ALI – SUPERVISOR

UrbanPromise Toronto (UPT) Supervisors are like pastors of their communities. They oversee their “flock” of kids or youth, Streetleaders and interns as well as providing support to many families in the community. Our Supervisors will tell you that it’s much more than just running programs!
         That’s why for Ali Campbell, the journey of becoming a Supervisor has proven to be her greatest challenge and her greatest victory. It clashed with everything she had known and forced her to face her deepest fears.
         A graduate from Queen’s University with a degree in Phys. Ed and Life Sciences, Ali was raised in a business-oriented family in the affluent neighbourhood of North Toronto. From a very young age, she knew she was different. “I still wanted to be popular, but I was very aware of those from marginalized communities.”
        While in University, she went to the student missions conference, Urbana, and left inspired. “People want to do missions work overseas, but we’re ignoring what’s happening in our own backyard and there’s a lot that needs to be done in our own country,” Ali recalled of what ignited her heart.
         Then in her last year of University, she went to a friend’s wedding and sat next to a couple who were missionaries with UPT. As they shared stories about urban missions, she found out a position for Supervisor would be opening up that September. Coincidence . . . she didn’t think so! And so began her Jonah journey of running away from God. Coming from a drastically different culture, feeling spiritually inadequate and not wanting to disappoint others, thinking about being a Supervisor was daunting.
         In hopes God would leave her alone, she got a job lined up for September as a teacher’s assistant. She did, however, want to give that summer to the Lord. After searching around, UPT seemed to be the right fit. Again, she was told about the available Supervisor position, but didn’t want to think twice about it. God kept pursuing. What was to be a nice summer of volunteering turned out to be painfully exhausting as she wrestled with the deepest desires of her heart and the darkest fears of her soul.
        “I was in utter turmoil. I faced it every day, that (being a Supervisor) is what I’m supposed to be doing. It was awful,” said Ali of volunteering at YMAD Peace.

It wasn’t until the long weekend in August when Ali had come back early from her weekend getaway to report for camp Monday morning. But the doors were locked. Realizing camp was closed for the holiday; she decided to take a walk in a nearby park. After spending the whole day thinking and listening to God, she couldn’t run any longer. “Finally, I just knew it was meant to be…every doubt that came in my head was counteracted with God giving me verses to confirm it.”
         Calls were made, meetings took place and by September, she was the Supervisor for Camp Hope in Warden Woods, Scarborough. Ali admits her first year was “the dark period of time,” where every day came with its own struggles as she adjusted to everything. Getting to know the kids was the easy part. It was dealing with the leaders and trying to fit in that brought her fears into the light.
         “I had to get over the fact that it’s not about me…God put me in an environment that basically shattered my self- confidence and the many walls I had built up to protect me from being hurt.  He made me confront my deepest insecurities so that I was forced to search for a loving God and not the task master I had been raised to know,” Ali said.
         Two years later, she’s glad she took the leap of faith in coming to UPT. “God’s changed my life in so many ways…one of the greatest things about being a follower of Jesus is the community you become a part of. Jesus transcends all cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, races, genders, everything! And that’s what UPT does, it brings together people of all different backgrounds and it’s encouraging, it makes me proud to be involved.”