TeenServe comes to New Sharon
Jul. 2—NEW SHARON — Students and volunteers from across North America made the New Sharon community their home for the week of June 27 as they participated in TeenServe.
TeenServe is a one-week mission trip open to junior and senior high students. The students, led by adult volunteers, work on service projects in the community during the day and camp in classrooms at North Mahaska Community School at night.
TeenServe camps have taken place at multiple locations across the country since the first one in Ladysmith, Wisconsin in 2000. This year, volunteers at New Sharon worked hard to bring the camp to their home community.
"Our community has sent a group to TeenServe ... This would be the 16th year," said Brett Morris, a volunteer leading a house painting project along with his wife, Acacia. "Every year they ask groups to just see if they feel led to host a camp, and so that's where my wife and I and a team of close friends and different folks ultimately said 'you know what, let's step up to the plate.'"
This year's camp worked on a total of 55 service projects in the New Sharon area.
"It's exterior home painting, wheelchair ramps, light construction projects, but completely free for the resident. We raised about $42,000 from local businesses and families that wanted to donate, and that covered paint, that covered lumber," Morris said.
However, Morris doesn't want the community to forget what's at the heart of TeenServe.
"I think a lot of people can get confused, thinking that our mission is ultimately to paint homes. It is, but a huge part of our mission is just having the opportunity to go out and love on people ... and have the opportunity to share salvation with them."
Students and volunteers travel from all over the country to attend the camps each year. Ruth Simpson, a student volunteer from Ohio, first connected with TeenServe through her church.
"My church has been doing this for years, and I just thought it'd be fun to come," she said.
Simpson was part of a group working on building a wheelchair ramp for a private residence. Though she's volunteered with TeenServe before, this year was her first time working on a construction project.
"I would do it again," Simpson said. "It's easier than I thought it would be. It's a learning experience, but once you get it, it's easy."
Simpson particularly enjoys the nightly worship led by artist Phil Joel in North Mahaska's gymnasium.
The experiences that students have with TeenServe can last a lifetime. Sometimes they even inspire them to return as adults. New Sharon native Jac Munson started volunteering with TeenServe as a seventh grader and now works at the camps as an adult volunteer. He said the New Sharon community has gone out of its way to show the campers how much they appreciate them being here.
"Pulling in and seeing banners that are welcoming all the campers, the North Mahaska Student Council painted all of the windows uptown, welcoming people and just showing us 'Hey, the community is aware that you're here. We know that this is a really big deal, and so we want to emphasize how big of a deal this is,' all of that, when the kids pull into town, obviously just gives them a really good warm feeling," Munson said.
Munson also told The Herald that the camp couldn't happen without the hardworking adult volunteers who labored for a year in advance to get it ready. TeenServe is made up of 330 participants. Approximately 70 of those are adult volunteers who work to plan the camp or lead its projects. Ultimately, they attribute the camp's success to God.
"There's a saying that I think is rather relevant to a lot of people's lives," Munson said. "And it's 'you have to take the leap if you know it's going to be worth the fall.' So take the leap, because within these settings, if you're dependent on the Lord and you trust Him, there's going to be no fall, because you know He's behind it every single step of the way."
Channing Rucks can be reached at crucks@oskyherald.com.