WARSAW – Laughter is a major ingredient for camp, and for the Deaf Youth Camp, it is especially sweet.
“There is so much laughter all week long,” Vivian Crowley, director of the camp, said. “Sometimes I tease the new staff that there is never any laughter. They soon learn that is not the case.”
Crowley grew up with three deaf siblings, an older sister and two younger brothers, and she knows the importance of the ministry.
“There are thirty-five million deaf in the world,” she said. “Nineteen hundred die daily worldwide without knowing about Jesus. It is really an unreached people group.”
The camp was started in 1982 with founder, the late Linda Whiggam. “We’ve had as many as 75 attending in one year from five states. Next year, we will be celebrating 45 years,” Crowley said. “We have plans to have a large celebration and invite former campers and staff. We will also go from four days of camp to five days.”
Extensive planning goes into all Crowley and the staff do for the week. “All the staff members except for Crowley and the nurse are deaf,” she said. “It is important for the children to see deaf adults.”
“All the instructions and Bible stories must be visual,” she continued. “The story that we had this week was about Samson fighting the Philistine men with the jawbone of a donkey. We took the campers to a donkey rescue for them to interact with the donkeys. We were also blessed that they had an actual jawbone of a donkey so that they could see it from the Bible.”
“We have one story for the whole week,” she added. “Later in the week, we talk about what it means and how it applies to me.”
Crowley and the staff keep the campers busy with many activities. In addition to the donkey rescue, they visited a Fish Hatchery run by the Missouri Department of Conservation. They do crafts, outside activities and enjoy inflatables.
“The laughter really erupts during our ‘Minute to Win It’ games,” Crowley explained. “After chapel, we need some time to set up for snacks, so the campers are given challenges.”
Crowley described some examples:
• “A Bit Dicey” – the camper must stack five or six dice on a tongue depressor in their mouths.
• “Baby Rattle” – the camper holds two-liter bottles taped together with gum balls that they must shake from one to the other.
“We are able to show the campers the videos of these games, so that they know what to do,” she said. “The laughter comes from the other campers watching.”
“These children come from homes where only 25% of the families can sign with their children,” Crowley said. “That is why our staff and volunteer selection is so important. We want the spiritual needs of the children met. We want those working with our campers to have a heart felt relationship with the Father that our campers don’t get at home. If a kid is nudged that they are a sinner, we want our staff to answer any question they might have.”
The camp this year was held at Baptist Ridge in Warsaw, Mo. The Fellowship Baptist Association operates the camp.
“We appreciate Randy Festervand, DOM and camp director for Baptist Ridge,” Crowley said. “He does so much for our camp and shares what we are doing in churches.”
The Deaf Youth Camp is financed through gifts from churches and individuals. “The Father provides for us exactly what we need,” Crowley said. “We never worry about where the money will come from because this is His camp and His kids. From the beginning, any child who wants to come, we find a place for them.”
“Sometimes,” she added, “it breaks our heart to send them back to the world. Many times, tears are shed and they share that they don’t want to leave. They say, ‘You take me for who I am and you don’t try to fix me.’”
