We have had a few work teams come out over the past weeks, and are excited about our new entrance at camp!

Here is the youth group from First Baptist in Rolla helping to put a split rain fence at the entrance to camp.

Working hard to dig those holes!

The one side got completely finished…

Then the other week a group of college students with CCF came out and finished the fence on the other side. Now we just need to make a ranch style header with “Camp David” written on it!

We are looking forward to a team of service men and women coming from Fort Leonard Wood this weekend.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.

God bless,

Ben & Grace Smith

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

It was our biggest week of camp ever with 25 campers! And 18 of those boys were alumni campers! Most of them were between the ages of 10-12 and the cooks did an amazing job feeding all those hungry boys plus 50 staff persons!

Meet the Brave Bears~ with counselors Carl Eldredge and Isaac DiGennaro. This team won the wagon team challenge for the week!

It’s the Courageous Cougars~ with counselors David Rosado (our Assistant Director) and Jonathon Neuman. The young man in the red shirt memorized 80 Bible verses at camp!

Here are the Overcoming Eagles~ with counselors Zephan Hazell and Calvin Byers. This is Calvin’s third summer as staff, and his first time as counselor!

It’s the Loyal Lions~ with counselors Cliff Rosenow and Ezra Hall. They had the little guys, and they were cute!

And the Fearless Wolverines~ with counselors Brian Catron and Galan Cameron. These guys came up with a really creative team cheer!

Starting the morning out at the obstacle course and developing teamwork.

Teamwork put to the test: Get each team member over the wall with good attitudes, and keep your hands up till it’s done.

The horse program continues to be the all time favorite at camp!

Petey has been coming to camp for 4 years, and his two brothers have graduated from campers to staff and were serving as Support Staff this week.

The guys find all kinds of creatures on their Nature Hikes!

This young man brought two of his cousins to camp, and all three boys had a parent in prison. On staff this week we had a former county jail administrator as an “Auntie”. The last day of camp she told us “I had one guard who had seen three generations come through the jail in just 35 years… Camp David is helping to break the cycle of crime.” We pray that each of these boys will turn to God and follow His paths, and break the cycle of crime that is in their families.

Pablo was very proud of the wooden snake he painted!

The boys spent a lot of time memorizing verses with the help of their counselors!

The boys were given these coon tail hats and Grandpa took their pictures in front of the General Store. They earn coins for each Bible verse they memorize, and then they go to the General Store to “purchase” toys and little items. It’s a great reward system!

The fishing was really good on Tuesday night, and several guys caught big catfish! There were also some really big ones that got  a way. A big “Thank you” to Earl Pietch, a neighbor down the road, for letting us take the campers fishing in his pond.

This summer we had 5 staff members get lifeguard training, which is very helpful since the swimming is almost as much fun as the horses!

One part of camp that you don’t often see is the very important role of our Camp Grandparents! The Grandmas (and Aunties) read bedtime stories to the campers every night! For many of us, this is a normal routine growing up, but most of the campers come from such troubled homes that this is a very special treat. We have a wonderful selection of short story books that teach good character.

Ranger Dave had a great time connecting with the boys in his cabin and being a Dad to them. They look tough, but inside they are so hungry for love and attention. It is hard to put into words everything that happened at camp- except to say that it is a life-changing experience for both the campers and staff.

Thank you so much for being a part of our summer through your support and prayers. We are still praying for some more sponsors for campers, and we ask that you pray about sponsoring a young boy or girl as a family. It is $100 per sponsorship.

Keep your eyes open for some pictures of Green Team and staff!
For the children’s sake,
Ben and Grace Smith

We had a total of 21 campers, our biggest girls week ever! God provided enough counselors, and we divided the campers into 5 teams.

Meet the Radiant Rubies~ with counselors Katie Brown & Faith Burnett.

It’s the Shining Sapphires~ with counselors Lydia Nebel & Susanne Eldredge.

Here are the Dazeling Diamonds~ with counselors Danielle Foley and Laura Marchbank.

It’s the Elegant Emeralds~ with counselors Chava Hall and Anna Stoyeff.

And the Precious Pearls~ with counselors Ellie Hall and Emily Brown.

The morning activity classes included craft time. The camp Grandmas and Aunties that serve each week help with the craft time. Here is Tatianna painting a little frame.

Visiting the Petting Zoo during Nature Class with Grandpa Tom and Grandma Pansy. This is Princess Samantha.

During Nature Class, the campers go to the Discovery Garden and taste the herbs and veggies growing there.
Note: Two of the girls have brown patchwork purses over their shoulders- these were sewn by camp friends across the nation and we gave them to the girls at the camp birthday party. They absolutly loved them!

We are grateful that our neighbors, Don & Lois Himelright, allowed us to take the campers on trail rides on their property. The fields were so pretty with all of the wildflowers!

A beautiful girl on a big beautiful horse!

This is Hannah- she was small for her age (8 yrs old) but she was not afriad of much and was a very determinded young lady!

A favorite activity of the week was the Fruit loops & Shaving Cream game- which turned into a fun “battle”.

This is Emily with some of her little campers. She showed them God’s love ~even in the sandbox.

Grandpa Tom took the Princeses on a horse drawn carriage ride and delievered them to the front door of Fort Turley. He also took the campers on carriage rides during the Nature Class.

Miss Ellie with one of her girls, Ty’esia.

At the Rendezous on Thursday night, the girls got to have their faces painted and participated in fun relay races.

Over half of the campers were alumni this week, and these two girls were excited to be together again.

When you live with the pain of having a parent in prison and (in some cases) your mom’s boyfriends come and go, you can wonder if anyone really notices you and cares. That’s why at Camp David we make sure that each camper get’s the individual attention and love they so desperatly need.

A number of the girls made descions for Christ at camp, and 4 of them wanted to get baptized. Some of the girls had tears in their eyes as they came out of the water and we knew they had really taken their decision to follow Jesus seriously. It was very special to have this camper’s mom drive all the way to camp to be there for her baptisim.

Thanks for being a part of giving hope.

In His service,
Ben & Grace Smith