Uncategorized » Camp David of the Ozarks

3rd July 2010

Junior Boys’Week 1

Junior Boy’s week kept us all on our toes with their short attentions spans, morning and afternoon skirmishes, and constant activity. By Tuesday afternoon I began to wonder if there was any hope of teaching them anything. Then I began hearing their stories. The smallest of them told me about a fight that broke out in his home that ended with a gunshot. Though no one was hurt he shared how scared he was and how he feared for his uncle’s life. Another boy who struggled with a flare temper, told me how his mom was in prison and he and his 6 yr old brother were being raised by his grandmother while his dad lived somewhere in Chicago. Hearing their stories I began to wonder how they did as well as they did. How does such a boy just behave? On more then one occasion as I sat down to settle yet another fight; I’d hear a sad little boy ask “Papa Big Heart, are you going to send me home?” It made me wonder how many times they had been sent away. Jesus words stand out in such contrast, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them…” That is just what we did. Through songs, games, and patiently working through fights, each boy was shown the love of the Heavenly Father. Thanks for being part of giving hope to these boys.

For the children’s sake,

Benjamin Smith, Camp Director

known as “Papa Big Heart” to the campers

Team Pictures

Jr Boys Group

It was an exciting week with 28 boy campers ages 8 to 12. A lot of these campers were new to Camp David, and they all had a lot of energy.

Here are the Cabin teams:

The Bears, with counselors Ian and Ezra.

The Cougars, with counselors Cliff and Chris.

The Eagles, with counselors Calvin and Ben.

The Lions, with counselors Josiah and David.

The Panthers, with counselors Zech and Brian.

The Wolverines, with counselors Justin and Jason.

Camp Activities

Each morning, the campers work on team building with the obstacle course.

Archery is one of the boy campers favorite morning activities!

Grandpa Tom & Grandma Pansy lead the Nature class, and visit the petting zoo with the campers.

Field games are a great part of camp – here the boys are playing soccer with the soccer balls they were given as birthday gifts!

The boys have fun fishing on Tuesday night – every camper catches at least one fish!

On the last night at camp the campers enjoy a campfire, character awards, and testimonies from camp.

Giving Hope

For many of these boys, their counselors are the first “Father” that ever cared about them.

One counselor shared, “This week was awesome. God really gave me strength and energy, and I got to see one of my campers come to know Christ. Another camper was very curious and had a lot of questions about God – he was really trying to understand who God is.” JB

There were eight boys who made decisions for Christ this week, and three were baptized. This young man was from our local community and his mom, sister and youth pastor came out for his baptism. Praise God for lives changed at camp.

Matthew 19:14

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

You can sponsor a child for a week of camp! Sponsors commit to praying for their sponsored camper throughout the school year, and we will send you a photo prayer card to put on your refrigerator or wherever you will remember to pray for them. You will also receive a “Thank you” card from your camper and a tax donation receipt from Camp David. It costs $100 to sponsor a camper. You can donate online or send your check to:

CDO

P.O. Box 1607

Rolla, MO 65402

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23rd June 2010

Junior Girl’s Week 1

This is the season we have spent all year preparing for- summer camp. It is the highlight of our staff & camper’s year. Summer camp is a time set apart for friendships, happy memories, and life decisions about following God.

You have been part of preparing for this time by your prayers, help and gifts, and we want to share a little bit of camp with you over the next several weeks. As you read the updates and see the pictures, please continue to keep us in prayer- and especially pray for our campers. If you could hear their life stories- it would break your heart- but God can bring beauty from ashes. We believe He has a special plan for each of these young people, and you- our camp family- are a part of giving them hope.

For the Children’s Sake,

Ben & Grace Smith,

Camp Directors

Team Pictures

big group

It was an exciting week with 25 girl campers ages 8 to 12 The rest of the people in this team picture are counselors, support staff, wranglers, cooks, staff kids, and the leadership team.

The Leadership Team makes camp happen- and this was especially true this first Jr. Girls week. Everyone at camp was in high anticipation all week -waiting for the camp director’s wife, Grace Smith, to go into labor with their 5th child!

Here are the Cabin teams:(Their Princess dinner team pictures!)

The Diamonds, with counselors Brittany & Abigal.

The Pearls, with counselors Chava & Kayla.

The Rubies, with counselors Laura & Emily.

The Sapphires, with counselors Susanne & Kaitlyn.

The Emeralds, with counselors Katie & Alida.

The Crystals, with counselors Ashley & Emily.

Camp Activities

devotions

The day starts with morning devotions with counselors and campers.

Horseback riding is an all-time camp favorite!

The petting zoo has goats, sheep, and yes, chickens!

Wow- it’s tug-of-war in the MUD!!

