WHO ARE WE?
Dream Mountain is a small family business run by the Munoz and Martindale families. Meet the Family!
Cheree Munoz
Camp Director and OFFICE MANAGER
The Whole munoz Clan!
Cheree, Marcos, Nataleah and Maddex
Carl MARTINDALE
The fix-it man
JESSICA MARTINDALE
Camp NURSE
Carl and Jessie Martindale
with the Grandkids!
Long before we bought Dream Mountain we were just a normal family with normal jobs who loved to help at our local church retreats. Along the way, we thought, "How fun would this be to run our own camp?" From there a dream was born and we started praying and looking for a property. We quickly realized this dream may be out of reach since it so expensive to purchase an already existing camp. We are talking millions of $$$!!!
We decided to start looking at raw land and maybe slowly over time we could build something. We learned just because the numbers did not add up on paper that did not mean God did not have a bigger plan! About 1 year into our search our Pastor got a postcard in the mail that a camp was for sale. Fully anticipating the camp to be way too expensive we were surprised to find the price was in our range. Of course, there were a few pieces that needed to connect. See, this was in 2009 and loans needed big down payments and that meant our house had to sell in a terrible market. We had neighbors that had their houses on the market for a year and still did not sell. Long story short, we prayed and said, “God if you want this to happen, then make our house sell.”
To our amazement, the house sold on the first day for FULL asking price! It was like a roller coaster from there, we all quit our well-paying jobs and started this crazy adventure of running a camp. We had no experience living in the mountains on our own septic and water. The first year was the most exciting and challenging. We had our first cold winter and learning how to cook for large groups was all new, but through all the ups and downs God has been with us each step of the way!
We tell our story to inspire others to Dream Big!
"With God all things are possible... " - Matthew 19:26
OUR STORY
CAMP HISTORY
The story goes that the camp has been here since the 70's. A deed for the property was registered in the name of the Peniel Mission. Max Strohl, missionary at the Stockton Peniel Chapel, with support from the Garvic sisters, began the difficult work of developing a camp in the wilds of the Sierra Nevada foothills, with backbreaking work, which eventually took his life, and that of two of his hardworking successors.
Peniel Mission, later called Peniel Compassionate Ministries, became a part of a larger international missionary sending organization, World Gospel Mission (WGM). In 1998, most of the missionaries affiliated with Peniel Compassionate Ministries changed their affiliation to another inner-city ministry, CityTeam Ministries, leaving the Stockton Peniel Neighborhood Center, successor to Max's mission, the sole remaining program within Peniel. World Gospel Mission concluded that, due to international missions focus, the camp no longer fit within its calling and vision. WGM sought to find a buyer who would honor the long-standing vision the camp and the many volunteers who committed so much of their time and resources into its development. In August of 2005, such a buyer was found. Follow Up Ministries, Inc., an international prison ministry based in Castro Valley, California, assumed ownership of the camp. In addition to the regular camp and retreat ministry, the facilities were used by FUMI as a Ministry Outreach and Training Center for the development of prison chaplains and volunteer workers. Throughout the years FUMI ran a growing and vibrant ministry committed to giving inner-city kids a place to confront the Creator in the beauty of His great handiwork, as well as, ministering to the broader needs of Christians seeking the same.
After years of dedicated service, in August 2009 FUMI sold the camp to the Munoz and Martindale families.
