Stories from Camp Asbury

Melissa Stiver doesn’t remember her life before camp. Now she has been married for ten years and has three beautiful children, Rylee, Emmett, and Asher, and Camp Asbury is still an essential part of her and her family’s spiritual and personal life. When Melissa was in junior high, the pastor at her home church, where she was very involved, gave her family information about summer camp. Melissa decided to come to Camp Asbury with two of her closest friends, and that is when fate was sealed; Melissa would be forever connected to Asbury.
Soon, spending part of her summer as part of the community at Camp Asbury became a yearly tradition. As she got older, Melissa attended the camp’s CIT Program before joining the summer staff from 2007-2009. Melissa noted that she is grateful that she was pushed outside of her comfort zone at Camp Asbury and opened her eyes to new experiences. Melissa states, “Camp has always been a home away from home for me, as it has been for so many of us over the years. I know I am not alone when I say that I don’t think I’ll ever lose the feeling of pulling into the parking lot and feeling my entire body sigh in a way that says, ‘I’m back home.’ It’s hard to pass up an opportunity to go back.” That is true for Melissa; she does not ever miss an opportunity to return home. Melissa is routinely involved with chrysalis flights at Camp Asbury and returns to lead pieces of training at Asbury’s staff training whenever asked, “I’ve come to associate camp with a deep spiritual connection to God.”
Melissa now sends her daughter Rylee to camp, “there was never a question of not sending her. I want her, and all my other munchkins once they’re old enough, to enjoy similar experiences to what I had.” Rylee arrived shy in her first summer at camp, clinging to the staff members she was familiar with, reluctant to jump into the group dynamics. As the week progressed, Rylee burst out of her shell and, by the end of the week, was excitedly asking to return to camp. Now, she attends week-long camp sessions, and Melissa notes the joy she has felt watching camp’s impact on her daughter: “She learned to become more independent while at camp. I think it has also helped her to become more open to meeting new friends. When we go to a park to play, she has no difficulty finding new friends to play with.” One of Rylee’s favorite camp activities is art; she chose the week Express Yourself because she is excited about the extra art time.
Because of Camp Asbury, Melissa made some lifelong friends, and she now hopes her children can make similar lifelong friendships through camp. Camp Asbury is where she had “rollercoaster experiences” where she laughed and cried with some of the most amazing people, and it is these experiences she hopes her children will get to enjoy.
Experiences like Melissa’s and Rylee’s make Camp Asbury such a special place—a place where real and meaningful spiritual connections are formed, lasting friendships are created, and a home is forever made. It’s with the help of people like you and your generosity that we can continue to provide a place like this for everyone who comes here.

We invite you to consider a financial gift to support the work of growing faith for campers like Colin, who consider Camp Asbury a second home. Colin’s first time at camp was the Friday after his birth. His baby blanket was crocheted together by each of the summer...

Steve had attended summer camps as a child, but as he got older, he found himself gravitating towards working summer jobs instead of prioritizing a camp experience. After visiting Camp Asbury during a winter retreat with the Mahoning Valley District Youth when he was...

Sean would describe himself as an introvert. Throughout his time in school, he kept a few close friends, but found that he didn’t have much in common with most of his classmates, so he stuck to himself. Sean was happy to stay at home and play video games or draw, two...

Lindsay was never really interested in spending her summers during her college years at a camp. She had a negative experience at a volleyball camp in high school that left a bad taste in her mouth for it, and she was a self-proclaimed germaphobe. Lindsay found more...