Year in Review

We here at Camp Caudle hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and with Christmas just around the corner, we figured it was time to update everyone on our current programs, as well as let you know about our new programs.

We had more kids come to Caudle this summer than ever before! Nearly 700 kids came to a summer camp session where they learned about the love of Christ, and what it means to serve him with all your heart. What allowed us to reach out to this many kids? Our volunteers! From session directors to in-cabin counselors, none of what we do would be possible without those folks who are willing to sacrifice their time (and sleep) to bless these young people.

Also enabling us to do this work was our intern staff and full-time kitchen manager. We had seven interns who devoted their summers to blessing our ministry here at Camp Caudle. They were exposed to all aspects of running a Christian camp from working directly with the kids, to designing a camp improvement project, to hauling the trash to the dumpster. Many thanks to Carlee, Sarah, Becca, Jenna, John, Mason, and Brandon for being such great interns! Heather Sutherlin, a volunteer counselor over the past several summers, agreed to be our kitchen manager this summer. She was in charge of ordering the food, keeping up with our inventory, and organizing our volunteer cooks at each session this summer. We will never again go without having a kitchen manager like Heather...her presence was such a blessing!

Our interns undergoing 'training day'.

This past summer, we hosted for the first time a camp session strictly for kids who live at the Southern Christian Home in Morrilton called "Least of These". The young folks that were here enjoyed four full days of fun! We had an all-you-can-eat ice cream buffet, a birthday party for all the kids, bouncy houses, GaGa ball, fishing and campfire bible study for the guys, and a salon and fancy tea party for the girls.  These four days were all about showing these kids that they are loved...despite their difficult circumstances. Our adult volunteers who spent time playing with and mentoring these kids were definitely worn out by the end of the four days, but a lot of tears were shed when it was time for everyone to go home. Next year, we plan to expand this session to include more children who are in the foster care system throughout our surrounding counties.

Canoeing on the Illinois Bayou.

Birthday Party for all the kids at L.O.T. week!

Fancy Tea Party for the girls.

Don't forget the spa treatment.

Fun-filled days at Camp Caudle.

Next summer, Camp Caudle will host the inaugural Camp Agape Arkansas. Having begun in Hawaii in 2005 through the work of Pastor Roy Yamamoto, we are privileged to join in the mission to share God's love with children whose parents are in prison. We are able to connect with these children through the great work of Prison Fellowship®'s Angel Tree® program and bring these valued children to "...an annual, four-day event filled with an intentional series of activities and events that facilitte the sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through love, trust, forgiveness, and hope."

We would love for you to join us in our efforts to show the love of Jesus and share his good news of salvation with the children of Arkansas and surrounding states. We invite you to partner with us financially, helping us provide these young men and women with a first-rate summer camp experience.  This holiday season, give the gift of camp to a kid who would possibly otherwise never get these opportunities. Camp Caudle is a 501(c)3 organization, and your gift is tax-deductible.

Thank you, and have a blessed Christmas season!

Brent Ruple
Lee Henson

Clear that brush!

This past Saturday, a dozen students from Arkansas Tech University and the CCSC came out to camp to help us with some brush clearing. We had a couple chainsaws buzzing, several loppers snipping, and a few slingblades slinging. The brush had met its match! It really is amazing to me what can be accomplished by a few people working toward a common goal. In about half a day, we accomplished what would've taken Lee and I at least a week to complete. It is awesome seeing an area of the camp that is grown up and unusable be transformed into a clean, beautiful, useful place in such a short span. We plan on building a hiking trail and some walk-in campsites in this little secluded area by the creek.

The past year or so, the water level in our little pond has been dropping. It seems that it doesn't matter if the weather is dry or wet, the pond continues to shrink. Well, after some poking around, I found several burrows that have been dug by various varmints in the levee that forms the pond. Also, last summer, our day camp kids had a fishing class in the pond, but did not have any real luck. So, on Saturday, we cleared the banks of all the overgrowth and tried our best to plug the holes with dirt. This spring, we are going to try and have the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission stock the pond with catfish. I think the Day Camp and Junior Week campers will love the opportunity to feel the pull of a fish on the other side of the line.

You can see how the water level has dropped from its original level.

Now the levee is cleared of all the brushy vegetation.

Special thanks to Madi, Hannah, Carlee, Lance, Mason, Jenna, Joee John, Billy, Eva, Lauren, James, and Jarrod for giving up their Saturday to help out a good cause. I hope they had as much fun working with me as I did with them. I love those guys!

On another note, I was having a conversation in the car the other day with my brother-in-law, Josh Clem. Josh is the new youth minister with the WestSide Youth Ministry in Russellville. We were discussing how easy it is to doubt the validity of Jesus' words when he said,

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matt. 17:20

But then we started talking about all the mountains that God had indeed moved for us personally in our lives. I know that there are several instances in my life when seemingly insurmountable obstacles were completely bulldozed by God. There is no other explanation. We need only to have faith...not in our abilities, not in our talents, not in people, not in technology, certainly not in prosperity...but in the Creator Of It All. If we have faith in Him, nothing will be impossible for us!

