I didn't realize when my camp story started 20 years ago that I'd someday get to call this place my home! I first came to camp for a confirmation retreat in 2005, and shortly thereafter I was invited to come to summer camp at Sumatanga. While I was initially drawn here for all the activities and fun I heard about, I ended up loving Sumatanga for the relationships I made while there. 

 

This was the reason for returning while in college to work on staff. The more time I spent working in various roles on staff, the more I realized that while this was a fun, life-giving summer job, there was more to it for me. The friendships and deepening of my faith that took place in my early 20s at Sumatanga is something that forever changed my life. When I left camp at the end of college, I prayed that my time at Sumatanga wasn't yet over.

 

I'm so fortunate to see that my time at Camp was not done and now I can be a small piece of getting to pass on the legacy of Sumatanga to the next generation. As the Summer Camp and Program Director at Sumatanga, I am so grateful to get to see campers and retreat guests come for the first time or the 50th time and see the beauty in God's creation here. 

 

Sumatanga is a beautiful place nestled in a valley in North Alabama, but more than that it is a special place because of the community that supports it. It is the people who make Sumatanga the life changing place that it is, and it's those volunteers, staff workers, clergy and lay people, board members, counselors, attendees, donors, and all those who come for rest and vision that continue to bring life to this place. 

 

I hope you'll consider donating to Sumatanga so that we can continue moving forward to reach even more people.