Hooray! After a tough couple of years (due to COVID and troublesome fire seasons), we are overjoyed that camp is back in session again! For 2022 (as mentioned in our previous post), we restructured the age groups for camp to reflect how things had been pre-1984, having a Junior week for grades 4-7 and Senior week for grades 8-12. We are also welcoming some wonderful new additions to the Ortoha staff team (see more info below!). We’re so thankful for the incredible crew of new and returning volunteers, staff members and board members who work hard to make the camp experience a wonderful one for our youngsters.
Let’s lift up Ortoha in prayer
Please join us in praying over every aspect of Ortoha during these next two weeks. From safe travel, to physical health and safety, to strong bonds of friendship, to inspired leadership, to God’s guiding presence, to spiritual growth, the need for prayer and God’s intervention at camp are always so numerous and critical! We ask that you add a reminder - be it on your phone, your day planner, or a post-it note on your mirror - to help keep Ortoha and its attendees covered in prayer throughout these next few weeks.
Registration Update
We have over 40 kids registered for Junior week! We are so thankful that God continues to stir up interest in our community for the Ortoha experience. It is a wonderful ministry set against a beautiful forest backdrop. The more kids God can reach through this place, the better!
New staff members
We are thrilled to have two new staff members join the Ortoha team this year.
Chad Francis will be acting as Director under Brian Bowes’ guidance. Chad is no stranger to Ortoha, in fact he was a camper throughout his youth from 1996-2002, and also acted as a counselor from 1998-2004. Originally from Ephrata, he got connected with Ortoha through his dad, who at the time was a pastor and served as camp Speaker. Chad has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in child and adolescent development. He has accumulated 15 years working in the field with the highest need youth in Vancouver, WA, both in community and school settings. We are excited that this opportunity for Chad to serve in leadership at camp marries together his knack for working with youth and his spiritual devotion.
Beth Hawkins will be joining Ortoha as camp Cook this year. Although this will be her first time cooking for our campers, she has ample professional experience cooking for big groups and is excited to be part of the team. She also has children who will attend as campers and help her out each week.
A big shout out to these wonderful individuals who have stepped up to serve our 2022 campers!
Staying in touch
As you may know, camp is a mostly technology-free setting. That means radio silence from our campers, which can seem unusual in today’s communication-driven society. We do our best, therefore, to keep family members in-the-know about any important happenings at camp through website and Facebook updates. If you have specific concerns, though, or need to contact your camper due to an emergency, please reach out to us and we’ll find a way to get your message delivered.