When Sierra Anderson’s step-brother suffered from limited mobility and other issues following a car accident, it created a hunger in her heart to help others. She started attending Life Pacific College in California with the plan to complete her Bachelor’s in Human Development and Psychology. “I was motivated by my experience caring for my step-brother,” Sierra shared.

Working on her degree required Sierra to complete an internship experience to help her apply the skills she is learning in the classroom. She began looking for an opportunity to work with families impacted by special needs and to explore child education.

“There’s a great need for care and service to children with special needs and their families,” she described. With her fiancé close by, and a connection through Foursquare pastor Natalie Werking, Sierra found her way to Victory Lane Camp.

Sierra spent time at Bradford Woods observing the atmosphere of Victory Lane Camp and incorporating herself into the community. She took time to grow in her understanding of the TIMS, Teens in Mission, program.

“My main goals are to become a working member of Victory Lane’s team and to help them execute their camps excellently. I’m planning to help them to develop their Teens in Mission to be functioning in a way that is sustainable for their growth,” she explained. “They have some high goals for how many people they want to be serving, so they plan to really grow their TIMs ministry.”

After attending some of the monthly events this spring and experiencing the first camp of the summer, Sierra has already built relationships within the community with hopes to continue forming connections. She expressed, “I have been able to make connections with some of the families at VLC events, and am excited to meet and connect with even more at the next camp this summer.”

She has already seen the impact of having teens involved with VLC during the first camp at Bradford Woods this summer. “The most impacting thing was watching the ways the teens stepped up and grew as leaders themselves,” Sierra noted. “They were willing to let their hearts show and that had such a transforming effect on the children, the camp atmosphere, and on me. It reminded me what was so important and beneficial about TIMS and really energized me to step into my role during the next camp session at Cornerstone.”