Eight girls made decisions for Christ this week, and 6 were baptized.

Giving Hope

This camper has been coming to Camp David for 4 years, and she said getting baptized was the best thing that has happened to her.

As one camper’s mom said- one of the best parts of camp is realizing you are not alone- there are other children who have difficult lives and live with the shame of having a parent in prison. But there is no doubt that the campers experienced unconditional love at camp.

One camper opened up about a lot of the challenges in her life to her counselor, and then after making a decision for Christ she said, “Now I have a reason to get up in the morning!”

Forever a Camp Kid

The event that everyone was eagerly waiting for finally happened!! A week after his due date, the Camp Director’s little guy arrived on Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 6:57pm. There was much celebration all over camp!

Ben & Grace Smith proudly introduce

Jabari Benjamin

9 lbs, 10 oz; 22″ long

Jabari means Valiant Warrior, Bringer of Consolation

(It rhymes with Safari!)

You can sponsor a child for a week of camp! Sponsors commit to praying for their sponsored camper throughout the school year, and we will send you a photo prayer card to put on your refrigerator or wherever you will remember to pray for them. You will also receive a “Thank you” card from your camper and a tax donation receipt from Camp David. It costs $100 to sponsor a camper. You can donate online or send your check to:

CDO

P.O. Box 1607

Rolla, MO 65402

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16th June 2010

Praises and Prayer Requests

We have so much to tell you you about, but we want to start with catching up on the month of May.

God sent several groups of volunteers – one evening some men from Rolla came to hang dry wall in Grandpa Tom’s Cabin. Three local young men donated their time for two entire weeks, helping with various projects around camp. MannaFest Destinies Church in Waynesville also sent a group, as did Rooftop Community Church in St. Louis. There was even a team of 15 soldiers from Ft. Leonard Wood that came out for a service project! May 21st – 23rd, we had about 60 people here as a part of “The Weekend,” a retreat for Home School Alumni. People traveled from 9 states to help out! They worked hard and got a lot done throughout the camp.

Below are some pictures of the teams and the work that got completed.

Please remember us in prayer as we are currently in our camping season. Praises & Prayer Requests:

Praise God that $1,800 was raised for a used commercial dishwasher which we were able to purchace. We are also gratefull to Grandpa Tom who picked it up in Michigan and brought it to camp!
Pray for more sponsors for campers.
Praise God that the second camper camper cabin is fully financed with a Memorial Gift from Judy Smith. The cabin is officially named the “Anderson Cabin” in memory of her father, C. Arthur Anderson.
Pray more churches to help with the transportation of campers from St. Louis and other towns to camp.
Praise God for the septic tank that was donated for Grandpa Tom’s cabin; Pray that the excavator can dig the hole and set the tank this week. The cabin is very needed for staff housing but still needs the electric and plumbing finished(Construction goes slower during the camp season).
Pray for our campers – that they would meet God at camp and pray for strength and wisdom for our staff as we share God’s love to these very needy children.

Serving Jesus,

Ben & Grace Smith,

Camp Directors

The Weekend – Home School Alumni Work Team

Hanging siding on the second camper cabin

Measuring for siding

Chair rails going up in Fort Turley

Painting in Fort Turley

Hanging the ceiling in Grandpa Tom’s Cabin

Outside progress on Grandpa Tom’s Cabin

Work Teams

We have had several other groups come out to help with our various projects in the past couple weeks.

A group of soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood came and worked on Grandpa Tom’s Cabin.

We also had a group from Manna Fest Destinies come help get Fort Turley ready for camp.

One evening, a group of 10 local men came out to hang drywall in Grandpa Tom’s Cabin.

Barney, Alex and Gideon Reynolds helped Camp Director Ben with many projects around camp every day for two weeks! The camp

grounds would never have been ready for staff training if they had not come!

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25th March 2010

Progress Continues at Camp David

I just want to catch you up on the latest Praises for CDO. We were blessed with being able to find a reputable concrete contractor, Brookshire Concrete, who was willing to donate part of the cost of pouring the basement for Grandpa Tom's Cabin. It seems the day before they sent us the estimate, the gentleman preparing it had lunch with one of our Board Members and "happened" to ask about Camp David. Isn't God amazing?

The excavation work was completed yesterday, all basement by donated labor from Bloomdale Excavating Company. Another camp donor has donated a nearly new heat pump with a gas back up furnace for Grandpa Tom's Cabin.

If you have left over building materials and would like to donate them, please give us a call @ 573-364-2786

Sincerely,

Ben Smith

Camp David of the Ozarks

Work Day Saturday

After weeks of preparation, and volunteers getting the electric and everything ready, we are going to hang drywall this Saturday, March 27th! Please come join us- we will need a big crew for this project!

