Scotian Glen Mission Team – bringing camp to the Maritimes

Every summer hundreds of Maritime kids head off to The Salvation Army’s camp, Scotian Glen, in Thorburn, NS. For others who may not go to camp, the Scotian Glen Mission Team brings some of the fun from camp to communities across the region.

This year’s Mission Team was comprised of five young adults who served as counsellors and program staff at Scotian Glen for the four sessions of Holiday Camp in July. After that they hit the road on a tour of the region, making stops in locations that applied for a visit earlier in the year. This year the team set up in Amherst, NS, Sussex, NB, and Moncton, NB.

During their week-long stay in a community, the Mission Team would run a Vacation Bible School in the morning before spending the afternoon and evening involved in outreach events for teenagers and service projects that benefitted the community, such as visiting a nursing home, working at a soup kitchen and doing yard maintenance at the local YMCA.

The team was led by Jennifer Rowsell, originally from St. John’s, N.L., and included Logan Brewer of Fredericton, Kristen Mooy of St. Catharines, Ont., Mitchell Caissie of Moncton and Thomas Marsh of Clarenville, N.L.

For Rowsell, a Scotian Glen staff veteran, this camp season was a great experience, thanks to a strong team of staff.

“Camp this summer has been amazing. It was my sixth summer working at camp, and the team this year was really great – we were really unified and everyone had a drive and a passion,” she says, adding many of those feelings continued with Mission Team. “Everyone has really been pulling their weight, been really positive and pushing themselves to do better.”

For Mooy, Mission Team also offers a different experience from camp, and a different opportunity for self-improvement.

“Mission Team, for me personally, takes me out of my comfort zone,” she admits. “I’m more comfortable ministering to children, so going to nursing homes or the YMCA with Mission Team helps broaden my outreach, which is good for me spiritually. It helps me to push myself to be more comfortable in those areas.”

During their time in Amherst the team worked at a soup kitchen, something that made a lasting impression on Marsh.

“I had never done a soup kitchen before, but it was definitely the highlight,” he says. “We met this woman who was 97 years old and it was really cool hanging out with her and meeting all the people who come in every single time there is a soup kitchen there. You never know the impact you may have there.”

With the first day of school right around the corner, both Scotian Glen and the Mission Team have concluded their summer schedule. Thanks to the Red Shield Appeal, fundrasiers and targeted donations, many children are headed back to school with the memory of a holiday experience they otherwise would not have had.