Coming to WorkCamp was very nerve wracking as it was my first time going, but now I can’t wait to go back next year. Being at WorkCamp has opened up tons of new friendships and has helped me dive into my faith so much. An impactful part about WorkCamp was the Masses every morning at 7 am. Seeing hundreds of teens participate in the same faith as me was shocking and comforting at the same time. I can’t wait to go back again next year.
WorkCamp was great this year! I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a way to deepen their faith and meet new friends who are also on their path to strengthen their relationship with God. I turned 18 this year at WorkCamp, and I can’t say that I was excited about that. But after the experience, I can say that I should’ve been. Everybody around me was excited for me, and I still managed to have fun. You may be having second thoughts about sending your kids there or if you are a teen you may not even want to go, but if I can only tell you one thing it would be DO IT!
My stay at WorkCamp was beautiful. The people around me, every single one, was and is beautiful. My crew #64 was full of wonderful God loving people, and we all got along great! Last autumn I sustained a knee injury that could’ve prevented me from coming back to WorkCamp this year… psych! The pain means you’re alive and while at the time I’d have told you “take me home,” what I really meant was “give me longer to rest and recoup.” I love being at WorkCamp so much that whether I come back isn’t even a question!
My name is Alex Lazarte and this was my second year at WorkCamp. I truly enjoyed this year’s WorkCamp as I was able to make friends with my crew and others at camp. I also enjoyed daily Mass and night time prayer discussions. Even though there were cold showers and not the best food I truly recommend going to WorkCamp.
This was my first WorkCamp and I really enjoyed attending. It was an incredibly enriching experience that profoundly deepened my faith. It was so inspiring to see so many people my age have such a strong faith. I met so many amazing people. At first, I was not excited to spend a week of my summer without my phone, and honestly I was scared that I wouldn’t have fun. But after all the monthly preparation meetings I slowly became more open to WorkCamp. During the week, my crew redid floors and windows and under the amazing leadership of my awesome crew leader and contractor, the house was completely transformed. Seeing how thankful our residents were made me feel so good and showed me that there are many different ways to serve God. I really enjoyed the experience, and even though I’m not super handy I was able to learn a lot of new skills and use power tools! One of my favorite parts of WorkCamp was the program every night. The program is a time for reflection and prayer. Being with everyone during that time after a long hard day of work was so relaxing and refreshing. Tuesday night we had adoration and the opportunity for confession. It was one of the most powerful adorations that I’ve ever been to and I truly felt God’s presence. I was moved to tears. At the end of the week, we had the celebration and our residents came to have lunch with us. It was incredible to see how much of an impact a few hundred teens made on a community. Many residents expressed how grateful they were and it made the whole experience even more rewarding. WorkCamp was a truly astounding experience and it strengthened my faith life. I made so many great friendships especially within my crew, and I’m so excited for next summer to go to WorkCamp again!
My experience at WorkCamp can be described in a couple words: Community, Prayer, and believe or not, Work. Starting off with community. Upon arriving, I had no idea what to expect with it being my first time going to WorkCamp. After getting settled, I was separated from the beautiful parish that is Nativity, and was put in Crew 28 with 4 other group members and 2 adult leaders, none of which I have met before. To be honest it was kind of scary because I would be spending the next week working with total strangers. But little did I know these “strangers” and I would form a bond unlike anything I had ever experienced before. That’s what WorkCamp does. It unites a bunch of teenagers to make huge impacts in people’s lives that last for a lifetime. WorkCamp truly brings people together in a way you really can’t find anywhere else. Another huge aspect of WorkCamp is Prayer. It truly allows you to leave the distractions behind and almost forces you to look inwards, and focus on your faith. In daily Mass, each homily was so powerful and passionate and made me reflect on how I live my own life. In addition to the morning and evening prayers, program, and confession, I was able to be fully immersed into my faith. Last but certainly not least, Work. My crew was assigned to take out and reinstall 3 windows as well as deck repair. After finally demolishing the top of the deck, we realized that the foundations were rotted and unstable. Instead of letting this inconvenience stop us, we persevered. In a mere 4 days, we took out and replaced all 3 broken windows and fully rebuilt the deck from scratch. My crew alone with 5 teens and a couple of adults were able to make a home safer, warmer, and drier for its residents. And if you thought that was impressive, imagine the 119 other crews and everyone they helped. And my advice to any future WorkCampers or really just anyone at all – lean into it, and seize those opportunities when they present themselves.
My favorite thing about WorkCamp was getting to know my crew. I had an amazing group that bonded within the first hour of knowing each other. As the days progressed, we learned more about each other and how to collaborate efficiently, and became a close group that felt like we’d known each other for a long time.
