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Community Corner

Pohick Church Will Continue Mission This Summer

Will travel to New Jersey in a few months

For the past 15 years, the Pohick Church youth ministry has been volunteering their time during summer mission trips. This July, 19 teens and five adult sponsors will be traveling to Keansburg, N.J., to work on homes in the community. This is the youth ministry’s first trip to Keansburg. In the past, they have volunteered in Spring Grove, Pa., Elizabeth City, N.C., Brighton, Tn., Sanford, Mi., and Smithers, W.V.

“Every mission trip is a success story,” said Rusty Booth. Booth is a part-time youth minster at Pohick Church. “One group worked at a house where the resident had not been able to go outside due to being confined to a wheel chair. They built a ramp and were able to help him get outside and giving him the freedom to go as he pleases. The experience touched not only the residents, but also the teens. ”

Booth recalled one specific mission trip where a crew of five teens and one adult impacted the life of a young boy named Nate. Nate would join the group from Pohick Church everyday, helping to paint or just sharing his joy with the workers.

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“He said that even though he didn't go to church, he knew that God was all around him; God loved him and was watching out for him,” said Booth.

The crew discovered that Nate liked Spiderman and that he didn't have a bike, so they pooled their own money and bought him a bike, a helmet and a Spiderman action figure.

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“This is a case where the teens thought they were going to help someone and actually made an impact on his life,” explained Booth. “It has been six months since the crew has seen Nate, but he calls every Saturday to wish everyone a good morning.”

This summer, the Pohick youth volunteers will stay in a school with 300 other teens from all over the U.S. They will spend the entire week painting and replacing decks. The goal of the trip is to improve the living conditions of families facing hardships and to spread Christian faith and fellowship.

“I think the trips give teens a sense of worth, in a world that sometimes tells them they are worthless,” said Booth. “In one week, they put in thousands of hours of volunteer work and make an impact in the lives of hundreds.”
The Pohick Church youth ministry works with Groups Workcamps Foundation, who sets up the worksites and the logistics for the camp. They work with community agencies in the area of the camp to ensure that the needs of the residents are addressed. Booth said the youth group prefers to stay within a day’s drive of the church and Keansburg was a suitable distance and coincided with their schedule.

“The teens get to see the world outside their little community and discover that there is great need in the country,” said Booth.

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