I spent yesterday at Camp Chris and thanks to the help of my new friends Jay, Katrina and their dog Kuume we have a new screened gazebo on the deck. Every time I go to this place I feel the power of its natural beauty. There is a piece of me there and my heart gets touched every time. Esther and I pray that others get that same sense of healing, grace and the opportunity to just be real, be you, be present in the beauty but feel free to struggle with the ugliness that you may be experiencing or have experienced. No matter who you are, where you are at or what you are dealing with at this moment - all are welcome and invited to this community. We will continue to try and improve the experience without losing the rustic charm of the land and river. Last night I sat in the new screened gazebo, mosquito free and just listened to the birds, the leaves rustling and the river gently flowing over the rocks. It transcended all the troubles of the world for just that moment. Please come and feel this for yourself.
I've said this before but this community amazes me every single day. The willingness of so many to give their time and energy to this place is so humbling and received with great gratitude. Jay and Katrina drove up from the cities just because of their belief in the healing power of the outdoors and their amazing servant hearts. They both are involved in a venture that takes people out on adventures to explore nature and themselves. Check out www.findingmeaningoutdoors.com.
Along those lines we have been trying to invest in things to improve the camp experience including the shed, a porta potty, the gazebo and few other smaller things. We believe in this investment and have already seen the return from it. Every week we have people reach out wanting to donate money, goods and to help in some way. I have struggled with this as I don't want to get personal gain from this and what happens if 3, 4 or more years from now we decide to not do Camp Chris. Is it fair that we have gained some long-term benefit from others? It's an ethical struggle for me and I want to be transparent. Some have pointed out that it is important for others to be able to help and that those who are getting to camp at Camp Chris benefit from this space.
One question that has come up a number of times is if we should do a GoFundMe for the electric hook up. As some may know, we bought this land with the belief that we had electricity for campers ready to go. Unfortunately, the electric that is there is no longer connected and was installed wrong. There is not an electrician who will connect it as it currently is configured and I'm thankful they are taking the safety of all into consideration. I have received two quotes and the lowest quote came in at $5,000. This was not part of our budget for this land this year or really ever. I have signed off on the quote and will be getting the electric hooked up at some point this year. However, I seek your counsel - how do you feel about us doing a GoFundMe campaign for this project. Please email or give me a call with your thoughts or comment here.
Happy 4th to all and thank you for your presence in this community.
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