in this issue - Indian Hills Camp

March 2015
Shiloah Springs Bible Retreat, Inc.
Reaching and Teaching Children for Jesus Christ through a Traditional Camp Experience
SPRING 2015 NEWSLETTER
www.indianhillscamp.com
IHC’S 55 YEAR ANNIVERSARY— 1960-2015
2015 marks 55 years IHC has been serving in the community! Wow! 55 years! Founders Ruth Folsom and Bertha Watts were faithful and strong in getting IHC rolling so
many years ago. In the late 1950s Ruth Folsom and her husband Wilber dreamed of a
camp where they could give the Gospel of Jesus to children in San Diego. Bertha Watts
and her husband Phil were leaving to be missionaries in the Philippines and made a
promise to Ruth that they would help her get this camp ministry started. Phil was
killed in the Philippines and when Bertha returned to the US, she connected with Ruth
and Wilber to help start IHC. Soon after the process started, Wilber died. These two widowed ladies put everything into making IHC a place where God could use His glory in reaching kids for Jesus. They both had such a passion for children to hear the
Gospel of Jesus!
As I read the history of IHC through the early years in the Board of Director’s meeting minutes I saw the camp struggling financially. Struggling to the extent that the board was recommending selling the camp and ending the ministry. Suddenly those
board members were no longer mentioned in the minutes because God had moved
them out. Bertha and Ruth, through their tenaciousness, built a new board
with people who shared the same vision as they did.
IN THIS ISSUE
IN THIS ISSUE
Today, 55 years later, IHC is still here and actively pursuing the dream and vison that
God gave to Ruth and Bertha. We still share their same passion and mission in reaching and teaching children for Jesus Christ through a traditional camp experience in
San Diego AND all over the world!










IHC 55 Year Anniversary
Note from the Director
Opportunities to help
Update on CREW
CREW Mexico Mission Trip
Angel Tree Camp
Summer Mission Project
Update on camp staff children
Year-round staff spotlight
Weekend usage/availability
As we look forward to the next 50 years, we believe God has directed our vision to
offer camp free to all kids. By removing the barrier of money, it will allow IHC to build
on Bertha and Ruth’s vision in reaching as many kids as possible with the Gospel of
Jesus. IHC would love for you to join us in prayer as we continue in this direction. If
God presses on your heart to become more involved in our ministry, either financially or through volunteering, you can find
immediate ways throughout this newsletter or by visiting our website at www.indianhillscamp.com or by contacting Nancy Van
Rooy at 619-669-6498.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:16-17
“Thanks for a wonderful week! Because of what took place at IHC
this past week, the Body of Christ was strengthened! Thank you for
being there!”
Tim Breuninger
Sonshine Haven Camp Counselor
Note From The Director: Indian Hills Camp Board of Directors 2015 Directive - Three Year Plan… in 2008
the Board of Directors made a commitment for IHC to move forward in making camp free to all kids. This has
been an exciting journey that we believe God has called us to do. In order to fulfill this vision and the Great
Commission (Matt. 28:19), Indian Hills Camp needed to re-evaluate our budget which required a hard look at
how we provide our ministry. This required some foundational directives that needed to be set. This year our
board issued a directive to our staff which included two very important areas. We were to create a balanced budget for the next
three years which includes a three year deferred maintenance plan. This may sound obvious, but most non-profits plan for a specific dollar amount in donations. IHC is no different. Of course it is always difficult to plan for a specific amount when relying on
the tug of a heart and the movement of God in people’s lives. The deferred maintenance plan directive required us to look at every facility and establish a plan to keep it well maintained and working safely to bring us into the next decade. We believe we have
been able to accomplish the planning of this important directive. We can not move forward on this plan without prayer, perseverance and help from the body of Christ. Below are opportunities for you to help us accomplish our three year plan…….
We need your help!
In order to accomplish our three year plan and not waver from the vision of sharing the
Gospel of Jesus to all children by removing the barrier of money, we need help from people
like you! There are two ways to get involved:
1. FINANCIAL GIVING (One time gifts or regular monthly giving) and/or IN-KIND DONATIONS. We have over 40 buildings with most made of wood on our camp property! Many
of these buildings are key areas for housing up to 25,000 plus campers yearly. These cabins,
wagons and tepees require constant upkeep in order to maintain safety and functionality.
