Come As You Are

by Em Hunsbaker

“Excuse me, Em?” Three-year-old Axel folds his hands primly in his lap and looks up with wide, innocent eyes. “What if we are not perfect?”

As a stifled chuckle ripples through the adults sitting around the campfire, I smile reassuringly, making eye contact with Axel and a few other children. “If you aren’t perfect, Axel, we celebrate you anyway. Sometimes we make mistakes, and that’s no biggie! The point of this talent show is not to be perfect; the point is to enjoy the gifts that God gave each of us!”

The Popcorn Campfire and Talent Show was the culminating feature of 2025’s Camp KIND, the pilot year of ADN and Amigo Centre’s family camp for kids with chronic illness, neurodivergence, and disabilities (KIND stands for Kids with chronic Illness, Neurodivergence and Disabilities). Children, caregivers, and support staff shared their passions, projects from the week, or talents, a living example of the week’s spiritual formation theme: One Body, Many Parts, from 1 Corinthians 12.

One child wowed the audience with a large illustration of the Milky Way Galaxy he created in the Craft Cabin earlier that week, pointing out constellations, black holes, and “a taco I snuck in there just for fun,” his sly grin belying the quiet humor he’d used to put other campers at ease. Another child introduced himself as “DJ DNA” and premiered an original mix created for the talent show after providing hype music during the free time before meals throughout the week. A volunteer sang a favorite hymn that reminded her of her grandfather, recentering one camper who loved music. One of the support staff passed around embroidery she completed during the winter months, her measured, precise stitches reflecting the patience and slow pace she brought to her role as a support staff for an autistic camper that week. Not to be outdone, Axel jumped up to share his talent, stalling for a moment when he realized he didn’t prepare one, but rescued by his brother’s support staff member who began to dance with him on the fly.

Everyone brought their gifts, delighting the group with their creativity, patience, humor, grace, and courage. While not everyone was on-key, on-rhythm, or on-task, the gathered audience did not expect perfection and rejoiced in the offerings of each performer, embodying the Holy Joy of each part of the body bringing their God-given gifts to the party, just as they had throughout the week.

Of course, the whole week was not sunshine and rainbows; we are all human, after all. In the same way that we brought our strengths and gifts to the community, we also brought our needs and weaknesses: Naomi, whose trauma-response found her hiding underneath a cabin porch, throwing dirt and demanding to be left alone; Rachel, whose mental health after a stressful year of teaching required extra alone time to balance her anxiety-response to the high-stress situation of supporting autistic children; Ashley, who came to breakfast with tears in her eyes and an angry bruise on her arm, the result of a dysregulated daughter whose nervous-system couldn’t handle the perceived danger of leaving the house; myself, who had to reassign leadership at the last-minute because my chronic illness flared and I was filled with fatigue. In most cases, these needs would be perceived as weaknesses: one can’t attend a summer camp with a brain that screams “danger” at every turn; one can’t work at a summer camp with a body that breaks randomly. Most programs and situations are designed for the able-bodied and neurotypical. Most programs and situations are filled with barriers that keep disabled people out.

Not Camp KIND, though. At Camp KIND, participants and staff understand that life is messy, we are human, and community needs to be flexible. Henry, Naomi’s support staff, waited quietly within eye shot of her, then patiently, gently lured her out from under the cabin with a calm peace offering of ice cream sandwiches, Naomi’s favorite snack. He displayed his own weakness to Naomi by not knowing what something was, allowing Naomi’s PDA (pathological demand avoidance) brain to regain control and thus regulate. The schedule of the week was created with “recovery” time structured in, so Rachel could retreat to her room to care for herself without missing her duties. Meghan, the parent of Naomi, ate lunch with Ashley and shared her own struggles in parenting a child with high needs; her sharing her weakness helped Ashley feel less isolated and less embarrassed that her child was struggling. When we were vulnerable, showing our weaknesses, our needs were met with grace and understanding. The other participants and staff used their gifts to meet our needs as their strengths complemented our weaknesses. Each supported the other in a mutually beneficial way.

Being part of the Body of Christ, no two body parts are alike. Where would the fun of that be? Each person is unique, and should be treated as such. There is not a “one size fits all” approach to Camp KIND. However, there was a general air of understanding that permeated the week. After we rearranged the support staff assignments, putting one support staff with two brothers so Lexi would have two supports at all times, the caregiver of the brothers responded: “I don’t know why Aaron was taken away from my boys, but if it’s the reason I think it is… I’m so glad you’re giving her the extra support she needs.” Two campers got photoshopped into the Camp photo, because their nervous systems would not allow them to be anywhere close to a large gathering of people. Worship times were filled with off-beat thwapping boomwhackers, off-tune voices, yelps, and dances. To outside listeners, it was a cacophony. To us, it was a beautiful swell of unmasking, coming to our Creator just as we are, with no need to hide. To us, it was the most honest worship we could experience. Being a part of a community doesn’t require uniformity; being part of a community results in unity.

With such a wonderful, chaotic, messy, loving group of people, it only made sense to end the week with a Talent Show that was just as beautifully chaotic. The accommodations we made for one child did not work for another child. The plan that worked one day had to be scrapped the next. Working with people with disabilities and their families isn’t a formula that produces perfect outcomes. Camp KIND demonstrated the beauty of community by calling out each other’s gifts, gently loving people’s weaknesses, and fostering feelings of belonging and unity among participants and staff alike. As we look into the coming summer, Amigo and ADN are looking forward to inviting these families and staff back together and to continue the growth of this community that provides welcome and belonging to all.