Hello from Big Sandy Camp!

The ice is off the lake, the ground is slowly starting to show signs of spring, the birds are chirping again and you can almost hear the sounds of laughter and excitement of campers just around the corner! I love living in a place where we get to experience the four seasons. I especially love spring. The expectant waiting of grass to grow green again, flowers to bud and bloom, trees to begin to leaf out and critters to become active again. When the earth comes back to life again, my soul smiles. There is a hope of newness.

The cycle of the seasons have served as a reminder for me that there are seasons of change. But with the change there is consistency. Following winter, is always spring. We can trust that we serve an unchanging God. And in the camping ministry world, we can trust that God is always drawing and connecting with people’s hearts at camp. As we plan, pray and anticipate another summer of camp with kids, youth and families, we are certain that God will continue to do the work of drawing people of all ages to Himself through the space of Big Sandy Camp. We wait with anticipation to see what He will do this summer. Who will encounter God in a powerful way that will change the trajectory of their life forever? Who will answer God’s call into full time ministry this summer? Who will hear of Jesus for the very first time and wrestle with the truth of His existence? Who will work or volunteer at camp that will learn new things about how God has a purpose and plan for them? Who will walk away changed after encountering the love of Jesus through nature, time alone with God, a friend, a speaker’s encouragement, or the engagement of a summer staff member? Just as I experience the hope of spring coming to life, I feel the same hope as I pray for God to impact the lives of his people through the ministry of camp this summer. I look forward to being able to share in August what God did through all of us! And by ALL - I mean YOU! Without your prayers and generosity to camp through volunteering and giving – none of this would be possible! Thank you for leaning in, praying and anticipating with us what God will do through camp this summer. He is a FAITHFUL God!!

Rhonda Wynegar

Camp Director

• Spring Work Day May 3
• NEW! Craft Camp for 6-8 grade girls July 15-19
• Summer Camps!
• 4th of July Family Camp
• Labor Day Family Camp
• Fall Work Day--Sept 13
• NEW! Sportsmen's Retreat Sept 26-28

Special Giving Goal

Our Spring season is full of projects and a few smaller retreats as we prepare for Summer and look further forward to the following Fall and Winter seasons. Please consider giving toward our general expenses for the months of April and May. We have set a goal of $100,000 by the end of May. Praise the Lord, we currently have $24,800 toward that goal!

We have a terrific team of people working at Big Sandy Camp and we want you to get to know them more, what they do and why they love BSC!

Piper and Gretchen are our interns for the 2024-2025 season. They are sisters who came to BSC summer 2023 & 2024. Piper is doing online classes getting her nursing degree. Gretchen was a barista and is using time at camp to learn more about herself and leadership to see what God has next for her. This summer Piper will be serving as the Assistant Program Director and Gretchen will be the Head Female Cabin Leader as well as our Craft Shop Director.

We started the current internship program Fall of 2023. It is a unique opportunity for young people to develop leadership, take college classes, if desired, and get experience running camp. Each intern commits to being on staff the following summer on the leadership team. We love interns and they are an integral part of our staff team!

Join us next weekend, May 3rd for Spring Camp Work Day! We need lots of hands to get the grounds and buildings ready for the summer season. You are welcome to come stay at camp the night before or after or the whole weekend! We will provide breakfast (8:30am), Lunch, and Supper (for those who want to stay for it). Please let us know if you plan to come by sending an e-mail to josh@bigsandycamp.org, text 218-670-1645, or call 218-460-7965!

If you are unavailable May 3--come another day that works for you! We have several projects we would love to have done by summer. Please contact us if one of these projects sounds like something you would enjoy doing with your family, youth group, church group, etc.

• Fire pit bench repairs
• Swim fence rebuild
• Lakeview fascia repairs
• Firewood splitting
• Tree Removal
• Petting farm cleaning and repairs
• Board walk installment behind Lakeview and at Loon Lodge
• Painting in Lakeview and Loon
• Picnic Table Painting
• General landscaping and cleaning
• Volunteer for a week of camp!!

• Praise – For all the generous gifts of time to keep camp going strong! We truly cannot do it without those who volunteer to help with retreats, IT help, skilled laborers that volunteer time, volunteers to come work on random projects, etc – we are SO BLESSED by you!
• Praise - For all the generous gifts of money – thank you to those who have stepped out in faith and given camp funds to keep the ministry growing strong - we are SO BLESSED by you!
• We are praying for a 50% increase in campers this summer. Pray for kids to come to camp to encounter Jesus! Join us in praying and inviting kids to come to camp!
• Pray that we find the extra Cabin Leaders needed to host all these campers.
• Praise that we have our summer staff team hired! We are fully staffed! Pray for our summer staff that God will prepare them for the ministry they will do and for them to grow in their own walk with God.
• Pray for continued funds and vounteers to accomplish the ministry, maintenance and repairs that camp needs!
• Praise and Pray for Jodi Clark, our new Program Director, as she moves to camp and jumps in on June 1 at the beginning of the busy summer season!
• Pray for our team to continue to lead and develop camp in the way that honors God and sets up BSC to impact lives of students, adults and families for more generations to come!