Skyview Ranch gears up for busy and blessed activities

  • By Shelly Webb
  • April 25, 2011
  • 368
                        
What’s new at Skyview? That question never gets completely answered because the truth of the matter is, there is always something going on at the local Christian ranch and camp and it’s always exciting. “There really is always something new going on at Skyview,” said Ryan Simmons, media specialist for the ranch. “That’s pretty much a constant.” Getting more specific, however, Simmons shared that in the realm of construction, Skyview has done major renovations on its Wildwood Chapel facility, and will be adding a deck that stretches way out into the forest, and actually incorporates the trees into its construction. This will bring the beauty of God’s nature closer to the chapel and create a breathtaking scene. In addition to the renovations of the chapel, the ranch has been working on other projects and improvements. “We will also be finishing our covered wagon cabin project soon as well,” Simmons shared. “Our covered wagon cabins actually look like Conestoga wagons, but sleep eight people and have their own electrical connection and air ventilation. We simply hook them to a tractor and roll them to their home from week to week. We have built 10 wagons, and have two more left to go. Each has been built by volunteers from local churches, and we are looking for two more volunteer groups to help us wrap up the project.” Skyview is especially grateful to their volunteers, and appreciates the amazing support they get every year from local churches and ministries. “We couldn’t do all that we do without our volunteers and the local churches of the community. They really are amazing,” Simmons added. The ranch has made changes in their programs as well. “Program-wise, we are moving forward with our day camp program, pioneer camp and aviation camp, all of which piloted last year and were huge successes,” Simmons said. “New this year is our water sports camp and we’re excited about it. We will be taking high school students to Lake Buckhorn for a day, where they will wake board, water ski and tube all day before joining the normal high school camp program for dinner. Local water-loving friends of the camp will be working with us to provide boats and safe drivers to make this an awesome week of camp.” The ranch has also launched a new website for their guest season (August-May); http://www.beourguest.skyviewranch.org features photos of the camp, pricing and lots of information for anyone who wants to use Skyview Ranch for their group event. “We launched this site in February and are excited to see churches, weddings and family reunions already being booked from that website.” Full operation at Skyview gets underway on Memorial Day, when all 70 staff members begin their 275-plus hours of training, including first aid and CPR, along with job training in their various departments. After two weeks of training, camp will officially begin June 13. “From this point, we will be running four camp programs per week, for eight weeks,” Simmons said. “We are running seven different types of programs, including day camp (first through third grade), junior camp (fourth through sixth grade), pioneer camp (sixth grade), junior high camp (seventh and eighth grade), high school camp (ninth through 12th grade), aviation camp (ninth through 12th grade) and water sports camp (ninth through 12th grade).” While Skyview encourages community members to participate in any of their programs, they especially want them to be aware of their day camp program. “I would like to place a special emphasis on day camp,” Simmons said. “We will be running day camp all eight weeks of camp this summer. Every day, camp starts with breakfast at 8 in the morning, and campers get to ride horses, play in our petting farm, go swimming, have fun at chapel and hear the word of God. Each afternoon these campers head home in time for dinner, and get to do it all over again the next morning. It’s an awesome summer experience.” Even though Skyview ministers to hundreds of kids every year, they also have great events slated for adults and families. “Skyview has an awesome event coming Memorial [Day] weekend for families,” Simmons said. “Families come and stay at the ranch and help get the camp ready for the summer, helping clean the camp and assisting with some of those building projects. The rest of the weekend we will have lots of fun, swimming, high adventure, horseback riding and lots of great food. There is no cost for this Memorial [Day] work weekend event.” There is also a men’s retreat planned at the ranch April 28-30, featuring Bruce McDonald as speaker. There will be great activities planned such as trap shooting, marksmanship tournaments, horseback riding, paintball and naturally the signature, mountains of great food. All men are welcome to take some time and head to the ranch. The ladies retreat will be held this year Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, where the women will enjoy pampering such as massages, facials, manicures, tons of chocolate, excellent dining, and speaking by Sue Miller. According to Simmons, Skyview is always open and available to serve local churches and the community. “Guest groups are here all the time to ride our horses and stay in the beauty of our ranch,” he shared. “We send staff out every week to speak at churches and do training sessions for horses, media, ministry, games and much more. We love being a help to those around us, and we hope to assist in any way possible.”


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