U.M. ARMY-SWTX youths challenge,
inspire local pastor during work projects

By Cliff Krcha
First UMC, Yorktown; Runge UMC
I experienced my first ever U.M. ARMY-Southwest Texas camp this summer in Bastrop.
Ever heard of U.M. ARMY-SWTX? How about United Methodist Action Reach Out Mission by Youth?
I naively thought I was going to Bastrop to help some high school kids from Boerne, Marble Falls, Yorktown and Wimberley build some wheelchair ramps. Might give them some unsolicited advice or sage wisdom. Whoops, was I wrong.
Whatever negative thoughts—or anxiety—I had about teens today, I was way off base. The body of Christ is alive and well in our young people.
We worked in a driving rain most of the week. Almost all the time when we were hammering, sawing, digging or hauling trash, we were standing or walking in several inches of water.
Mosquitoes were vibrant, robust and seemed to thrive on whatever repellent we tried.
A formula for disaster? Hardly.
We started in worship. We had work team devotionals at lunch and prayed together. We shared our food with our clients. We took authorized breaks to Starbucks (not that we needed the caffeine) and counted on grace from our camp directors. We had a really good time being alive in the rain. We ended in worship.
The teens pushed my boundaries and preconceived notions right off the edge of the planet. I’ve been with friends who wouldn’t play golf in less than perfect conditions. These youths never complained about the conditions or anything else. We broke bread with our “clients,” those we were privileged to serve.
Here’s the big news: U.M. ARMY-SWTX is about spiritual formation—for adults and for the high school kids. Mostly for us adults. The kids know how to pray. They know how to have fun being the hands and feet of Christ in a muddy, mosquito-infested work site. We spent a lot of time discussing 1 Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young.”
Believe me, I look up to those kids. They hauled trash that smelled so bad many of them threw up. They laughed about it later. They are yearning for truth by which to live their lives. They love God and know how to worship him. They have a great time. They don’t reject each other. They are diverse. They wonder about the devotions in worship, ask questions and want to pray about it. I saw them being formed by the word.
These kids went in the name of Christ, and they did spread the good news of Jesus to many people in Bastrop.
Romans 10:15: “And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
Want to spread the good news? Want to experience joy beyond your circumstances? Want to experience the presence of the risen Jesus in your life? Want to spend some time in the kingdom?
Go to U.M. ARMY-SWTX camp this summer. Worship with youths. You will see the face, the hands, the heart and the feet of Christ there.
Take some work gloves.
By the way, the UM ARMY-SWTX had six camps this past year, with 30 churches attending, 364 participants and completed work at 132 sites.
Need more information? Contact Jenny Monahan, executive director of U.M. ARMY-SWTX, at (512) 557-0513; umarmyswtx@austin.rr.com; P.O. Box 2556, Wimberley, 78676; or www.umarmy.org.