Staff Highlight: Love was in the (mountain) air!

Every so often, we like to highlight one of our staff members and the incredible service they bring to Angeles Crest. This month is special since we are highlighting not one, but two, people who are important pieces of the Angeles Crest puzzle. And, their story is EXTRA special since they just got married a few weeks ago at Angeles Crest.

Meet the newlyweds, Garrett Shaw and Savannah Petry Shaw!

“Watching love bloom is such a beautiful thing. Watching love bloom and grow between two believers, who are sold out to Jesus, is something that moves in your spirit.

Garrett Shaw grew up at ACCC, the eldest of Camp Director Brian and Youth Program Director, Nicole. By the age of five he was working in ministry beside his two siblings, setting tables in the dining hall. He has worked almost every job at the camp, including being in charge of the camp videos for all our year round Program Camps.

Savannah Petry started coming to ACCC as a counselor with her church youth group, Valley Christian Church, Chino in 2017. In 2018 she was trained to work as Summer Staff and in 2020 she came to live on-site full time.”

“Garrett remembers telling a friend when he saw Savannah for the first time in 2018, “I think that girl is cute”. Savannah remembers that they talked a little during that winter and started texting occasionally. She attended two semesters at Grand Canyon University and felt the call to camp ministry. Garrett & Savannah’s friendship grew over the next year and when she came on as on-site staff in 2020, they became good friends. They gave each other string friendship bracelets that year. In August 2022, after working together through another summer, Garrett asked Savannah to be his girlfriend.

Garrett shared with her his decision to not kiss until the altar and she honored that commitment as their friendship and relationship grew.

Over the next two years Garrett and Savannah continued to work at camp, except for Garrett’s 6-month Discipleship Training time with YWAM in Montana and Taiwan. They attend young adult studies at several churches during the week and have incredible friendships outside of camp. Savannah moved into the position of Program Assistant and Rec Manager. Garrett has been the Housekeeping Manager for the last year.

It was evident to all who knew them that love was blooming and finally on May 16th, 2024, on the sand at Huntington Beach, Garrett got down on one knee and asked his best friend to marry him. She said yes!

It is so special when a father and son can bond while away from daily distractions and get that quality time that is difficult nowadays. Last month, over 120 men and their boys made their way up the mountain to enjoy a weekend of just that. Distraction free bonding. Here’s what some of the dads had to say:

Robert Pischel expressed what we constantly strive for, “It brought me closer to my boys. Wish we could stay longer”.

Michael Khachadoorian had this to say, “Loved connecting with my son! Like the new bathrooms! That’s huge! Thank you!”

And, Phil DeJong shared this: “Overall great weekend! Thank you and your whole team!”

The guys enjoyed the speaker from Reunion Church, Rudy Hagood and the worship led by Dylan Reynolds, worship leader at Lighthouse Church and a former Father Son camper himself.

The guys were busy all weekend with fun activities, like paintball, archery and the derby race. The winner of the highly anticipated, and camper favorite, D.U.D.E. Pinewood Derby race was Nate DeJong with his entry “Blue Car”.

This year’s Father-Son Retreat was even a little more special since this was the first group to visit Angeles Crest since the installation of our Big Give Day sponsored activity, the Low Ropes Hexagon. The new attraction opened to rave reviews and some big smiles.

Cornelius Ungureanu said “This is our fourth year attending Father Son camp. We are truly blessed every year and look forward to the next. My son really enjoyed the new ninja course”

We are so honored to play a role in bringing father and sons closer and can’t wait to do it again next year.

The first update is a financial one. The total cost of this experience turned out to be higher than previously estimated, partially due to the need of adding a retaining wall adjacent to the large installation. While we raised enough money to cover the higher cost, it means that we will have to postpone the installation of the bouldering wall until we raise more funds. Thank you to everyone for your understanding.

Lastly, we are excited to announce the official name of the new experience. The low ropes course will be known as The SYCAMORE CHALLENGE COURSE! The name comes from Luke 19 and the story of Zacchaeus. There will be signs installed which include the full bible passage for all participants to reflect on.

We can’t wait for more campers to enjoy the Sycamore Challenge for years to come! Thank you to everyone who donated on Big Give Day to make this become a reality.