A Day in the life of a Workcamper...

By Christin Mickow 

The day begins bright and early at 6:45 am with the sound of �wakey, wakey workcamperrrrrrrrrs�, followed by an annoying song from the muppets or maybe veggie-tales.  Since it lasts five or more minutes, no one can sleep through it (except maybe Alex Sjoberg).   Then everyone has time to get dressed and eat breakfast.  

After breakfast, everyone scrambles to get their tools, fill water jugs,  brush their teeth if there is time, and other stuff.  The breakmakers on each crew lug their coolers down to the kitchen area to fill with lunch and drinks for the day.   

At 8:00 AM we all meet in the gym for the morning program, where we get any new information, do some songs to get us going, and talk about the daily theme.  Then it's off to the vans to head for the  worksites, where they greet the resident and get down to work.  We work throughout the morning, taking water breaks as needed.  The breakmaker decides when its time for lunch, which is usually around noon.  After a nutritious meal, we have our devotions.  We ask the resident to join us if they wish.  We read and discuss the devotion (which follows the theme of the camp), which can take anywhere from 20 mins to a couple of hours depending on the crew.   

After the devotion, its back to work.  At about 3 we start cleaning up so that we are back to the school somewhere around 3:30.  The progress reporters, work directors, and devotion leaders of each crew check in with the camp staff to let them know how the day went, and what the needs are at the worksite.   

Then we have free time, which is usually spent taking an often cold shower, or relaxing.  Supper is served from 5:00-6:30 in the school cafeteria,  followed by more free time until one of my favorite parts of workcamp, the evening program.  There we singe fun songs, watch a skit, and see slideshows of pictures that were taken at the worksites throughout the day.   There is also usually a time to reflect on your life and your faith, and see what you could be doing differently.  It�s a great time to renew your faith and grow closer to God. 

At 9:30, each youth group meets for its nightly devotion, where we share about our day and study God�s word. 

Lights out is 11:00 PM, no exceptions.   Everyone sleeps soundly until morning comes, and its time to do the whole thing all over again!

Group Workcamps— A weeklong adventure, a lifelong impact

Faith-Building
Group Workcamps build teenagers’ faith. That’s why Workcamps are the premier summer missions experience for church youth groups. Since their inception in 1977, Workcamps have brought more than 100,000 teenagers and their adult sponsors to hundreds of communities across North America to help needy families rebuild their homes—and lives. Workcamps are the ultimate expression of Christian service, offering teens a fun, challenging, and faith-growing adventure they’ll never forget.

Rebuilding homes—and lives.
Over the years, Group has developed a unique program that helps kids mature in their faith through volunteer community service. We have discovered that through service, real spiritual growth happens. Through the experience, our devotions and special activities, young people leave with a deeper faith. Participants stay at a local school, sleeping in classrooms on the floor and eating at the cafeteria. They are teamed with around 5 other people whom they have never met, and assigned to a resident’s home, who has been pre-screened and the work planned out. Workdays at the homes of residents go from 9-3. Supper is at 5 and high-energy worship, drama, and news of the day takes place at 7. Each participating group then meets by themselves for evening devotions around 9:30, and lights are out by 11.

About Group

Group Mission Trips of Loveland, Colorado, is the sponsor of these workcamps, each year holding more than 50 such camps throughout the US and Canada. Group’s Statement of Faith : We believe the Bible is the inspired, authoritative Word of God. We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father Son and Holy Spirit. We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and in His personal return.

Dear Parents,

We all know that children grow up too fast, but we can’t slow down time. What do you want your children to learn and experience before they leave home and enter the world? Group Mission Trips provide a great way for your children to experience leadership, teamwork, problem solving, confidence, compassion and spiritual growth in a safe environment.

• LEADERSHIP – Your child will be put on a supervised crew of 6 others where they will fulfill 1 of 6 specific roles and work together to complete a service project or home repair for a resident.
• TEAMWORK – Your child will meet other youth from different states and come together on a crew to accomplish a goal that is bigger than each of them individually. They will make a lasting impact by providing a source of hope to those they serve.
• PROBLEM SOLVEING – Your child will work with 4 other youth and 1 adult to transform a home or serve a local agency where they may run into incorrect material or wrong directions or even difficult people. Year over year crews find creative solutions to accomplish their tasks.
• CONFIDENCE – Your child will learn they can work with many different people to serve and accomplish huge tasks on their own. Many often arrive thinking they cannot do this without parental assistance, and leave knowing they can positively influence and change lives on their own.
• COMPASSION – Your child will work with people from many different walks of life which may be different than those they come into contact and work with at home. This gives children a great perspective, and the reward is as rich for your child as those they serve.
• SPIRITUAL GROWTH – Your child will attend morning and evening interactive programs that guide their faith in Jesus to become more powerful and real. There will also be devotions during lunch and opportunities to discuss all they are experiencing with their youth group in the evening.

We hope you will consider sending your child with the youth group on a Group Mission Trip. In more than 35 years, 300,000 teenagers and their adult leaders have experienced serving with Group Mission Trips. It is a life changing trip that your child will talk about for days, months and years to come. If you want to find out more information about Group Mission Trips, please visit them at http://groupmissiontrips.com/.