2 July 2014
Meet Camp Junkie and SU QLD Staff Member Kim Esson
Posted in Camp life
We caught up with Kim Esson, a self confessed camp junkie, to find out why she loves playing an important role in keeping our camping program running each year.
My journey with Scripture Union began when I was in primary school in Zimbabwe. I started attending a small social group each Tuesday afternoon with other kids my age when I was in grade 5. When we moved to Australia mum eventually discovered the world of SU QLD camps and sent me on my first SMADD (Song Music Art Drama and Dance) camp in the summer of 2003.
Let’s just say I was hooked! Since then I have attended, volunteered and worked on 22 SMADD’s (Summer, Winter and Primary), 7 Girls Camps, 8 Schoolies and 10 or so leader training events (not that I’m counting…). I have been working with SU QLD for the last three years doing admin for all the SU QLD programs (including all the camps we run). It may not sound very exciting but to be honest this is what I pictured as my ideal job while I struggled through a completely unrelated degree at uni. I’m still mad about SU QLD camps and the opportunity to work with youth!
Why? So many reasons! As a camper I loved camps because they were so much fun! We got to try new things, be silly and make so many great friends with genuinely lovely people who shared the same passions and beliefs as me. The discussions and message of hope presented at each camp along with the love and support of the leaders who journeyed through those years with me have definitely changed my life in a mind blowingly good way.
At the end of high school I had the privilege of being invited back as a leader. And as a leader, I have loved the opportunity to continue being a part of the camp community, and committing to serve God doing things that I love! I really enjoy hanging out with youth and kids – having fun with them and sharing my life experiences with them. Camps are an awesome opportunity to get alongside kids for a whole week and hopefully positively influence their lives as much as my leaders had influenced my journey. I love seeing how the kids grow from the day they arrive at their very first camp to when they graduate and some of them join us on the leadership team or even go on to directing a camp! It is so encouraging to be a part of!
I love knowing that what we do in the office every day brings hope to young people through the SU QLD camps and other programs we run. And I can’t complain that I still have the opportunity to attend and serve on a few camps each year.
Who knows where my journey with SU QLD will lead me, but I can tell you this… it has been life changing!
Kim is one part of a great team who work with over 1,500 volunteers to run nearly a hundred camps across the state. Our camps provide 5,000 children and teenagers with a fun-filled, positive time away from home.
You can read more about other staff members such as long serving Chappy Matt Brady, or hear more personal camp experiences.
Interested in camps? Find out more at www.suqld.org.au/camps
