Just Jump!
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Alexa works in Arts-n-Crafts (ANC) in Summer 2023.

A reflection on Matthew 6:34 written by Alexa Georgina Pérez Soto, 2023 Cabin Leader and International staff member from Mexico

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:34

Time perception is quite different at camp. Sometimes you just don’t know what time or day it is, as long as you’re doing what you need to do, right? But occasionally you find yourself with some extra time, maybe as little as 10 minutes. In my life as a student that amount of time wasn’t really used productively, I used to scroll on my phone or even get anxious because I thought I did not have enough time to work on what I had to do! Here at camp those 10 minutes turned out to be amazing opportunities to try new things, whether if you are having a break or hanging out with your campers, you can find God.

Towards the end of summer, a coworker and I were participating in a Dunk Tank game in the lake. We had time before the hour and activity changed, 10 minutes left. We were already in the water just relaxing after being “dunked” multiple times. The busiest person at camp, who not only found time to serve as a lifeguard, jumped and joined us, our Camp Director, Amanda. She could have left to continue her work, but instead she used that short time to jump.

You can do many things in 10 minutes: Play a new board game with your campers, play Gaga Ball in Vagland, pick wild raspberries or have a drawing contest.

We can find God in different moments of our day. If you have 10 minutes, jump.

 

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Camp Service — It Runs in the Family
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Natalie (top row center) and her Venturer cabin group.

Natalie Wagner’s first recollection of being at Fortune Lake was as an onsite day camper. Her grandparents, Bob and the late Judy Wagner, stayed at Bewabic State Park overnight and canoed their grandchildren across the lake for the day. Their family has a lengthy history of service at camp, stretching back to when her grandparents helped build the camp house and the Village Center. Later, Natalie’s aunt Mandy became one of the hardest working summer maintenance workers we’ve had. Now, it’s Natalie’s turn to see just how deeply that tradition of service runs in her blood.

Since her first visit, Natalie has come to camp many times with her siblings and cousins.   This summer she was a Leader in Training (LIT). She was part of a cohort of eight high schoolers who participated in special training sessions during High School Week and then returned for two weeks of volunteering alongside our summer staff. Natalie’s first assignment was with the Venturers. She wondered if the training she received had adequately prepared her to work with middle schoolers, a group with whom she had little experience. Natalie quickly realized that what works to motivate some people doesn’t work for others. Throughout the week there were challenges. Difficult behaviors needed to be confronted, and patience was tried. The highlight came on the final night of camp during the Faith Experience, the culmination of a week of community building.  Natalie individually affirmed each of the campers in the cabin group, telling them how she’d seen God at work in and through them.  Despite her initial hesitation, Natalie found that she had precisely the right words at the right time for each camper.  She states that she “felt so connected to them through Christ.”

Through her experience in the LIT program, Natalie found a patience, adaptability, and enthusiasm she didn’t know she had. As she returns to her family and home church of Christus Lutheran in Greenville, WI, she will continue to put these skills to use. She is committed to working with the Synod Youth Board in her region and hopes to return for a second LIT year at camp next year. She has big dreams of one day being a travel nurse. No doubt God will use the gifts she has honed at Fortune Lake for the service of others, wherever the Spirit leads. Thanks be to God for the legacy of faith and service that her family inspired, and thanks be to Natalie for responding to the call!

 

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Deep Connection, Deep Faith

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Morgan, Jesse, Reed, & Jacqueline Haid during their private rental

Even as a pastor’s kid, Jacqueline Haid felt awkward talking about her relationship with God.  There was one space that was an exception.  Her parents, Pr. Keith and Karen Kolstad, tell of the first time that Jacqueline experienced the waters of Fortune Lake.  The young family had just relocated to the U. P. for Pr. Keith’s first call, and four month old Jacqueline was stuffed into a lifejacket and taken on a canoe ride. Prior to forming her own memories, the waters of this place of grace seemed to have worked their way into Jacqueline’s soul, and this Holy Spirit work continues to this day.

As a child Jacqueline recalls being Fortune Lake with her dad while he served as camp pastor.  The lodges were not yet built, so they tent camped in the field.  A severe thunderstorm rolled in, eliciting strong fears for both father and daughter.  Keith assessed the situation and determined that they were better off to ride out the storm in their tiny canvas tent than to run for cover to an already full building.  Despite their fears, they made it through the night by fervently praying. They awoke a sense of gratitude to deep puddles and a great story to tell.

Fast forward to 2020.  As a mother parenting two young children through the storm of the pandemic, Jacqueline longed to get her family outside in a safe place where they could build new memories and experience many of the things that they’d missed due to safety precautions.  She jumped at the chance to do a private family rental.  It was in those same waters of Fortune Lake where their son Reid swam for the first time and their daughter Morgan had her first pontoon ride.  There was such joy in those initial encounters with God’s good creation.

Thanks to early exposure encouraged by her parents and congregations, Jacqueline’s connection to camp runs deep.  Now she seeks to provide similar experiences for her own family in a place where it’s easy to explore one’s faith, try new things, and feel wrapped up in the immense love of God.  The Haid family looks forward to an entire week of intergenerational camp – a step-up that was much advocated for after the half-week last summer – where the tradition continues, new stories are being built, faith conversations are the norm, and the deeply rooted  connection comes full circle.

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New Strengths & Skills

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Mark Ehle behind the stage of “One Wonderful Day”

When I was younger, my parents always took me and my family to Fortune Lake. I just thought we went because it was a fun place, which it was, but when I got older, I learned how far back its importance really goes.

My parents first met there about 20 years ago when they started working as counselors. Fortune Lake holds a big spot in our family’s hearts because it has so many memories and experiences and helps us grow in our faith. Ever since Mom and Dad became parents, they brought us to Fortune Lake to make memories of our own and help us grow. 

My skills have grown so much over the years, like being on stage without being afraid, eating new things, and meeting people from multiple different places like England, Singapore, and Central America. I made history by acting in their first ever musical open to the public! I was “Cedar Camper #3/Boy in Canoe.” The musical was to commemorate over 90 years of Fortune Lake fun. It was about an ordinary day at camp, and a girl who overcomes her fears by trying  new things. Just like the girl in the musical, I was afraid at camp when I was younger, but in the end we both overcame our fears and wanted to go back the next summer. I’ve learned to do things I thought I probably never would have done, like meeting new friends from across the globe, swimming in a lake with a water trampoline, and leading campfire songs while playing my guitar. This showed me that new opportunities can expose me to many amazing new things.

Fortune Lake has created many different kinds of camp weeks for different people. Some of the camps are Family Camp, Women and Kids Week, Fishing Camp, Lego and Art Camps, and Vagabond Week, which is in eastern Fortune Lake with tree houses, many trails with berries to pick and eat, and fire pits where you have to cook your own food. Fortune Lake is a big place, so there is always room for everyone.

I plan to have a future with Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp. I plan on becoming a counselor there, play guitar at campfires because I’m already learning how to play, and maybe even work there as a full time job. Fortune Lake has given me so many memories and experiences, and I want to help create new ones for more people. 

 

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Accomplishing the Impossible

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Some Forest Park students brave the cool autumn waters of Fortune Lake.

Kids need camp more than ever, and Fortune Lake has been given the opportunity to extend the camping experience beyond summer. Many U. P. schools have the tradition of offering 6th grade camp – an overnight, communal, outdoor education experience – to their students. The pandemic brought both Washington Middle School (Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw) and Houghton Middle School to Fortune Lake for their long-standing school camps.  This fall we also welcomed our neighbors from Forest Park.

Due to a generous grant from the Forest Park Youth Fund of the Dickinson Area Community Foundation, Forest Park 7th graders were about to come to camp for 3 days. Traditional activities like saunaing and swimming, nature hikes, gaga ball, campfires, and skits were coupled with outdoor lessons with their teachers. Many of the students had never had an experience like this. As is often the case in 7th grade, peer groups were forming, and some students appeared to struggle to fit in, hanging on the fringes. Allowing everyone to feel included can seem impossible.

A community building activity called “blanket flip” presented a particular challenge. The activity is intended to seem impossible, yet it can be accomplished through perseverance, intentional teamwork and clear communication. Campers struggled, and one even threatened to run away! Eventually, all teams were able to accomplish the task, and we processed the activity to get to its practical application. Pausing to think, listening to one another, including everyone in the problem solving process, and considering outside-the-box ideas are all essential both in “blanket flip” and in life, especially when things seem impossible.

As the students were loading onto the bus on Friday afternoon, one who often hung on the fringes lamented about camp ending. He stated, “I wish we could come to school here every week and just go home on the weekends.” The fresh air and outdoor fun, the connections with teachers and peers, and the camp community had gotten to him.  His teachers will work to incorporate the important lessons – academic and social/emotional –  throughout the rest of the school year. For all these reasons and more, we need camp more than ever!

 

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There are many meaningful ways to engage in supporting Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp!

A Spirit-Driven Moment, A Lifetime of Impact

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Bella (front) with the LIT group in Vagland.

Annabelle “Bella” King came to Fortune Lake by way of Hayworth, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom as an international summer staff member. Her first few weeks at camp brought about the apprehension that often comes with being in a new place far from home. During staff training, Bella quickly made friends and learned songs, camp traditions, and the flow of camp in general.

One of the first camper weeks, Bella was placed as a cabin leader for the Leaders-in-Training Program. The group was small with eight people creating a close knit community for the week. It was during this week in Vagland that Bella would experience a Spirit-driven moment that would impact her life in a profound way.

