Where is your perfect place to get away and reconnect with God? In what sacred spaces have you heard His voice and responded to His calling? Where has God trained you for the ministry you are a part of each and every day?

For many women across North Carolina, this space is Camp Mundo Vista. A small plot of land on a mountaintop near Asheboro, Camp Mundo Vista has impacted the world, and this year celebrates 50 years of being a training ground for women in missions and ministry!

Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina (WMU-NC) established Camp Mundo Vista in 1969 as a Girls in Action (GA) camp where girls could come for a week during the summer to escape everyday life, encounter God, interact with missionaries and learn to listen for God’s calling on their lives. The women of WMU-NC knew many missionaries had surrendered to God’s call at camps such as this, and they wanted to provide that opportunity for girls in North Carolina. As Sara Ann Hobbs, one of the original dreamers of Camp Mundo Vista, said in her dedication speech in June 1969, “we … aim to develop that heart sensitivity to the voice of God that makes it easy for Him to be heard and makes it imperative that He be followed.”

In the past 50 years, God has certainly fulfilled this original dream for the camp! Today, there are missionaries who have served in many places around the world who trace their callings back to Camp Mundo Vista.

Kimberley Johnson, staff member from 1987-1991, recalls, “I answered God’s call into missions sitting on a rock in Unit 2 during my quiet time. God sent me to Bogota, Colombia, to serve with the [International Mission Board] International Service Corps.”

Martha, who was on staff in 1996 and who took her daughter to Mother-Daughter camp several years ago said, “Camp Mundo Vista encouraged my own daughter to pray about God’s leading of missions in her future and planted the seed for a mission opportunity for us to experience together.” After staying in contact with the missionary they had met at camp that summer, Martha and her daughter traveled to Thailand last year to help host medical clinics.

For every woman who has served internationally or become a career missionary, there have been hundreds of others who have dedicated their lives to the Lord at Camp Mundo Vista and chosen to live on mission every day because of their time there.

Though initially just for GA camps, Camp Mundo Vista developed into so much more. In the off-season, different organizations hold meetings there, and WMU-NC utilizes the facilities for retreats and trainings. There have been specific events for minister’s wives, military wives, teenagers, college students, missionary kids, and many other groups. One especially meaningful tradition at Camp Mundo Vista each year is the retreat for women incarcerated in the N.C. prison system. God has moved through this retreat in mighty ways by reminding inmates, counselors and volunteers alike of His grace for each of us and by restoring lives to Him.

Over the past 50 years, Camp Mundo Vista has undergone many changes. The facilities have been updated, the pathway to the Outdoor Chapel is now paved, and there is a new zipline among many other things.

Though much is different, God’s presence is still tangible, the mission is still the same, and the view is still breathtaking. Though you physically look out on a small forest, at Camp Mundo Vista your heart begins viewing the world through God’s eyes.

There is much to celebrate, and WMU-NC wants you to be part of this historic year! Here are four ways you can join Camp Mundo Vista’s awesome story:

• On June 1, 2019, WMU-NC will host a 50th anniversary celebration and a reunion for all former camp staff. If you worked at Camp Mundo Vista, please come celebrate with us. Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime event to worship with your Mundo sisters! Please check out MundoReunion.com and register today!

• Another great way to get involved is to make Camp Mundo Vista part of your children’s ministry at your church. WMU-NC is hosting a one-day missions event for boys and girls on March 9, and preparations are already underway for a fantastic girls’ camp and mother-daughter camp this summer. Spots fill up quickly, so visit wmunc.org and make your reservations today.

• Please also consider giving a gift in honor of Camp Mundo Vista’s anniversary to the Heck-Jones Offering, which funds WMU-NC and all its events. Visit wmunc.org for more information about the offering and to give online.

• Finally, please celebrate with us by praising God for all He has done at and through Camp Mundo Vista, and by praying for His continued blessings for another 50 years.

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Allison L. Markwood is the assistant recording secretary for Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina and formerly served on the camp staff at Camp Mundo Vista. She attends Mercy Hill Church in Greensboro.)