending PACE Mission Work Camp I grew more and more interested in getting involved with the mission field as a career. During the year, through a series of kind people making recommendations and supporting me through prayer, I felt that the Lord leading me to pick up a Youth Ministry major as well. While I have always loved working with teenagers, I had never truly thought of it as a ministry option for me. I was so eager for the PACE Mission Work Camp experience this summer because it represented a perfect blend of missions and youth ministry. I prayed that the Lord would use the experience to show me whether or not youth ministry was an aspect of ministry that I could be truly passionate about.
Our amazing God answered my prayers ten-fold, which is how He answers our prayers. During the two weeks in West Virginia I was able to gain much wisdom and knowledge from PACE executive director, Annette Kadash, and build strong relationships with fellow staff members. Further, the youth that I was privileged to work with taught me so much about devotion to the Lord and passion for helping others. There are so many great young people in our churches. It is a treat to get to truly know their joys, fears, favorites, and pressures. What an encouragement it was for me to watch seasoned youth leaders relate with the precious youth!
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