Month: November 2019

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Summer’s Best Two Weeks: Counselor Spotlight

Ashley, SB2W

Ashley Mietlicki, Class of 2021, is a kind-hearted student here at Grove City College who loves sharing her passion for the Lord, playing softball, and enjoying time with friends around campus. This past summer, Ashley had the opportunity to go back to Summer’s Best Two Weeks (SB2W) and work as a camp counselor for the second year. SB2W is a well-known summer youth camp and family recreation park on the shores of beautiful Lake Quemahoning in Somerset County. A number of Grove City College students work at SB2W. In the following interview, you will get an inside look at life as a camp counselor at SB2W and the impact it had on Ashley’s faith.

What does a typical day look like for a camp counselor at SB2W?

As a counselor, I would wake up around 7:30 a.m. and prepare for the campers (aged 6-18 years old) to get up at 7:45 a.m. As soon as everyone in my cabin is ready for the day, we partake in morning exercises. During this time, counselors have the opportunity to share a devotional with our campers. This is a special time for myself because it allows me to share the Lord’s word with others. After devotionals, we ate breakfast and had competitions where campers could win points for their team. This allows campers to grow closer to one another and learn the importance of working in groups. Finally, after dinner, we have summer life nights where counselors put on skits and the camp director shares their thoughts about a passage in the Bible.

How has SB2W strengthened your faith?

It has given me the opportunity to learn not only from people my age but through the lives of campers. Watching the kids at camp interact with each other and show God’s love and forgiveness is always rewarding. I truly believe God has a plan for everyone’s life, and I got to witness this every day in the summer.

Is Grove City College affiliated with SB2W?

They are not directly affiliated with SB2W, but there are several Grove City College students who work at camp or have been campers themselves. There are flyers about camp displayed around campus and our camp director visits a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) meeting. During their visit, they show a video from past summers and talk about their mission and vision.

What advice would you give to an incoming staff member from Grove City College?

One point of advice I would give an incoming staff member would be to go into camp open-minded. It might be very different than what you expected, even if you were a prior camper. Also, be super excited for all the opportunities that will come your way because there are ways that the Lord will work in your life that you would have never imagined, and there will be incredible people that you meet.

What is your favorite memory from this past summer?

My favorite memory is from our overnight trip during the last term of the summer. I led a biking excursion with one of my really good friends at camp. We got to spend time with our campers while bonding over God’s word, our love for nature, and the joy of biking.

Summer's Best Two Weeks Counselor Spotlight

If a prospective student wishes to get involved with Summer’s Best Two Weeks, please visit sb2w.org.

 

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ICO Spotlight: Philadelphia

What is ICO Philadelphia?

ICO (Inner-City Outreach) Philadelphia is a short-term missions trip to the city of Philadelphia over the first half of Spring Break. Partnering with The Philadelphia Project (TPP), the student group works alongside those working and volunteering with TPP in three different ministries.

What are the different ministries the student work with?

The mercy ministries focus on going out into the parts of the city with a heavy population of homeless individuals handing out food and supplies, as well as taking time to pray and just talk with some of these people.

TPP has many different work sites in the area outside of Philadelphia, renovating the homes of those who sorely need it, but cannot afford it. The students go and work alongside trained professionals, doing projects ranging anywhere from painting to tearing down walls; the students have the opportunity to serve in a more hands on manner, making direct connections in the community.

Another ministry has a few different areas the students can go, one of these is the Whosoever Gospel Mission. The Mission on the surface is an establishment similar to the Salvation Army, complete with a thrift store and locations to donate goods. However, looking deeper, there is an amazing ministry happening just above the store. The Mission offers a place for recovering male addicts to land, recuperate and go back out into the world with a renewed mindset and a more stable (faith based) foundation. In this ministry, the students get to hear the incredible stories of some of these men. They will also get the chance to work alongside them in the sorting section of the thrift store.

What has ICO Philadelphia shown its participants?

Based on what past participants (and personal experience) have taught me, the strongest thing this trip

has brought its members is community. The community forged on this mission lasts far longer the the constraints of the trip itself. The relationships built, faiths strengthened and wisdom’s earned are those which cannot be broken and will last for years to come. Trips like these bring people together for a common goal that cannot be accomplished in such a short amount of time, but every bit (regardless of length) help tremendously. Working in the kingdom alongside other like-minded individuals, for the greater good, is truly something to marvel upon.

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New to Campus: The Gift of Bibles to All

Grove City College, being the unique Christian college it is, has many opportunities to offer. The College has many doors available to help bring more people to faith on this campus, being just one opportunity. One way this is done is by the accessibility of resources. This year, Grove City College gifted an English Standard Version of The Holy Bible to every student, along with the option to take multiple Bibles to hand out to friends, strangers, peers, and family members. Opportunities such as this are very unique and can touch the lives of many people, but it does not stop there.

After these Bibles were distributed, many Young Life (a club on campus that leads groups of adolescents to Jesus Christ) leaders took multiple Bibles to hand out to the young students in various Young Life schools and programs. With the idea of drawing more people to Christ, these College leaders, and friends of the leaders, took it a step further. Students began to paint these Bibles, with bright eye-catching colors, designs, a Bible verse, or an encouraging quote, which made it that much more intriguing and encouraging to the ones who will be using that specific Bible.

After speaking with some of these leaders, their desire was to not only use these Bibles for themselves in their walk of faith, but provide others with the gift they were given. Not only did the leaders get to engage in fellowship with one another by spending time together while painting, but they were able to put their work to use by taking these Bibles to Young Life club and outings.

With all of the opportunities available in ministry here on campus, gifting free Bibles to the student body was just one more step to help encourage students, and those surrounding, to be able to seek Christ further.