wfn.org | Campers Find Healing and Hope in Wake of Jonesboro Shooting

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19-August-1998 
98272 
 
    Campers Find Healing and Hope 
    in Wake of Jonesboro Shootings 
 
    by Kay Danielson 
 
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- Nearly 70 young people from Jonesboro Westside Middle 
School attended a special gathering recently at the Ferncliff Camp and 
Conference Center and took significant steps toward emotional healing. A 
tragic shooting at the school on March 24 claimed the lives of four 
children and a teacher, wounded 10 others and robbed survivors of their 
sense of safety and peace. 
 
     The Rev. David Gill, a Presbyterian pastor and director of Ferncliff, 
an Arkansas Presbytery- affiliated facility located just west of here, knew 
the powerful spiritual and healing experience a camp could offer the 
children, but also realized there would be many obstacles before that 
vision could be realized. "When the shooting happened, the Jonesboro school 
and community were immediately besieged by media and sightseers," Gills 
said. "They were wary of offers from the outside." 
 
    The camp design team wove physical activity, Bible study, art, music, 
devotional gifts, games, storytelling, environmental education, quiet time, 
team building, learning, journal writing, conflict resolution, photography 
and healthy meals into the schedule. While the activities were fun, each 
event reinforced God's love and encouraged self-assurance while offering 
the children a chance to come to grips with their feelings of anger and 
grief. 
 
    There was a lot of gift giving - material and intangible - at the camp. 
Backpacks, personalized with each child's name, contained a flashlight, a 
water bottle, a drink mug and sunscreen. Post Cereal of Jonesboro donated 
hundreds of pounds of food, T-shirts were specially designed for the camp, 
the Arkansas 4-H Center loaned Polaroid cameras and film was acquired for 
the children's use during the week. A camp staffer hand-fashioned 68 metal 
crosses and made necklaces for each of the children. 
 
    Teachers freely gave of their skills, a local disk jockey donated his 
time to emcee a wonderful night of skits and songs, and one evening members 
of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society brought their telescopes so 
the children could stargaze. As the children got to know the counselors and 
teachers, trust was built as smiles and hugs - gifts of love - became more 
and more frequent. 
 
    Other gifts came from far away. Many churches around the country led 
their congregations in prayer for the camp and 1,400 Presbyterian young 
people at Montreat Conference Center in North Carolina prayed for the 
children. Circles and music go hand in hand at camp. Before breakfast each 
morning, the campers, counselors and staff joined hands in prayer and song. 
Both healing and high-energy music accompanied the campfires, morning 
devotionals and most gatherings. 
 
    An impressive team of resource people led the activity blocks so the 
counselors could concentrate on the children. College-aged counselors lived 
with the children in bunkhouses, participated in the classes and set an 
example of empathy, energy, good humor, enthusiasm and teamwork even though 
temperatures of 100 degrees plus and high humidity left clothes damp with 
sweat. Nonetheless, the exceptional caliber of counselors was of key 
importance to the success of the campers' experience. 
 
    "Most of the children attending this camp have never been away from 
home, and more than half are not regular members of a church," said Father 
Jack Harris of the Jonesboro response team, who also served as the camp 
chaplain and adult adviser to one of the boys' groups. "I hope they will 
learn, go back home and look for a church experience." 
 
    The children of Jonesboro Westside Middle School will likely long 
remember the love, peace, and sanctuary they found at Ferncliff and carry 
it in their hearts. All of their fears and problems were not and could not 
be solved at camp, but seeds were planted to help each child take another 
important step in the healing process. 
 
(Kay Danielson is a free-lance photojournalist from Little Rock, Ark.) 

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