It was amazing to me that our crew, a group of five random teenagers, became so close in such a short time. During the car rides home from our site, we would all joke around and have fun—in a matter of days, we had our own inside jokes, like “Starburst” and “I hope I don’t fall.” On the last work day during the ride home, we all laughed so hard and so much I couldn’t breathe. We felt like a real group of close friends, and I was sad to leave them.
When we’d start the devotion on the way home, everyone would focus up and answer sincerely and genuinely. It wasn’t awkward at all—it felt comfortable and natural. My crew mates’ willingness to share personal parts of themselves and their faiths made me willing to open up and share, too.
I’m extremely glad I went to WorkCamp as it showed me the importance of community, as well as how faith and collaboration could turn a group of five random teenagers into a real group of friends. I can’t imagine that team—my crew—without me, so I’m infinitely grateful I went.
This was my second year at WorkCamp, and it was a pretty different experience than last year. Both in good ways, and bad ones. Though, one thing that stuck out to me this year were my residents. They really needed help because of a tragic accident that befell them. Because they needed help very badly, giving them the help that they needed and seeing them so joyful made the whole experience so surreal. I remember sitting on a bucket, eating the lunch that they prepared us, and just thinking about how Jesus was really present in the moment with us. I could just feel His presence and kindness throughout the whole experience. I almost can’t put into words how joyful the moment was. It definitely is something I’m gonna remember for a long time to come. In all, being given the opportunity to literally put a roof over a family of three’s heads is a blessing, and the joy that they expressed was so contagious! I would say that WorkCamp this year was awesome!
Hi my name is Emily, and this year I attended my first Work Camp. Going into this, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, though my sister did come home from WorkCamp last year singing the VeggieTales theme non-stop. The amount of pure joy and spirituality that was all around was absolutely incredible. I felt the presence of God everywhere. We celebrated Mass daily, and we had evening prayer every night at 6:00 p.m. On Tuesday, we had a truly beautiful evening of adoration and confession. Another thing that really struck me was the fellowship and community. I was placed on crew 105 with four other teens, two adult crew leaders, and one contractor. I knew none of these people, but we became fast friends by the end of the week. Also, you could go up to basically anyone and start a conversation. The week was filled with incredible experiences from adoration, to being on Crew challenge for Family Feud, to using an auger for the first time. We had lovely *WARM* showers and *HEAVENLY* wake up music (we were Rick Rolled at 6:30 in the morning!). It was a very spiritual and amazing experience. As one of my crew leaders said, let go and let God.
Looking back on the week of WorkCamp, I experienced an invaluable event. More than six hundred teens gathered to praise and worship the Lord through prayer, service, and sacrifice. Undoubtedly, there was discomfort, frustration, and sweltering heat while working on the worksite for seven or more hours, but there was also love, community, and compassion. My crew, crew #24, worked flooring and roofing- j-rail and trim- for a middle-aged woman who cared for her sister’s child. Not only did we connect with the resident by providing a service to her, but we also connected with her through laughter and conversation about dogs and God. Our resident, touched by my crew’s service during the short week, voiced her desire to send her niece to a service camp like this when she grew older.
Work camp impacts more than 100 families who receive assistance for their homes. It also affects the lives of the campers who attend. Freshly out of school, I planned to spend my summer with sleep and recreation. WorkCamp, two weeks after school got out, hindered my plan. I regretted signing up in the first place. Annoyed at my impulsiveness, I still got into the minivan, prepared for a week of processed foods, cold showers, and lofty temperatures. I was frustrated with myself… until I met my crew. My crew, crew leader, and contractor were the highlights of my week. The work was enjoyable, the shower lines bearable, and the memories made are forever.
Looking back on the week of WorkCamp, I am happy to have gone. I hope others will experience the same community, compassion, and love I did. Although signing up for WorkCamp seems like a significant commitment, it will be an invaluable experience. Doing good for others is the best way to serve God.
Hello I’m James, I recently came back from the diocese of Arlington WorkCamp. One of my favorite aspects of WorkCamp was even though we were working half the time, it was like an actual vacation. I don’t know about you, but most vacations I go on are usually very stressful. You have the planning, figuring out where you’re going next, what you’re going to do, but at WorkCamp it was all already planned making it relaxing. WorkCamp was also a break from technology. We weren’t allowed to bring our phones, which at first was kind of scary and annoying, but after a few days I realized that it was actually very refreshing. I did miss scrolling for hours on end wasting time, but not having that was actually nice. Also everyone else didn’t have their phones, making it easier to talk to people. We were doing jobs like putting on roofs and building decks, the work was actually important. For example, there were actually people struggling with a leaky roof, so we were actually impacting them. One of my favorite parts of the whole WorkCamp experience was getting to meet the residents and seeing their reactions. They came to where we were staying one day and said their thanks to us. This brought everyone to the verge of tears. All and all WorkCamp was a great experience so I will definitely be going back next year and I think you should consider it too.
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