I overheard a sweet conversation taking place at my house the other day. One of the Mercy Street leadership guys, Terrell, was talking through a big decision facing him with another one of the young men, Bobo, who participated in the Summer internship. Terrell was deciding where he should go to school his senior year. He had gone to school outside the community last year, but he felt disconnected from Mercy Street and missed the spiritual encouragement.
Bobo said, "Man, something sparked in me at Pine Cove this year about our responsibility as leaders in the community. I really want you to go to Pinkston so that we can make an impact in West Dallas together."
They continued to talk about the pros and cons of each decision. Then I interjected. "Tell me more about this 'spark' you felt at camp to step up your leadership, Bobo."
Bobo said, "I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I realized that I had a voice and influence that I never really realized--despite the fact you guys would say it all the time. Part of it was seeing the influence the Pine Cove counselors had on us and part of it was the fact we were given a role to lead the younger kids at camp and they really responded to the things I said. It just seemed like God was using me."
I said, "That's pretty cool Bobo. Maybe God really does have a big purpose for you in West Dallas."
He said, "I think He has a big purpose for us. Terrell you need to stay in West Dallas and we are going to lead to some real change, showing these kids a different and better way."
That has been our prayer all along.
Trey Hill
Executive Director, Mercy Street
Executive Director, Mercy Street
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I came away from camp feeling so encouraged this year. For years we have been working with our high school students to embrace the idea of taking ownership in their community by demonstrating leadership and pouring into the younger students. This has been the intention behind bringing the high-schoolers to Pine Cove for years. While camp has always been the highlight of their summer and they continue to ask me to play the songs they fell in love with there all year long, this year something different happened. Those older students truly stepped up, with the encouragement of Pine Cove counselors and other staff, to teach and shepherd their younger comrades. And because of this, they grew too. Here are a couple Instagram posts I saw upon returning to civilization:"I'm back from camp. It's always life changing. Being able to be a leader to kids that live a different life style than me but we can share one thing (living for the Lord). Now that I'm back home the battle for Christ isn't over. I'm wanting to live a life where everything I'm doing I'm glorifying God. #forgiveness #love #giveithereson #pinecove"
"Getting to know Him better was the best experience ever take it from a older perspective"
P.S. Someone responded to one of the above posts looking for guidance and wanting to talk more. The Kingdom is spreading :)
Rachel Kramer
Mentor Coordinator, Mercy Street
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"This was my first time at camp and I really enjoyed all the activities with my friends! I learned more about God and grew closer to him. The one thing that stood out was having my mentor Kate join me at camp for a few days! We were able to spend time together, participate in activities together, enjoy good meals 
together, and both were encouraged by the messages that we heard while at camp. I am so looking forward to going again next summer! I just want to say thank you to all the people that made it possible for me to experience this wonderful time at Pine Cove camp!"Pricila Fuentes
Mentee, Middle School Student
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We were blown away by Pine cove and wanted to share our highlights. One of the greatest things we witnessed was the young girl who told the group she accepted Christ at camp. Hearing her story of her coming from a bad place to a place of trusting Jesus will forever leave a lasting impression on us and our kids. Another highlight was spending our mornings with each of the twins groups and the fellowship with them, the other kids, the counselors and our own kids. What a gift that was given to our kids to spend the week with other kids who may live in a different zip code, but the relationships are no different. We saw God working all week in community and fellowship among them. Trusting each other, deepening their relationship with Christ and having SO MUCH FUN.
The counselors were AMAZING!!! The way they loved us and our kids will be memories that will last a lifetime.
Both Byron and Broderick's counselors told us that each of them have a gift and sharing the gospel with their friends. That's pretty awesome, too!
Pine Cove and Mercy Street are both pretty amazing and we are honored to be able to share in expanding the Kingdom of God with both of you!!
Gratefully,
Jenny Griffin (husband Reid mentors the twins Byron & Broderick)
