For the fourth consecutive year, a group of youth from Tyrone will give up a week of their summer vacation to bring their talent and their faith to the inner city of Baltimore, Maryland.

These Tyrone students will join others from across the country on a mission trip called Compassion Commission.

The week is full of serving others in many different ways. Some students will clean up streets, work in local thrift shops, or clean up abandoned lots, but the main event is the giving away of a free house at the end of the week.

”We love to have students go and experience life in a different environment, it helps to see things through a different perspective,” said group leader Jim Kilmartin.

The morning they leave is a very busy one, according to freshman Hailey Durbin.

‘’Sunday morning we all go to church. That usually ends around 1. Then we grab some pizza; pack up the van and leave. We arrive to Rock City Church around 5. That night there is a welcoming service to get us all pumped up about the week. Also, you find out who your host homes are. The next morning you find out your jobs for the week, and go to the working site. Then you go home, shower up, and go to services and do that every day until you leave,’’ shared Durbin.

This year about 15 Tyrone students will travel to Baltimore for the week of serving others while getting closer to God.

Many of the students involved are in a youth group called Thirty One that meets weekly at the Joshua House. Thirty One is a group strictly for girls that focus on appropriate dating, and how to become a young woman of God.

However, this year due to increased interest, there will be boys on the trip as well.

Compassion Commission doubles up with the charity group Adopt a Block and together they provide a free house to someone who has never owned a house before.

The students go because they know Baltimore is a poverty stricken area, and they can help by offering them their hard work, a nice smile, and some prayer.

”Compassion Commission is a tremendous opportunity for young people to serve in an urban setting,” said compassion organizer Jim Kilmartin,  “Most missions trips are out of the country, but we have so much need in our own country and in our cities.”

Compassion Commission has been around for an outstanding 13 years, and they will continue to make an impact in the Baltimore area through this event.

Every year the event takes place during the Fourth of July, and though many people would hate to miss that day, it’s not really a big deal to these students.

‘’Honestly, the Fourth of July isn’t a big holiday for me at home. If I do anything special, it’s just looking outside to see fireworks,” said freshman Lily Williams, “I would way rather be down in Baltimore serving the community and really making a difference in people’s lives than sitting at home. I would rather be making an impact, and that is why I still go.”

For freshman Cassie Friday this will be her fourth year.

“I like the community outreach and being able to help others,” said Friday “It’s also a good way to get to know God in many ways you haven’t before. It’s a lifelong impact.’’

Not only do the students help make an impact in others’ lives, but they are making an impact in their own as well. According to the students and group leaders, Compassion isn’t all about reaching out to others, but also about reaching out to God.

”I’ve seen faith come alive in the student that have gone,” said Kilmartin ”when you give something of yourself, you receive so much in return.”

This event is the one people look forward to every year. It consists of getting close with people from all over the U.S and getting closer with God.

‘’CC has definitely impacted my life is so many ways. When you serve and live your life through God, it changed how you perceive everything,’’ said Williams.