…Or They’ll Never Know That They Can Go to the Mountain
Kelly Dunnill attends Wesley UMC in Bradley, IL, where she teaches the youth Sunday school class. She is also a high school math teacher. She was a camper at Mountain T.O.P. 1993-1997, on summer staff in 1999, and has brought youth to the Mountain from assorted churches several times over the years since 1999. She is married to the most amazing man ever, Aaron, and has 3 fantastic daughters, one of whom has embraced MTOP as a required part of all future summers and two who are looking forward to being old enough to make the trip. She also has a twin who was on staff in 1999 and is hoping to bring said twin back to YSM soon for some shenanigans and service projects.
Mountain T.O.P. is one of my most favorite places on earth because I have always felt safe and loved there. I don’t say that with a specific location in mind—I was a camper 1993-1997 and on summer staff in 1999. I believe I stayed at every single camp the organization used in the 90s. Regardless of the scorpions at Overton or the rattlesnakes at Woodley, I was never afraid at camp. Even though that was a time in my life when all of the episodes of “Unsolved Mysteries” had me running to the house from my car when I got home after dark, at camp that fear never surfaced. Nor did the anxiety I felt during high school over not being good enough. My YRGs were always places where everyone contributed something and no one judged me if I made a mistake. I was there working for God, and God was going to use my time in whatever way He could!
Fast forward 26 years from my summer on staff—in 2025 I returned to the Mountain for the first time since 2010 with my firstborn child in tow as a camper. It was exciting for me and terrifying for her—she was going to have to talk to people! She was going to be at camp with a whole bunch of strangers (and since I inadvertently chose the largest camp week that summer, it really was a whole bunch of campers!). She didn’t go because she wanted to, she went because I said she was going with me. We weren’t able to convince the other two youth from our church to go. At the end of the week, as we were in the closing circle on Saturday, she asked if she could just stay for the rest of the summer. It turns out that a camp community of 162 wasn’t actually scary, but was for her, as for me, a place where everyone was a potential friend and God’s love was abundant.
And then there’s 2026…a year in which I was attacked by deep anxiety over whether or not I was competent at my job, and really just lost as to if I was valuable as a person. By the time we went to camp in June I’d been seeing a counselor for several months, had gained some tools to reframe the negative thoughts about myself, but was still working to be well. I was blessed to be in a YRG with two other adults who were gung-ho to teach the kids how to use the power tools and who were better able to withstand the heat than I was. Yet even as I mostly watched the work get done and encouraged the youth to visit with the homeowners, my nagging insecurity about being incompetent never made an appearance…because I was on the Mountain. The morning daybreak devotionals (can I still call them Holy Timeouts??) were all about light, as was the theme this year. They challenged me to keep finding the light in my own darkness and keep shining it into the darkness that others might be experiencing. Here I was, once again, in a place where I was safe and loved, while also getting to see my oldest child experience that same safety and love.
I so want to bring people back to the Mountain—to share this place of love and belonging and the excitement of finding Mountain T.O.P. projects to do in “the valley below” because camp is only a week, but there’s no time limit on working for Jesus. I’m starting with bringing my family to the Mountain…who can you bring?