We have also budgeted to landscape key areas around the camp including the North Pool,
Camp Store, Garden Fountain area and the Farmyard. IHC has lost many key shade trees
throughout camp in the past few years. Shade is critical to us during the hot months in
Jamul. Which as most of you know is ten months of the year! We can’t do it without your
help and involvement! If you are compelled to give financially please visit our website at
www.indianhillscamp.com and click on the donate key. For in-kind donations please
contact Nancy Van Rooy at 619-669-6498, or email [email protected].
2. VOLUNTEER: Weekly, monthly, seasonally or Saturday work parties. If you are someone
who likes to work with your hands and would like to spend some time enjoying IHC, we need
volunteers! Why not organize a work party from your church, school, or family and come
up on a Saturday to build, paint, landscape or clean. Or have you ever thought of doing a
mission trip to IHC? A work party (mission team) can come up and stay the weekend serving Friday night through Sunday morning. We can use individual volunteers too! Anytime
during the week (and weekends) we could use your skill as a plumber, painter, electrician, or
landscaper. Work parties and volunteers save IHC thousands of dollars in labor costs which
brings us in line with our mission!
Please contact Nancy Van Rooy at 619-669-6498 or email [email protected] to
get started today!
“I love Angel Tree week because I love seeing these children being
loved on by people who don’t even know them, truly the hands and
feet of Jesus.”
Eva McGarry
Angel Tree Counselor
CREW CORNER
Our eight college CREW members are about 3/4 of the way through their program. They have experienced many wonderful and challenging times in the last six
months living and working at Indian Hills Camp! The CREW program is in place to
intricately involve them in a day-to-day active ministry. They observe and participate directly with IHC full time staff and their responsibilities. Regardless of where
God leads an IHC CREW member to go in the future, their experience will have a life
-long impact in effective ministry.
“In our world today it is hard to focus on Jesus, especially when you are young. The world screams at you
to be like them, look at this, be like this, but the road
to Jesus is rarely traveled and the gate is narrow. The
CREW program has given me the environment I need
to be able to grow in my relationship with Jesus. In a
crucial time I am blessed to be surrounded by godly
men and women teaching me to live with God’s mission as my goal. They have called me to follow them
as they follow Jesus, just as Paul did.”
Tim Barnett, “Aussie”
CREW Member
ORPHANS IN MEXICO
In January our IHC director and CREW members visited Mefi Boset, an orphanage in
Mexicali. What an eye opening experience!
The reality of an orphanage that sits right up
against the US border, where the children live in older mobile
homes as dorms, with bathrooms that were only added a couple of years ago.
Yet the kids are happy and don’t realize the level of poverty they live in. Currently there is only one church in the United States giving financially and working
directly with Mefi Boset on work projects. This church is in Northern California. It’s
unbelievable that an orphanage so close to the US border does not have help closer
to their facility. This was truly one of the poorest places IHC has visited.
Here are two ways you can help:
1. Let IHC help your church connect with the Mefi Boset orphans. There is a lot to
do to help these beautiful children!
2. Last summer Mefi Boset sent 20 kids to our Mexico Orphan camp that we run at
the end of our summer camp season. When we visited in January the number
of orphans had increased to 45 kids. The difficulty will be to transport all 45
children to our Mexico camp this summer. It would be heartbreaking if we could not get all 45 kids there! The cost to
charter a bus in Mexico is $1500 . Will you consider donating toward transporting the Mefi Boset orphans?
Please go to our website www.indianhillscamp.com and click on
donate. *Be sure to put “Mefi Boset Orphans” in the message
field, or contact [email protected] to learn more.
Angel Tree Camp
Indian Hills Camp runs an annual camp for
Angel Tree and Sonshine Haven kids. This is
an exciting week for these kids whose daily
lives have been turned upside down. Angel
Tree kids have one or both parents in prison
and Sonshine Haven kids come from homeless, transient or low income families. IHC
runs a 5:1 camper-to-counselor ratio in order
to deeply impact kids whose lives need healing and love. IHC needs 40 camp counselors
for this week of ministry. Will you consider
joining us as a camp counselor to be the
hands and feet of Jesus?
