Ci 2.0 Preparations Underway

February 2015 Newsletter

A BIT of News from Ci
Ci 2.0 Preparations Underway

• New Trade-Show Booth
• Cedarville University Recruiting & Tour
• Higher Ground Camp & Conference Center Tour
• Answers in Genesis Planning 
• Help Us Promote Ci 2.0
• Meet Ci 2.0 Team
• Ci by the Numbers
• Blessings & Needs
• Perspectives on Giving

New Trade-Show Booth

One of the requirements to grow Ci is putting together a highly qualified and trained summer staff team. It is our summer staff team, primarily the counselors, who connect closely with our campers to deliver C.A.M.P. (Creation Apologetics Made Personal). We maintain a much lower camper to counselor ratio than most camps in order to help us most effectively reach the hearts of our campers for God. So we knew we needed a trade-show booth we would take around to various Christian Colleges and recruit summer staff. How excited we are to show you a picture of our booth the Lord provided through the generous donation of one of our supporters who saw the strategic value of investing in tools to help us promote Ci.






The other exciting thing about this booth is that it was designed by an experienced creative designer who also heads up the creative design team for Answers in Genesis, a ministry we work very closely with to equip our campers with solid Bible answers in science and technology. On this trip, I also found out one of the reasons Joel is able to combine graphic design with computer programming to create some very impacting web apps.  During his senior year of college as a graphic design major, I advised him to take his first computer programming course. That brought tears to my eyes to see how God had used me in this small way to help prepare a young man to be able to provide the necessary web design assets for Answers in Genesis and now Camp Infinity! To God be the glory for how He uses people to impact people for His glory!



Cedarville University Recruiting & Tour
The first college we took our new booth to was Cedarville University. A Christian college with a strong engineering program, CU is an excellent school from which to recruit counselors for a STEM camp with a solid biblical worldview. Located on the frozen tundra of central Ohio, CU is also hosting one of our Ci 2.0 camps this summer. Our Ci Team, which consisted of all southerners, gained a greater appreciation for those who are called to areas of brutal winters as our CU host gave us tour of the dormitory faculties we will be using for our campers. Our Child Safety Team was very pleased with the level of security of the dorms.

While the weather outside was formidable, the warm hospitality we received from both the students and staff warmed our heart and confirmed in our minds this will be a great place for our 5-Day STEM & Apologetics Camp, July 13-17. We also enjoyed meeting with our very first CU counselor, Katie Malik from Denver, CO. I have known Katie since she was born. Her father and I taught together on the Computer Science Faulty of Bob Jones University. What a blessing to now have her part of the Ci 2.0 Team!! We were among 40 camps who participated in CU's Camp Fair. We had the privilege of talking to dozens of STEM majors as well as some of the tremendously talented faulty. Charlie, our bit based mascot, provided great attention getting entertainment as he explored the space in front our booth. 



Higher Ground Camp & Conference Center Tour

Higher Ground Camp & Conference Center is where our 7-Day Camp, July 5-11, will be held.  We were able to take an informative tour of many areas of the camp ground including the dorm where the students will take up residence for the week of camp.  Our Child Safety Team was able to assess the sleeping and restroom areas to make sure that all times at camp are as safe for each student as possible. We are thankful to have this opportunity to grow a strong relationship with HGCCC. Having access to a camp facility of high quality that is built upon a strong Christian philosophy is a huge praise and blessing for Camp Infinity. We are trusting the Lord will open the doors for us to develop or own STEM specific property in His time one day. Until then we will maintain healthy relationships with camps like Higher Ground. 


Answers in Genesis Planning

The planning crew at AiG amazes our Ci Team every time we meet with them.  The efficiency with which they help us plan is astounding.  Not only do they help us by enabling our touring of the Creation Museum, they help us by making detailed arrangements for the following:  food while at the museum, speakers for the camp weeks, rooms for activities while at the museum, Planetarium showings,   
Men in White viewings, as well as all the scheduling details of each activity that takes place at the Creation Museum.  This crew is like a well oiled machine that works behind the scenes so that we can offer the best experience for each student who spends a week with us at Ci.  We are thrilled that each camper who attends Ci will be exposed to the tremendous apologetics teaching and resources made available to us by AiG.


Help us promote Ci 2.0

We have produced 2 exciting videos you can share with other families to help promote Ci. 

• Youth Camps: http://www.campinfinity.com/video/
• College Camp: http://www.campinfinity.com/video/collegepromo2015

Meet Ci 2.0 Team

As the founder of this new and very unprecedented camp ministry, along the journey I enjoy seeing the Lord give confirmations of His calling me to this work. One of them is when folks are led to give to our Scholarship Donation Fund which assists families with academically gifted students who cannot afford the full cost of a STEM camp. Another very strong confirmation is when God calls others to be part of the Ci Team. Each year I am blessed to have a front row seat as I see who He selects to bring on the bus to help carry out the mission of Ci. In this new section of A BIT of News from Ci, we will showcase some of the team members in each issue. Here is what each one had to say when asked the question "why do you want to be part of the Ci 2.0 Team?"


