When you see the “luggage” children bring with them to Camp CUMCITO (City Union Mission’s Camp In The Ozarks), you learn a bit about them right away.  Some lug suitcases as big as they are.  Others tote their few belongings in a garbage bag slung over their shoulders.  A few bring small paper sacks—maybe they don’t have many clothes to start with or there were no adults around to help them pack.  
 
Regardless of what they call a suitcase, many of them are carrying a lot of heavy baggage: broken homes . . . hunger . . . violence and drugs. 

Nate can tell you a lot about baggage.   When he first  came to camp CUMCITO as a teenager, he carried a heavy heart . . . full of confusion, guilt and fear. 

For many years, Nate admits, “I lived church on Sunday . . . and lived like hell the rest of the week.  Drugs were a big thing for me . . . pot, especially.  Not only did I do them, I sold them.  I was such a hypocrite—a lot of my family didn’t even know.  Pornography was a huge obstacle with me, too.  It was an addiction.”

He dropped out of school, and friends who shared his lifestyle were killed.  His mom was afraid he’d die, too.  But, God had other plans.

Nate spent two summers as a camper at Camp CUMCITO, all the time thinking he was already saved.  But when he returned the next year as a counselor, “God sparked something in me,” he says.  “It wasn’t my doing or (the staff’s).  Camp CUMCITO was the medium God used to change me.”

Nate sums it up like this:  “I heard the Gospel all my life, but I never heard it like I did at camp.  (The staff and counselors) give kids the unwatered-down, full-on Gospel truth in different ways—games, plays, skits, songs—it’s perfectly mapped out.  It’s 100 percent God.”

After a week of unconditional love, Christian nurturing and lots of fun, our campers return home with much more in their suitcases (or bags or boxes) than dirty clothes: knowledge that God loves them . . . understanding He has a purpose for their lives . . . and eager anticipation of living the life He has in store.

It’s so important for at-risk, homeless and impoverished children to have this life-transforming opportunity.  But many families simply can’t afford it, so we charge only a $5 fee for camp tuition, transportation and a health screening.  Businesses, churches and individuals from the community cover the rest.

Here’s how you can help sponsor a child this summer. Want to spend a day or week at camp?  Check out these volunteer opportunities. 

You are God's Plan for the Poor or Homeless!