Molly DeWitt grew up in Indiana, and as a child, one of her favorite things to do was to wander around outside exploring the sprawling outdoors of her grandparents’ countryside homes. Her family encouraged her interest in the outdoors and gardening too. They were also very involved in the local Presbyterian Church. Her grandfather even helped build the local Presbyterian Camp, Geneva Center, where Molly and her sister attended camp each summer. “I was a camp kid,” she fondly recalls, reminiscing about the endless adventures that shaped her childhood. 

After high school, Molly continued on to college. Each summer she returned to work at the Geneva Center, which has since stopped offering summer camp programs. After college she found herself at a crossroads. She wanted to continue into camp ministry but there wasn’t a place for her at her home camp.  Instead, she embarked on a year of service through the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program and spent a year abroad serving in South Korea. “Korea turned my life upside down,” she reflects, acknowledging the intense cultural immersion that challenged her identity. But she admits that she didn’t get much vocational discernment from that experience. As her year in Korea was coming to an end, and she was trying to decide what her next step would be, she learned that Ferncliff camp was going to be a YAV site the upcoming year. “I felt like God was showing me Ferncliff,” Molly affirms.

In the course of Molly’s year at Ferncliff she was given freedom and challenged to come up with plans and follow through on her work. Molly was put in charge of the garden. “Ferncliff gave me a lot of responsibility and structure that I hadn’t had prior to my experience there.” She had some experience gardening but nowhere near what she had to do at Ferncliff. “I felt such a strong connection to God and the Earth in the garden,” she recalls.  Molly also got to meet other young people in camp ministry through which gave her faith that she too could make her dream of serving in the camp ministry world.  

“At Ferncliff, I also learned to never sit on your laurels or be afraid of failure. The beauty of Ferncliff is how innovative it is. If it doesn’t work that’s ok and you’ve learned more,” said Molly.  

During her YAV year at Ferncliff and subsequent seminary education, Molly’s home church made the decision to leave the PCUSA denomination.  She felt very much spiritually adrift and in need of support as she navigated the loss of her church family while simultaneously sensing a call to ministry.  “This was a big moment in my life.   My church family was doing what they needed to do and what they thought was right and I felt like the PCUSA and camp ministry was my community.”

Second Presbyterian Church of Little Rock, her church placement during her YAV year at Ferncliff, picked up the pieces and helped her find a way through the wilderness of it all.  Reflecting on her personal loss and the impact of camp ministry in her life, Molly summarized, “Camp is where people find a home again,” highlighting the transformative power of community and faith.  She continues, “The beauty of camp ministry is that people who are lost or hurt by the church find a place in the Christian faith here.  Through the YAV program, Ferncliff became my camp home. And when I decided to remain rooted to PCUSA, Second Pres and the Presbytery of Arkansas became my new church home.”  

As the program director at Pyoca since 2018, Molly’s journey has come full circle. With her husband and young son by her side, she embraces the challenges and joys of serving her community. “Pyoca is where my roots run deep,” she says with a smile, envisioning a future of innovation and inclusivity.

Reflecting on her time at Ferncliff, Molly cherishes the spiritual revelations found amidst the garden’s bounty. “Being in the garden was a spiritual practice for me and an important discernment time.  It was time to spend with God and to discern what I wanted to do and where I was supposed to go.  I’ll always be so appreciative of that.”

And we are so appreciative of you! Because of your gifts, Ferncliff provides transformative experiences like the one given to Molly.  Thank you for your generosity supporting Ferncliff, this ministry we all share. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation.