OMS’ Camp Peña de Horeb in Spain celebrated 50 years of ministry with a celebratory long weekend from October 2 to 5. The time was filled with shared memories, reunions between former camp attendees, and a deep presence of the Holy Spirit.
As one camper shared the story of how she came to know Christ at the camp, tears welled up in the crowd. Forty years ago, when Maru was only 14, someone she’d never met made it possible for her to attend a youth camp—free of charge.
“I came from a working-class neighborhood,” she said. “I feel very grateful to those who gave so I could come. I’m the result of the efforts of people I don’t even know.”
One day at camp, a counselor once told her, “You sweep very well.” Seemingly simple and silly words, but they reached a young girl struggling with low self-esteem. Later that week, while listening to a woman share her testimony and play guitar, Maru began to cry.
“I didn’t know why,” she said, “but now I understand the Holy Spirit was touching my heart.”
That moment marked the beginning of her walk with Christ.
Decades later, Maru and her husband André—whom she met at the camp—serve together to help others encounter the same life-changing love of Jesus she first experienced there.
For 50 years, Camp Peña de Horeb has been holy ground. It’s been a place where young hearts first hear the voice of God, where tears turn to joy, and where lives begin again in Christ. Happy 50th anniversary, Camp Peña de Horeb! Here’s to every first encounter with Jesus, every deeper walk in Christ, and many more fruitful years of blessing others.
