Jordan Byrd came to Cho-Yeh for the first time as a camper in 2019. While she spent a summer away from Camp in 2020, a friend of Jordan’s spent four weeks that year participating in Cho-Yeh’s Work Crew program. As soon as Jordan heard what a great time her friend had, she knew she had to come be a part of the action.
Jordan was nervous about immersing herself in a new community at Cho-Yeh, but she quickly found her place in this new role. Through Walmart trips, working in the mud pit, and washing dishes in the dining hall together, a new Work Crew community formed fast.
“I’ve never made friends faster in my whole entire life. Whatever we do we always have each other’s best interest at heart.”
While she was making new friends, Jordan was also learning. Her time on Work Crew taught invaluable lessons about teamwork, leadership, and compassion.
“I’ve never learned more about myself in such a short amount of time. I’ve also learned a lot about working with other people. We all have our different ways of working, but we have to work together to give campers an awesome experience.”
After her time on Work Crew was finished, Jordan left with a new perspective on service. As she worked together with her team, Jordan found a higher purpose behind all the tasks that they were doing — she was honoring God and loving those around her.
“When we serve, we’re not serving to get noticed. We’re serving because we want to do that for God and other people. We do it because it’s what we’re called to do.”
Jordan left her Work Crew experience with a totally new mindset and hopes to return to Cho-Yeh next summer as a counselor. She continues to look for big and little ways to serve those around her, and can’t wait to inspire her future campers to do the same. For Jordan and many others, Work Crew is not just a service experience, but an opportunity to develop character, grow in community, and mature in faith.
