Camp Grace A Summer In Review

When Ifirstdecidedto spendmy summer serv-ing at Camp Grace, I camewith themind set of “I amgoing to change the livesof young people with mytestimonyandmygiftsthatI have been blessed with.”While that holds true, Godhas done some amazingthings in my life throughthesechildrenthatcomeineach week. I can remember several momentsduringthissummerwhereIfoundmyselfdoingsomeseriousintrospectionandsoulsearching.I recently came to theconclusion that IwouldmajorinEducationalPsychologist.AsaresultofmyexperiencehereatCampGrace,Iamconsid-eringfulltimeministryandpursuinganonprofitholistichealingcenterforimpoverishedchildrenand teens. Ihaveapassion for children, socialjustice,anddance.CampGracehasallowedmetouseallmypassions,whichhasledtothedeci-siontochangemycareer.In the midst of ministering to the teen girls,God has been ministering to my heart. I was

able to sharemy testimony,which allowed me to con-nect with the campers. AndjustasCampGracehasbeena safe haven for these girls,ithasproventobethesamefor me. I have been minis-tered to not only throughthecampers,butthroughthestaff as well. I believe thatthissummeristhebeginningofahealingprocessthatwill

helpmetogettowhereGodiscallingme.CampGrace is trulyaplacewhereGod’spres-ence is evident. I can only imagine howmanymorelivesaregoingtobetouchedthroughtheministryandthelovethatcomesfromthemin-istryandstaffatCampGrace.

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LIFE CHANGE

Sharel JohnsonCOUNSELOR

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During teen girlsweek, Iwas blessedwith acabinthatgotalongwellwitheachotherand

becameveryvulnerabletosharewitheachotherabouttheirstruggles,hardships,anddifficultiesthattheyhavefacedinlife.Oneofmygirls,Shilah,openeduponenightandsharedaboutherangermanagementissuesandallthefightsthatshehasbeeninduetohershorttemper.Itwas incrediblewatchingseveraloftheothergirls tellShilah that theyhavebeen inher shoes andhow theyhavedealtwithitsincecomingtoknowChrist.BecauseShilahwasn’taChristian,wespentalotoftimetalkingabout the importanceof showingGod’s love toothers,whichledtomanyquestionsaboutourfaith.Bytheendoftheweek,somethingclicked,andshedecidedtoac-ceptChristduringCrossTalkonThursdaynight.Thenextafternoon,agirlfromanothercabinmadeacommenttoShilahthatreallyhurtherandmadeherangry.Whenshewastellingmethis,shesuddenlyhadafaintsmileonherfaceand said, “ButMs. Jessica, I couldn’tfightherbe-causeIhaveJesusinmyheartnow.Ican’texplainit,butIfeellikeanewperson.”IwantedtojumpforjoyatthechangeIsawinher.God’sloveissopowerfultochangeheartsandattitudes!

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Jessica SaundersCOUNSELOR

Kemon HackmanCOUNSELOR

LOVE

WeektwoofCampGrace2012wasmyfirstweekinacabin.Iwassoexcitedandready

toventureoffintoanewarenaoflife,butyetalsoner-vousbeingafirsttimer.Allmychildrenweregreatkids,buttherewasonethatIconsideredtobemyleader.Hechosetheelectiveofdance,andhateditthefirstday.Iencouragedhimtostickwithit,anditendedupgrowingonhim.Iwouldseehimdancingandsingingthroughouttheday,soIknewhelikedit.Theawardsceremonycame,anditwastimeforhimtopresentwhathehadlearnedallweekwiththedancegroup.HewasafraidtoperforminfrontofthecrowdandnomatterhowmuchIencour-agedhim,hewouldn’tgo.Aftertheceremony,hecametomecryingandapologizedfornotgoingupbecauseheknewIreallywantedtoseehisperformance.Ithenas-suredhimthatIwasnotupset,butwasabletotalkwithhimaboutstage frightandnotallowingpeopletostophimfromdoinggoodthingsthatheenjoyed.Ihavefaiththatthenexttimethathe’sfacedwithacrowdthathewillgothroughwithfullconfidencebecauseofwhathelearnedhereatCampGrace.

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Jessica SaundersCOUNSELOR

Kemon HackmanCOUNSELOR

LEAD

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During the week of teen boys,most of campers in my cabin

had either been a camper, a CIT, or evenboth, so they were quite comfortable atcamp.Inaddition,theywerequitefamiliarwithrulesandknewjusthowfarthattheycouldpushthelimits.Nowinpreviouscab-inexperiences, Ihadalwayshadafighterwithinthegroup,soIwaspreparingmyselfforthisindividual.Imeanitwasteenweekandall, sowouldn’toneof themwant toshow superiority? Shockingly, no. Theyenjoyedtestingtheboundaries(whatteenboy wouldn’t), but they really displayedteamunityandcommunity.Thisgroupofyoungmen became friends, trusted eachother, and encouraged one another. Itseemedasiftheyhadbeenfriendsfortheirwholelives.Tome,CampGraceequippedthem with necessary life skills that theywere even transferring fromone summerto thenext. Thesemen justmightbe thenextleadersatCampGrace!

Devontrecametocampforthefirst time last summer. This

summer, he returned as a Counselor inTraining(CIT)andreturnedasacamperforteenweek.Forbothweeks,hewas inmycabinandIwasabletolearnmoreabouthislifestory.Whenhewasyounger,hesharedthathehadhorribleangerissuesduetohishomeenvironment.Duringhistimeinmycabin,itwasevidentthatthishadchanged.Hecontinuallysharedhowhisexperiencesat Camp Grace helped him to grow bothsociallyandspiritually.Hisproblem-solvingskills with the other teenagers were veryeffectual, and he showed awesome lead-ership potential. Devontre is a great tes-tamenttohowCampGraceisanagentofchangeforthecamperswhoattend.

