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March 2021 Update

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3/4/2021 – God is good! With ample snow in the high country this year, summer 2021 is shaping up to be a great season at camp. In this update, I want to focus on what is happening right now with Summer Camp events at El Porvenir.

Right now, all of our summer youth camps and other planned events are still on schedule as planned. The dates for these events can be found on our webpage at https://elporvenircamp.com/events. Let me repeat that, right now, all of our summer camps are still on schedule as planned.

Registration is scheduled to open at the beginning of April. That is later than normal, thank you so much for being patient with us as we work with government officials on our reopening plan.

As you may know, NM has taken a very active and aggressive approach towards controlling the Covid-19 pandemic. We have received word that NM officials do have mandatory opening guidance for overnight camps and plans are to publish this in the next few weeks. Please pray for those involved. You can help, go to https://www.savenextsummer.com/newmexico

We are also considering 2 additional events including a 5 day family camp and a short parent/child event. We are sending out an email survey today to get feedback from families about these possible events.  If you don’t receive this email, you can click here to take the survey. It really helps!

Now, I want to update you on our financial situation. When camp was canceled last summer, we knew we’d need to raise $350,000 in donations over the next 10 months. We are now in month number 9 out of 10, so where do we stand? As of right now, with just under a month left in this 10 month campaign, our supporters have given nearly $280,000 in donations.  In addition to those gifts, we have recently received 2 new substantial government grants totaling just over $108,000. So right now, beyond our wildest dreams a year ago, are you ready for this…we have exceeded our goal!  El Porvenir Christian Camp and Retreat Center, after basically being closed for an entire year, is in solid financial shape to enter the 2021 camping season.

Looking forward, we will be asking for continued financial support. It still blows me away that God just pulled us through a year with nearly $400,000 in expenses and only $7500 per month in committed income. We are seeking more monthly financial commitments.  Please consider this request as you budget for this upcoming year. You can set up a monthly gift by visiting https://elporvenircamp.com/give

Let me end with this. I would be a fool not to trust God at this point. We do trust him.  We will trust him. We will continue to confidently ask you to trust Him as well. We are a living testimony that God is faithful. Thank you so much for being our partners in this ministry. We hope to see you this summer!

ADDED 3/8/2021 – MANY OBSTACLES REMAIN

Hey all, in the previous update I shared the good news that NM is planning to make a path for overnight camps to be open this summer. But what exactly does that mean? I want you to be aware that many obstacles remain, which is why registration has been delayed. Please pray. Here are those obstacles:

1. Without published guidance from NM, under current law we are only allowed to host family camp style or day camp (no overnight) events for local residents. We need published guidance to provide an exception to the current rules for overnight camps.
2. This guidance will contain mandatory rules for camps enforceable by government agencies. If we do not comply, we risk forced closure and large fines. This is not simply recommendations or best practices.
3. When the guidance is published, it is possible that the rules will still be too narrow for us. We will not know for certain whether overnight youth camps under the published guidance is practical FOR US until after the guidance is published.
4. We know that camps will be required to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at camp. This means camp will look different. 2021 will not be a return to pre-covid camp life. We do not know details for certain yet, but we currently expect laws regulating the use of masks, dining procedures, gathering size limits, and exposure protocol to still be in place this summer.
5. El Porvenir must comply with NM law. CDC guidance, supreme court rulings from cases in other states, and the laws/practices of other states do not determine what we must do. We are required to follow NM state laws or risk forced closure and large fines.
6. If guidance is practical for us to open, any surge in Covid cases nationwide or confirmed Covid-19 spread at our camp could cause NM to force us to close. It seems, for the time being, our program activity will be tied to the effectiveness of Covid mitigation strategies.
Please continue to pray! Thank you.