Teen Winter Weekend 2012!

What a great weekend! It was cold, windy, snowy, sunny, windy and snowy at the same time and cold again! All on the same weekend. We had 114 teens at our winter retreat, along with about 35 staff members. We used every building on the hill and opened up an additional five cabins for the boys! By 9.00 pm Friday night everyone was checked in and settled in at chapel. The Lord is good!

Saturday morning began with a pancake breakfast and a chapel meeting that was both fun and challenging to all of us. Our theme for the weekend was taken from Romans 12:2 "do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" Our speakers, Colin Ritchie and Aaron Woodring, challenged each of us to answer two questions: Do we love the Lord? Or do we love the world?

Following some great singing and a thought provoking message from Colin Ritchie, the campers headed outside for the day! Although we didn't have as much snow as the previous weekend, there were still some great attempts at sledding! Or at least sliding down the hills.

Some campers made use of the climbing tower, but many enjoyed the warmth inside playing games and hanging out with friends. Aaron Woodring brought the message on Saturday evening and challenged each of us to live more completely for the Lord. The evening ended with a coffee house in the Lodge, where we enjoyed various flavored coffees, hot chocolate, great desserts, Christian music and Christian fellowship. The staff had worked hard to add twinkling lights, decorated tables with candles, comfortable seating and a beautiful crackling fire. There were opportunities also for some of the campers to share what the Lord had been doing in their lives. What a great way to end a great day!

Thanks again to all our wonderful staff who volunteered to help out this weekend. We could not do it without you! We pray that everything that we enjoyed this weekend will stay in our hearts and minds for a long time to come and that the name of Christ will be glorified in our lives! See you all in the summer!

Great time at Snow Camp!

This past weekend more than sixty young people descended on Camp Li-Lo-Li for our annual Pre-Teen Winter Retreat! We weren't sure if we would have enough snow for the weekend, but the Lord was good and sent us enough to make sure that everyone had a great time!

Outdoors there was snow tubing, fort building, ice carving and plenty of cold hands and feet! The tubing started off slowly with everyone practicing on the Lodge Hill, but soon felt comfortble enough to head to the Big Hill. The most tiring part is walking back up to the top with the tube!

For those that didn't want to brave the hills or just wanted to warm up again, we had an every ready supply of hot chocolate in the Lodge where the kids could play games, do puzzles or just hang out.

The most important part of the weekend is our chapel time. This year Aaron Young shared the teaching responsibility with our Director, Gary Foster. There was great ministry, a clear gospel message and of course, the popular Choose the Right Door, containing prizes and sur-prises! Gary Foster used his black light chalk drawings to illustrate his message and keep the kids engaged and listening!

We want to thank all of our volunteer staff that served so tirelessly this past weekend to create a memorable experience for our campers! Now we look forward to seeing you all again this summer!

Pre-teen and Teen Winter Snowfest!

 Winter is here and with it, our winter retreats! Last year we had plenty of snow, as well as great food, fun and fellowship and tremendous ministry. Start planning now for two great weekends in January!

Pre-teen Winter Retreat is January 20-22, 2012

Teen Winter Retreat is January 27-29, 2012.

Plan to come and plan to bring a friend!

Click here for the application form!

Bunny Camp gets a new floor!

Major repairs are being done to the floors in the back rooms of Bunny Camp. The rooms had suffered water damage last year (and probably other years as well!), so a decision was made to replace the floors in both rooms. Grateful thanks to Bob Wheeler, John Cole, Larry Thompson and Stacy Bodder for all their hard work on this and other projects.

First, the bunks were disassembled and stacked away, then the old floor tiles were ripped out and thrown in the dumpster. Once the tiles were out, it was obvious that the plywood underneath would have to come out as well. Once all the flooring was out, we were able to see the reason for the cold temps in those back rooms! The duct work was all flexible tube and was broken and eaten away in many places. While the floor was opened up, new rigid ducts were put in and insulated, additional returns were added some extra electrical outlets were installed.

