An Invitation to Community
Josh (far right) with a group of campers in 2019
Fortune Lake changes the lives of people like Josh Stachnik. When Josh first came to camp it was High School Week 2015, and he did not want to be here. His pastor had arranged for him to come, but Josh had his heart set on attending a different camp. Camp was overflowing with young people who all seemed to be having fun, but Josh wasn’t convinced.
It was Wednesday, midway through the week. The high schoolers were participating in an all-camp activity. As was the pattern, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves; everyone except Josh, who was letting his personal issues get him down. Two campers, Charlotte and Lillian, approached Josh and invited him to join in with the group. Josh recalls thinking, “Well, I might as well try to have at least one good memory from camp,” so he began to let his guard down. In that moment, things shifted for Josh. He saw how openly the Fortune Lake community embraced him exactly as he was, personal issues and all. He felt loved and accepted and was able to experience the true joy that he had witnessed in the other campers.
Today, Josh acknowledges that the invitation from his fellow high school campers changed his life. God worked through that moment to allow him to begin to let his walls down. Thanks to that interaction and many that followed, Josh is striving to mature into the person God wants him to be. This summer, Josh will be serving on our staff for the second time as a Cabin Leader. He is committed to inviting all of his campers to be open to the experiences of Fortune Lake so that they too may grow in faith.
Support from generous donors allows us to invite people to experience true joy in this place of grace. This summer, due to Covid mitigation efforts and half-capacity lodging, it is more costly to run camp than it has ever been. However, we know that we all need camp more than ever before. We need to be together. We need to be affirmed in who we are as children of God. We need to experience the authentic Christian community.
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