My Dallas Experience

This summer I had the privilege of being an adult leader on my church’s mission to Dallas, TX. I have had many experiences on YouthWorks sites; first as a youth, then as summer staff, and now as a full-time staff in the YouthWorks office. Each week I have spent on a site has been unique in its own way and the week in Dallas was no different.

I would describe my YW experience as encouraging.  I got to experience first-hand the reciprocal relationships that YouthWorks has in Dallas. Often on mission trips we have the mindset that we are going to change the community, but we leave impacted by the people and community we have interacted with during the week. That was my experience in Dallas and I can say that I was truly blessed by the community. For most of the week, I spent the mornings with my crew at a daycare and in the afternoon, we went and served at a local church. The staff at the daycare was baffled that we would come all the way from Minnesota just to spend time with the kiddos and we experienced southern hospitality through their actions. At the church in the afternoons, we worked on a variety of projects led by one of the church elders. He joined us and took time to get to know our group and prayed for us. We also spent one day at a food bank where I had great conversation with the Volunteer Coordinator. He encouraged us and was also very passionate about having YouthWorks in Dallas.

At the end of the week leaving Dallas I felt that the service partners that I served with poured just as much into us as we did into their organizations. I have confidence in saying that God was truly there in Dallas long before we arrived, He showed up in immense ways while we were on site, and He will continue to be there moving in the community long after the summer is over.

After going on YouthWorks trips in high school and serving on summer staff as a Service Coordinator for two summers in Louisville, Barry joined the Service Center Team in May of 2014. A recent Business Management grad from University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, he enjoys being able to use his business skills in a ministry setting. Outside of the office, Barry enjoys spending time with his family and friends, going to the lake and volunteering at his church.