As technology and digital devices become more and more deeply embedded in the lives of most Americans, a group of Adventists between the Umpqua Valley region and the neighboring Oregon Coast have been working to provide a unique offline experience that reconnects kids with nature, each other, and Jesus. Church members of the Bandon, Coquille, and Coos Bay Seventh-day Adventist churches have been leading what is now called “Remote Adventure Camp” for almost two decades.
On Monday, August 12th, Oregon Conference storyteller, Kaleb Eisele, drove down a winding one-lane road near Myrtle Point, Oregon following the signs to Camp Remote. After a few hours of meeting the staff and learning a bit of local history, he got the chance to sit down at a picnic table across from the camp’s director, Joy Ross, as children rushed to their next planned activities. Joy wore a “Remote Adventure Camp” tee shirt and a matching lanyard and had been hard at work directing everyone to their next stations, sweeping up an unexpected mess in the cafeteria, and checking in with staff and campers alike.
Joy recalled how she first found herself volunteering with Remote Adventure Camp when her former pastor approached her to teach a class there. “Pastor Bryce just had a way of being excited about things and it made you want to just get on board!” she said. “One day he came to me and said, ‘I want you to teach the cake decorating class!’ I didn’t mind that. But the next year he told me he wanted me to teach a class about worms! I didn’t know anything about worms, and I wouldn’t even touch them! I didn’t tell the kids that or they would have terrorized me with them, but you know, it’s not about us. It’s about the kids. Every year after that, I helped. Then, one night in a board meeting, Pastor Bryce said, ‘I want to nominate Joy to be the new director of Remote Adventure Camp!’ So that was that. I really enjoy doing this. I think it’s a wonderful project and it’s something I can get behind because it’s an outreach that’s so needed today.’”
Allan Cram, a cranberry farmer and head elder of the Bandon Adventist Church, voiced the same when I spoke with him that day. “I think camp does as much for the staff as it does for the kids. Kids are so distracted anymore with TV, cell phones, and all kinds of stuff like that. They need our attention. And you can see it in the kids when they come here. I think a lot of them have never been to camp before.” Here, he paused as laughter erupted from the nearby cafeteria. “You hear them in there? They’re excited, you know. That’s neat, isn’t it? They aren’t sitting in a corner somewhere hunched down. Like I said, it does as much for the staff as it does for the kids. You get to see the Lord using you to make a difference in kids’ lives. We’ve had kids come through here who made a turn in their lives in which way they wanted to go. That’s what it’s really all about. It’s remote out here so you aren’t influenced by a lot of the regular things. I’m invited to see you – the person in front of me. They’re doing all these different classes and having worship – a lot of them aren’t used to having worship – but having it alongside these little classes and activities and things really just opens up the whole thing. It really is amazing. And then, of course, they have all these fun things to do like going on nature hikes and tube sliding. But the Lord is stressed here in a way that touches many of the kids.”
As I walked around, I had the chance to see some of the activity stations at work. Campers were learning to make home-made bouncy balls at one station. At another, a volunteer teacher was showcasing a display case full of archaeological finds. Pastor Marvin Humbert, who recently relocated to pastor at the Coquille, Bandon, and Coos Bay Adventist churches, led campers through the construction of a simple carpentry project. Another group of campers prepared to paint rocks for an art class.
“I’ve seen changes in kids' lives,” Joy shared, “Some of them are from far away and I may never even see them again, but we’re doing whatever we can to show them that we love them. It really makes a difference in their lives. Maybe not today, but there have been kids from five or six or more years ago who have come back and shared the impact it made. These kids may not even think about this camp again until they’re grown, but any seeds we sow here will be with them. A lot of these kids are used to having cell phones in their hands, games that they play all the time, and TVs they watch, so for them to choose to come here for a week without any of those things and without sugar and treats, that says something to me. They want to be here. And if they want to be here, there’s a reason. I want to provide the best reason for them to be here; to show them the love of God.”
As Kaleb prepared to leave, Joy shared that the greatest need Remote Adventure Camp has today is the need for reliable, trustworthy volunteers who love Jesus. Remote Adventure Camp is held near the end of each summer for just one week and serves many families who may not have access or exposure to larger camp settings. If you, or someone you know, would like to get involved in 2025, contact Camp Director Joy Ross by email at joyshammot@gmail.com or through the camp Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RemoteAdventureCamp.
Check out a Flickr album of this year's Remote Adventure Camp...
