A Summer of Spiritual Growth
Toronto City Mission’s Summer Camp Internship program was a true blessing of an opportunity for me going into this summer. I have been able to see both the campers and myself grow in our faith and as people, while also being able to enjoy and have fun with one another throughout many activities and field trips.
Throughout our many weeks of camp, we were able to see how happy and eager the children were when it came to learning about God. They were very eager to participate in Bible lessons, as they would volunteer to read bible passages, answer questions and act out a scene from the story. Alongside their participation in our Bible lessons, they were also very enthusiastic when it came to worship, joining in to dance and sing along. We would be reminded of their love for worship as they would sing the songs throughout the day and at one point, even asked us to use their free time to dance along with the songs.
Getting to watch and help these kids learn about God has been an amazing opportunity. But they have also shown and taught me about the impact of poverty on their own lives. Some of the campers have taught me about the different responsibilities they have at home such as cleaning up around the house and helping to take care of their younger family members. They also showed their own abilities to self-reflect and which I wouldn’t have expected for children their age.
“Getting to watch and help these kids learn about God has been an amazing opportunity.”
God has really used this internship to teach me about the children of the Jesse Ketchum community, but also to help me on my own journey of faith. Alongside the children being a great source of motivation, the encouragement from our Outreach Workers/ co-interns have been very helpful as I also grow in my faith.
This internship has also allowed me to reconnect with my church after not being able to come in-person for a few years due to COVID-19. It feels amazing just to be back in the building and I have also been able to start helping out with Youth Ministry. This internship has been a true blessing for me. Honing my workplace skills and growing in my faith while serving the Jesse Ketchum community was a great experience and I will be forever thankful to God and Toronto City Mission for this opportunity.