In the summer of 1999, I attended AWANA Scholarship Camp for the second time. I was 11 years old. All week long during the chapel services, I felt uneasy and I couldn’t figure out why. On the last night, July 1, I went back to my cabin after the service. I finally went to talk to my counselor. We talked for a long time. She asked me if I died that night if I was sure that I would spend eternity in Heaven. I said that I wasn’t. She took the Bible and showed me how I could know for sure. I was a deacon’s daughter, my grandmother played the church piano, both of my parents were Sunday School teachers, and I had grown up in church. I had heard about God’s love for me and the plan of salvation many times. It became a reality for me that night. My counselor prayed with me and before I went back to bed, she showed me a verse in the Bible that would reassure me in times of doubt. It was 1 John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” After camp, I went back to church and told my pastor that I accepted Christ as my Savior at camp. I was baptized July 4, 1999. As the United States celebrated the 223rd Anniversary of signing a document that declared their independence, I took my first step of obedience in declaring my dependence on Christ.