As I awake to the sound of eight alarm clocks beeping, I hesitantly roll out of bed and into the bathroom. Here I find at least five other girls fidgeting with their hair and applying makeup. It's 7 a.m. I quickly ready myself for the long day ahead, grab my PB&J (pen, Bible and journal) and head downstairs to meet with the 49 other members of Work Crew. Every morning my boss, Ryan, would read a snippet of scripture and then send the WC members off into beautiful Lake Champion (A Young Life Camp) to do our "quiet time." Here, I would pray for strength and energy, as I knew what stood before me: 10-14 hours of setting, busing, serving, cleaning, and a full day of standing on my feet. That doesn't sound fun or rewarding to many people, but to me and my fellow members of the Work Crew, it was.
I spent a month of my life volunteering at a Christian summer camp. You may be asking yourself, "Why would anyone want to do that?" At first, I thought the same thing. Years ago if you told me I would end up here, I wouldn't have believed you. But after accepting Christ as the driver of my life, I wanted to serve Him as much as possible, and Work Crew seemed one of the best ways to do so!
I got to witness over 350 teenagers commit their life to Christ over the four weeks. I created incredible relationships solely based on the Lord and memories that I will never forget. My relationship with God has immensely grown since I started the month until the current day. I've always heard, "You can ask God for anything and you will receive it." It wasn't until I desperately wanted to stop working to see this saying become a reality.
Anytime I knew that all my strength was gone, I would pray for God to finish what I was doing for me. No, I do not mean Jesus physically appeared and magically bussed all the tables for me. I mean that our Father physically gave me strength and courage to continue what I was doing. Almost instantly after praying, my mood was boosted and my body wasn't sluggish anymore.
Becoming the Lord's hands and feet for a month was so eye-opening. The lessons I've learned are forever in my heart. Although I can't share every situation in which Christ taught me a lesson, I'll definitely be sharing more in the future. Serving the Lord has brought so much happiness and fellowship into my life, and I hope that someday you will experience what I experienced as well.
