As wonderful as our current youth camp is, there are drawbacks. First, it is expensive to rent the facility, costing approximately $22/camper/day for room and board. Second, the dormitory housing is physically fine, but is not conducive to mentoring since there are two large dormitories – one for the boys and one for the girls. Third, the location is not located near an HFHC facility to allow us to pool resources and reduce expenses for HFHC staff. Due to these shortcomings, we can only hold one camp a year. But with help from Rebuilding Hope 2020 partners, we are moving ahead with plans to construct Phase 1 of a permanent 12-acre “Camp Hope” at our Thomazeau Hope Center. Constructing a permanent youth camp will be a huge step in eliminating the drawbacks mentioned above. Our cost per camper will drop by half ($12/camper/day).
Housing will be comprised of many small dorm rooms/tents (10-12 per) which will allow for better mentoring and management. In addition, Camp Hope will be just yards away from our current Thomazeau Mission House where U.S. teams can assist in running multiple camps a year! Thanks to our Rebuilding Hope partners, last year we completed the first two buildings for Phase 1 of Camp Hope: the 4,000 square foot Cameron Pavilion and our school/camp kitchen. Our top priority this year is to erect a concrete security fence around the entire 12 acres and build a school/camp bathroom. We appreciate your prayers and financial support as we seek God’s help to construct Camp Hope which will raise impassioned leaders for Christ for years to come!
Background
Our Christian leadership youth camp is currently held once each summer for 180 of our sponsored teens. It is so exciting to see our young people participating in classes that focus on leadership development, family and marriage, and Christian values/ethics. These classes are interspersed with fun group activities, crafts, movies, and talent shows. Our leadership camps are important because they are a unique opportunity to achieve the following five goals in a compressed time-frame: Our youth experience authentic Christian community We are able to minister to the whole person – physical, mental, social, and spiritual Our young people deepen their relationship with God, Christian leaders, and others Our youth make major life commitments and life-long memories are formed We are able to identify and encourage emerging leaders