Greetings,
This is an introductory “deeper understanding” page for our Catholic publications readers who click the link.
Please feel free to call with questions. (828) 884-6834
See testimonials below from Scott and Kimberly Hahn, Fr Dwight Longenecker & Patrick Madrid.
We are traditional North Carolina summer camps with Christian ideals, owned and directed by Roman Catholics. These camps are terrific homes for Catholic campers …as well as campers who are Jewish, from other Christian denominations and those who have not yet awakened in their faith.
We don’t wave a big Christian or Catholic “flag” on our website because, although most all of our parents and campers know the faith dimensions of our camp, we want to be an outreach for kids who are not deeply familiar with their faith.
We hire staff who are serious about their faith. We then surround our campers with other campers and staff who love their faith and walk it out daily. We never want to push. We treat the campers as friends and with respect. In this context, our camp is a place where faith tends to blossom.
We have Mass at camp and a very wonderful and clear Catholic presence. Through this, many have grown in their faith. We also have had a very significant number of conversions and vocations without being a “Bible camp” which can frequently push young men and women away from the opportunity of a deeper faith life.
Fr. Dwight Longenecker expresses our philosophy well in his blog “Standing on my Head,”
This is an idea central to a Catholic philosophy of evangelization: that others will ‘catch Christianity’ not so much through overt evangelization efforts (although they are important) but through the personal example and personal contact with individuals for whom the faith is real and vital. Here are Catholics who run a camp that is driven by their love of God, their desire to help form young minds and hearts in the image of Christ and their natural enthusiasm for the life of the Spirit and all of this is expressed not so much in lots of explicit talk of religion, but simply by running a terrific camp in a professional, fun and dynamic way.
This is how the Catholic faith should change the world…
Camps Chosatonga and Kahdalea are just one of so many great apostolates I come across. They inspire and encourage me because I realize that the laity like David and Anne Trufant are doing things that I as a priest cannot do. …We work together.
Other Testimonials
Scott and Kimberly Hahn
“David and Anne Trufant are providing a wonderful service to families by offering summer camping opportunities to their children. Each year they establish an outstanding summer staff who assist in the development of the young people intellectually, socially, and spiritually. One of our sons was a staff member. He confirmed the excellence of this summer camp from a counselor’s perspective as well as the campers’ perspective from those he assisted. We would recommend the camp very highly.”
Love, Scott and Kimberly Hahn
Patrick Madrid, Envoy Magazine
“[My time at the camps] was fun and rewarding for me personally, what with… the breathtakingly beautiful scenery of the camp (which is nestled in the foothills of Pisgah National Forest in Western North Carolina)… and the camp staff, especially the warm and wonderful Catholic couple who own and operate it, Dave and Anne Trufant… I should also mention that I had a huge time whitewater rafting with the kids, but that’s a story for another time…”
Patrick Madrid, Envoy Magazine, vol 9.4