With a very tender heart and more gratitude to God than we could possibly express, we are announcing this past Camp Joy will be our last. Not because Jesus has ceased to show up or we have lost our passion for Camp Joy; it would be so much easier if either or both of those things were true. Fact is, we have never loved it or appreciated it more.

We can honestly say that lifting high the name of Jesus and sharing His love with His children with such an amazing group of servants has been unparalleled in Joy. Sometimes we can be too close to something to see how good God has been to us; that is simply not true in this case. We are well aware that what God has extended to us over the past 16 years is rare. His faithfulness has been so great that there isn’t enough ink or paper to put it down. We have watched children give their hearts to Christ, students share the Gospel for the first time, so many smiles, lots of laughter and the Joy of the Lord as the children would Worship His Holy Name together. He Has Been So Good!!

Angie and I have prayed about this for over a year. Our prayer has always been that God would not make us stop Camp Joy but just allow us to walk away in peace. Over the past 16 years it has been mostly the same core group of servants, which we are well aware is another gift from the Lord. However, their ministries have grown and they need to be able to put more of their love, time and complete devotion into those ministries. We are so humbled by their continued love and support of what God called us to do for all these years. We had no clue how to make Camp Joy happen when God called us; however, Adam Mikel, Drew Hogan, Heath Dorning, Heath Haney and Steve Hargrove jumped in and said let’s do it. And for all these years they have walked alongside us. Not just these wonderful men, but so many others helping with administrative duties, serving in the kitchen, our nurses loving on scrapped knees, students willing to lead and serve, bus drivers, greeters, those here to do whatever is needed, and those who gave financially have all been so faithful. We lack the words and composure to say how much we love these people and how much they mean to us.

In no way are we done serving Jesus. We are excited to see how He uses us in this next season of our lives. As we have aged changes have come to our family and lives that need more of our attention. Also, we know He will open doors for us to tell others about Him and show the Love of Jesus.

Saying we have crossed the finish line with Camp Joy is a good thing but also a very painful thing. We never thought God would continue to use us in this way for all these years and again we couldn’t have without so many. Our prayer is that He has been pleased with all of our efforts. The Joy in Camp Joy stands for Jesus, Others, Yourself. May that be how we all continue to live every day of our lives. Also, may the children who have attended Camp Joy take that and go do great things for Jesus. Romans 11:36 says, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him Be the glory forever. Amen!” May He always get the Glory for Camp Joy; and we can’t wait until we see Him face to face to get to thank Him for the journey!

In His Love,

Tim and Angie Fogg