Camp Update – April 14

Happy Easter! Christ is risen!

As we continue to endure the uncertainty of life in the midst of this pandemic, thanks be to God we have certain victory over sin and death through the life, death, and RESURRECTION of Jesus. It’s been a little more than three weeks since we’ve updated you all about the Coronavirus pandemic’s impact to Camp Io–Dis–E–Ca.A few key updates include:

The Family Campground is closed indefinitely. The governor also ordered recreational camping be stopped at least until April 30. Because of financial concern due to the pandemic, we’ve implemented a soft spending freeze until we feel confident our ability to spend dollars will be met with income. So once we’re given direction as to when recreational camping opens up, we’ll need a bit of time get our Family Campground ready to go. We’ll update you as soon as we get it up and running.

With regards to summer camp, we’re going to continue patience in this time. We’re waiting to see what the coming weeks bring to see how our upcoming summer camp season is impacted. We’re still hoping on summer camp as we have planned it, but we have also developed some alternative summer camp contingencies should the pandemic disrupt our current summer camp schedule. We’re going to announce those possibilities on April 24, with final decisions no later than May 22, and we certainly want to have a decision before that. Our first day of summer camp is scheduled for June 17.

We’re still receiving registrations, and if you want to secure your spot for summer camp, do so today by registering online at campiodiseca.org. Prices go up $10 after April 27, so you have a great chance to save money by registering before then.

If you are one of our spring or summer retreat groups, outdoor education groups, or family reunions, you’re likely waiting on direction from our public health officials just as we are. A key consideration in hosting any event for the foreseeable future, aside from direct health and safety from COVID-19, is restrictions on mass-gatherings. Currently, gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited in Iowa. We are uncertain when that order and/or recommendation will be lifted, but when it is lifted, there could be a new recommendation of 25 or 50 people to go into effect, rather than unlimited amounts of people. Again, the next few weeks will be key in identifying whether or not mass-gathering limitations will continue and for how long.

Our next Camp update will be on April 24, which is the end of next week. Our hope is that we’ll have a better picture of what things look like at that time. After that, we plan to give you an update each Friday as we have new information.

God be with you in this time, and keep you safe from all danger, especially from COVID-19! We look forward to serving you soon!