newsletter - Echo Lake Bible Camp

Looking Back, Pressing On, Moving Forward.
May 2016.
ECHOES FROM THE LAKE
Echo Lake Bible Camp | Newsletter | Spring/Summer 2016
Spring has Sprung…
The lake has thawed, the grass is becoming greener, and
this Irish girl has already been sunburnt, all of which can
only mean one thing: Spring is here! The new season
brings a busy time of camp life, and plenty to be
thankful for. The teen girls’ retreat was a wonderful
time of encouragement and fun, we had over 50 kids
come along to our Spring Break camps in Fort St James
and Fraser Lake, registration for summer camps is open,
staff applications are coming in, cabins and community
are being built upon by some cool renovations taking
place at camp, and June is jam-packed with school and church rental groups. On top of all of this,
preparation is well underway for a superhero-themed summer that includes an extra week of iWild
(one whole week for girls and one whole week for guys!) and brand new skills-based camp: Develop
Your Passion (DYP). God is at work, and we're excited.
Arctic Adventure Camp!
2 communities, 50 kids, 15 leaders, 200 cookies and a whole
lot of icy fun made this spring break one to remember! For
the first week of spring break Fort St James E-Free Church
was given an Arctic-themed transformation and filled with
over 30 little polar explorers each day. Kids met Trekkie,
the hopeless and helpless arctic adventurer, played games
(including an epic indoor snowball fight and Arctic relay),
made some cool (get it?) crafts, sang songs, and had lunch
together. They could also get their photo taken in our polar photo booth (see picture above)! For the
second week of spring break, we packed up and took Arctic Adventure Camp to Fraser Lake, setting
up home base in Lakeview Bible Chapel. Echo Lake started running Pirate Camp over spring break
back in 2012, and took it to Fraser Lake for the first time last year. It was so encouraging to have so
many kids attend both camps this year, and glimpse how God is using spring break adventure camps
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Looking Back, Pressing On, Moving Forward.
May 2016.
to reach further into the Fort St James and Fraser Lake
communities. It was also really exciting that in Fort St James, at
least two thirds of the kids who came along had no previous camp
(or church) connection. The focus, for this week in particular, was
very much on serving the community by loving the kids who came
along, allowing them to have as much fun as possible, introducing
simple ideas about God, and inviting them along to camp in the
summer. A personal highlight for me was watching as the church
filled on the first morning of camp. In the weeks leading up to
spring break I’d been so anxious that no kids would come, but
God brought kids in abundance - and provided the volunteers we
needed to make it fun and
safe. Little by little weeks
like these bring camp out
of the summer and into
the community, and it was
a privilege to be part of it.
Teen Girls’ Retreat
Laura as clumsy and clueless polar explorer, Trekkie.
Now in it’s fourth year, the teen girls’ retreat once again had the chalet taken
over by teenage girls for a weekend of fellowship and fun. This year we had 10
teens (and 3 teens at heart) out at camp for what was essentially a massive
slumber party. Our talks and discussions focused on how to have faith when life
is hard, and we were encouraged that in the midst of life's storms, Jesus is in the
boat. Some highlights included a formal dinner and photo booth, a selfie
scavenger hunt, and an epic (and hilarious) game of ‘sardines’ in the dark.
Three of the girls got a head start on this summer’s superhero theme…
“My favourite part of the girls' retreat was
just spending time with all the girls and
growing closer to God.”
(Cynthia, 18, Fraser Lake.)
“Hide and seek in the dark was awesome
and spooky! Loved it!”
(Katrina, 17, Fort St James.)
“Its such a good break from everyday life.
You get to be built up spiritually again, and
hang out with girls who are going through
similar things.”
(Amber, 16, Vanderhoof.)
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Looking Back, Pressing On, Moving Forward.
May 2016.
Renovating Cabins,
building community;
local churches join
the project efforts!
It has well and truly been a case of all hands
on deck for camp's most recent project of
renovating its cabins. Seven churches came
on board and committed to tackling a cabin
each, so the past few weekends have seen
camp full of volunteers and buzzing with
activity. Over 60 volunteers so far have been
involved in some way in efforts to transform camp’s eight cabins: levelling, rewiring, painting,
siding, and installing new windows. It has been a process that has allowed — and will
continue to allow over the next couple of weekends — church groups to develop community
within themselves, while joining with a wider camp community to serve and get a big project
completed in time for summer. It really is amazing what a community of volunteers can do!
In other project news:
Auction Fundraiser for the new
dining hall on the 28th May
Join us at the Gospel Chapel on the 28th May at 7pm for dessert and fundraising
auction in support of the much needed and greatly anticipated new dining hall project.
Come find out how camp is growing and blessing our local community.
As a side note, our mission policy requires that we raise 75% of the completed cost of the
dining hall before building can start. We hope to commence as soon as funds allow, but with
a targeted completion of summer 2018. This coincides with the 50th anniversary of camp
ministry at Echo Lake. How cool would that be!?
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Looking Back, Pressing On, Moving Forward.
May 2016.
New this summer!
Two weeks of iWild!
For the first time this year we are having two weeks of iWild to allow girls and guys a
full week at Fish Lake. One whole week for girls, and one whole week for guys.
And introducing:
Develop Your Passion (DYP)
Brand new specialty skills camp for 12-14 year olds!
(Aug 15-20)
DYP will allow kids to experience camp in an
entirely new way; as a place where their
interests and skills can be identified, developed
and expressed. We believe God creates us to
glorify Him through the things we love, and
DYP will encourage campers to acknowledge
and rediscover the creator of the things they are
most passionate about, all while being given
opportunities to take these interests to the next
level.
Campers who sign up for DYP will be able to choose from one of four specialities:
ASCEND: Calling all avid and aspiring climbers! Canoe a lake, hike a mountain, conquer a
peak and climb to new heights as you develop your skills on both tower and rock.
CREATE: Draw, mould, shape and create. Discover and express your inner artist through this
DYP stream for young creatives.
EXCEL: Rediscover your sport in a new setting, and take it to the next level. Opportunity for
focus on soccer, basketball, and volleyball.
SURVIVE: Catch it, cook it, build it, sleep in it; navigate your way through this DYP stream
that leads to adventure and discovery!
Registration is open!
Visit www.elbc.ca for camp details and online registration
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