Tenth's Youth Group Maranatha assisted Grace and Peace, our South Philadelphia church plant, with their summer camp for two weeks in July. They provided a day camp for ages 4-11 for the whole month. Alongside a team from the Netherlands, our teens served as counselors for different age groups and teachers of one of the classes. Following is a debrief from one of our first-time summer missions participants Ruth Walton. Ruth is starting 8th grade in the fall.

Being on the Grace and Peace missions trip was a great experience for me. I enjoyed getting to know the campers and talking to them. All the people I was serving with from Maranatha, Grace and Peace, and the Netherlands were amazing. Whenever I was having hard time or needed something, the rest of the team went out of their way to help me and be an encouragement to me. Getting to know them was definitely a highlight of the trip.

It was a very challenging trip as well. It was hard to know how to talk to a kid who did not want to listen at all. It was difficult to know how to show them love but still correct them at the same time. It was also hard to be patient and cheerful even when I was very tired. Through the hard things, God taught me to trust in him for strength and help. Even though it was a challenging trip, I am very pleased to have been a part of it.