By Taylor Wouters ’15 | Staff Writer

Washing dishes is a nightmare for most kids, however, Murray Sales and Meagan Beach both ’14, volunteered an entire weekend to do just this for the hundreds of kids that attend Young Life camp.

Beach and Sales went to Timberwolf Lake, located in Michigan, from Friday, Dec. 6 through Sunday, Dec. 8, they said. This is one of the many weekend camps that can be attended around the United States.

“While we were there we spent time in what was dubbed the ‘pits’,” said Sales. “In the pits we spent all day washing, drying and putting away dishes.”

Beach and Sales were in the pits from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day with only a half hour break for lunch, they said. After a day of exhausting cleaning, they would head back to their living quarters, only to wake up and repeat the process the next day.

 “We washed hundreds of dishes per meal, I would say the hardest part was how long we spent in the pits. It was really draining physically,” said Beach.

Both Beach and Sales said they were interested in work crew because of the numerous times they had been to Young Life camp, and for the desire to provide a good experience for other campers. Helping to give them clean dishes was their way of contributing.

“I was interested in work crew because I have been in Young Life for seven years, and have been up to camp 10 times and wanted to get a chance to give kids the same fun I’ve had when I got the chance to go,” said Sales.

The opportunity was presented to them when a friend’s work crew boss offered them spots for the weekend, Sales said. This included volunteering their weekend so that fellow Young Life goers could enjoy their camp experience.

“I was offered the opportunity when a fellow Young Life goer said her work crew boss from the summer was going to be at camp and could get us some spots,” said Sales. “Everything just kind of fell into place after that.”

Although the weekend was hours of hard work, it was extremely satisfying as well, Beach said. While there, they developed new relationships with people they worked with, and bonded with those they already knew.

“It was so satisfying when all the dishes were finally finished. We would get plates with ‘we love the pits’ and silly notes like that,” said Beach. “It sounds weird, but they really helped us get through the day.”

Being there for each other was key when the hours started to take a toll, Sales said.

“The best experience was spending time with my friends and being able to connect with them more throughout the weekend and picking each other up when we would start to get tired,” said Sales.

Work crew does not only affect those who volunteer, but their Younglife leaders as well.

“I can’t explain the happiness my heart feels when kids have a willing heart to devote their time, energy and life to volunteering for work crew,” said Younglife leader, Carrie Sonntag.

Watching kids volunteer their time helps the leaders grow in their faith as well, Sonntag said. It helps to inspire leaders when they see their kids have a revelation to join work crew.

“I greatly appreciate work crew for everything it does and has done to change the hearts of volunteers,” said Sonntag.

Although the weekend was tedious and straining, both Beach and Sales agree that it was an experience they would love to have again.