Meandering Moose

Are You a Safe Harbour?

I recently discovered the country music group, Renegade Station, and their song Safe Harbour (words below). At Widjiitiwin, we consider safety in our community to be of paramount importance. The relationships between staff and campers and amongst the staff can make or break a week for anyone.

Whether it’s an issue of bullying, homesickness or mental health, our staff are a safe harbour to our campers and each other. It is important for our campers & others to have someone to listen to them, care for them, speak up for them, have fun with them, give a hand up, protect them, be there for them and love them. Every child, every teen needs a champion, a friend!

To that end, we have two cabin leaders in each cabin plus ministry staff to help support them. We want our staff to make sure that campers are safe physically, socially, spiritually and emotionally. We base that on Luke 2:52 – and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Every year at camp we work with more campers and staff who are working through mental health issues. We work with over 300 kids and youth from at risk communities plus another 300 from varying backgrounds. They are ALL kids and youth that need the love of Jesus. Sometimes the kid who needs the most help will ask in the most unloving way. We talk with our staff about getting to know the campers that sit off by themselves.

Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance. Roy T. Bennett

SAFE HARBOUR by Renegade Station

I bet you’re thinking that there’s only one way out of this
I can tell somethings wrong, and that you’re in some kind of mess
Your mind’s going places it ain’t ever gone before
If it feels like you’re drowning and you can’t take it no more
I’m only a phone call away

I’ll be your safe harbour
On the darkest night, in the deepest water
If your boat is sinking and you need a hand
I’ll come running from wherever I am
I’ll be your lifeline, I’ll be your armour
I’ll be your safe harbour

When the worlds gone cold and you ain’t got nothing left
You’ve lost all hope and you’re hangin on by thread
If you’re one short step, from a long dark fall
I’ve got your back, so stand up tall
Don’t you dare give in

I won’t ever judge you, I won’t ever let you down

Read Through the WHOLE Bible in Just 1 Year

How many chapters would you have to read a day to read through the whole Bible in just a year?

Well, there are 66 books in the Bible. There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 chapters in the New Testament. This gives a total of 1,189 chapters (18 per book on average).

Psalm 117 is the middle chapter of the Bible, being the 595th chapter and is also the shortest chapter of the Bible.
The longest chapter is Psalm 119.
Jeremiah is the longest book
Obadiah is the shortest book in the bible

At just 4 chapters per day, you only need 298 days to completely read through the Bible. You can even take some weekends off. This has become my practice for the last few years and I plan to continue it.

Check out thebibleproject.com and readscripture.org. Also available on your phone with a daily prompt to read, meditate and pray. Be still and know that He is God!

2018 Widji Calendar; What’s Happening

Wonder what’s going on this year at Widji. Well, here are some of the plans we have. January through April – camp fairs and promotions, staff recruiting, interviews and hiring plus program development.

May

May 5-7 – summer leadership weekend
May 8 – spring crew start
May 19-22 – work/staff development weekend
summer camp prep & program development

June

June 2 – Widji Work Day (replace Longhouse floor & renovate Fish Hut)
summer camp prep & program development
June 8-10 – Forward Church Youth Retreat
June 20 – summer leadership staff arrive
June 24 – July 1 – summer staff development week

July

July 2-22 – SALT # 1 (Adventure focus)
July 2-8 – Escape Camp with Hughson Street Baptist Church, Hamilton
July 9-15 – TNT 1 & Blast 1
July 16-22 – TNT 2 & Blast 2
July 23-29 – Fresh Air Camp with Toronto Police, 42 Division, Scarborough
July 30-August 5 – Royal City Camp with Church of the City, Guelph

August

July 30-August 19 – SALT 2 (Creative Arts focus)
August 6-12 – TNT 3 & Blast 3
August 13-19 – Venture Camp with Capstone Bible Community Church, Etobicoke
August 20-26 – Ephraim’s Place Camp with Ephraim’s Place, North York
August 27 – September 2 – Sizzle
September 3- summer staff depart

September is for hosting Fall retreats and camp clean up. We have three weekends still available. Email registrar@mycamp.ca for more information.

October is camp clean up and shut down, planning for next summer, Thanksgiving, a few extra days off and the annual Ontario camp tour hosted by CCI/Canada

November is the time for creating the brochure, staff website prep, camper registration, budgeting, marketing plans, the annual tactical plan and some vacation

December is for collecting staff application, camper registrations and Christmas vacation.

Warning! Moose in a China Shop…

I’ve often wondered where the saying “a bull in a china shop” came from. How does a bull get into a china shop? More on that in a minute. Can you imagine Moose or Bear or Buster or Boomer or Sherlock or Heyoo in a china shop? It has to be arms down, eyes straight forward and hands in pockets for me.

