2017 Wednesday -- Look Who We Found

This was a surprise meeting on the sand. Virginia with 2 of her 3 daughters and their oldest grandchild.

Paul (not in this photo) & Virginia have been the directors of family camp at Camp By the Sea on Catalina Island for many years. We first met them in September of 1980 at the family camp that started on Labor Day Monday. Paul & Virginia and their 3 month old daughter Kari were on staff and Paul’s parents were the camp directors. We have a long wonderful friendship with them.

This is their first summer not directing family camps. There has been a change in the administration of the organization that oversees the camp and somebody who thought they could manage the camp better has eliminated the Paul & Virginia from camp staff.

Thousands of people — families — have been positively affected by the ministry of the Friesens. Eliminating them from Campus By the Sea has decimated family camps. There were no family camps offered this summer. That’s six weeks of family camp with approximately 200 people in camp each week that is not happening any longer. The family campers that knew the Friesens (that is virtually all the family campers) have no plans of returning to a camp that is not directed by Paul & Virginia.

Seeing these guys on the beach early this evening was delightful. We will be terribly disappointed if we are never at a camp with them again, but knowing that we will spend eternity with them is so very wonderful. We love them like family. They are family! We’re going to live forever with them. Family camp for eternity would be fabulous.

God bless the Friesens,
God bless you,
God bless us all!

From Cayucos on
California’s Central Coast,
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol
and Chloe, Mitzi, and Max