What an exhilarating week after returning home from camp!

We arrived back in Dawson Creek on Monday, exhausted from an incredible and adventurous week at RockRidge Canyon. After a week of camp, you might think everyone would be ready to disappear into their bedrooms and recover for a few days.

Not our crew!

There were still things to do. And this weekend, we had the opportunity to be part of something pretty special: the 51st Annual Dawson Creek Co-op Pancake Breakfast.

This annual tradition takes place alongside the Dawson Creek Fall Fair and Rodeo and serves hundreds of people from our community pancakes, sausages, and coffee at an incredibly affordable price.

Every year, the Dawson Creek Co-operative Union gives a local organization the opportunity to help serve the breakfast. In return, they bless that organization with a generous donation.

Earlier this year, I submitted our application to the Co-op board on faith alone.

We had applied in previous years and had never been selected, so honestly, I wasn’t expecting much.

But this year, we got the call.

And what an incredible opportunity it was.

The Co-op is already known for giving back to our community in so many ways, and this was yet another example of their generosity. We are incredibly thankful to the Dawson Creek Co-operative Union, their board, and their entire team for believing in our young people and giving us the opportunity to be part of such a meaningful community tradition.

Our job was simple: rally together 12 volunteers over the age of 16 and serve our community.

Done deal!

God provided every hand we needed and then some. We had an incredible team of teenagers and volunteers who showed up ready to work.

But as I watched our teens throughout the day, something really stood out to me.

Just before camp, we had spent a lot of time fundraising together. I watched these teenagers work hard, but I also watched them learning how to work with one another.

Then they went to camp.

They spent a week together. They laughed together, experienced new things together, encouraged one another, and grew together.

And when we came home, I saw a difference.

At the pancake breakfast, they didn’t just show up and do their individual jobs. They worked as a team.

They helped set up tables and chairs. They put out tablecloths. They learned their roles quickly. When something needed to be done, someone stepped in. And when the breakfast was over, they tackled the cleanup, packed everything away, and worked together to leave the space better than they found it.

It was encouraging to watch.

This is what growth together looks like.

Everything we do is about growth. Yes, we want teenagers to have fun. We want them to experience adventure. We want them to build friendships and make memories.

But we also want to see them grow.

We want to see them grow in confidence, responsibility, leadership, service, and in the way they care for and work alongside one another.

And sometimes, you get to see that growth happening right in front of you.

We are incredibly thankful for opportunities like this because they allow our community to see our team and see the young people they are supporting.

Throughout the year, we host clubs, hangouts, and events where teenagers can have fun, build friendships, and grow. But events like the Co-op Pancake Breakfast give our teens the opportunity to step out into the community.

To serve.

To be seen.

To be known.

And our community gets to see exactly who they are supporting.

To everyone who came out for breakfast, stopped to say hello, encouraged our teenagers, or continues to support Young Life Dawson Creek in any way, thank you.

And a huge thank you once again to the Dawson Creek Co-operative Union and their entire team. Thank you for trusting us with this opportunity, for serving alongside us, and for continuing to invest in the community we all love.

We are grateful.

Because growth doesn’t happen alone.

We grow together.