The insulation was blown in yesterday,

so everything is ready!

Also, please let us know if you can come so we can prepare enough food for lunch.

Next two weeks…

It's time for Spring Break and Camp David is excited to host two service groups: the Catholic Newman Center students (about 31) and the Baptist Student Union group (about 10). The Newman Center group will build our first camper cabin (our other "cabins" are covered wagons), and the Baptist Student group will work on various projects including fencing in a storage pond. After the Rolla Spring Break, Grandpa Tom himself is bringing a group of students from MI for their spring break to help with various projects including putting in the basketball court! It is an exciting time here at camp!

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15th January 2010

Camp David Praises

I wanted to share with you all the answers to prayer we have had recently:

Three weeks ago we sent out a prayer request for some pressing financial needs that Camp David was facing. That week we received a large donation toward our family’s missionary support.
The following week we received a very large donation for the suggested use of the camp director receiving training and mentoring to improve his skills as a director.
Just a week ago I received a call from someone in Michigan who wanted to give the camp an icemaker. I was excited but not nearly as excited as my wife, Grace, was. Unbeknownst to me, the day before she had remembered our longstanding need for an icemaker and had asked God to meet that need. Three days later our friend dropped it off on the way to see his daughter in Branson. The ice maker is in very good condition!
The fund for Grandpa Tom’s Cabin is now about $7,700. Only $12,200 more to meet our goal!
December 30th we still needed $1,400 in the General Fund to finish paying bills, and the next day that amount plus an extra $500 came in through the mail and online donations. God meet the camp need and did abundantly more!

It is such a joy to see the many ways God cares for the Camp David ministry. Thanks to you and many others, each one of Camp David’s pressing needs have been met this winter. Thanks for praying for the CDO ministry and being God’s hands to reach out in love to children of prisoners.

Rejoicing in Him,

Ben Smith,

Camp Director

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20th September 2009

Green Team

“We are the Green Team, the Mighty, Mighty Green Team” You would here this cheer at random times throughout the day at camp this summer. The Green Team is a day program for all the children of staff to insure that while the moms were serving as Kitchen Crew or Office staff, their children were being supervised with special activities.

The Green Team Leaders rotate each week- and some weeks we even had one of our staff guys help! This was the 3nd week of camp with leaders Chava Hall and Justin Byers.

This was the 4th week of camp with leaders Laura and Brittany. The leaders are considered counselors during the day (which is why they wear yellow team shirts) and then they get to hang out with the support staff during the evening!

One of the challenges of being Green Team leaders is having a range of children from ages 3 to 11 and trying to keep them all engaged in the activities. They also work hard to help the Green Team memorize verses during the week!

Some weeks the Green Team got to go do the Morning Activities- here is Timmy doing archery.

They all loved getting horse rides!

Here are a bunch of the Green Team kids getting a ride in Grandpa Tom’s carriage!

Sometimes the Green Team made baked goods for the staff- and other times they surprised the staff by doing some of the dishes!

Katy loved the Jr. Girls weeks when some of the campers would “cook” with her in the Princess Playhouse.

Timmy loved the field games!

Tori and Clayton having a water battle!

Katy got to go fishing with the Jr. Boys and caught 2 fish on one hook!

Bethany got to dress up to match her Aunt Susanne during the second Jr. Girls week. The Green Team girls were able to enjoy the Princess dinner just as much as the campers!

Here are Esther and Tori all dressed up!

The Green Team also got to do the Rendezous each Thursday evening. Here’s Timmy looking like an Indian!

Esther loved the face painting each week!

Tori was trying hard to shoot the staff with the water sponges!

The Green Team also got to enjoy the special Sunday evening activities with the staff. Here is Esther rappelling at Gourd Cave.

Timmy was often the only boy on the Green Team, unless his buddies Andrew and J.L. came!

Bethany and Arianna loved the petting zoo. Friendships are a big part of the Green Team.

A big thank you to all the Green Team leaders for making camp so special for our children as we serve!

Serving Jesus,
Grace Smith
www.campdavidozarks.org

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21st April 2009

An Adventure for Hope!!

You are invited to join us for an Adventure for Hope! This is a Kid-Friendly Family Event!

Ask your friends and family to sponsor you for this CAMP DAVID ADVENTURE and give an at-risk child the opportunity to go to camp for the first time! For every $100 raised you sponsor a child for camp and receive a free T-shirt!!

Date: Saturday, May 16th
Time: Registration from 10:00-11:30am
Adventure runs from 10:30-12:00 noon
Place: Lion’s Club Park, Rolla, MO

RSVP: Please call or email and we’ll send you a registration & sponsor form right away!! (or click here print to out the forms.)

Adventure includes: