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Special Friends Camp: four remarkable summer opportunities

By Mark Cutshall

Special Friends Camp

Crystal is almost deaf. Yet, she changed volunteer Kiya Tafoya forever at Special Friends Camp, a day camp uniquely designed for adults, age 15 and up, with developmental, emotional and physical needs.

“One day during worship, we were dancing in the back of the room. She couldn’t hear the music, but it didn’t matter. We were so in the moment where God was present,” says Kiya.

Campers attend a daily chapel in the morning, followed by generous free time in which they choose from a list of safe, fun, supervised activities. The “challenge by choice,” approach gives each person endless opportunities to choose their own level of activity without any undue expectation, pressure and stress.

One-on-one assistants (Camp Counselors) are provided for each camper.This “Buddy” assists the camper as needed and helps them enjoy all that camp has to offer.

“These men and women campers I came to love confront limits every day. When they come to Warm Beach Camp, those limits are laid aside. At Special Friends Camp, there is no limit to what they can do, and there’s no limit for them to experience love, affi rmation and acceptance,” says Kiya.

Three not-so-little things, that Kiya herself discovered—and no doubt will realize again this summer—at Special Friends Camp.

Quietly Faithful: Remembering Gary Kocher

Throughout Warm Beach Camp’s history, certain individuals have come along who perfectly encapsulate what it is to be a servant of Christ. Gary Kocher was one of those people. He dedicated his life to humbly glorifying God, serving others, and diligently carrying out the work that was entrusted to him. Let us now revisit the impact that Gary has had on Warm Beach Camp (WBC). Gary Kocher was a volunteer youth leader in the Pacific Northwest Conference of the Free ...

A Different Place for Different Needs

If you walk around the Warm Beach Camp (WBC) grounds during a specific week in the spring, there’s a good chance you’ll hear beautiful music pouring out of almost every meeting room. The Northwest Big Band takes over much of the main conference center grounds and floods the space with their sweet melodies during their time at WBC. “It’s so peaceful here,” One of the group’s leaders, Kate Erb, said, “so our participants can focus on their music and their ...

Living at Peace

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9 NLT God blesses us for doing the work of living at peace with ourselves and others. Peace reflects the character of God. A young woman named Skyler shared a video on the You Version Bible App on this verse. She likened the quality of peace as being one thing that shows us as being children of God. She went on to the ...