Published: July 03, 2008 01:53 am            

WORKCAMP: Teens from across the country work on Lockport homes

In Anne Shisler’s kitchen on Corinthia Street on Wednesday, three teenage girls chatted happily as they used rollers to paint the ceiling bright white.

Outside, three teenage boys were at work tearing shingles off Shisler’s roof, preparing to replace them with new ones.

Amid all the noise and bustle, Shisler sat at her kitchen table, smiling.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Shisler said. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful feeling. I am so blessed to have these children. I call them my angels.”

Shisler lives in one of 27 homes that are being visited this week by kids from the Erie Canal Reach Workcamp, which brought kids from churches all over the country to Lockport to do some good deeds and fix up some houses.

The teens each paid to take the trip, and in-between working at area homes, they are sleeping in second-floor classrooms at Lockport High School.

Church groups from all Christian faiths are mixed together, allowing the kids to make new friends at each work site.

In Shisler’s kitchen Wednesday, 18-year-old Hannah Roberts, of Austin Town, Ohio, worked with Savannah Putnam, 14, of Fairport and Kimberly Covey, 16, of Lancaster, Pa.

Roberts said this is her fifth trip to a work camp.

“They’re all different,” she said. “You meet so many new people.”

Jim Haid of St. John’s Outreach Center, the local coordinator for the camp, said the camp is very focused on the relationships formed between everyone involved.

Each team spends the entire week at one site, allowing the teens to get to know the homeowners.

“They have the undivided attention of all these young people,” Haid said.

Sitting in her kitchen Wednesday, Shisler said her goal was to make the teens feel at home.

Putnam said she hoped to keep in touch with Shisler after the week is over.

“I want to see if I can visit her,” she said.

Every day, the teens finish work about 3:30 p.m. and return to the high school, where local churches provide snacks. They all gather for dinner about 5 p.m., and after that there are prayer groups, songs and other activities.

The teens have been playing basketball in the gym and using the school’s outdoor fields for recreation.

Despite the sometimes hard work, not one kid has complained, said Neil Fisher, a Reach Workcamp representative.

“Anyone who’s willing to come and pay (to work) obviously has a heart for service,” Fisher said.

“I think that really goes to the root of their faith,” Haid said. “They know why they’re here. It’s much more than a good deed.”

Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

        

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