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It
gets better each year. It's credit to your continued
commitment to our young Catholics. As a Priest I am most
appreciative of the dedication of ALL involved with CHWC.
May God be praised and all of you be blessed.
Fr. Karl Bergin Orlando Diocese
This week a group of wonderful people came to work on my parent's house. They painted, cut shrubs and bushes, put in a new fence, and cleaned up the vacant lots around their home. I am just in awe at the work that the Catholic Heart Workcamp students and Jacob's Ladder organization completed on my parent's home. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. They truly blessed our family this week.
The Fowler Family in Memphis, TN
At 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 27th, 28 teens and five adults from Immaculate Conception Parish in Elkton, Maryland left the parking lot in route to Groton, Massachusetts just outside Boston. We were on our way to Catholic Heart Workcamp (CHWC) 2008! Nineteen of our students were back for their 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th trip. We had four college freshmen who came back after high school graduation, and we had five sets of siblings in our group. For me, this was my third CHWC trip. CHWC divides camp participants into work teams mixed with people from all over the country. Each team gets one or more work assignments for the week. In 2006 my work team helped paint and repair two porches for a family in Virginia that would soon lose its husband and father to cancer. In 2007 I worked in ankle-deep mud on an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma for a family that lost their home and their business and had been living out of boxes for five years. This year in Massachusetts my team painted several rooms in a group home for mentally challenged adults, cleaned windows at the home of an elderly couple unable to do so themselves, and cleaned out a basement and offices in a homeless shelter due to expand and occupy an adjacent building. Our 2008 trip got off to a rough start as we juggled a few last-minute chaperone changes. We also had a few injuries and an illness requiring medical attention during the week. One student was sent to a hospital because the camp nurse wanted to rule out mononucleosis and strep throat (both tests were negative.) And two of our students suffered puncture wounds from nails. Yes, they both had up-to-date Tetanus shots! During the week students and adults from our parish did a wide variety of work assignments and were split among more than 20 teams. One work team spent the week at a local parish cleaning and landscaping in preparation for an upcoming visit from a Cardinal! Several of our older teens worked all week to tear down a barn built in the 1800's. When the residents ran out of money to have the debris hauled away, our teens came to the rescue. They took up a collection back at camp to raise the additional $500 needed to finish the job. The residents were overwhelmed to the point of tears. There were dozens of other assignments. We scraped and painted houses and porches, did interior painting, pulled weeds, delivered meals on wheels, cleaned and organized at a food pantry, packed boxes, and the list goes on. But it wasn't all work. There was also time for fun. When our teens gathered outside one evening to play a game during "free time," they welcomed teens from other parishes to join them. One of our girls left the game to invite the young girl in a wheelchair to play and pushed her wheelchair to help her participate. Our parish is very proud of our young people: every one of them. They represented their families, our parish and our diocese very well. There is even a young man from Virginia who wants to come with us next year instead of going with his parish! So, just what is it about this mission trip each summer that has high school and college students giving up a week of their summer vacation, a week of home cooked meals and take-out food, a week of sleeping in their own comfortable beds, and a week's income from their summer jobs? Why do these young people come back year after year, spend all those hours riding in vans to get there, wait in long lines for food and for showers, work hard at fundraising all year long, and PAY to go? Why are they willing to spend a whole week away from the Internet, video games and television, and have limited access to their cell phones? Why did our group of teens grow from 14 in 2006 to 28 in 2008, including nine new students who joined us for this year's trip? Well, the word is out, at least in my parish. The biggest advertisement for this experience is the young people who come back home wanting MORE! It starts with planning and fundraising, and the excitement and anticipation build. Even sharing the long van rides is fruitful. We share our food. We share our music. We share our space and learn to compromise. It's the shared experience that brings us together right from the start. It's facing challenges together and sharing our successes that help us to grow as individuals and as a group. Catholic Heart Workcamp is about service; there's no doubt about