Written by: Pheobe Cheung
“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. ”
This is my first summer interning at TCM’s summer Sonshine Day Camp, but before this, I was volunteering at their after school program. The reason I started volunteering was because I saw someone I knew shared stories of him working as one of the summer interns in the past and he told me he enjoyed it. Volunteering previously allowed me to build relationships with some of the kids, I felt like this summer camp has allowed me to build a deeper relationship with the kids by seeing and spending more time with them. God has given me this incredible opportunity to show these children more of His love, and with His power, I would say that my faith and patience have grown significantly. I am able to be clear on my expectations for the kids on how they treat one another and the team but also be someone they can count on. As a team we develop an environment where everyone can be and should be accountable to one another - even with the leaders too, as we all make mistakes and are not perfect. As I continue to serve at TCM, my love for these children continues to grow stronger and being away from them becomes more challenging each day.
There has never been a dull moment with these kids. A memorable experience was the day I taught on the topic of ‘anger’ during Bible class. After small group discussions, I asked the kids to share what they had learned and each of them shared how Christians are supposed to act when they get angry such as forgiving them, walking away, turning the other cheek, talking to someone they feel safe with, etc. Furthermore, there is a camper who regularly resorts to violence when they get hurt or angry. That day, after small group discussions ended when another camper said something that upset them, instead of resulting in violence, they went to the safe space room (space for campers to calm down when they are angry or upset) to calm down and spoke to me about the situation. I was so proud of them for applying what they had learned and changed their response towards their fellow campers. Praying for continual growth for this particular camper!
A funny memory I had was when I was making Perler beads with a few of the campers. I told one of them ‘Sharing is Caring’ because we only had one container of beads and she answered funnily, “This isn't coco melon, Phoebe”. There was another time when the same camper asked me if I was Chinese and when I answered her yes, she asked me, “Can you bring me sushi?”. That is to say, I always find myself laughing at a lot of the unexpected things that these kids say.
Growing up in Cambodia, I was surrounded by those who lived in poverty but I would say that this is the first time I have worked directly with kids who are impacted by poverty. Furthermore, my studies in Social Work have allowed me to understand how the development of children who live in impoverished families can be significantly affected. Being able to serve these children firsthand reminds me daily about God’s love, His grace, and His patience for all of us. It is also a daily reminder that we do not know what the kids have gone through and what they are going through but by treating them with love, approaching them with curiosity and spending quality time to get to know them, we can build strong meaningful relationships with these kids and support them in the ways we are able.
Lastly, I wanted to say a special thank you to my prayer and support network that has encouraged me during camp throughout these few weeks. I am also appreciative to those who financially support me to cover my daily living expenses and to sustain this ministry. The messages from some of my supporters are very encouraging and get me through tough and tiring days. I pray that God will continue to work through me and that I can serve faithfully in the upcoming weeks ahead.
