The 2013 Winter Camp was a wonderful experience! We were once again at Camp Timber-lee in East Troy, Wisconsin for Winter Camp. This facility is located on 650 acres in south-central Wisconsin, providing a beautiful environment in which to learn more about God’s way of life. The Timber-lee staff does a fantastic job. This year we hosted 45 campers and 25 staff along with the new experience of including 17 young adults in a Winter Leadership Camp running concurrently with the regular teen camp.

The weather is always a wild card for Winter Camp. This year God blessed us with absolutely beautiful weather to start camp, and the temps dropped to single digits and below on the last two days of camp. As a result the ponds and lakes were frozen, which allowed our ice activities (broomball and tobogganing). We also had plenty of snow for winter sports, the amazing race, tubing and cross-country skiing. The indoor activities of team building, animal encounter, arts and crafts, dance and leather craft are always a welcomed reprieve from being outside. Special optional activities offered this year included advanced dance class, open science center, leather shop, winter zip-line (with 13 brave souls facing the cold and wind) and 14 campers and staff challenged themselves in an artic survival overnight campout (in -12 degrees Fahrenheit temps)!

The UYC theme this year was “Remember Your Creator,” and it was a focus of the morning compass checks, the Christian living topics and other biblical instruction. Aspects of this theme were also reinforced at many of the activities and other conversations throughout the day.

Held concurrently this year with Winter Camp was the new Winter Leadership Camp. There were 17 young adults who participated in this camp serving alongside activity staff and counselors. They also enjoyed activities as a group and attended additional Bible classes, seminars and Q&A’s focused on leading in the camp setting, their local congregations and life in general. They had many opportunities to lead and serve including giving speeches and sermonettes, planning and hosting the camp dance, and serving snacks daily to the campers. Winter Leadership Camp was well received and we hope to repeat this camp next year.

Next year Winter Camp will operate for seven days (one more day than in recent years). Come and be a part of Winter Camp 2014!