The summer before I started fourth grade, I decided to attend a Christian camp with my church. I loved the group of girls that was going, I loved Jesus and wanted to know more about him and his love for me. It seemed like it would be fun, so I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a shot. As the time to leave grew closer, I became a little more skeptical and nervous because this was going to be my first trip away from home and my parents. But, as soon as I arrived at the church to load up in the church van to leave, all of those nerves were turned into happiness and excitement.

The camp we were going to was called CentriKid. CentriKid is a Christian summer camp for kids who are in grades third through sixth. These kids come to camp for a week to learn more about Jesus, dive into his word, and worship him, but they also have the opportunity to do other things as well. They are introduced to other children their age from different churches and are given the opportunity to form relationships with them. There are a variety of tracks that students can participate in, such as cooking, crafts, swimming, basketball, and many more.

My favorite part about camp was always the worship and the music. I have always loved music and connected with it in a special way so whenever we worshipped at camp it was very special to me. Whenever we would have worship I remember feeling so safe and happy. I would get chills and have this feeling of warmth in my chest and it wasn't until years later that I realized that the feeling I was experiencing was the Holy Spirit. It was moving inside of me and touching my heart in so many ways. If you have never experienced this, I pray that you do because it is something that everyone should feel.

I attended CentriKid for three summers and each summer, I gained more and more understanding of Jesus, his word, and his love for me. After I returned home from camp after my last trip to CentriKid, I was attending vacation bible school at my church. We had just finished our Bible study and we gathered in a big circle to pray, and I remember our youth pastor praying over us. While she was praying, I felt that same feeling in my chest that I had felt during worship at CentriKid, and I knew at that moment that I wanted to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

From that moment on, my life has never been the same. I owe a lot of my growth in my faith to CentriKid camps. Kids who are in the grades third through sixth are in a critical time in their lives. CentriKid helps them discover themselves in Christ and help them find their identity. They give kids the opportunity to experience a week full of fun, laughter, joy, and most importantly Jesus.

If you know a child that has the opportunity to attend a CentriKid camp, I hope that you will encourage them to go. CentriKid camps changes lives one kid at a time, and I am so thankful they helped change mine.