Emily Urban
Then: Covecrest 2009 Session 2
Now: I’m currently in my last semester of college at the University of Florida, so I’ll be graduating in about a month. I just try to take everything one day at a time. As of now, my plans for post-graduation consist of temporarily moving back in with my mom, going on the March for Life in D.C. at the end of January, and going on a pilgrimage through Italy in February. So I don’t really know for sure what the next step is in my life, but I know God has a plan. He always does.
Would you do it again? Yes! It was more than worth it – I always knew it was in His will for me to have done summer staff. Since I’m graduating college soon, I don’t know if I’ll ever be in a position again to apply for staff, but I’m definitely open (at least I try to be) to whatever God calls me to do whether it’s with Life Teen again or something completely different.
Do you keep in touch? I mainly keep in contact with some of the women from my staff. We started a facebook thread between all of us the May before we did staff, and even though we don’t update it as much as we used to, we still keep in touch through it occasionally. Last year I had the privilege of having my prayer partner from staff live just down the road from me where we went to college. Now she lives in another state but I know my PP is still praying for me! I definitely feel a connection to all my staff through prayer. I’m amazed at how they come through for me when I really need them. When I hit a hard time in my life, it’s common for me to randomly hear from one of my staff telling me they’re praying for me. Even if I never see some of my staff again in this life – I know they’re praying for me and I for them, and if we keep up with it I know we’ll all be reunited in Heaven.
Why should a college student apply to be a summer missionary at camp? It’s much more than being a camp counselor at a catholic youth camp for a month. It’s an opportunity to meet God in a way you never have before. It gives you a chance to feel what a real true family is like. It gives you a chance to meet some of the best people you will ever know. And it will give you a chance to know who God is and who you are in God’s eyes. The experience of summer staff doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get all the answers to the questions that typically come up during your life in college, and it definitely doesn’t guarantee that you’ll never hit hard times in your faith life again. Life will still continue to bring all of us pain and struggles – but none of it will ever take away what you experience as a summer staffer for Life Teen.
