Summer is here. What do you find yourself doing? Keeping cool in the shadow of a patio umbrella? Listening to the splashing of kids playing at the lake? Maybe you’re remembering back to your own carefree summer days as a kid, when about now you’d be packing up to go off to summer camp. Now those are good memories.
We know the impact of a summer camp experience is lifelong. That’s why we are so honoured to offer a week-long experience for people with diverse abilities at the beautiful Stillwood Camp near Cultus Lake.
Last year, 18 campers were dropped off for a week of fun and fellowship. For many, they come every year and they look forward to reuniting with the friends, staff and volunteers that they’ve come to know and love. For families too, the week of respite is a blessing, and know their loved one is safe and having the time of their life trying new activities, learning new skills, making the closest of friendships, and deepening their relationship with our Saviour, Jesus.
We did something new at camp last year – we held a ‘cafe night’. The common room was set up and decorated just like a real café and with an open mic. One by one, campers stepped up to the mic and performed for their friends – a song, a dance, a story, or whatever their gift.
When it was Jason’s turn, he got up and the room went silent. With complete spontaneity, he spoke a poem from his heart about what being at camp meant to him, how much joy it brought into his life, enriching him with new friendships and how thankful he was to the staff for making it such a great experience. Hearing Jason’s words was so moving – when he was done there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
We know this response to camp is common, maybe not always verbalized as eloquently as Jason’s open mic delivery, but certainly expressed. One mom told us, “My son talks about camp all year long to everyone he meets, and how excited he gets when it is almost time to go again.”
Camp Bethesda is funded wholly by the generosity of donors. As with many of our other services that rely on donor funding, camp has immediate and life-long impacts on the people we serve and their families.
