A letter from the Camp Director
August 2002
Dear Friends,
Howdy from beautiful New Mexico! I would like to take a few minutes of your time to share with you a true story about a little girl who grew up different. She was bright…..and smart…..and different. She didn’t walk until she was three, when the doctors determined she had a bone disease. When she went to school, she was the one who held the rope—she couldn’t jump like the other girls. When teams were chosen, she was the last to be picked and never to play. The kids at school teased her and called her names. But there was a special place she went each summer where no one teased her and where she was accepted for who she was rather than rejected because she was different. This special place was a camp for handicapped children. When you hear her talk about that camp, her eyes dance with the joy of remembrance. She will tell you that the times she spent at camp were the best times of her childhood. She learned how to do leather crafting and woodworking, sign language and swimming, riflery and archery. She learned how to love those who were different from herself, and she learned that she had something special to offer the world. Camp, to her, was the perfect place, and it had everything she needed to be happy. As an adult, God placed a dream in her heart to start a camp just like the one she attended as a child. And at this camp, handicapped children would learn everything she had learned and they would also learn how very much God loves them and how He has a special plan for their lives. This vision is the driving force of the Apple Dumplin’ Camp.
Have you ever visited an Old West town and wished you could live there for a day or two, experiencing life as it was in the 1800’s? At Apple Dumplin’ Camp, children with disabilities or limitations as well as disadvantaged children will have just such an opportunity! Set in the 1880’s of New Mexico, campers will experience life as it was over a hundred years ago. Trail rides, chuckwagon round-ups, barn dances, early American arts and crafts, chapel, archery, just to name a few, will all be part of the life and the excitement at Apple Dumplin’ Camp. At camp, each child will be given the opportunity to realize how important he or she is to God, to us, to their families, and to their world. Essentially, we want to give these children, who are often ignored (or worse, patronized, or ridiculed), an awesome life changing experience, and the opportunity to discover their gifts and how they can use those gifts to help others.
I have the honor of inviting you to be a part of this wonderful project. Do you know of a child that would benefit from attending camp? Do you know of a teenager or adult that is looking for summer ministry? Please have them contact us! And please remember us in your prayers!
Thank you for your time and if you desire further information that isn't on the website, please call us at 505-430-1212..
Sincerely,
Michael A. Frye
Camp Director