I challenge you, as Josh and I challenged ourselves, to recall and write down those times when God moved mountains in your life. Sometimes they may seem like small deeds, sometimes they are huge interventions, but if we record those times when God revealed himself to us, I think we will start to see a pattern emerge. That pattern for me, and Josh said for him as well, is that when we are living FAITHFULLY, that is when God seems to come through for us in the most amazing ways.

Blessings to you!

Brent

2014 Summer Registration Information

Summer is fast approaching (4 months!) and we have been working throughout the fall and winter to get ready for it. In October of 2013 all of the Session Directors met here at Camp Caudle and discussed ways to  registration, staffing and other cooperative improvements. Below is a list of things that were decided upon (mostly unanimously!) that will affect you directly as you get ready for camp this summer. Please read this information and share it with others who will be registering campers for the 2014 summer.

1. No deposits will be taken this year. 

In order to make things easier at registration and to keep from any confusion as to how much has already been paid we have eliminated the $50 deposit. Now, all applications must be submitted with full payment in order to register your camper.

* As always, if any person needs financial assistance do not hesitate to let us know by email www.campcaudle.org/contact.html 

2. Early Bird Registration is April 15th 

and your camper must have the form submitted and the $125 be paid in full by that date. (This isn't a change altogether but a great reminder!)

3. The registration fee of $150 is the same 

as well but only until ONE WEEK prior to the session start date. This effort is another way to encourage everyone to get registered before the session start date. It makes it much easier on the session directors, cook staff and the camp directors.



4. If you absolutely cannot register your camper before one week prior then you will pay the

  late registration fee of $175.     

Campers will incur this fee if registered anytime within 7 days of the session start date, on the day of registration or after the session has ended. We understand that late registration is sometimes unavoidable but encourage you to register as soon as you can. We hope that all campers can get in early and avoid the extra cost!
*Please note: if you are mailing in paper applications this fee applies to the date the application is received.


5. As per our insurance request and for increased camper safety            

all adult staff   

excluding cook staff must go online to www.campcaudle.org     and

submit a volunteer application. 

This small form will allow for better screening of adults who will be in contact with children and give the session directors a concise list of their staff. Be aware that the application for the Day Camp session will be a separate link than the overnight session.

*Even if you have been an adult staff volunteer before you must fill out an application.
All applications are due by May 1st.

We hope these changes will create efficiency and safety and we know that this summer will be great! If you have questions about payment or discounts please contact us and get your questions answered before the day of registration. www.campcaudle.org/contact.html

What a year!

This has been a huge year for Camp Caudle!  Instead of one lone ranger trying to get everything done around here that needs to get done, we now have two families tending to the needs of the camp. Due to the generosity of many people, there is now a new barn/house on campus. We have all our tools in one place, our horse program is off the ground, and Lee and Andrea have a new place to live. I can't begin to express how awesome it is that Lee and I can get in the barn when it is cold and rainy and still get work done. It seems there is always a machine that needs to be repaired, something new that needs to be built, or equipment that needs to be maintained, and the new barn is great for all these things!

Building the foundation of the new barn this past February.

Progress on the barn/house.

The barn nearing completion earlier this summer.

We've renovated the old retreat center up the hill (now called the Lodge), making it more usable for groups looking for a smaller facility to rent. The driveway has been realigned to minimize the presence of traffic around the playground area. A new bridge and trail have been built to the swimming hole (thanks to WolfLife, the ASU student ministry).

The interior of the lodge has been drastically updated this past year.

Exterior view of the lodge on top of the hill.

The old bridge was in such rough shape,
we didn't want any kids crossing it this summer.

Brent and the WolfLife students
building the new bridge.

The new bridge completed and ready for use.

Perhaps most importantly, we have been able to offer a great Camp Caudle experience to two new inner-city churches, from Tulsa and Oklahoma City. We are extremely excited to have these young folks with us this coming summer, and they are excited to be here.

At the end of 2013, we embarked on a fundraising campaign, with the goal of making Camp Caudle more financially stable going into 2014. For years, we have successfully raised funds for specific projects, and people and churches were amazing in their willingness to meet these needs, but the problem has always been that, after the project is completed, the camp is in no better position financially than before. Not often thought about is the fact that with improvements typically come higher maintenance costs.

One of our generous supporters agreed to match the funds raised during this campaign up to $20,000 to the end of 2013. With our minds set on reaching that goal, God blessed our efforts greatly, and we more than doubled our goal.  We are now in a great position to reach out to even more kids who need to know that they are loved…both by the staff that will interact with them here, and by God himself!

Blessings to you!
Brent Ruple