In April we announced the establishment of a swimming pool fund to begin collecting money for the construction of a pool in the near future at Camp Iroquoina. The idea of building a pool has been of particular interest for many years. Many people have approached board members about their interest in constructing a pool and the board had decided to officially kickstart the efforts by establishing a swimming pool fund.
The Lord, through the generosity of His saints, is what has kept Camp Iroquoina going for over half a century, and when there is widespread interest to give toward an area or project at Camp, we don’t want to hold back the Lord’s people from exercising stewardship.
While a definitive timeline was not announced, the hope was that we would be able to make this idea a reality sooner rather than later. Some initial rough estimates gave us a sense that such a project may cost around $150,000-$160,000. Our initial thought was that if at least a third of the estimated cost (~$50,000) was collected via the swimming pool fund, we would match a third (~$50,000) from reserve monies designated toward a major project. Then as for the final portion, we would seek a loan for ~$50,000. If we indeed pursued this plan, our preferred option would be to get a loan through Stewards Foundation as the loan interest they receive helps fund their Health Care Assistance Program (HCAP) for commended workers across the country. Thus, even in getting a loan for this project, the Lord’s people would be supported.
We share all these details with you in an effort toward clear communication and full transparency as many questions have been fielded this year in regard to this effort. Many of you want to know so you can get a sense of how far your support will go to get the ball rolling. We are extremely thankful for the investment many of you have already made into this project fund. In less than seven months, $29,000 has already been collected toward the swimming pool fund.
We hope you can understand that we are still early on in this process and many things can change. For example, we are looking at getting our first official quote in the next few weeks which will get us a better sense if our initial $150,000-$160,000 estimate is accurate, or whether it is higher or lower in price. Also, while a very brief conversation has begun with Stewards Foundation to get a sense of whether they would work with us, nothing official has begun. Finally, we don’t know what the Lord has in store for us in the coming months. Maybe before our next newsletter the Lord’s people could pour out support in such an amazing way where a loan doesn’t even need to be pursued? We are excited about this project both for the practical purpose that a pool can provide to campers and also to see how the Lord continues to provide through His people!
For those interested in helping fund the swimming pool fund, you can give online and select the “Swimming Pool Fund” under “Please direct my support.” Checks mailed to Camp can also go toward the fund with “Swimming Pool Fund” in the memo.
