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See & read about what is going on in the Warm Beach Camp & Conference Center community

A Sea of Yes!

Ladies Night Out was an event that will not soon be forgotten. Preparations were made, prayers were said, centerpieces were placed, and the smell of bacon wrapped cheesy jalapeno hors d’oeuvres filled the Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center in downtown Stanwood. I don’t think I’m alone when I say that the Ladies Night Out Auction benefiting Special Friends Camp at Warm Beach Camp was wildly successful.

As all eyes were fixed on the video of a day at Special Friends Camp, a camp for adults with special needs, I felt a shift take place. Smiles widened, eyes became teary, and cheers came freely as campers whizzed by on the zip-line or tackled the climbing wall and rang the victory bell! No wheelchairs, leg braces, withered legs, or lack of sight held those determined souls on the ground!

Following the video, the 180 women in attendance were asked to consider sponsoring a day of camp for one camper at $92 a day. As the last words of the request for sponsors were spoken, the white bidder numbers flew off tables in an overwhelming sea of YES! Like a mighty wave cresting on the ocean, a powerful movement of compassion, generosity, and tangible joy moved through the crowd and flooded my heart with humbling gratitude.

I watched as women held their bidder number in one hand and displayed how many days of camp they would like to sponsor, if more than one day, on the other hand. Two days, three days, four days, 10 days… even 24 days were sponsored by individual women moved to change lives through Special Friends Camp!

Even as I type the words now, I am in awe of the movement of the Lord in those moments. The love and desire to make a way for those who cannot make a way on their own was overwhelming.

At the final count, 152 days of camp were sponsored and over $33,000 raised overall! This far exceeded any expectations and the whoops and hollers of victory were proof! Every minute of Special Friends Camp is an opportunity for a miracle, a life to change, hope to be restored, and worth to be realized. I am forever changed by the outpouring of kindness I witnessed in my own little town. What an amazing special night!

-Margaret Elaine Spears
Special Friends Camp Chaplain/Lead Staff

Unique Strengths of SunSparrow

When individuals are welcomed into an environment full of connection, inclusivity, and the love of Christ, transformation happens! They become active participants in the world around them and are reminded of their true worth. Camp SunSparrow is carefully constructed to help individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities build self-confidence and develop closer relationships with the Lord. Campers are encouraged to recognize their unique strengths and are allowed the time and space to share those with the group. Adriene Duguay, the ...
Students explore the forest at Outdoor School-Education-warm-beach-camp-Stanwood-WA

Hands On Outdoor Experiences

Across the 278 acres of land at Warm Beach Camp, there are wondrous little nooks and crannies teeming with life, just waiting to be explored! From a saltwater marsh to the upland forest and the bluffs that are perfectly designed to ease a bird's flight; the biodiversity is endless! With notebooks in hand, a quizzical eye, and curious minds, children step into a world of infinite possibilities! The Outdoor School Program at Warm Beach Camp is actively changing lives through ...

Small Beginnings, Big Outcomes

Jesus uses the smallest of beginnings (mustard seed and yeast) to describe big outcomes. Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making ...