Barbara Comito, former marketing director
4 min read
LC Valley Church Partner: Shann Profitt
Currently, a safe, clean-and-sober shelter does not exist in the LC Valley area, but UGM’s new shelter will provide a pathway out of homelessness for...
After working in the emergency room of a hospital, I thought serving as a nurse at summer camp would be a breeze, Alli said. But she hadn’t taken the emotional pain into account. Alli and I were having coffee after her term at UGM Camp ended. The physical injuries over the course of the nine weeks were minor, she said, scrapes, sprains, sunburns and insect bites mostly. The hard work hadn’t come from a test of her nursing skills but rather from the demand to live out her faith in complex relationships
– to listen, to care, to seek to understand how these children’s heart wounds impacted their behavior, and to bring the gospel into everyday situations.
As an example, she told me the story of a full-scale verbal assault that took place in one of the girls’ cabins at 3 a.m. Feeling completely out of her league, she entered the fray. After lots of “she said…” and “she started it,” Alli simply asked the girls: “Is this what you want your relationships to look like for your whole life?” That question de-escalated the fighting and created space for conversation, conversation that eventually came around to our relationship with God, the problem of sin, and the beauty of forgiveness.
Alli was a great camp nurse – competently handling all the minor illnesses and injuries that arose that summer – but more than that, she was a vessel through which God could begin healing the bumps and bruises none of us could see.
~ Dennis Roach, Youth Outreach Director
4 min read
The Father I Found: Pat’s Story of Redemption
At eight years old, Pat’s mom would share a beer with him. “Instantly, I was addicted.” At thirteen, drug and alcohol abuse became a constant. “My...
5 min read
A Lifetime of Service and Beyond
Vern Scoggin, UGM's longest-serving board member, has overseen remarkable growth and change for over half of UGM's existence. Joining in 1985, he was...
The bee sting
Barbara Comito, former marketing director : August 1, 2013
2013 Tshimakain Creek Camp Staff - loving kids well and being a little goofy at times God works for our good. All the time. Even when we are praying...
Camp is just the beginning.
Barbara Comito, former marketing director : May 28, 2013
The modern church with its emphasis on high-octane youth groups struggles when it comes to developing authentic, compassionate relationships with the...
Hunger Busters
Union Gospel Mission : December 1, 2012
Every year, the South Hill Bible Church youth group puts a creative twist on UGM’s food drive – to great effect! On October 31st, rather than donning...