Emily Barney, Assistant to the Director
I chose to be a part of Camp Infinity because I am passionate about child safety.
As a mother of two boys and as a Children's Ministries Director at my local church, I see the need in our day to make sure children are protected from those who would seek to harm them.  I also enjoy organizing events -- both big and small!  I am thankful to be a part of this amazing camp that will touch the heads and hearts of many gifted children.

I choose to be a part of Ci 2.0 because I want to impact lives for eternity. As a junior mathematics major, I thoroughly love learning about STEM and helping others learn. Through Camp Infinity, I hope students will see the wonder and joy that comes through learning. But most importantly I want students to come away with a deeper relationship with the One who created it all. I want students to understand how God’s Word is the foundation for understanding all that we see in the world. I hope students will see that they are stewards of all that God has given them and are to be motivated to glorify God through all they learn and do.

At Camp Infinity I’m looking forward to helping young people understand the world around them and how the Word of God relates to that world. Through the various sessions, tours and activities we’re looking to inspire campers to study STEM and equip them to be maturing servants of God. I think Camp Infinity is one way we can help prepare another generation to be light and salt in fields that are often spiritually dark.

Justin Crews, Lead Counselor
I came to Ci 1.0 with my mind studied up and ready for questions. I realized that answers to my questions were dependent on my relationship with the Lord and my interpretation of Scripture through my finite understanding. Ci 1.0 was instrumental in my life. It gave me an opportunity to allow God’s wisdom to shine forth in order to respond to incredibly intelligent kids’ questions. Science and technology did meet truth at Ci 1.0. My desire is to help the Lord’s people see His plan in their life at Ci 2.0 as He did in my life at Ci 1.0.


 

Ci by the Numbers  

Blessings & Needs

• Ci 2.0 applications have exceeded Ci 1.0
• Ci 2.0 registrations have exceeded Ci 1.0
• Contracted 
  • Program Manager
  • Lead Counselor
  • 2 STEM Teachers
  • 6 counselors
• 49 $300 scholarships received toward our goal of 85
• contracted an experienced graphic designer!
• PRAYER REQUEST: 5 additional guy counselors
• PRAYER REQUEST: 36 $300 scholarships for Ci 2.0 scholarship fund
• PRAYER REQUEST: 200 campers
• PRAYER REQUEST: Clearwater Christian College recruiting (Feb 16)
• PRAYER REQUEST: promotion of our new Conflicting Worldview College Camp

Perspectives on Giving

As a business man for the past 30 years, I have been blessed to be on the giving side of many ministries. Now as the founder of Ci, I find myself in a very different position - asking others to give. A friend, whom I serve with on the board of Answers in Genesis, recently shared an experience he had that gave me encouragement. He was attending a seminar on how to raise funds. When asked why he was having trouble raising funds for his ministry, my friend replied "well there are other ministries with greater needs! How could I raise money to support the work in Jackson Hole (a vacation spot for many) when I live there and there are so many greater needs around the world?" To which the seminar leader responded "If God called you there then that is the legitimate basis for your asking others for support in the Lord's work." My heart was greatly encouraged by this man's observation. In computer programming terms we call this a conditional statement, or If-Then. If God called you - this is something I trust every believer in Jesus Christ has dealt with, what has God called me to do? I am very confident God has called and uniquely equipped me to start Camp Infinity. I also know that not every family to whom the Creator has given an academically gifted child, has the financial resources to be able to send them to a top quality STEM camp. 

If you would like to donate to our Scholarship Donation Fund which partners with families with academically gifted students who cannot afford the full cost of a STEM camp, you can donate securely using PayPal. Designate your donation to [email protected] which is registered with PayPal or use this secure donation link. If you would prefer to write a check, make it out to "Camp Infinity" and mail to 122 Montverde Drive, Greenville, SC 29609. Your entire donation will be used to help academically gifted and financially needy students attend Ci 2.0. Camp Infinity is a registered 501c3 with the IRS.

Thank you for your interest and prayers for Ci. We rejoice as we see God's hand in assembly the Ci 2.0 Team. We are having our 2nd meeting this Thursday. Plans are well under way for another exciting summer of inspiring STEM & biblical apologetics camps!

Dan Wooster
Founder & Director
Camp Infinity, Where Science & Technology Meet Truth

Camp Infinity

Where Science & Technology Meet Truth