Our Hometown
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Lyons Methodists take part in workcamp On July 27, seven youth and three adult leaders from the Lyons Methodist Church arrived at the Lockport High School in Lockport, with about 400 other participants from across the United States to begin their week of workcamp. Participants were Marvin Smith, Kris Vanderlinde, Katee Tiballi, Ashley Butler, Melody Gifford, Tim Meyers, CJ Smith, Andy, Brian and Alicia Sieling. The group, paying $400 each, spent a year fundraising for the trip by having a bake sale, tennis ball roll-off, can drive, and pie sale to make the money. Upon registering at Lockport, each participant received a workcamp planner with everything they would need during the week. Their first activity was setting up their 'home' for the week. They 'camped' in classrooms throughout the school, ate in the cafeteria, showered in the locker rooms and met for program in the gymnasium. Sunday evening, they met their crew for the week and received a T-shirt to wear the first day when they met their residents. Each member of the Youth Group was a member of a different crew, jobs were chosen within each crew for the week. Members of the crew could choose to be work director, quartermaster, organizer, devotion leader, break maker or progress reporter. Seventy-two crews worked throughout the Lockport area for that week. Crews repaired and painted porches, painted houses, repaired roofs, put up drywall, tiled kitchen and bathroom floors, made handicapped ramps and caulked bathrooms and windows. Residents of the houses were invited to share lunch and devotions each day with the individual crews. Many residents shared stories of their families and pictures. Residents applied to a community action group to be chosen for repairs. A typical day at work camp went like this: awake at 6:45, breakfast in the cafeteria, leave for site at 7:45, work on jobs until noon and then break for lunch and devotions, work until 3, clean up the site and head back to school. Free time until dinner at 5 consisted of playing Frisbee, hackey sack, volleyball, football, singing songs or just socializing and making new friends. Each night at 7 p.m. was a program in the gymnasium. The program included a slide show of workers on various sites. We couldn't wait to have our pictures taken at our site and shown at the program. One evening at program they learned how to write 'care cards.' These were index cards with positive affirmations for anyone at camp they wanted to write to. Another night featured a variety show presented by various selected youth groups. Prayer stations were featured at another night's program. About nine stations were set up around the gym with all different ways to pray. My single favorite was a single fan blowing air on you, symbolizing the Holy Spirit being blown into you. Afterwards I went for a walk around the school building and the air was blowing into my face still. The workers wrote their names on the wall using their fingers dipped in red paint representing Jesus' blood shed for everyone. It was entitled 'Remember Me.' Friday night the residents were asked to join the workers at the school. After program was usually a little free time again until devotions at 9:30 with our own youth group. They all willingly took turns leading devotions each night. Then it was lights out at 11. The workers' hears are bigger and joy fills them as they see the completed jobs, the smiles on our residents' faces and the looks of satisfaction and contentment on my crew members faces. Copyright
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