PAUL B, Adult 2010
SUPER SUMMER ARKANSAS
My first year to attend Super Summer was as a senior in 2002. Due to family vacations and other conflicts, I hadn't been able to attend prior to that year, but my life was so drastically changed and impacted, that I haven't missed a year since. I started as a staffer in 2003 and have been incredibly involved with Super Summer since then. Super Summer Arkansas had such a dramatic impact on my life, that it became clear to me that I needed to give back and pour into students in the same way that I had been poured into. Being a high school (or college) student isn't easy, especially these days, and our students and young adults need all the help and support they can get! They need to be constantly reminded of God's provision and love for them...of how God has a plan for their lives that was laid out before they were even born. Super Summer was an instrument used by God to communicate how much God loves me and how important I am to Him! It is a message that I never want to forget.

HAILEY R, Student 2010
ATKINS FIRST BAPTIST
I wasn’t a bad kid. I had good grades, didn’t drink, or do drugs, and I kept myself pure. But I also wasn’t innocent. I cussed every once in a while, listened to provocative radio stations, and made inappropriate jokes with my friends. Super Summer made me realize I was neither hot nor cold. I was lukewarm and that had to change. My first year at SS in 2009 was a learning experience for me. Where everything was and how it all worked so I didn’t really put my heart into it that year. In 2010, God blessed me with Hope. Not only did the speaker say every word that I needed to hear, Hope made sure I understood it and helped me to realize that just because my friends did it, didn’t mean I needed to. She helped me completely turn my life around and even after SS she helped me to minister to two of my Christian friends that had lost their way. Taylor re-gained her witness and Kristen stopped drinking. SS is a time for me to just come and connect with God. It’s a time to learn how to take the word of God and spread it to my friends. It has shown me that I don’t have to go halfway across the world to meet with other Christians or witness to people. It was an amazing impact on my life that helped me grow in my relationship with Christ. There is such a sweet spirit that you can feel while on this campus. I know that it will be here for me every summer. I hope to become a staffer and eventually help other teenage girls grow in the Lord the same way that my past staffers Liz and Hope have helped me. They are two strong women that I know if I have problems that if I don’t feel comfortable taking to mentors in my family that will be there for me and will either give me advice or inspiring words without judgment. SSA has put these two great people in my life (not including my roommates and ‘family’ members I had while at camp) and significantly impacted my life. I know that I will never forget what this camp has done for me.

MARI P, Staffer 2010
FIRST BAPTIST CABOT
As I sit here watching an Arkansas game next to dear friends I met at Super Summer, I am reminded of how we came to this moment… I attended Super Summer for 3 years as a student. At that point in my life, it was "just camp," not a chance for me to grow in my christain faith or closer to God. It was not until I became a staffer that the real impact of Super Summer became clear. While I was a student, I became good friends with my staffers. That inspired me to become a staffer when given the opportunity. As a first year staffer, my network of friends grew immensely!! From staffers to youth pastors, everyone made me feel welcome. The veteran staffers were extremely kind and helpful. During Staffer Training, we had worship sessions together and prayed for each other. This gave me the extra boost of confidence needed to be a good staffer to my groups of girls. Being a staffer was one of the first times that I allowed God to work through me. As a staffer, I met several great students who I continue to stay in touch with. There is no greater feeling than knowing God used you to touch the lives of teenagers and then be able to continue to positively influence those youth months and even years to come. So thank you Super Summer for helping me grow and giving me so many Christian friends to interact with all over the state.