There was a lot of carpentry and a lot of underground tunneling! The work is back breaking and often down when the weather is not ideal, but they are all still smiling. John and Stacy are working together to add insulation to the floor and install new plywood over the top. Now all that is left is the new vinyl flooring and the job should be complete.

At the same time as the work inside, work was being done on the roof to make sure that water did not come back in again to undo all the hard work that has been accomplished here.

This is another project that should add many years of comfortable camping for our bunny campers and staff. Please continue to remember our hard workers in your prayers!

Help Wanted this Saturday!

We are looking for all available helpers this Saturday, November 26, as we tear out the floor in the Lodge and prepare to install the beautiful new flooring. We are not looking for highly skilled workers, although they are also much appreciated, but it will be hard work requiring strong backs and some heavy lifting. We need willing volunteers who are looking for a day of fun, fellowship and hard work!

If you are home from college for the Thanksgiving weekend, this would be a great way to catch up with your camp family and give you a great sense of accomplishment as you return to school.  The Lodge is one of our most visible and heavily used buildings, so come be a part of history.

If you can join us for this work day, please let Larry Thompson know as soon as possible. Email Larry at lilolilarry@gmail.com today if you can make it!

Thanks all!

New Metal Roof on the Girls West Wash House

In the continuing account of our fall property maintenance tasks , here is the latest completed project! The roof on the 'old' girls wash house needed replacing and it was decided that a metal roof would be the best option.

The first step was to get all the old shingles off. Although the day began with early morning fog, the Lord gave us beautiful crisp, clear days to work on this outside project. Larry Thompson, Stacy Bodder and John Cole began the work of stripping the roof down to the plywood underlay.

Removing the shingles, tar paper, staples and nails was time consuming but necessary. Having the tractor nearby made the clean up much faster and much easier!

The original plywood was very thin and soft in a few places, so an additional layer of plywood was added to provide strength and to ensure that we don't have to revisit this roof for many years to come!

Once the new plywood was installed we were able to add the snow and ice shield and tar paper to keep the roof dry and free from ice and snow.

The final step was to add the metal roof which was attached to the roof with special screws. Most of the work, including cutting to size was done on the roof. We are grateful to have men like Larry and Stacy who are skilled at this! Please pray for their continued safety while working here at camp.

The final step was to add the snow guards to the new roof. The new roof was installed in a matter of a few days and puts us in a good position to face the coming winter!

There are several more projects to be completed, including the back rooms of the bunny camp, the repair of the roof around the chimney at the Lodge as well as the new Lodge floor. We'll keep you posted on the progress!

Snow Comes to Camp!

The first snow fell at camp this week, as well as many other places in the Northeast! It is very light with just a dusting on the lawns and roofs and will all be gone later in the day. We are certain that more will be coming! But we also know that it is from the Lord. Just this week, I was reading in Job 37:6 where it says "For He says to the snow, fall on the earth." God has a plan even for the elements.

Later on God asks Job the question, "Have you entered into the treasures of the snow?" Job 38:22 So often the Bible uses snow as an example of purity, holiness and righteousness and we can see why when we consider a freshly fallen blanket of snow covering the ground below it. At other times, snow is a source of blessing and refreshment to a parched land. But in this passage, it seems to refer to a treasurehouse of snow reserved for a judgement to come. We serve a great and living God who is altogether holy, and is also the source of great blessing as well as righteous judgement. And all aspects seen in His own creation!

The final preparation of the snow plows and other snow management equipment is almost complete and we should be in good shape to handle the winter weather to come. Even though many tasks still need to be done outdoors, there are always indoor projects as well. Preliminary work was started this week to repair the walls, floor and ceiling in some of the rooms at Bunny Camp. Most of this damage happened last winter and needs to be taken care of before the winter rolls around. We still have work on the Lodge roof, east wall and floor as well. Pray for Larry and Stacy as well as those assisting with this and many other winter projects!