1,786 days and counting
by Lt. Shanell Johnson
I have leaned into the prayer, “Lord wherever you need me and whatever you need me to do, I am willing.” But last summer after spending four years at the Chicago, Ill., Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, that prayer was tested.
I received a new appointment to be the divisional youth secretary (DYS) in Kansas and Western Missouri. While filled with joy to work with young people and be involved in camping ministry, I was nervous about a new location, a new appointment and new responsibilities. It was my faith in the Lord and the experiences He has allowed me to have that gave me the confidence to enter into this new season with a holy boldness, knowing that God will continue to equip me, and He will not lead me astray.
As a new DYS, I arrived at Three Trails Camp in the middle of the summer. I had to roll up my sleeves and dive right in. My first two weeks were spent learning as much as I could about the camp, meeting the staff and officers, and getting to know the campers. It wasn’t until the last week of camp that I finally felt more comfortable as we facilitated STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) Camp for 119 campers, ages 7 to 12.
While teaching them the beauty of STEAM, we were able to share with them the love of Jesus and the gospel. We were blessed to collaborate with Commerce Bank, Security Bank, Evergy and a local high school science club to provide a wide variety of science and art projects that were educational, fun and engaging.
Each day older campers learned how to develop plans and create their own cardboard boat that was raced across the pool in a boat regatta on the final day of camp. It was encouraging to see so many kids working together to develop their ideas and their joy when they brought them to life.
So often science is viewed as an enemy of the church, but by teaching science and biblical truth side-by-side we were able to see the biggest blessing of the summer. Of the 358 campers, 219 gave their lives to Christ. I am blessed to be in this ministry and am in awe of how God reaches kids through camp.
