BAMBERG -- Eighty-nine young people from Moncks Corner, Greenwood, Lexington, Irmo, Rock Hill, Branchville, Greenville and Bamberg paid $200 to spend last week sleeping on the floor at Trinity United Methodist Church and working outside in the heat to improve the homes of some Bamberg County residents.

Adult volunteers from Bamberg and those who came with the youth staffed the United Methodist Church's Bamberg Salkehatchie Summer Service Camp and guided the work at eight sites.

The Rev. Webb Belangia, Trinity UMC's pastor, served as director of the camp. Volunteers prepared meals and worked with the campers to ensure they had a positive experience. Community groups, local businesses and individuals donated meals for the campers as well as some home renovation supplies and services.

Asked why they pay to spend a week out in the heat, sweating and struggling to renovate homes for strangers, the youth and volunteers gave many different responses.

"I came to Salk because we have fun every year and get closer to God and make friends," a third-year camper from Moncks Corner said. "I'd never seen (how) people could live in such bad situations as I've seen with Salkehatchie. It's hard to explain when you come

and experience it yourself. I feel I've made a difference in someone's life and that we have seen how God can influence people's lives in the real world."

One of the adult volunteers said, "It's a good ministry, providing hope. You end up taking home more than you came with because you're serving others. The young people find out how doing and giving and caring the people they serve are. ... The volunteers and the people they help form a bond of hope and faith and frie-ip. It's not unusual for campers to come back and visit people in the houses they've worked on during previous camps."

"On Monday and Tuesday, you are thinking, 'Why did I come?,'" a fifth-year camper from Greenville added. "By the end of the week, you want to keep on doing Salkehatchie work for the rest of the summer."

Forty-eight Salkehatchie Summer Service camps enable high school- and college-age youths and adult community leaders to experience service ministry at selected sites in South Carolina, upgrading housing while providing participants with opportunities for personal growth and service. More than 2,900 participate in the Salkehatchie camps that are scattered across South Carolina. Camps are also located in North Carolina, Georgia and even Nicaragua.

"I think Salkehatchie is, to me, primarily for building relationships -- homeowners and team members working together. It is also about making homes safe, dry and livable for the occupants who need help," said Charlie Bellamy, assistant Bamberg Salkehatchie Camp director for the past 10 years. "This is one of the best local missions that the United Methodist Church has. It helps people in our own backyard. The ideal homeowners we work with are people who are concerned there are others who need help more than they do."

Bellamy said individuals can call Trinity UMC at 803-245-4275 to recommend homeowners who need help repairing their houses after Jan. 1, 2009.

"It's all about sharing the love of Christ with our neighbors," Bellamy said.

T&D Correspondent Laura G. Carlson can be reached by e-mail at Laura@carlsonclan.com or by telephone at 803-793-3336. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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