BEN F, Staffer 2010
MT CARMEL BAPTIST CHURCH
The year that I attended Super Summer was my first ever! I had no idea what to expect from it because it was something that I had never done before and I was putting myself in a position that I dont normally do. I was a staffer and had a family group both during J.V. SS and V. SS and I must say that those kids had more of an impact on my life than I thought they would. I must admit in our family group times we didnt do much but just sit around and get to know each other. By the end of our time together we were just like brothers and had each others backs. During the time that I was there I could just feel an overwhelming movement of the Holy Spirit. Everywhere you looked you would find friends getting together and being anything from a shoulder to lean on, to a hug, to a friend you could just break down and cry with. In the word of the speaker and the music which was brought you could just feel an amazing movement God, not only in the students but in staffers, organizers, adults who brought the kids, you could just feel God moveing in everyones life. The part that impacted me the most would be when I met my family groups for the first time and there was that awkward silence after everyone introduced themselves then just to throw a rinkle into the whole thing I sat there and just acted like I was asleep. Then I pulled a spray bottle full of water out and got everybody! From that point on we were enjoying each others company and just acted as a family does. Super Summer is probably one of if not the best church camp I have ever attended. I cant wait until June so that I can go back and see all the people that were there last year, meet up with old friends and make new ones! I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ready! It cant get here fast enough!

TATUM T, Student 2011
FBC WALDRON
For the past two years, I had heard about how fun Super Summer was and that I should go, but I always kinda brushed it off. When my youth pastor first mentioned it, I decided that maybe I should check it out. My friend suggested that I go and that's who I decided to room with. I talked to mom and dad about it and I didn't have to beg that much. They decided that this church camp would be good for me. As soon as I got there, I knew that I could get used to that place. Little did I know, it wasn't all fun and games. That night, Jon Randles got down to business. He made me aware of so much that had never even crossed my mind before. The band, Two Empty Chairs was probably the best band I've ever seen live. You could tell that they were singing for God. My family was so supportive and during family group, I felt just like I was at home talking to my sisters. I trusted them all so much because we had a lot in common. The cafeteria food was alright, but I was a SUCKER for that soft-serve ice cream machine. Recreation totally and completely wiped me out. Anyways, back to the point. Super Summer 2011 helped me to realize that the word 'Christian' isn't all it's cracked up to be. I can't just be a casual Christian; I have to be a dangerous disciple. :)

JENNIFER R, Adult 2010
FBC PIGGOTT
From the moment we arrived on the campus of OBU, I knew something was different about this camp. The energy of the staff that greeted us (in the 100 degree heat) was like nothing I had seen before - that is until we stepped into registration. What a welcome. Our youth were tired from the 6 hour drive, but the minute they stepped into the gym, their excitement grew. They could not wait to get this camp started and see what was going to happen. Super Summer changed our youths' lives and it changed me. We all came back with a fresh, renewed love for our Savior. The kids learned how to worship freely during big church. Being surrounded by that many other students made it easy for them to let go and truly worship God. I loved seeing and hearing what they were feeling in our church family times. The students brought this "fire" back home with them and hosted a Back-to-School Bash for the high school students. They wanted others to learn about their friend, Jesus and come to know him. At the close of the service, about 50 students were at the altar praying. Seven students accepted Christ for the first time and several made re-dedication decisions. I believe that Super Summer lit the fire for our Youth Group and that fire is spreading throughout our community. We are coming again this year and bringing more students. I cannot wait to see what God is going to do this year in the lives of these students and what they will bring home to fan the flame that is burning in Piggott, AR. Thank you Super Summer for making an impact on so many lives!

RAVEN S, Staffer 2010
WOODLAND HEIGHTS BAPTIST CHURCH
I got saved the summer of 2003, and that was in large part because of the people that Super Summer produced. Trista Davis was a staffer that summer, but we lived in the same dorm together during the school year. She prayed for me over the summer to know Jesus, and to find him as the lover of my soul. Another staffer from that summer, Paul Bradley, came along side me after hearing of my salvation. He talked to me, answered questions, found materials for me to study, and became one of my greatest friends. It was also because of their influence that I got up the nerve to apply as a staffer for the next summer. This summer will be the seventh summer that I will staff at this camp. God always moves in my life in radical ways. That first summer I was so sure that I was inadequate, not just for staffing, but for being worthy of serving in God's kingdom. God smashed those feelings into a million pieces. One particular summer, I had a meltdown over my assignment for camp. As usual God showed and reminded me that Super Summer, and the rest of my life, has so little to do with me. Now, I look around for God's glory everyday because I know that there are so many opportunities for it to be shown.

