Week 1, Day 3

Role Play

Today was a good day. I got to start my day with David, then go for a mountain bike ride, do a little gardening, lunch with my family, then go to camp at 1:00. Not a bad start to a Saturday. I think the kids at camp had it better. After a big breakfast they went to role play. This is where different assigned team members play different types of teenagers in a question and answer time that helps kids process many of the big questions and roadblocks they often use to not seriously consider life with Christ. After that, there was free time and cabin activities (challenge course, climbing wall, and giant swing). In the afternoon there were basketball and volleyball tournaments. While they were having fun, our work crew and staff were preparing a feast for them and decorating our dining hall for our special dinner (think about Thanksgiving dinner and add a Dominican twist, and you will be pretty close, except kids get way more dressed up than my family on Turkey day).

Work Crew kids dressed to serve the special dinner

After dinner, kids went to club to hear the final club talk, in which they are told about the solution to sin - Jesus' sacrifice for us. At the close of club, they are given 15 minutes to go off on their own to consider a life with Christ. Many kids accept Christ as their savior during these minutes. Others do so in the "cabin time" afterward, in which they can discuss things with their friends and counselors. They are in cabin time right now. One final surprise awaits them tonight: a bonfire with the best hot chocolate in the universe.

Time for bed!

Outreach Camps Begin

Work Crew kids ready to welcome campers

Today has been a fun day, full of lots of work, but also lots of excitement. It is the first day of camp. All of the areas actually got here early. Dominicans don't arrive early for anything. That tells you something about kids' level of excitement.

Arrival of the kids looks basically like this:

Buses pull up to our gate.

Kids get off and run through the gauntlet of fun.

Then they get a snack

Then they go to the "Gran Bienvenida" - the Grande Welcome, where they are introduced to colorful program characters,

who draw their attention with great entertainment.

And set them up to hear from Rafa Alejo (our national director and camp speaker for this summer's camps) about the best news ever told.

It is going to be a great week!

Tropical Storm Chantal Update

Thanks for all of you who prayed for us with the approach of Tropical Storm Chantal. Thankfully it petered out before it got to us. We still got a lot of rain, but it has mostly moved beyond us now, in time for the arrival of kids to camp. The main damage that it did was that a few parents decided not to allow their kids to come to camp. In spite of the best efforts of our area directors to convince them that the danger had passed, many could not be swayed.

Tropical Storm Chantal

Courtesy of NOAA, July 9, 2013

It is always fun when you are expecting the arrival of 135 kids to camp and there is a tropical storm heading your way as well. Chantal is forecast to come pretty much straight over camp about 8 pm Wednesday. Our work crew and assigned team should get to camp 10 am Wednesday, and then kids are supposed to get here at 10:30 Thursday morning. Please pray that in the next 24 hours it would either diminish in strength or change direction. Pray also for wisdom in deciding whether to delay the start of camp.

Summer Work Teams

Members of Knollwood/Redeemer teams take a break

We just finished with another successful work team season. I want to thank all who participated or enabled participants to come. We had teams from First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs, Scottsdale Bible Church from Arizona, First Reformed Church of Grandville, MI, and two churches from my hometown of Winston-Salem, NC: Redeemer Presbyterian and Knollwood Baptist. These teams play a crucial role in our ministry to Dominican teenagers. They do significant projects at camp. They pour into our local field ministry areas. They share their lives and smiles with lots of people they meet, building relationships in spite of language and cultural barriers. They also give new energy and perspective to those of us who work here every day, reminding us that we do, in fact, get to participate daily in some powerful things that God is doing in this country. Familiarity can leave you jaded to even the things you hold dearest. Thank you, friends, for reminding us of the blessings of being here.

It is hard to express the full impact of the work of these teams. The easiest thing to show is the physical impact. Following are some pictures of the projects they worked on. Several projects were started with teams in the Spring. Summer teams continued work on our new maintenance shop...

 ...and the fence along our entrance road...

...did some great landscaping...

... continued work on our kitchen extension...

  ...chopped wood for outreach camp bonfires and cookouts...

...and made way for a new gazebo at our challenge course.

These projects have a significant impact. Our small kitchen made it necessary for us to use the adjacent screen porch as a food prep area. Not ideal, but necessary.

This year we were able to expand and upgrade this space. The photo below was taken from the same place as the one above. We are not 100% finished yet, but already the space is a big improvement over what we had previously.

Our camp maintenance facilities were split between three different small shops. Two of them were located in places where noise and dust created problems. The new shop centralizes everything and makes way for future development of a national ministry office at camp and additional housing in our main lodge.

Summer Outreach Camps 2013

Summer Outreach Camp Preview

Camps at Pico Escondido are fun. Kids have a blast. We want this to be the best week of their lives, and for many, it is just that. This is not just because of the great food, the gym, and the giant swing. It is because of the love of God they experience. Every aspect of camp is designed to point to their loving Creator.

Some highlights:

The Giant Swing

The Pool

Club

Time with their leaders

Here's a short (45 sec) video message about summer outreach camps.

As the video says, between Vida Joven and our international schools ministry, we are expecting 800 kids at outreach camps this year. 297 in 2011, 571 last year. That is some significant growth. Pray that God would continue moving through this ministry. It is exciting! 

Stay tuned for more info soon.

Pico Escondido employee profile - Raffy Figueroa

With this entry, I want to start introducing our staff at Pico Escondido. They are a key reason for Pico Escondido's success. They are great people, and I want those of you who are interested in the work Rebeca and I do to know them.

Raffy Figueroa, Pico Escondido Guest Services Coordinator

Raffy tells his story:

Hello my name is Rafael Figueroa (Raffy). I was born in Las Yerbas - a farming community outside of La Vega. I have 3 siblings. I am the youngest. In my childhood everything was very good until the moment when my mother had to go to the United States. After that I had to several times change what family I lived with and adapt to new customs, but I continued my studies - with great sacrifice. I moved to the city of La Vega where I graduated from high school. In July 2003 I was invited to a Young Life outreach camp, where I met Christ. From that moment my life started making sense. I entered college in 2005 to study civil engineering, finishing classes in 2011. In February of that same year I started working at the camp where I met the Lord. At that time I worked in the construction department under Joey Espinoza. In mid-June of 2012 I began as the head of the guest services department.

In August 2012, our guest services coordinator (Jacob Salmond) moved back to Oregon to work with Young Life there. After a long search and interviewing several candidates, we decided that Raffy was the man for the job. In addition to being smart and hard-working, he also has a history of service, faithfully serving as a volunteer leader in our field ministry for several years. Until recently, he was the head leader at the Vida Joven club nearest camp. Raffy loves the Lord, loves the ministry of Vida Joven, and even though he could earn more money working elsewhere as a civil engineer, he chose to stay here to help other kids have the best week of their life at Pico Escondido, just as he did back in 2003. Raffy got married on May 11. Please bless Raffy and Genesis' marriage with your prayers.