Before going to Citikidz my life was reckless… [I was] poisoned by my own pride and self-pity. Church was my escape from my house. My mother couldn’t take care of me because of her mental disability. Though, I did not see my father regularly, [he] brought me into another family’s home where I was raised.
I was verbally abused, told I would be just like my father, and other excoriating words. I learned to lock away my feelings and create a barrier around them so nothing would get in or out. I remember on one rainy day, looking outside my window to the heavens, saying, “I don’t know who you are, but I need you to help me”. One year later I met my mentor…and he invited me to go to Citikidz.
Ever since camp and what God did for me, my life has been transformed. I went for a second year and won the M.O.G (Man of God/Christian Athlete) award and I returned as a Counselor in Training in 2009.
Now, I plan programs and skits that display real life situations and how to live to the glory of God. I write Christian music (hip-hop) and study business at Everest college in Arlington, VA. My dream is to form a traveling ministry in creative arts. I am one of the youth leaders at my church.
In short, teaches how to be a better person, how to experience Christ, and how to get to know Him more intimately. There is no doubt that they love God there. I love it! I would stay there everyday if I could.
I went into my time as a counselor at Citikidz in 2007 with some serious hesitation. I had just graduated from college and with that came a lot of unknowns and questions about my future. Fear was so present in my life I had slipped in pursuing the Lord. Instead, I was choosing to pursue my own desires while ignoring the Lord’s call in my lie.
It was in those 6 weeks serving those wonderful kids at SB2DUB that I learned what it really meant to rely on Him for my daily strength. After that summer my heart really started swelling to see Jesus in the inner city and Jesus and those kids started it all! The children from the Southeast White House, an innercity ministry in DC, had some kids in my cabin, and after camp was over, I decided to beg them for a job there.
The Lord provided, and I worked there for 3 wonderful years! I love the inner city, and I love to see Jesus there, and that has been the cry of my heart since my time at SB2DUB. A year later, I was able to bring three lovely girls I had been mentoring at the Southeast White House to SB2Dub to be campers, and you could not imagine how much fun they had. The conversations we had on the car ride home were so exciting and charged with the Lord’s presence it was impossible to miss!
I heard about Citikidz through my mentor Troy and my roommate Blake, who were already signed up to be counselors for the summer of 2009. That summer was remarkable! The Lord revealed Himself to me throughout my time there! It was truly unforgettable! Before camp ended, I already KNEW the Lord wanted me to return to camp the following summer. That next year was even more phenomenal than the first! One of the things I remember very well from camp and cherish deeply within my heart is all of the opportunities I was given to be a reflection of the love Jesus Christ offers.
It’s kind of ironic. My experience at Citikidz and the people I met there is what opened the door for what I am doing now. Through meeting Kristen Betts (DJ Such’N’Such from Christian group Level 3:16), I was presented with the opportunity to go on a summer music tour with Level 3:16 in 2011! After the tour, we recorded a song entitled “Love,” released it internationally, and filmed my first professional music video as well! I was also given the opportunity to minister at the Legacy Conference in Chicago with other Christian artists, including Lecrae. It was such a amazing experience!
It’s incredibly evident to me that God has used Summer’s Best Two Weeks Citikidz in so many areas of my life. He’s used camp to develop my character as a man, equip me for discipleship, spark a desire for teaching, and even grow me as a minister of the Gospel through music. ALL glory goes to God! I’m so glad He blessed me with the opportunity to experience two years of camp at Citikidz. The friendships I formed there will literally last for eternity, and the campers I encountered will always hold a special place in my heart. It truly changed my life. I’ll never be the same!