Camp Dates: July 19-25, 2015
The Need: Camp Counselors
(5:1 ratio)
Mission Fee: $275.00 per counselor
Contact: [email protected]
Summer Mission Project
Do you know a college student who would
like to be a missionary this summer? The IHC
Summer Mission Project is a great opportunity! This program is nine weeks which includes
two weeks of training and certification, five
weeks of serving at Indian Hills Camp and two
more weeks running camps in Mexico for orphans or right here in San Diego’s City Heights
area to refugee children. There is no better
way to spend a summer than to pour into a
child’s life spiritually, emotionally and to show
the love of Jesus through action!
If you know a college student ready to serve
this summer and he/she can’t decide between
summer camp, inner city ministry, missions to
children or youth, then send them our way
where they can do it all in one summer!
Mission Fee: $1,000.00 (Mexico)
$750.00 (Inner City)
Contact: [email protected]
MORE OPORTUNITIES TO HELP IHC!
Do you have a DOLL HOUSE that your kids have outgrown? The IHC Outdoor Education staff is
looking for a full size doll house to add to their teaching aids for earthquake classes. Hundreds
of children from schools all over San Diego come to IHC to learn about the science of earthquakes and what to do when one occurs.
We need GOLF CARTS! Golf carts are one of IHC’s top 5 “tools” and when one goes down, it is a
HUGE impact! With 80 acres and programs running most days, this tool is vital to staying
ahead of everything. There isn’t a department at camp that doesn’t have the need for a golf
cart.
Plan a summer Family Reunion at Indians Hills Camp! Every summer families have reunions
in the Wagon Train area. Each family gets a wagon (8 wagons that sleep up to 12 each), they have
their own large eating area which includes a food prep station and a campfire circle right in the middle
of the circled wagons. What a fun way to celebrate families and re-connect! The cousins can play all
day using the fun and exciting facilities of IHC! Weekends in the summer fill up fast so don’t delay in
planning! Visit our website for more information.
www.indianhillscamp.com
Contact: [email protected] Phone:
15763 Lyons Valley Rd.
Jamul, CA 91935
(619) 669-6498
www.indianhillscamp.com
619-669-6498
Summer Camp
registration opens Wednesday,
March 18th. Go to IHC’s website for more info!
CAMP KIDS ALL GROWN UP!
NEW STAFF BABY BOOM AT IHC!
NEW FULL TIME STAFF AT IHC!
We welcome two new full-time
year-round employees to IHC!
Bryon and Trevor have come
onboard to help us in the facilities
department which includes
Grounds/Housekeeping and
Maintenance. Welcome guys!
Byron Musser - Facilities
Trevor Taylor - Facilities
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Our Resident
Camp Registrar
is Jessica Robinson. Jessica has been involved with IHC for eight years. She
served on the Summer Missions Project for seven summers, playing various
roles including lifeguard, counselor, head counselor and dean. She joined our
staff in January 2014 as a head cook and is now the resident camp registrar. “It
is a huge honor and blessing to coordinate with schools and churches in bringing children to camp so they can meet Jesus here at Indian Hills.” She is currently a student at Southern California Seminary, working towards a Masters in
Biblical Studies. Jessica enjoys working with the youth at her church and adventuring outdoors.
INDIAN HILLS CAMP OFFERS GREAT MEETING FACILITIES TO OUR GUESTS!
CHECK IT OUT BELOW!
Indoor Facilities
IHC meeting facilities are perfect for every size
group. There are a range of small to large capacity indoor and outdoor meeting areas. All
our areas include different features that are
suited for your specific gatherings.
Folsom Barn (capacity 300-350)
Multi-functional space
with stadium riser seating,
stage, A/V and
projector capabilities.
This facility is generally
included when reserving
Cabins with Food Service.
Providing a great outdoor
experience for groups,
families, and youth
of all ages.
Winchester’s Outpost (capacity 80)
This medium sized
meeting room has a
western style façade and
large front porch.
Winchester’s also has a
unique nature scape in
its interior walls.
Curley’s Gameroom (capacity 60)
Multi-purpose meeting
room with whimsical and
fun interior painted
walls. Additional charge
for optional use of game
equipment.