Here’s how Moose gets into a scary store. Say you’re walking along the streets of St. Jacob’s hand in hand with your wife and she says, “let’s go into this shop”, so in you go. At the front of the store there are a couple cute signs that catch your attention. They get your grandpa heart going.

Boy, [boi] n. a noise with dirt on it.
Girl, [gurl] n. an attitude with a bow.

A little farther into the store you realize that you’re into a section of lacy and frilly things and beyond that dishes and glass, so eyes to the floor you try and retrace your steps to the entrance. Coming across a couple steps you don’t remember up you go. Then you see a light, a window and the front of the store. Fortunately you only have to traverse through accessories, some pictures and a few antiques plus jewelry to find that elusive front door and escape. You find a bench and realize this is why they place benches outside shops like this. It’s for husbands and/or boyfriends to avoid the shop altogether when they are waitin’ on a woman (by Brad Paisley).

Moose Update February 2018

It has been quite a year. About this time last year I began to be more affected by the debilitating dizziness that would eventually send me off on sick leave from July to September last summer. It was the first summer since I was 13 that I had not been at camp. It was hard to not be at camp.

Being patience and waiting on God’s time along with seeing many doctors wasn’t something I was good at. I say that it took me until September to figure out where my enough line was, at which I knew time I needed to stop what I was doing and rest. When your personality is to DO, it’s hard to rest.

I have been back to work since October 2nd, working three days per week and increasing until full time by the end of December. It has been good to be back at work. I love my job. My main struggle is that I find it hard that my stamina isn’t what I would like it to be.

Some exciting this are coming for this summer. Check out the changes we have implemented. I’m excited about my new role and am ready for a new challenge. We are excited that SadSac will be joining us this summer as Ministry Director. We have been able to increase our summer staff pay system and will include experience and certification as merit for more pay. We have many people applying for summer staff positions and our camper registrations are ahead of many years.

Our summer program theme is Star Wars!! And we’ll do all nine movies over the nine weeks of summer. Not a big Star Wars fan? That’s okay, Widji will continue to focus on great relationships, all camp games, chapel, fun, food and doing camp together.

I can hardly believe it’s already half way through February. Summer is just 129 days away. Will you join us?

Why Everyone Needs To Go On A Retreat!

Everyone needs to go a retreat to pull back for their busy daily routines, to build a temporary community with like-minded people in a fun natural environment and focus on being spiritually renewed and refreshed with a pace that is unhurried and conducive to rest and relaxation in shared experiences.

Dictionary

Merriam-Webster defines retreat as “a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director.”

Time consciously set aside for God, a change of focus, a deliberate act of stepping outside of normal routine by withdrawing.
A biblical example is Jesus fasting in the desert for forty days.
Nehemiah 8:13-18 explains the ‘Festival of Shelters’ or ‘Feast of Booths’. The people are told to go and collect branches and make ‘tents’ on top of their roof tops or in the courtyard and basically worship God and study His Word for 7 days while living in these temporary shelters. Sounds like camp to me…
Matthew 5:1 is a good example where Jesus withdraws from the larger crowd to teach something important to the smaller group of disciples.

Pull Back

One of the most powerful aspects of a retreat is the disruption of the ordinary. Often in the daily rhythm of our lives God gets pushed aside, but at a retreat rhythms are intentionally created to connect with God.

As you withdraw from your regular life, you can pull together all the energy that’s otherwise fanned out and thinned out in multiple directions.
It is easier to communicate to God with fewer distractions away from your comfortable living space.
The rush of our everyday lives is non-stop. A retreat is different; your time is fluid and there is no rush – and that leads to a state of being that breeds inspiration and creativity.

Community & Shared Experiences

Genuine community is not a solo affair. It is experienced together by being fully present through shared experiences where you develop memories and common language. This allows bonds to strengthen through worshipping, learning, praying, eating, talking, and playing together.

This will help to improve relationships and spend quality time with each other.
Retreats grant you the opportunity to get close to a lot of people that you may not normally be able to get to know otherwise and often enter the part of their lives that are usually kept more private.
Relationships are built with God and others.
People able to bond through shared experience, and then reflect back on that time as they mature. Retreats are often rallying points. In community, they can remind each other what God did and said in that time.
Safety in all ways (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual; Luke 2:52)

Spiritual Renewed and Refreshed

Throughout the ages, the Christian tradition has understood retreat to be an important part of spiritual formation. How long has it been since you were quiet before God? Hear what the still small voice of God will speak to you in the quiet of a retreat.

A place or time to find inspiration. Inspiration, translates as “to breathe into.” So, you allow God to breathe life into your life. A great place for growth.
To experience a new awareness of the presence of God.
Many memories and major life commitments are made at retreats.
Jesus modeled this pattern of celebration and reflection, and it is instructive for people today as well.
To rest in “alone time” God (solitude) and reflect on how to take the next step in faith
Results in coming back with a renewed faith and sense of purpose in our spiritual life and encourage a more active and committed faith.

