I want to say hello to all of you. I am sad to not be in person with you, but I am very pleased to have the opportunity to say thank you and to keep you up to speed on what is happening at El Porvenir.
As you may know, due to the Covid-19 pandemic our camp is not currently able to open for camps or group events. Looking forward, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to open any time soon either. In light of this, the El Porvenir board and I have decided to suspend group bookings and camp events through the end of 2020. We will continue to offer 2 cabins, 2 tent sites, and 2 RV spaces as vacation rental options to individual families. See details here. If you’d like to check availability, submit a booking inquiry here.
El Porvenir is a ministry that exists to bring people together. In this time of separation, I want you to be aware of what is happening at camp and how you can help.
First, let me express that while our focus has shifted, our mission and strategic priorities have not changed. We exist to be a Christ-led community that partners with event leaders and positions them to change lives in a summer camp or weekend retreat context. That is still our mission. Our strategic plan centers on the idea of sustainability, and that has not changed either. To view our organizational essentials, click here. In a time when we can’t have summer camp or weekend retreats, our focus has shifted towards preparing El Porvenir to be better than ever when we are allowed to serve groups again. For us, this really means 3 things: Planning, maintenance, and partner relationships. I’d like to briefly talk about each of these things.
In regard to planning, the board and staff at El Porvenir started a planning process back in January to help address our facility needs in the future. We know that as our facility ages we will need to make significant investments in the years ahead. I’m pleased to tell you that we are still moving forward in this planning process. If anything, this crisis has heightened our awareness to plan for the improvements that our facility needs.
As for maintenance, in March we hired Derek Kellum to be our new facilities manager. It is not an easy thing to uproot your family and move to a new location right in the middle of a pandemic, but Derek has been working very hard behind the scenes to address maintenance needs. The government restrictions have also limited our access to volunteer help, but if you are a skilled laborer and don’t mind coming up here on your own or in a group of 4 or less, please reach out to us (call Derek at 505-425-6022). We are interested in additional volunteer help in the area of maintenance and improvements.
Finally, we are investing in communication and relationships with our partners and supporters. If you are not currently on our mailing list and would like to be, please click here and add yourself to our email list. I want you to be aware of what the camp is currently facing financially. In order to emerge from this crisis strong, we are attempting to replace $200,000 in losses with financial support from churches and individual donors. I’m asking everyone who loves El Porvenir, or loves someone who loves El Porvenir, to consider signing up for a short term monthly commitment. So I’m asking you…can you give $40 a month for the next 10 months? Can you give a different amount? Every commitment no matter how small makes a difference.
If you can’t commit to giving every month, then you can also give a one time donation or you can purchase something on our Amazon.com registry list. This month we are promoting what we are calling Christmas in July for El Porvenir. We’ve listed items that we need, some very inexpensive, that you can purchase on our behalf. Once purchased, Amazon will ship directly to the camp. You can access the list here.
We have always relied on the generosity of our supporters. Even now, in a period of uncertainty and hardship, I have confidence asking you to support this ministry. The camp experience changes lives. God changes lives at camp. I believe in it, and I’m very happy to ask you to support it.
One of the greatest joys I have is experiencing the grace of receiving gifts on behalf of this ministry. In the past 30 days alone, we’ve received 82 separate gifts. But I also know that we typically serve over 3000 guests every year. Can you imagine what kind of a difference it would make if each person gave just a little bit. I’m asking you give. If you’d like to see how much support we still need, you can find more details on our giving page.
Thank you so much for being our partner. I am so grateful for you. God bless, and we’ll see you again soon.
Nate Stafford, Executive Director