Bless this Eager, Hungry Mind
If I never went to camp, I’d still be a troublemaker, the bad one, the person who would pick on you, says 17-year-old ShaQuonna Gunn. But since I’ve been going to camp, I’ve changed.
In junior high, ShaQuonna’s quiet, sweet nature made her a target for bullies. The girls in my class used to pull my hair, then they started hitting on me. They saw they could make me cry, ShaQuonna remembers. So I started to fight back.
At Camp CUMCITO (City Union Mission’s Camp In The Ozarks), ShaQuonna heard about how much Jesus loved her and how He could change her. Curious, she asked her counselor to tell her more.
I sat down with my camp counselor, and she listened to all the pain I went through when I was younger, ShaQuonna says, recalling how thrilled she was to have a compassionate confidant.
ShaQuonna asked Jesus into her life. Now, instead of reeling from past hurts, she’s planning a bright future. She’s secured a college scholarship to study nursing.
This summer, ShaQuonna will return to Camp CUMCITO as an assistant counselor. I want to tell the kids more about God and how He can help you, she says.
