Teen Reach Adventure Camps Fostering Hope

Ventura Missionary Church has been hosting summer camps for local teens in foster care for over ten years through "Teen Reach Adventure Camps."  (TRAC) Nick and Jessica Mehle oversee this ministry and have seen time and again the impact it has on the teens who attend the camps.

One such youth was very reluctant to participate in any of the activities the first year he came. His counselor tried to engage him and stuck with him throughout the camp, but the young man seemed to get nothing out of the experience. The teen returned to camp the next year, and to everyone's surprise, he brought the previous year's photo album and excitedly shared it with the counselors and other campers. He talked about all the fun he had the year before and encouraged the new campers to take part in all the activities. Thanks to a loving and caring adult who had listened to him and showed him God's love, he was ready to engage the second time around.

Another youth epitomized the meaningfulness of the TRAC experience when in the midst of the chaos of the activities, he declared, "I've never had a real dad before, and now I feel like I have a bunch of dads!"

If you would like to learn more about how you could support this summer's camps, email Nick.