GARRETT F, Student 2006
WOODLAND HEIGHTS BAPTIST CHURCH
Super Summer. A very appropriate name for what God does through this camp. I attended Super Summer Arkansas as a student from 2000-2006. From the summer after 6th grade until the summer after my high school graduation, Super Summer Arkansas was a staple of Christ in my life. The Lord really used this camp to show me personally what it meant to follow Christ. Even I, being the most unfocused and disrespectful child, was no match for the way the Spirit chose to fall on OBU's campus every summer. Even if I chose not to use it, I received so much solid, Biblical teaching over the years as a camper. Unknowingly, I attended while the Lord was shaping my mind. Unknowingly, I came every summer while He was preparing my heart for future ministry. I made a real decision to seek the Lord in January of 2005. My final two years of Super Summer as a camper were exponentially better, because I started appreciating how much God was there. I took the teaching to heart, and what God had started back home at church, He solidified through Super Summer. I feel God prepared me for college through Super Summer, giving me not only teaching, but deeper understanding. He allowed me to understand that you could have fun as a Christian, and better yet, unshakable joy rooted in Christ Jesus. God changed my life, and Super Summer Arkansas was a big part of how He chose to do it. Given the offer to trade my experiences with God at Super Summer for anything in the world, you would be hard pressed to find me accepting such an offer. I see now that Super Summer Arkansas is not what is special, it is God Almighty. The leaders of Super Summer Arkansas pray and pray for God to come. For Him to show up. For Him to move. For Him to teach. For Him to lead. For Him to touch hearts. Without Him we become nothing and are our time together futile. If God wasn't the number one priority of this camp, my church wouldn't have brought me, I wouldn't have staffed 4 years in a row, I wouldn't have been changed at all, and I sure wouldn't be typing these words right now. Super Summer is about God's glory. Super Summer values the Word of God and it's evident in our time spent there. Some would call it too much, over the top, or out of place for such young people to be in the Word of God at such a great extent, yet I feel the Lord would look on it as beautiful. I would have to write a book to describe the extent to which God has watered and grown the relationships He allowed me to make at Super Summer. I've been able to help serve in many different opportunities that came about through people I met at Super Summer Arkansas. One of those of greatest influence on my life is the man who is the reason Super Summer is how it is today, Randy. Although unaffiliated with Super Summer Arkansas, Randy is still very much so affiliated with Christ, and has encouraged me as a result. I could go on and on. What comes to my mind when I think of Super Summer Arkansas? Christ centered. Gospel centered. Eternally focused. Student focused. So much fun. My cleft of the rock. To God be the glory.

AMANDA L, Student 2010
VILONIA FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
At 10 years old, I was diagnosed with a disease, Ulcerative Colitis. As time had gone on, I wasn't able to go any where without feeling weird because they knew and made it kinda humiliating. It was great going to super summer because no one knew that i was sick, what i have gone through and were very accepting to me. I gained very many fantabulous christian friends through out the years. If the topic was brought up, I didn't feel so different... I felt loved. Super summer has challenged me to help others and be a more compassionate and understanding person for other people with any kind of medical problem. I would show them how the Lord has helped me. If the Lord is willing to work in my life than its a blessing. We don't have to like it but God NEVER EVER said life would be easy. With that said, I am thankful for U.C. and Super Summer helped me do that. If all these people are able to accept me for who I am, than why couldn't God or couldn't accept myself just the way I am. God said I am fearfully and wonderfully made... that says to me that I am beautiful and loved. Super summer is an unforgettable event that I look forward to every summer.