Have Fun

Seriously, we focus so much on accomplishment. Take some down time to go and PLAY!! How often do you get to really play?

S’mores! Who doesn’t love a good bonfire?
And in Muskoka, no less!

Natural Environment

Surrounded by creation allows us to feel the presence of our creator in a way that isn’t possible in the city or the rush of our daily lives. As a person of faith, it is important that you appreciate and enjoy the many things God has given you.

A lot of retreats will offer individuals a great opportunity to explore a new area.

Interested in a retreat at Camp Widjiitiwin? Contact us at registrar@mycamp.ca. Click here for more info.

Changes Are Coming

It’s said that the only person who likes change is a baby. At Muskoka Bible Centre & Camp Widjiitiwin we believe that, as we set our sights on our 2020 vision, we needed update our organizational structure to be ready for more ministry opportunities. The new changes will be effective February 1, 2018.

Moose will be on the Leadership Team at MBC with the position of Director: MBC Retreats & Camp Widjiitiwin. MBC Retreats include Women of Grace Retreats, Men’s Breakaway, Couples Getaway and Family Fusion. Plus he will work with Anne Shelton on a new marketing strategy and process. At Widji Moose will be the General Director. Moose’s time at Widji will be approximately one third of his overall job. He will continue to be responsible for our Ignite partnerships, visioning, yearly tactical plan, camp pastors, donations, marketing, Widji blog, budgeting and foodservice.

Heyoo will be the Camp Widjiitiwin Director. He will continue with the daily running of camp that he started in 2017 when Moose went on sick leave. He will have responsibility for daily summer operations and program, staff hiring & supervision, program oversight, maintenance, SALT, Aspire, social media, graphic design, brochures and website. Shared responsibilities will include capital projects.

Summer Changes

We are adding a Ministry Director position and we are happy to tell you that Sad Sac will fill this position.
The chief cabin leaders will move to the boy’s/girl’s ends so that they are closer to the campers and cabin leaders.
There will be both junior and senior cabin leaders
Our summer staff pay system has been increased a little and will include experience and certification as merit for more pay.
Based on last year’s success, SALT 2 continues to have an arts focus

The Gift We Give Ourselves

A SLICE OF FRESH BREAD

by Dan Bolin, International Director – CCI Worldwide

“The Bible in the memory is better than the Bible in the book case.” Charles Spurgeon

When I went to camp as a child, I received a discounted price because I memorized Bible verses all year long. While at camp, I won a prize for learning more memory verses. Since camp, those passages have helped me again and again. The time and energy invested in memorizing the Bible has served me well.

When Jonah found himself in the belly of a whale he desperately prayed for God’s mercy. The wording of his prayer was not original; it was primarily quotes from the Psalms and other Old Testament passages. We don’t always have time to find a Bible and look up the correct passage.

Hiding God’s Word in our hearts is a gift we give ourselves for a lifetime.

In Psalm 119 David said, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11) Later in this Psalm he says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

God’s Word provides protection from sin, direction for our lives and so much more. Read it. Study it. Meditate on it. Obey it. And hide it in your heart.

Widji Camp Pastors 2018

Every summer at Camp Widjiitiwin we have an excellent group of summer camp pastors who each give a week of their time to be at camp to teach the Bible to campers and staff. We highly value the time these men invest into teaching God’s Word, the staff and campers. They teach at chapels each evening, do a devotional at breakfast each morning and are available for campers and staff to talk with.

Our camp pastors for #Widji18 are:

Escape Camp – Hughson Staff
TNT 1 & Blast 1 – Boyardee
TNT 2 & Blast 2 – Ice
Fresh Air Camp – Joose
Royal City Camp – Newb
TNT 3 & Blast 3 – TBD
Capstone Camp – Nemo & Sad Sac
Ephraim’s Place – TBD
Sizzle – Sherlock

This summer we welcome all our camp pastors and their families! Please pray for these men as they pray, prepare and give their time to impact the Kingdom of God at Widjiitiwin.

Camp Widjiitiwin – the way camp was meant to be… relational, central, natural, reaching out, a loving community focused on Christ. It’s like coming home. It’s my camp!

2018 Summer Theme: Star Wars

On the far side of the universe on the third planet from the sun is an event becoming known for training Jedi and battling the empire. This event takes us from the beginning of the Star Wars universe right through the Last Jedi and eagerly awaits the Hans Solo project.

Our summer program theme is Star Wars!! And we’ll do all nine movies over the nine weeks of summer.

Not a big Star Wars fan? That’s okay, Widji will continue to focus on great relationships, all camp games, chapel, fun, food and doing camp together.

Watch for upcoming tutorials on light saber building, costume design and prop construction.

Thanks to Heyoo for the amazing graphic at the top!!