Camp Grace - Summer 2023

Camp Grace allows youth to soar above their realities. The children of St Thomas USVI are smart, vibrant and full of potential and this potential is allowed to bud at Camp Grace. Camp Grace has been a huge success. It is also a welcomed alternative to, in some cases, unsupervised summers. We are hitting the ground running for Summer 2023 and we need your support!

We need supplies, funding for food and toiletries and help to restore the building the children stay in. Every donation helps!

Read a powerful testimony from someone who attended camp decades ago!

My name is Satish Reese, and I was born on the island of St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands. There were seven boys and two girls being raised in a very dysfunctional home. At age 8, I began to realize my home was not a safe place. My father was an alcoholic and abusive to my mother. At age 11, I remember asking my mom how old someone had to be to leave home. My mother was heartbroken that I felt this way, but I did not feel safe in my home.

One day I went for a walk in our neighborhood and stumbled upon Bluewater Bible College. I had no idea what it was but was curious. I met some of the college students who invited me to a Friday night youth group at the nearby Calvary Baptist Church. I had so much fun, felt alive and loved.

This was the beginning of regularly leaving home to go to church events. I would either catch a van ride from Bluewater Bible College or hitchhike. I didn’t care if I had my parent’s permission to go. I was drawn towards happiness. I continued to sneak out of the house to attend youth group which led to regularly attending church on Sunday and accepting Jesus as my personal Savior.

Calvary Baptist Church announced they were hosting a summer camp for kids called Camp Fortuna. I was invited to be a counselor for this month-long student camp. This was an immediate yes because it gave me four weeks with a place to stay. Little did I know the impact it would have on my life.

Camp, which was held at Bluewater Bible College, was magical. We did arts and crafts, learned bible verses, did skits, basketball, traveled to the beach to fish and play sports, sat around the campfire singing worship songs, and giggled through the night performing the typical toothpaste on face pranks. All the things that did not happen in my home.

God saved my life through camp. It provided a platform for me to be open with my life story without being judged. Without Calvary Baptist Church and Bluewater Bible College, I would not be who I am today. It helped make the rough early years into something beautiful. Today, I am a proud husband and father and a Marriage Family Therapist and focus on youth at risk.

The annual summer camp is hosted now by Grace Baptist Church and still held at Bluewater Bible College. My family was blessed to visit the camp at the beach last summer and quickly realized they needed support, and that the college needed great restoration. Over the last few years,the pandemic, and inflation have had a direct effect on the church being able to supply what is needed to love on the kids. In addition, the college is still behind on restoring the site after hurricanes Irma and Maria that devastated the island in 2017. Roughly 1 in 4 children are under the poverty line in St. Thomas and this camp leans into the kids on the island who need love, support and food the most.

Grace Baptist Church is seeking to raise $25K for camp supplies, travel expenses, food expenses and character building activities.

Bluewater Bible College needs a minimum of $125K to restore the campus to meet safety standards for camp. The railings on the two story building, stairways and walkways need desperate restoration.

I was so blessed by this camp and want to help the church and college to continue this incredible work. My family plans to volunteer at the 2023 summer camp. This camp may be the only time these kids hear about God and receive love and joy. Please consider donating to this cause. In addition, we have created an Amazon registry called CAMP GRACE 2023 to buy sporting goods, snacks, hygiene supplies, etc.

I thank you in advance for helping these children. May we together continue to be committed to following fearlessly wherever God is leading us and make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of St. Thomas and the world!