Thursday, July 11, 2013

Help Make Camp Possible!

A few weeks back, I was reminiscing about how I was involved with kids camps last year and how awesome it was. Then, it hit me: why don't we do one here? Pastor Elvis had been mentioning about how he wanted to do camps for the teens and young adults, so why not for the kids? We started to talk, which now has turned into planning. We possibly might be having our FIRST EVER Kids's Camp here at Mision Familiar Bethlem!!! Unfortunately, the keyword is: possibly. That "We possibly might" can be changed to "We ARE" with YOUR help! And you can help in multiple ways:

  • Pray. We need all the prayer we can get: for God to show us which kids need to go, for God to send us leaders to help with camp, for awesome ideas of things to do with the kids at camp.
  • Donate camping items. It could be anything you might think we could use for camping: tents, pillows, sleeping bags, blankets, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, bug spray, sun block, flashlights with batteries, and whatever else you think would be useful.
  • Donate craft/game items. This camp is something I want the kids to remember forever and look forward to every year. For that, I need several items to make this a super fun and exciting experience: several large tarps, TONS of baby shampoo, a giant, inflatable beach ball, TONS of water balloons, multiple rolls of different colored duct tape, an assortment of wood paint, thick, wooden picture frames that can be painted/drawn on (3x5), beach/sand toys, floaties, life jackets for kids, good walkie talkies (actual ones, not kid ones), shaving cream, square swim goggles for kids/adults, and anything else that you think would be useful/fun to do. I am open to ideas!
  • Sponsoring a Child. Unfortunately, camp costs money, and almost all of these kids that want to go don't have the money for it. For one kid, it costs $120 to have an amazing experience at this camp. Not only with fun and games, but they will be entering into the love and presence of God in an environment where there aren't any distractions of home/chores/work getting in the way and where only God's true and amazing love is shown. We are planning on bringing around 20-30 kids to camp, and with your help, we can. Here's a list of kids that we are praying for to be able to come to camp and have their lives changed forever:
Boys:
  • Carlos, age 8
  • Samuel, age 10
  • Israel, age 9
  • Raul, age 7
  • Alfonso, age 10
  • Iliseo, age 7
  • Bryan, age 8
  • Sami, age 7
  • Octavio, age 11
  • Oscar, age 11
  • Everardo, age 10
  • Leo, age 9
  • Alan, age 9
Girls:

  • Karla, age 11
  • Estefani, age 10
  • Noami, age 9
  • Angela, age 11
  • Danely, age 8
  • Danitza, age 7
  • Sara, age 8
  • Paola, age 10
  • Melani, age 10
I will be adding  kids on this list once I find out about more kids that can go, and I will be updating the statuses of the kids once they get paid for, so be sure to keep watch on this list to see our progress! Also, our teachers/camp counselors need to be paid for to go (12 in total as of now, same price as the kids) and transportation costs need to be funded for, as well. If you have a van/bus you can donate, we would be more than happy to accept that, as well. We are planning on the camp being on August 16-18, so it's coming up fast! Please feel free to also pray for all of the finances to be covered.

If you would like to donate any items for camp, please contact me via email: daniel.ratz92@gmail.com

If you would like to sponsor a child, please do so by clicking the donate button on the side and, in the for space, indicate which child you wish to sponsor.

If you would like to sponsor a teacher/camp counselor, donate towards transportation costs, or would like to send a financial donation for a non-specific purpose, please feel free to do so as well by clicking the PayPal donate button on the side and indicate in the for section where you would like the money to go towards. If there isn't a specific purpose, be sure to put that in the for section.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for joining us in prayer, as God is going to move in these kids' lives like never before!