Campion Academy News – Loveland, Colorado … The students in Youth Rush, the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) Literature Ministry summer program, have been growing their faith while ministering to community members door-to-door. They spent their summer canvassing in several cities in Colorado and Wyoming and wrapped up by working at the 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming.
A few students on the team from Campion Academy in Loveland, Colorado, explained how Youth Rush impacted them spiritually and shared a memorable experience from the summer.
“Working at Youth Rush has grown my spiritual life because it has made me realize how important prayer is,” commented Toby Q., an RMC Youth Rush participant. “Without prayer and being in constant contact with God, I would not have been able to make it through this summer or impact people’s lives and bring them closer to God.”
“There was a deaf lady checking out of a hotel I had gone to canvas at, so she could only communicate with sign language. My sister is currently learning sign language in college, so she taught me some. I was able to help this lady and was also able to connect with the lady who worked at the hotel’s front desk. She told me she only went to church during some of her life because she was in foster homes, and she got some devotional books. None of this would have been able to happen if anyone else had walked into the hotel because no one else on my team knew sign language. It’s crazy how God works.”
Liz M., also a participant, remarked, “Youth Rush helped me grow a lot with God. I had a lot of questions coming into the program. Every day we pray a lot, and I can see God working in people’s lives and it’s amazing to see how God is always there with us even if it doesn’t always feel like it. It’s amazing to see how God has been helping me.”
“At one door, a lady answered, and I showed her our healthy cooking book, but she wasn’t interested. So, I showed her our devotional books and suddenly she started crying,” she continued. “She told me that earlier that morning she had prayed to God to show her a sign that he was still there and that he was still working in her life. She was planning to kill herself on Saturday that week. She told me how crazy it was that I showed up that evening, and it showed her that God was still there and how he was working harder than ever. After sharing her story, she said, ‘Thank you for saving my life.’ I said, ‘Don’t thank me, thank God.’”
Keon P. commented, “Before Youth Rush, I knew God, but not on a personal level. And now, I have a fuller understanding of God and how he is my father. I met a chemical engineer at a door, and he was not Christian and never believed in the faith. He bought one of the books and told me that he usually never gets anything from people that come to his door. But he said he wanted to try it out and got two Bible books for his kids.”
“I was born in an atheist family, and I converted when I was eight years old. I have never been so close to the Bible and with God as I have this summer,” remarked Nicollas R. “Youth Rush has been such a blessing for my spiritual life. And it’s been good to see how God works when we are knocking on doors.”
He continued, “I met a woman while I was canvassing, and I told her I was from Brazil. She was shocked because she had lived in Brazil for seven years. We started to speak Portuguese, and I showed her our health and devotional books. She got a little bit mad because she said she didn’t believe in God or the Bible. She told me she did not want a book, but she wanted to donate. I left and went to the next street. But surprisingly, the lady came out to find me and told me she wanted to try new things, and she bought the devotional sets.”
Marc W. commented, “Working Youth Rush was a really great experience. I actually wanted to come to this program to get to know God better. Being here with all my leaders and all my friends who have the same beliefs as I do has really opened my eyes to what God has in store for me, and what my true identity is through him.”
“I met this really nice lady from Ukraine,” he remarked. “I showed her our health book and she really liked it. Then I showed her our spiritual books and I asked her what her spiritual background was. She started crying. She told me she used to be a very strong Christian, but she wasn’t anymore. She told me with the war and all the pain and suffering going on in her country, she couldn’t believe in God. She told me, ‘I want to help you. I am giving you a donation, but I don’t want any books.’ I left her with some books, and she ended up accepting the books.”
—Campion Academy News. Republished with permission from the Campion Academy weekly e-Newsletter. Photo supplied.
