Mission Moments - Snapshots from the Soul
Every person who passes through the doors of City Union Mission has a unique story to tell - every man, every woman, and every child. Some stories are gripping, some are interesting, and some are heartwarming, while others are heartbreaking.
We have captured several stories that may change the way you view homelessness forever. Here is your chance to take a glimpse into the lives of a few of our precious clients, volunteers, and donors. We hope you will take a minute to engross yourself in these powerful testimonies. Please place yourself in their shoes, and join them in their past sorrows as well as their newfound joy.
Angela F.
Angela had never been to summer camp before when a good friend invited her to Camp CUMCITO (City Union Mission’s Camp In The Ozarks). Ten years later, 23-year-old Angela still remembers how wowed she was by that special week. She remembers the fireworks, the pool, the chance to grow in her relationship with God, and the opportunity to make some new friends who were very different from her. She met teens who were homeless or lived in poverty, who had broken families and who suffered from neglect and abuse.
“This was my first experience with kids who were homeless, and I felt blessed that I had both my parents and a home to go back to,” she remembers. Angela fell in love with Camp CUMCITO and returned every summer until she was too old to be a camper.
Then, when she was 17, Angela became a volunteer camp staff member, serving first as a Big Sister at Tot Lot. She adored the young girls in her cabin and spent the week playing with them, teaching them Bible stories and helping them memorize scripture.
“When the girls called me their sister, I felt so blessed,” Angela remembers. “You don’t know what kids you’re going to get or what their family life is like. You don’t know if you helped change their lives, but you know you helped start something.”
Angela worked at Camp CUMCITO for five summers, serving at Tot Lot and at Big Camp on the kitchen and recreation staff. Today, Angela is a student at Marquette University. Her career goal is to open a Christian youth center, where she wants to pour into young people just as her camp counselors poured into her.
Angela says, “I felt like my counselors at camp helped me grow stronger in my walk with God, and I wanted to do that for other kids."
Would you like to grow closer to God, too? It all starts with His Son, Jesus. Click here to find out how you can have a personal relationship with the Living God!