LaMoine Christian Camp News

Camp Director lands the "LaMoine Camp Pond Monster"

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Camp Director, Doug Hamer, finally silences the rumor mongers by catching the LaMoine Christian Service Camp pond monster large-mouth bass. The catch was made at 5:45 p.m., Friday evening, May 2nd, 2008. The sky was cloudy and the wind was out of the west at a strong 25 miles an hour. The massive beast of a fish measured 19" long and weighed an undisclosed lot of weight. In an attempt to weigh the monster, the office postage scale bottomed out at 2 lbs. Pictures suggest the fish weighed a ton.

When asked where exactly in the pond he caught the fish and what he used as bait, Doug said, “He wasn’t where I thought he would have been, and I used a spinner bait and that’s all I’m saying”.

Several others have told of how they almost caught the monster. Retreat guests and even Facilities Manager, Jon Gillespie, have had the monster on the hook before breaking a line or having the fish spit out the bait.

“Actually, I lost it about a half-hour before I caught it”, Doug said. “When I started to bring him in, I could see his body under the water and I knew it was the monster. I guess I didn’t set the hook good enough and he spit it out.” About 30 minutes later Doug returned to same area and this time the fisherman won.

In keeping with the true spirit of the fisherman’s code, Doug returned “The Monster” to his natural environment, to live, and grow, and maybe be caught again: and so the legend of the LaMoine Christian Service Camp Pond Monster lives on, only now with visual proof.

Article submitted by Doug Hamer 5.3.08

Summer Preparation

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500

April and May are a couple of our busiest months as we prepare for the camping season.

We have trees to plant, lawns to roll, cabins to clean, trees to cut, wood to split, mulch to grind, sports equipment to prepare, a sand volleyball court to build, gravel to spread, rooms to paint, buildings to clear, picnic tables to move, roofs to paint, septic systems to clean, trails to clear, Open House to prepare for, a pool to clean and fill, and the list goes on!

It could be overwhelming! But God is blessing us with some 45 congregations who will be bringing volunteers to help with these projects and more. What a joy it is to work together with brothers and sisters in the Lord’s work!

Debt Free!

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0600

I bring to you good tidings of great joy! The camp debt is no more! Today we have cut the last check to the bank, paying off the camp debt in total. What a testimony to the greatness of God and the commitment of so many to the ministry work of the camp. In paying off the camp debt, this day also completes Phase 1 of our Stewardship Program. I thank you all for your generous and sacrificial support of the camp’s goal of eliminating our debt and obligation to a financial institution.

A few churches and individuals have been designating a portion of their regular gifts to go toward the camp debt. Future gifts designated in this manner will now go toward Phase 2 of our Stewardship Program. Even though Phase 2 is still in the planning stages, we will be accepting gifts to be used toward these future capital improvements. You may recall, in Phase 2 of our Stewardship Program, we will focus on bringing our current camp facilities up to a higher standard and 100% utilization. The first priority in this phase will be to improve and increase the capacity of our bathroom facilities.

Please pray for guidance and wisdom as the camp Board and staff make plans as to how we can be better stewards of this great ministry tool that God has blessed us with. Thank you again and please pass on this “good news” to all our camp friends and partners.

2007 Open House

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

We want to express our deepest thanks to you and everyone who played a part in making the camps’ 5th Annual Open House & Auction a huge success! It was truly a great day. God blessed us by providing good weather and everyone did a remarkable job to give the approximately 500 people who attended a memorable day.

The additions and modifications to this year’s program seemed to be well received. The kids really loved the pony rides, as well as the big dual slide, dunk-a-dean, climbing wall, and swimming pool. The adults loved the food, guided tours, fellowship, and watching the kids have so much fun. Once again the auctions seemed to be the highlight of the day. Madison Park Christian Church went above and beyond with all the creative and wonderful baskets they donated for the silent auction and the LaMoine Area Woodworkers did an awesome job with preparing several quality hand-made wood items for the live auction. I also want to say a big “THANK YOU” to all the businesses, churches, and individuals that donated items for the auctions and garage sale.

The silent and live auctions brought in more than $6,800.00 with an additional $380.00 coming from the garage sale. The generosity of those who attended also brought the camp $444.72 in donations and $289.23 in kettle corn sales. After all of our expenses, the camp was left with just over $5,600.00.

Not only did the Open House & Auction provide some income to the camp, but there’s just no telling all the ways in which the Open House may have opened doors of opportunity for the camp to be blessed and to be a blessing to others in the future. As this program grows from year to year, you can see how much help is needed to offer a fun-filled day to our guests, and so I “Thank you again”. The day would not have worked out so well without the help of so many people willing to help out.