Down here we use the Villa Peniel Christian Service Camp in many ways. We do traditional camps throughout the year and have age specific groups of young people in. We have Sunday School Teacher’s training sessions. We hold elders and deacons clinics as well as ladies retreats and so on. But one special way in which we use the camp is for concentrated work with our school kids in the area of meaningful spiritual growth.
We bring each class in school out to the camp for a day long session or as in the case of the older kids, for an overnighter. We have a theme or topic and we have workshops and teaching sessions. In intersperse that with time for soccer and the swimming pool. It is a very popular and important use for the camp.
But we have one difficulty with this program; the economic factor. We can not charge the cost involved as it would significantly raise our monthly tuition. So we charge a fee to each student to cover the cost of the outing. Things such as bus fare, pool chemicals, and even the increased electrical bill must be paid. But the problem comes in when many parents do not have the money to pay for the fee we charge each student. In those cases the kid simply misses out on the event and remains at school that day or is told not to come to school at all. So we have a project to “send a kid to camp” to cover this school usage of our camp facility. For $5 per day per student you can “send a kid to camp” and open this door of opportunity for students who otherwise might not be able to afford it. This is a great use for our camp, a great addition to our school program, and a great opportunity for our students; and it is a great opportunity for you to share in this ministry and to make a difference for one student.