Camp Maranatha

Camp Maranatha is the property of Upper Magdalena Conference in Municipio Cachipay, Cundinamarca, which is 70 kilometers from Bogotá. It hosts many events that the Church in Colombia organizes.

Events that Led to Establishing Camp Maranatha

For many years, Upper Magdalena Conference had held events that many people from different regions of Colombia attended. They generally rented a Mennonite Church campsite named El Recreo, which was next to the road that led to Municipio Anolaima, Cundinamarca.¹ The Seventh-day Adventist Church wished to acquire its own property for its various congresses and youth camps and to develop a project that would care for elderly people.² Providentially, during the 1970s, an Adventist woman named Marina de Rodríguez who was living in the United States contacted Pastor Henry Nieman about a property near El Recreo that she was selling. The conference considered this God’s response to its prayers.

Establishing the Camp

Pastor Nieman contacted Marina de Rodríguez, and, after proper negotiations, the church proceeded to purchase the property in Municipio Cachipay, Cundinamarca, which was 70 kilometers from Bogotá. The property was named “Maranatha” for the hope of Jesus’s Second Coming. On November 15, 1972, the deed for the property containing a little over eight hectares was signed at a price equivalent to $207,000 USD. Cabins, dormitory facilities, an auditorium/dining room, a house, and a central building were built.³

Camp History

Because of limited finances for purchasing the property, Pastor Nieman traveled to obtain donations. The Adventist church in Armero, Tolima, Colombia, gave a donation of $500.⁴ Unfortunately, this municipality was subsequently ravaged by the eruption of Nevado del Ruíz.⁵ Soon after the property was purchased, the house on the property caught fire, leaving it uninhabitable. The house was rebuilt, and the groundskeeper currently lives in it.

The property included a structure used to grind and store coffee. However, this structure was demolished in hopes of constructing a building to care for the elderly in compliance with the initial intentions. Given that there was not enough support for this project, it was not carried out. The property also did not have a paved road access. Therefore, building a road became one of the first challenges to avoid people having it as a pretext for not supporting the camp’s initiatives.

Since the property was acquired, church members have been trained in health services and other branches of community services, conducting outreach into the whole Colombian territory. This camp has hosted members and friends at youth camps, congresses, quadrennial and quinquennial sessions, and other events held by conference and union leaders.⁶

Between 2007-2008, an auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,300 was built, and an ecological path highlighting the eight natural remedies was made alongside other beautification improvements. In 2010, the Upper Magdalena Conference board of directors approved the construction of a swimming pool 35 meters in length and 15 meters in width with a jacuzzi and sauna. This project took less than eight months to build and is currently in use.⁷

In 2019, the camp obtained the license to remodel its existing cabins and build 20 rooms with private bathrooms. The dormitory building will also be remodeled with the purpose of providing better services to the church and the community.⁸

Sources

“Anolaima.” Wikipedia: La enciclopedia libre. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anolaima.

“Tragedia de Armero.” Wikipedia: La encyclopedia libre. Accessed August 12, 2019. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedia_de_Armero.

Viana, Yerko. “History of Adventism in Bogotá DC: 1921-2011.” Unpublished document: Upper Magdalena Conference communications department, SF.

Notes

1. “Anolaima,” Wikipedia: La enciclopedia libre, accessed August 12, 2019, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anolaima.↩

2. José Reyes Niño, interview by author, July 15, 2019.↩

3. Yerko Viana, “History of Adventism in Bogotá DC: 1921-2011” (unpublished document: Upper Magdalena Conference communications department, SF), 64.↩

4. Saul Castañeda, interview by author, July 29, 2019.↩

5. “Tragedia de Armero,” Wikipedia: La encyclopedia libre, accessed August 12, 2019, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedia_de_Armero.↩

6. Raúl Cárdenas, interview by author, July 16, 2019.↩

7. Viana, 64-65.↩

8. Upper Magdalena Conference administrators, interview by author, July 29, 2019.↩