Pruning Season
Unbeknownst to many, Peña de Horeb, has an olive grove that was once filled with flourishing olive trees. Walking through the dry grove, hearing the crackle of parched soil beneath, the trees have just begun growing again as the drought in Spain has finally concluded. But without care and attention, the tall trees have begun growing low-hanging leaves, creating an issue, a need, a new season to embark on: the pruning.
Aaron DePue alongside Claudia and Jorge in the Peña kitchen.
Our cherished Peña de Horeb camp, located in the beautiful desert oasis of Spain two hours east of Madrid, has been in a season of drought for several years. The camp has more similarities with its environment than was originally thought. Staffing issues, low camp registration, and neglected facilities were just the beginning of this dry season. However, much like the end of the drought for the olive groves, One Mission Society has brought rain to end the drought season for the camp. Aaron and Shannon DePue, the regional business-as-mission coordinators, have begun the long process of reviving the camp. Facility renovations and the blessing of hiring new camp directors, Claudia and Jorge Luis, have brought life into the much-loved camp facility. Yet similar to the olive grove, the lack of water was not the only negative contributor to the decline of the camp. The lack of attention was also a determining factor in its slow deterioration. Recently, Aaron DePue shared about the new season Peña has just begun to step into: the pruning.
Founded in 1975, Peña de Horeb is a gem in the Spain field. In the early 70s, OMS had a booming ministry hosting local churches and camps. Fifty years of ministry with nearly 3,000 attendants per year was a clear sign of a flourishing ministry. Now, years later, Aaron DePue has a growing vision for the camp. This summer, his vision finally began to flourish when, for the very first time, Peña put on two bilingual summer camps of its own. “I believe they exceeded all expectations,” Aaron said when commenting about the camp experience. OMS had two churches travel from America to the Spain field to work alongside Claudia and Jorge organizing the two summer camps. “These churches really came prepared,” Aaron commented. “It was excellent, high energy, lots of music, fun and sports.” The two Bible camps were focused on sports with an exciting Olympic theme for the summer. Yet OMS had really focused on not only making sure this camp was exciting for the campers, but also memorable and transformative.
Meghan in the olive grove.
“Most importantly, it was a lot of discipleship.” A majority of the American volunteers were 16-17 years old, making their connection with the kids almost seamless. “The 8-12-year-old kids really connected well with that age group of youth.” Aaron continued to share about the influential relationship between the American volunteers and the campers. “It was really cool to see how they interacted with each other and how much the little kids looked up to the older kids.” With the help of the volunteers, God used discipleship as a means of transformation in the camp. The outcome was greater than anyone had imagined. God worked in many of the campers' lives, and for some, it was an eternal shift. “What happened in the end is that through the grace of God, we had six children profess faith for the first time,” Aaron shared, with excitement and emotion in his voice.
But it was not without challenges that these camps were able to flourish through this pruning season. “Our leadership and the staff were not sure how it was going to happen…we didn’t know if it was going to happen.” Aaron shared about the difficulty in trying to find campers for the first-ever camp. The summer was drawing near and still little to no campers were registered. “We have faith that the Lord is going to provide,” and provide He did. In no time, the number of campers registered tripled. “In one month, 30 kids signed up for camp…[an] answer to prayer.” Living in a pruning season, there are always challenges as old parts are cut off and cleared away, but God continues to provide.
Aaron continued to describe the challenges Peña has faced. Staffing the camps and camper registration growth are among those challenges, yet “...the biggest thing is trying to understand how this place can be a light in the community where it is at.” The vision of Peña de Horeb is not only to provide campers with an exciting and spiritually transformative experience, but the goal is for it to “be a place of refuge…a place of worship…and [ultimately] to start a church here.” Aaron believes that Peña is not just a place for transformative summer camps; Peña is also a place for the community to not only grow but to flourish. As the camp has continued to thrive, grow and develop, the vision for Peña is to reach into the community and be a light in the darkness right where it is, acting as the local river does, nourishing the soul. With the shift into a new pruning season, Peña, alongside its olive groves, has begun to flourish.
