Happy 67th Birthday!

On August 10, 1943, a committee of six men considered a sixty-acre site for a camp. The land consisted of a series of abandoned mining claims named “Miner’s Dream”, “Blake Claim”, “Jefferson Claim” and “Washington Claim.” The original name for the camp was to be “Baptist Estates”.

In 1944, the committee moved the first building on to the property - the dining hall. Of course, that building was nearly destroyed last winter, but the renovations are now nearly complete. We hope to have an inspection this week so we can start using the room. The insulation and heating for the room is still incomplete, but we could start feeding guests inside, rather than using the tent outside. This would be a welcome change for staff and guests alike!

The biggest challenge now is to complete the fundraising for the project. We need $100,000 more to finish the work. Once these funds have been received, we will be able to move on to rebuilding Hilltop 2. We are praying that God will lead people to help us celebrate the Camp’s 67th birthday with a gift toward completing the dining hall renovation. Will you pray with us?

Construction Update! Almost There!

The carpenters have finished putting up the siding on the outside of the Dining Hall. If we get a break between rainstorms, we will be able to stain the siding this week. In addition, it is time to “pour the floor!” To avoid damaging a new floor during construction, we elected to put the floor in last. The floor area is too big to pour the whole area at once, as it is nearly impossible to smooth a concrete area that large. So concrete is being poured in five sections: a ribbon along each side of the room, a section with a cross in the entry, and two large sections on each side.

If all goes according to plan, we will move in August 15! There will still be a few more finishing touches to complete at that point, but the building will be usable for our guests to eat their meals in there. What an exciting two weeks we have ahead of us!