You’ve heard of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), UFOs (unidentified flying objects), and the USO (United Service Organization). But have you heard of XMO? The initials stand for Extreme Mobility Camps, a fitting name for an extremely radical and relevant ministry. XMO is the passion of Bryan and Mindy Schwarz and their family. But there are many other loyal supporters who believe deeply in its vision and purpose…”to give participants a chance to experience activities not offered in their daily life, activities that increase self-awareness and self-confidence.” Extreme Mobility provides unique opportunities for the visually challenged to experience the extreme things God wants to do in them, through them and for them. Up until recently these opportunities have been planted high up in the Rockies in Winter Park, Colorado. Every year here at XMO’s winter camp athletes, as they are appropriately called, try their hand, or rather their feet, at cross-country skiing, snowboarding, downhill skiing, tubing and the most exciting of all, snowmobiling. All the participants are visually challenged in some way, but by the end of the week they are known only as amazing people who have overcome amazing physical challenges. But many of them, through the power of Jesus have overcome the greatest hurdle of all, separation from their eternal Father. Through the ministry of the dedicated XMO directors, the outstanding XMO staff, and by the Spirit of the One who gives us all eyes to see, they find themselves coming face to face with their forever friend…Jesus!

So how does an accomplished ministry like XMO expand on a winter camp experience like this? That’s easy, you just move Winter Park to Newbury Park. This summer, from June 25–July 2 XMO held it’s first ever West Coast Summer Camp. Working in conjunction with volunteers and staff from The Place Adventist Fellowship and Newbury Park Academy, Extreme Mobility traded the chill of the snow for the warmth and the waters of Southern California. 11 athletes from around the country got a chance to wakeboard, inner tube and water-ski at Pyramid Lake. They surfed and splashed and enjoyed a Friday sundown vespers in Ventura and Malibu. And of course what summer would be complete without a trip to Disneyland, where each visitor got to experience a state-of-the-art audio tour that described the sights and colors of the Magic Kingdom. All of this while being challenged with some kingdom questions of their own, posed by Simon Liversidge, senior pastor at The Place Adventist Fellowship. After a week of discussing “what the Bible really says about” some common questions and misconceptions, the athletes were then presented with a question about their own conception, of God that is, “what will you do with Jesus?” Will you stay on the fence, or will you fall into a passionate relationship with the King of Kings and make Him the Lord of your life? Nothing less than an extreme question for an extreme camp will do.

As the week wrapped up and the athletes extreme summer experience came to an end, the questions continued though. What should the next fundraiser be? How can we do this again next year? As with most non-profit ministry organizations, XMO is funded through private donations and sponsors. How can we keep this going to bless more visually challenged young people? How can we keep giving them the power to do what they’ve never done? And how can we continue to give them the most empowering tool of all, an eternal relationship with the One who calls the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the blind to surf, to ski and to see?

For more information please visit the XMO website at: www.xmocamps.org or search Extreme Mobility Camps on Facebook.