March 2011 Cheers for Camp Jennifer Borgognoni
Two summers ago I was working at a regular Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) residence camp at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Miss. It was the first day, and I was excited to be there. Everyone was getting to know each other, and we were all preparing for what the week would hold.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Collegiate cheerleader Jennifer Borgognoni, pictured above (middle) at a 2010 UCA camp, is a junior at Delta State University where she is majoring in Biology/Pre-Physical Therapy.
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Just as camp was about to begin, however, our state director broke the news that she was about to send one of us to Hattiesburg for a Christian camp at the University of Southern Mississippi. Because it was my first year on staff, I had no idea what a Christian camp would be like, but the description didn’t sound like much fun.
Of course, it was just my luck that my state director walked up to me and said I would be the one going to Southern Miss for the camp. I was completely upset because I had just settled in with everyone at the Mississippi State camp and now I had to leave. On top of that, I was panicking because I didn’t even know how to get from Starkville to Hattiesburg. (Thank goodness for GPS!)
Despite my worries, I eventually made it to Hattiesburg, and we started demo practice as soon as I got there. At first I didn’t feel comfortable in the new setting, but, once I started getting to know the other staff, that all changed. Before long I felt at home and began to see that there was a bigger purpose in my being there.
Through watching the young junior high and high school girls take so much interest in the Lord, I realized that I needed and wanted to start pursuing Him in my own life. It struck me that, while I was older than they were, I was behind them spiritually. I wasn’t as close to the Lord as I needed to be.
To make a long story short, I received Christ that week and immediately I was changed. I’ve been walking with Him in His love and joy ever since!
Through FCA/UCA Camp, I had the amazing experience of kneeling before God and giving my life completely to Him. And through the wisdom and guidance of FCA Cheerleading National Director Marilou Braswell, I have come to understand that this was God’s purpose for me all along. He chose me to be at that camp.
| Want to learn how to experience God as you cheer or compete? Sign up for one of the 250-plus FCA Camps taking place across the country this summer by visiting fcacamps.org. And for more on FCA Cheerleading, check out cheerfca.org. |
Most cheer campers don’t realize how great camps like these are until they experience them firsthand. But once they go for themselves, they can see that they are exactly like regular UCA camps but with the added bonus of worshiping God and learning to cheer for Him.
Personally, I pray that every cheer camp would eventually join with FCA to create an experience that is both fun and spiritual. No one needs to cheer without God in their lives, and these camps teach how to do that and so much more!
I’m so thankful that God sent me to camp to bring me into relationship with Him, and it is my prayer that He would lead many others to do the same this summer. May He be the ultimate Game-Changer for us all! 
--For more stories about faith and sport, visit www.sharingthevictory.com, the official magazine of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. To subscribe to STV, click here.
Photos courtey of Hays Collins of Mississippi Scoreboard Magazine, Jennifer Borgognoni