Take a 40 minute drive to inner city Baltimore and the world as most of us know it will completely shift. You will witness 5 year olds taking responsibility for their 2 year old sibling and families of 10 with no parents. You will witness teenage mothers with nowhere to live or money to feed and clothe their child. It’s a whole new culture there and you don’t even have to travel out of the state to be a part of it.

    Many people dream of traveling to Africa or Guatemala or India to help out needy communities and “change lives,” but what most don’t realize is that in our beloved city of Baltimore, just a little South of M&T Bank Stadium, the children and parents are in dire need of help.

    This summer from July 28 to August 2, 3 North Harford students journeyed to The Agape House in Inner city Baltimore as part of a Bel Air United Methodist Church youth mission trip. The mission team included about 30 high school age youth and 10 adults.

    The Agape House is in a large one story building and is headed by its Pastor Rev. Edward G. Robinson, or as most call him, “Elder.” Its mission is to provide food, clothing, shelter, and church services for needy people in the Baltimore Metropolitan area (agapehouseinc.com). Elder also runs a catering business out of the Agape House (which has a huge industrial kitchen) and employs teenagers from around the neighborhood to help him with it.

    The BAUMC mission team runs a 5 day Christian camp for about 80 preschool aged kids, elementary aged kids, and teenagers combined. The camp is like a Vacation Bible School in the mornings from 9-12 and then includes fun afternoon groups like cooking, fashion, science, games, and an all-time favorite—woodburning. On Friday, the kids travel back to BAUMC where the mission teams puts on a fair for them which features a water slide, dunk tank, fair games and prizes, and more.

    “The kids are all so impressed with everything at the church, it’s crazy. They all run around like ‘guys come check out these bathrooms!’” said sophomore Claire Macatee who has gone on the trip twice now and plans to do it for the rest of high school.

    The trip is rewarding for everyone involved in so many ways. Not only are the kids’ lives being changed but so are the lives of the people on the mission team.

    “It’s awesome to see their improvements every single day. Somehow you just find yourself falling in love with every kid there and you end up missing them when it’s over,” said Macatee. “All they need are good role models and that’s what we try to be when we are down there.”