Camps, Camps and More Camps

In case you’re wondering, yes. We’re still alive. Our internet has been down for almost 2 months. It has worked sporadically but only enough to basically check emails and most of the time it won’t even let us send any emails out. So, posting blogs has been out of the question. It’s sooooo frustrating. But a lot has been going on nonetheless. Over the last 2 months we’ve hosted several camps. One was a camp of kids from a church in Piraquara, one was a group of kids from an orphanage in Colombo and the one we just finished was a 3 day camp with kids from a church in Curitiba and kids from the mountain here in Terra Boa.

A group from a church in Piraquara we hosted in September.

A group of kids from an orphanage in Columbo we hosted in September.

A group of students from a church in Curitiba and some of the students from the mountain.
 This camp was a couple of weeks ago and was a 3 day camp.

One of the main things we do here in Brazil is hold camps for children and teenagers. When we were given the property back in 09’ (click HERE if you have no clue what I’m talking about) a camp had already been established here but had been sitting idle for a couple of years. Daniel Van Dyk (a pastor from Canada) and his wife Ligia had bought the property and started building a camp for kids here and they actually had the same vision that we have for reaching students for Christ (to use  camps as a way to further the Gospel). And that’s exactly what we’re doing.

This happens in one of three ways:

Option 1 - This is where we just host the groups (only church groups) and they bring in their own programing, food and activities. They pay a small fee (R$10 per day, per person) for our services and the use of the camp.

Option 2 -  With this option we host the groups at no cost (FREE) and we take care of all the programming, food and activities. The cost for this type of camp is taken care of by our generous supporters and these are our favorite camps to hold.

Option 3 - Is a new type of camp we just started. It’s where we host the group and charge a small fee (R$10 per day, per person). They take care of programming, activities and food. But the difference in this camp is that we only charge for the “church kids.” We encourage the “church kids” to invite their unsaved friends and we let the unsaved friends come for FREE. The only stipulation is that the church has to commit to discipling the kids once they get back to their churches. Our goal is to get students involved with the discipling process rather than just experiencing a camp and then just going home to wait until “next time.” (And the cost for the unsaved kids is taken care of by our supporters!)

With the last 3 camps we’ve held, we’ve been able to hold all 3 types of camp too. All 3 were successful, Jesus was lifted up, the Gospel was preached and kids lives were changed in all 3 camps. So, if you’re one of the people who prays for us and if you you’re one of the people who gives to us financially... “Thank You!!!!” We literally couldn’t do this without you. We’ve been here over a year now, we’ve completed so many building projects to improve the facilities and make it so that we’re able to attract more children and teenagers, and it’s all because of you. So, “thank You!” I really wish you could be here to see the kids, to look in their eyes and to know that they’re experiencing- not just a camp- but they’re getting an opportunity to meet Jesus. It makes all the struggles and all the difficulties worth it: )

Love Ya,

Jim and MJ