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Drawing from his early days of being
raised in a Christian home while enjoying the
great outdoors, Jason Sullivan appreciates
the opportunity to work with the young men
at the Cameron Boys Camp. From serving as
Chief and spending 5 days a week, 24 hours a
day in the woods with the boys to now serving
as Assistant Director, Sullivan is completely
invested in his life work of transforming lives!
After an unforgettable trip with 9-at-risk
boys down the river in Georgia for a month
long adventure covering 375 miles, Sullivan
captured the heart and soul of the bravest
boys he’s ever known in his book entitled
Rivers of Transformation. “This book tells a
story about people who the world has given up
on, and it shows that they can do something
pretty amazing, and they are right here in your
backyard,” smiles Jason Sullivan.
When it came time for Jason to decide his
life path, he chose an IT (Internet Technology)
major at Ottawa University in Kansas, when
God started working in his heart. Blessed with
some incredible role models in his life from his
dad, to his youth pastors and sport coaches,
Jason knew he wanted to give back with his
life and changed his major to Theology.
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans,
Jason joined a club on campus who was going
to do some relief work over spring break.
While focusing on city beautification in a town
that really wasn’t hit by the hurricane rather
than accomplishing relief work with the team,
Jason was disappointed. He tells, “It made me
really mad. However, while I was down there,
I met a guy named Allen from another group
from Minnesota who felt the same way I did.
We wanted to help the more stricken areas, so
we exchanged phone numbers and dedicated
our summer to New Orleans.”
Meeting under the St. Louis Arch, the men
drove down with no funding and no idea where
to get started, but nonetheless, they followed
the call with an eagerness to work and soon
connected with a disaster response team.
Jason exclaims, “This trip was a pinnacle point
in my life, because I knew I wanted to get my
hands dirty. I knew I wanted to do hard work
and real work. I came back, continued college,
and graduated in December of 2008, at a time
when the Recession rocked the world.”
When an ad from the Cameron Boys
Camp flashed on his computer screen, Jason
completed the job application to serve as
a Chief and sent it in. The camp invited him
to come take a look and spend a night or
two in the woods. Upon driving eighteen
hours from Kansas City to Cameron and back
again, the road trip was life–changing. “I was
pretty intimidated with the structure and the
discipline at Camp. I wasn’t able to have my
phone all the time, and I was addicted to that.
I was able to see what camp life was all about,
but I wasn’t sure about moving so far away
from home, family, and friends. I left camp
undecided and returned home seeking God’s
will and counsel from family and friends.
Everything inside my being told me to accept
the job, so I packed everything I owned in my
little Honda Accord and have never looked
back.”
From 2009 to now 2021, Jason faithfully
serves at Cameron Boys Camp. Initially a big
culture shock, work at camp soon settled into
a great blessing. Jason remembers serving as a
Chief, “I was with the guys from the moment
they woke up until they put their heads on
their pillows. Chiefs are like surrogate parents
who help the guys through daily activities,
whether it is making a bed, building a tent, or
doing schoolwork. It was so cool to work with
a group of ten with such depth, and I really
loved it!”
Just like in New Orleans, Jason was able to
get his hands dirty, work hard, and witness
some pretty amazing results at Camp. Part of
the Baptist Children’s Homes, the Cameron
Boys Camp mission is to share hope and
change lives. A year–round program, the
camp ministers to at-risk teenage boys who
volunteer, along with their families, to put in
Jason Sullivan, author of Rivers of Transformation, Assistant Director at Cameron Boys Camp.
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p.10 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 142