Colona United Methodist Church 2011 Rock River Workcamp

A week long labor of love and spiritual growth where a projected 400 youth and adult volunteers from all over the country come together to perform free home repairs for as many as 70 local residents in need.

By day, these volunteers are split into work teams of four to six youth and an adult team leader, who then go out and perform such repairs as interior painting, exterior painting, weather stripping, porch and wheelchair ramp construction and repair, step repair and mobile home skirting.

By night, they all come back together again for special evening events and inspirational events open to the public.

Performed under the auspices and guidance of Group Cares, a national non-profit Christian inter-denominational organization, this Work Camp is one of 43 taking place throughout the United States and Canada this year, with an estimated 25,000 volunteers in total. Their web site is http://www.shorttermmissions.com/

Group Workcamp Previewing Meeting

Mark and Janet Vink traveled to Loveland, Colorado, to take part in the program previewing meetings for the 2012 Group Workcamps.

We were able to give our input into next summer’s workcamp program along with the youth leaders from 39 other groups from around the country. On Wednesday we were joined with the junior class from Resurrection Lutheran Christian School to get the youth perspective on the program. It was an honor to get an opportunity to meet with Group and give our input into the program. The evening program and daily devotionals are such an integral part of Workcamp. As youth leaders we were also able to network and talk to other leaders about the struggles and successes of youth ministry.

I was also able to attend a basketball game of a young man who was on my workcamp crew in 2009 in Waterloo, IA. It was a great reunion and an opportunity to reconnect with him and his brother (who was a summer staffer with us in Elizabethtown, PA). We were blessed with great traveling weather and great scenery. Thanks for your prayers for us and for our ministry. Mark Vink