Signs of Fall

What a wonderful journey the past two months have been! Alongside the youth camps this summer we had tremendously inspiring family camps in Week of Missions, Family Bible Conference, and Septemberfest. The summer camping season ended 981 youth campers in the various sessions. One neighbor across the lake commented on how much she enjoyed watching as many of the camps closed their sessions with baptisms in the lake. All of these camps and conferences are not possible without the number of program staff volunteers who are essentially “the ministry” of Wi-Ne-Ma Christian Camp. As important as this place is for God to use to draw people to Himself, how much more so the people who come to share the Good News of God’s love in Christ through the various programs here.

The summer camping season concluded with celebrating Friends of Wi-Ne-Ma Day. About 180 people gathered for this event that included overnight stay at the Camp, concert, lunch, and the silent and oral auction. Proceeds from the Day are anticipated to come in at about $30,000. Of that amount $13,450 was raised as part of the Special Project during the oral auction. This is a time when no item is auctioned, just the opportunity to give to the Missions Building project. Once again the Camp is blessed by the generosity of God’s people.

We are pleased to announce that work has begun on the Missions Building project. The final plans have been made and delivered. As soon as Family Bible Conference concluded the Missions Building was emptied out and demolition began. Clark Tanner, one of the speakers for Family Bible Conference, led the whole group in prayer for the ministry of Wi-Ne-Ma Christian Camp and the role of the Missions Building in that ministry. Then everybody picked up some chairs and moved them into our storage areas. On September 8 the demolition crews came in much to the enjoyment of Septemberfest attendees who set up chairs in the RV area to watch the show. If our schedule holds up, we should be pouring the concrete foundation in October. The steel building will also be delivered in October. Then, in November we should start seeing the new building being erected. Again, please continue to pray for this project as we need the weather and the contractor’s schedules to cooperate at times.

A website was set up where people can view pictures of the project and watch its progress. Go to http://winemamissionsbuilding.blogspot.com/ or you can find the link starting at www.winema.org.