it. But it's also so much more. CHWC has been offering summer mission trips to young people since 1993. They know what they're doing, and they do it well. Music is a big part of the week. Believe it or not, the teens you often find listening to rock, rap, hip-hop and heavy metal music can be seen and heard at CHWC singing contemporary Christian songs. But these young people aren't just singing these songs; they are praying them. Even the ONE kid you'd never expect to sing along, sings. And, yes, we all do the requisite "arm motions," too. Each day at these camps is structured and includes witness talks from young adults who challenge us and bring a new perspective to our faith journeys. During the week we celebrate the Eucharist together and have opportunities for Reconciliation, prayer, faith questions, and healing. A few people have asked why we take a trip far from home when there are needy people right here in our own community we could help. It's true: there are many needy people here in Cecil County and in other parts of the Diocese of Wilmington. So why do we travel to serve? It's not just the service. It's the whole package, the whole experience. And traveling is part of it. It is the time these young people spend away from home that makes the difference. The chance to get away and step back and take stock of where they are in their own personal relationships with Jesus, with their parents and siblings, with friends. Something happens on these trips that doesn't usually happen at home. The masks come off, the walls come down, the fears and troubles are shared – sometimes for the very first time. It's an atmosphere of compassion and love. It's a chance to connect with someone you might never have met without this mission trip experience – or someone right in your own group. It's a chance to see that our similarities far our number our differences. When we travel, all the usual distractions are removed. We experience things differently in different environments and with different people. So we go – away. Then, hopefully, we come home a little different than when we left. Perhaps we're a little more aware of the people in our own community in need. Perhaps we've learned to forgive someone because of a witness talk where someone shared his or her own experience of forgiveness. Perhaps our week of service has opened our eyes to all the blessings we have and take for granted every day. Perhaps for the very first time we experienced God's love by being the one who served as Jesus served. The flicker of the Spirit within us turns into a flame. If you want to learn more about CHWC, go to www.heartworkcamp.com. Be sure to click on Alice's story. And for a really heartwarming video from 2007, search You Tube for "mother and daughter reunion Omaha NE." Watch it more than once. You'll be glad you did. If you're ready to step out of your comfort zone, to take a road trip, to work hard, to sing, to dance, to pray, to cry, to laugh and to challenge yourself to serve as Jesus served, then give CHWC a try. See if YOU catch the Spirit! Ruthie Patterson
Catholic Heart Work Camp is one of the greatest experiences that I have EVER partaken in. I didn't realize that loving God could actually be fun. 2008 was my first time going to CHWC and I loved every minute of it. From the kooky morning wake-ups to the eye opening 4 corners to the games of kick-ball--I loved it all! I've come that these camps have made me a better person. Probably the greatest moment of my entire trip was after we installed windows into Mrs. G's house. She was shocked that there were actually youth out there that care about the elderly. She told us how the kids in her neighborhood would steal her belongings. She was so overcome by joy that we were willing to spend a week of our summer helping her. God Bless, Valerie W.This past summer was my second time being at CHWC. My expectations were high after my attending two summer's before, and I never imagined that this summer could get any better. This summer, once again changed my life. What made it special was the interaction between the staff and all the participants. They were amazing. This year was also different for me because it was my brother's first experience with the camp. He had heard a lot of things about it from me, but I didn't know how he would respond to living and working in a faith filled area for a week. It was something he had never experienced. During four corners we both joined each other in the faith corner to discuss how we both grew this week, both as siblings and children of Christ. I was very proud of him and together our faith grew to an amount that we both thought to be impossible. During the week, I realized that I wanted to pursue an even stronger relationship with God. When i am old enough, I would love to spend every summer I can participating as a staff member. As this position I would hope to give the same experience to the campers as you have given me. Thank you CHWC for an amazing week we surely won't forget. We are extremely excited for next summer! We periodically check the website for updates on the upcoming year. God Bless!
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