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Aug 01

Alamisco Creates Family Environment to Operate Camp

by Shane Hochstetler

The new camp format still allowed for other activities like archery and RC crawler trucks.

Grant Pinlac

Campers wear masks while going through the food line where they are served all food items.

Grant Pinlac

The outdoor chapel allows for campers to socially distance.

Grant Pinlac

The new camp format allowed for more time with the horses than campers have had previously.

Grant Pinlac

Kneeboarding proved to be a favorite activity for the watersports campers.

Grant Pinlac

The difficulties of COVID-19 go without saying, and the constant changes to our everyday life have been exhausting. A particularly troubled group is teenagers. While quarantining is needed to reduce the pandemic’s spread, it also brought negative consequences to teens, particularly those already dealing with anxiety or depression. Like all of us, teens need interaction with their peers. Additionally, we obtain a level of comfort when we know what’s coming next. Answers to questions like what school will look like, when will we go on vacation next, and more remain a gray area. We all need a little more consistency and familiarity in our life.

When considering what summer camp would look like for Gulf States, leadership didn’t want to miss an opportunity to have one more summer with these campers, because it may be the last for many as they move on to work and college, and their last chance to experience the love of Jesus tangibly and intentionally. Yet, how could the campers be kept safe in a pandemic? Todd Ward, camp ranger and interim camp director, stated that “we won’t attempt to operate the camp unless we can be sure that we’re doing everything we can to keep everyone safe.”

After much thought, prayer, and discussion with others, Ward developed a plan. There would be three specialty groups or pods that operated as a family. The groups would consist of about 10 people and would dine together, do activities together, and sleep in the same cabins, each gender of a group to its own cabin. Each of the three groups would participate in activities that wouldn’t overlap the other. Equestrian campers would primarily participate in activities involving horses, and watersports campers would stay on another part of the campground learning new skills. The only time all three groups would come together in one place would be for worship, where campers could be properly socially distanced.

The summer camp staff was brought in, and programming for the week was laid out. Additional activities for inclement weather, safety protocol training, capital improvements to the camp, and much more were planned for and executed by camp staff. They worked hard for several weeks in advance of the first camper’s arrival. Camp nurses volunteered for the summer camps and updated the protocols on dealing with fevers and other potential COVID-19 symptoms, should they arise. Collectively, the entire camp team, youth department, and volunteers made a concerted effort to make summer camp a reality. Through this effort, the staff provided consistency and a well-planned week to remedy teen anxiety.

While in some cases, it can be challenging to know how effective a ministry is, or whether or not a single week of summer camp is truly enough, it doesn’t take long to see the joy that summer camp brings to the campers and staff. Photos from the Camp Alamisco Facebook page show person after person experiencing something positive, despite existing in a world that often seems only to offer negativity. See their joy at facebook.com/campalamisco.


Shane Hochstetler is the communication director at the Gulf States Conference.

Gulf States | August 2020

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