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Anthony Boynton COUNSELOR

Durell WashingtonCOUNSELOR

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Sherrodwasaten-year-oldboyinmycabinwhodealtheavilywith

familyandsocial-basedissues.Hismotheris incarcerated, and his father died whenSherrodwasa toddler. For thepast threeyears, Sherrod has been coming to CampGraceasaplaceofcomfort.Withtheissueshehadbeenfacing,therewasalotofangerresiding inhimthatwasnearlyuncontrol-lable.Thispastsummer,SherrodacceptedChristashisSaviorforthefirsttimesaying,”I’mtiredofbeingangryandfightingallofthetime.”CampGrace is anenvironmentforcamperstolowertheirwallsandallowfor healing. Being a part of a place thatbringshopeandrestorationtokidshashadaprofoundaffectonmylife.KidslikeSher-rodneedaplacelikeCampGrace.

Onourwaytothebarnforourafternoon activity, one of my

campers expressed her dislike of horses.Youseeallofmygirlswereexcitedtorideahorseexceptforher.Shesharedthatshewasquitecontenttoplaywiththekittensinthebarnwhiletheothersrode.However,Lacey, the equestrian director, and I triedtoconvincemycamperthatsheshouldatleast try to rideahorse.Ourfirst successwasgettinghertopetthehorseandthensitonthesaddle.Shewatchedalltheothergirlsridearoundonceandthenontotheirsecond turns when she nudged us for aride.Weweredelightedtosaddleherup,andLaceywalkedheraroundthepasture.Mycamper’sfacereflectedprideandcon-fidencewhenshereturned.Sheexclaimedthatshehadfunandwasthankfulthatwedidn’tgiveuponher.Oftentimes,weneedlots of encouragement to try somethingnewand to trust thatwewillbeall right.I am thankful that CampGrace is a placethat allows kids to try new things and tofeelsuccessful. 7

Taylor Callihan COUNSELOR

Anthony Boynton COUNSELOR

Recently we learned that his min-istry leader has yet to receive

a bad report from his teachers. Praise the Lord that his decision at camp is transfer-ring into better choices at school.

- Colette Kellar, Ministry Director

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Forthefirstweekof camp, Ihadacabin full of great girls whowere

nothing,butajoytohave.Watchingthemex-periencenewthingslikehorsebackridingandzipliningwasabsolutelyincredible.However,oneparticularmomentwillalwaysstickwithme.Aracely,oneofmycampers,wassosweet,butprobablyoneoftheshyestgirlsthatIhaveevermet. It tookmealmosthalfofaday toget her to tellmemore than her name andwhereshelived.Shegraduallystartedtoopenupduring theweek,but therewasone spe-cificmomentthatallowedhertocomeoutofhershellsotospeak.Duringactivitytime,mycabin and I were assigned the rock-climbingwall.Aracelysaidshewantedtoclimbup,butwastooscaredtoattemptit.Aftergivingapeptalk,shehesitantlybegantoclimbherwayupthe wall. About half way up, she begged tocome down because shewas afraid to keepgoing.Itriedtoconvinceherthatshewasper-fectlysafeandencouragedhertokeepclimb-ing.Within a fewminutes,mybraveAracelymade it totheverytopof theclimbingwall.When shemadeherway to thebottomandbeforeshewasevenunhookedfromtherope,shegavemeahugehugandthankedmeforconvincingherthatshecouldkeepgoingeventhough shewanted to giveup. I don’t knowwhatitwasaboutthatmoment,butthrough-outtherestoftheweekIbegantoseeadra-maticchangeinAracely.Shewasopeningupduring Team Time, asking questions aboutGodandtheBible,tellingmeaboutherfamilylife,andevenbeingacompletegoofballwithus.CampGracegaveherasenseoffreedomandvulnerabilitytobeherself!

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Jessica SaundersCOUNSELOR

VISION CampGraceseekstotransformthelivesofunderservedyouththroughaweeklongovernightcampexperience.3campson300acresserving3000youth.

MISSIONOurmissionistoconnectwithlike-mind-ed partners in transforming the lives ofunderservedyouth.CampGracestrivestostrengthenwhatourministrypartnersdoby providing a high capacity, high qualityovernight camp experience coupled withthree additional relevant camp eventsthroughtheyear.

CROSS TALK Transformaing lives of under-served youth to us begins with apersonal relationship with Christ.Thisyear158youthmadethatdeci-sionandthetransformationbegan.

CELEBRATION EachFridaynight,itisimportanttocelebratetheaccomplishmentsofeachcamper throughout the week. Givingloveandencouragement is imperativein a world where they are often ne-glectedandforgotten.

Bill Mickler, Director of Wilderness Works

CampGraceisthestronganchorthatcontinuestosupportthehome-lesschildrenwebringtocamplong

afterthesummerends.

LEARNING TO SWIMElectivesareagreatwayforyouthto learn a new skill. This year 115youth learned to swim for the firsttime!

Charactersinskitsareafunwaytoteachlifelessonsoffriendship,teamworkandproblemsolving!

CAM

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WE AT CAMP GRACE ARE COMMITTED TO OUR YOUTH. WE

KNOW GOD HAS LED US TO BUILD A FIRST CLASS CAMP TO SPECIFICALLY SERVE THE UNDERSEVED YOUTH OF

GEORGIA.

OUR SUCCESS IS BASED ON SO MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE JOINED WITH US

TO INVEST IN THESE YOUTH. Please– VISIT OUR WEB SITE AND SEE HOW

YOU CAN BEGIN TO SERVE TODAY.

WWW.THECAMPGRACE.COM