Outtatown Site 1 Guatemala: Service Days at Camp Arnes

September 23 & 24

Thirty sleep-deprived young adults being asked to get up for 7:30 breakfast could have been a disaster. But our team was in relatively good spirits when we lined up that morning, even if we were half asleep. That was a good start to our Service Days at Camp Arnes.

We were divided into 4 groups, and each group had a different task to do - cutting grass, painting, gardening, or collecting firewood. I decided to give collecting firewood a try, and I’m really glad I did. We got to ride on a trailer pulled by a tractor, roll logs the size of my torso through mud puddles with hiking boots on, laugh hysterically at the war-paint we made with mud on our faces, then run away screaming as they tried to put it on me.

At the end of the day, I was covered with mud from head to toe, my arms were black and blue from getting attacked by stray branches, and I had a scrape on my face from working so hard. But despite my battle wounds, I loved being outside in God’s creation, using the gifts of a healthy body and a positive attitude to help the people at Camp Arnes get jobs done in 2 days that normally would have taken a week to complete. Even though they were called ‘service’ days, and we all worked very hard, it was so much fun, and I found it rewarding to see the huge pile of firewood after we were all finished. I loved being able to give something back to the camp that has provided us with so much in the past 3 weeks. All in all, it was a wonderful couple of days.

By Emma Purser