2023 Family Camp Recap

The month of August is "family camps" at Camp des Cimes. That means about 30 family units come and stay for 10 days each. It's really a powerful model, as our second camp was mostly new families from around France. There was a good mix of believers and non-believers in attendance. They eat together, do Bible studies, play and make friends. The Protestant community is small here (and has a strong history of persecution), so everyone is happy to be among other like-minded Christians. Those who are seeking to know God are given an intimate environment at camp to allow the Holy Spirit to refresh their hearts.

In attendance, there was a single mom who came with three kids on the autism spectrum. She did not indicate the needs of her children on the intake forms, so you can imagine that the beginning of camp was a little rocky. Naomi went to the mom "L" and said she was there to help her and her kids. Although her kids were 8-13 years old, she was struggling with their recent autism diagnosis and the devastation of understanding what it meant for their lives and education. Naomi was able to walk beside her all week, praying together, helping to integrate the kids and give her some helpful strategies. And the best part? Her kids really became the heartbeat of the camp as all the families wrapped around them in love and understanding. The kind of circumstances only God can orchestrate, the family left feeling embraced and accepted, a very rare feeling for them.

I was busy in the kitchen, which was so fun. We do a three-course meal for lunch and dinner, and many of the families were blessed by the food we served. Here's something funny: I made an entrée that they had never eaten before, loaded quesadillas! It was hilarious to have the service team (who were mostly non-French speakers) try and explain that it's a "Mexican crêpe" as the campers had absolutely NO idea what they were. We were making them as fast as we could, but one little boy began to cry because he thought we ran out and he loved them so much. I'm not as fast as your local Mexican restaurant, but we got him another one as quick as we could!

I hope the heart and the humor are evident in these two small stories. We are so happy to be here, working to further the Gospel. We are so blessed to have you all beside us in this journey, thank you again for your support.

Have you ever thought about doing a short term mission trip to France? Yes, there is a deep spiritual need here, and we would love for you to come in 2024! If you are interested in coming to serve here on a short term team please email Jesse & Naomi. We always need service team volunteers and in the off camp seasons we have work crews who come with construction and renovation projects. Let your gifting be used for God's glory here at Camp des Cimes!

PHOTOS from top to bottom:

1- Ida creating one of many stick forts during the week of camp

2- Version of nuke ball played by the camp kids and volunteers

3- Naomi and Jesse cooking together in the kitchen

4- Naomi's 4 day sewing workshop