Theresa Smith, from Triumph of the Cross Community in Fredericksburg, Maryland, USA, spent this last year, doing volunteer missionary work with Youth Initiatives, a  Sword of the Spirit outreach to teenagers in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Near the end of her year of service, she traveled to India to serve on the team running the summer camp jointly operated by the four Sword of the Spirit communities in India: Community of the Good Shepherd in Vasai, People of Praise in Banglore, Community of Jesus in Mumbai, and Krist Kiran Parivar in Pune. 

During camp, I helped run the sessions for the youth who were aged nine to fourteen. I was pleased to find that after working in a youth program in Belfast all year with that age group, I felt very comfortable taking on this task. I am usually considered a pretty laidback person, which is good for relating to people, although it’s sometimes bad for planning. Fortunately, I had plenty of help from other leaders and experienced God’s grace making up for my weakness.

Our team spoke to the youth about personal prayer and being a young person for God. We explained how young people can give generously of their time for the Lord and his service, especially through outreach work such as the gap program. We also had a lot of fun together and played some great games.

The youth in our discussion groups were a great joy to be with and were very respectful. There was a good balance between serious talks and discussions and fun activities. And there was a positive unity between the youth and the leaders. Overall, the time together and all of our activities were positive.

What really hit home for me was when I had to say goodbye to everyone, especially the young I had spent time with in small groups. I didn’t realize until the end how much I had connected with these people, and I was truly sad to leave. I learned that the Lord sets hearts on fire (including my own)  in unexpected places and in unexpected times of our lives. I will always keep India close to my heart and I pray that the Lord leads me back there again one day.
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