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Sundre, Alta.
Camp Evergreen has incredible summer


Camp Evergreen, the Alberta MB Conference camp, had “an incredible summer” in 2002, reaching out to 687 young people The residential camps were running at 97% capacity, and many campers had to be turned away. The theme for the summer, “Trek”, was based on the first few verses of Hebrews 12: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” It was very exciting to see young people commit themselves to doing just that. Excellent speakers were able to convey this message in interesting and dynamic ways which spoke to the heart of the campers and staff. The speakers included Venture Teams International, Greg Hutchison (Youth For Christ, Calgary), J. Janzen (Family Life Network, Winnipeg), Dale Friesen (Coaldale MB Church), Kevin McInnes (Sunwest Christian Fellowship, Calgary), Kevin Downey (Linden MB Church) and Travis Padgham (River West Christian Fellowship, Edmonton). The camp was also blessed with a committed and dedicated staff. The staff this year were young, so the camp may have the opportunity to work with them for a number of years.

Throughout the summer, 77 campers made first-time commitments, and 58 campers recommitted their lives to the Lord. Many seeds were also planted. One story of a seed planted concerns a young man about 16 who has come to camp for at least five years. He comes from a rough background and is quite loud and boisterous, sometimes seeming rude or crude. Later on in the week, he was sitting in chapel and started crying during the worship time. His counsellor prayed with him, but the next day the same thing happened. A second counsellor prayed with him, but later, while the speaker was talking, he got up and walked out of the chapel. His counsellor followed him, and the young man opened up to him about his life at home. They talked and prayed together. The whole time, the counsellor was praying, “God, give me the words.” When they came back into the chapel, the speaker was talking about the same thing that they had been talking about outside! After chapel, the counsellor had a chance to share the gospel with that young man. He decided not to accept it, but the seed was definitely planted.

The ministry continues through the winter as the camp serves guest groups and holds retreats. There were two family camps this summer (with speakers David Balzer of Family Life Network and Carl Ibbotson of Tofield, Alta.) attended by 43 families (177 people). At the annual “Rise-Up” high school youth retreat, Dan King spoke and many young people went away with changed lives. The junior high retreat “Rise and Shine” is scheduled for Jan. 24–26, a women’s retreat for Feb. 21–23 and a seniors’ retreat for some time in spring.

The camp is hoping to increase its facilities in order to accommodate more campers.

 – Camp Evergreen news release

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Last modified December 16, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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