Midway through the week, Bella and her treehouse campers were enjoying some laid back time in Vagland. Some were playing guitars, some were taking a moment to rest their eyes, and still others were playing games or crafting. It had been raining all morning, but looked like it would let up soon. As the rain drew back, to the delight of the campers and the staff, the sky opened up to reveal a double rainbow. The group made their way out of the pavilion to bask in the sun and the majesty of the twin rainbow. As joy and wonder moved through the group, a mother deer and her twin fawns meandered their way into the clearing right in front of them, under the beauty of the now blue sky.

For Bella, whose favorite verse is Psalm 96:11-12, this display of the beauty of God’s creation was awe-inspiring and gave her confirmation that she was indeed in the right place for the summer.

The rest of the week brought deepening friendships, meaningful time with scripture, many more moments of beauty, and the construction of the Vagland cross, lovingly dubbed “Big Cross.” That week was one of many memorable weeks that Bella spent at Fortune Lake; it served as the foundation for a continued relationship with FLLC’s ministry.

Since that first summer at Fortune Lake, Bella has returned multiple times, as a staff member, friend, and retreat participant. Each visit only cements her connections to the God who called her here and the other people who also call this place home.

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There are many meaningful ways to engage in supporting Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp!

Faith, Peace, and Family

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Christine (right) and her cousin during a hike to Horse Race Rapids at a Fall Wellness Retreat

While Christine Perry grew up in Crystal Falls, she never attended Fortune Lake as a camper. Her youth group at United Lutheran put on weekend retreats, where Christine heard about a sense of peace, time to bond with peers, and special moments apart from the busyness of regular life, but it never quite fit into her schedule. Little did she know, her relationship with Fortune Lake would eventually grow to impact not only her but her loved ones as well. 

Christine recalls that her time spent at Fortune Lake has varied through the years. She was married at Fortune Lake by former director, Pastor Cy Warmanen, and her daughter worked at camp. Eventually, after all those years, Christine became a camper with her grandson during Grandparents and Kids Week in 2019. As it turns out, this time away spent at Fortune Lake became invaluable to her family. Now, her daughter and grandson come for Intergenerational Camp, and Chris stays back to take care of things at home while her daughter gets time away. She highlights that family camps are a true vacation for guardians. They’re weeks where parents can say “yes” while knowing that the staff will be there to keep kids safe while having fun. She speaks fondly of the relationships that have developed between her daughter and her grandson and the Fortune Lake Summer Staff. These bonds, she says, are part of what makes camp so special. 

When Fortune Lake introduced our first Fall Wellness Retreat, Christine’s daughter suggested that she look into going with her sister and her cousin. The women hadn’t spent time together just the three of them in many years, and they decided to reunite at Fortune Lake. Now, years later, this has become a cherished tradition. Not everyone has made it every year, but those who do find peace and joy at camp and in being together. 

By leaning into the opportunities that interested her, Christine has made Fortune Lake a regular part of her faith and family life. She speaks candidly of her renewed and strengthened faith when she leaves camp. Her experiences here inform the way she not only navigates the world, but shares her love of God with others. 

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There are many meaningful ways to engage in supporting Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp!

Donna & Tom Anderson

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Donna & Tom Anderson

We are associate members at United Lutheran in Crystal Falls.  Since retirement, we live in the UP for 6 months of the year (May-November) and in Florida the rest of the year.  We call ourselves summer birds because our primary residence is in Florida, and we come North to enjoy cooler weather. Tom’s dad was raised in Alpha, and he has lots of family in the UP. We were not aware of FLLC until we joined United.

We have been fortunate to interact with the camp counselors, attend senior camp days, participate in the quilting fundraiser, and meet the camp director and other staff.  We can see, in person, the impact these people have made on those fortunate enough to attend camp at FLLC.  Faith has grown, spirituality has grown, knowledge has grown and most importantly to us, love has grown. There is just too much discord today and people who will not open their hearts to differences. We are so happy to support this wonderful place where differences are accepted, and love prevails. Jesus taught us to love one another, and this is brought forward at FLLC.

 We like the thought of a monthly donation that will help FLLC to have guaranteed revenue each month to pay bills, especially in months when revenue from other sources is minimal. We easily set this up through our bank. Giving an amount each month helps our cash flow too!

Thank you, Donna & Tom, for your generous monthly support of Fortune Lake through the T200!

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Pr. Kristin Rice

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Pr. Kristin Rice

Even though it has been many years since I lived near enough to FLLC to be an active participant, the impact of this ministry and the community therein continues to make a difference. It is at FLLC where I have felt seen and loved into being again and again, as a camper, as staff, and as a visiting pastor or retreat participant. Especially now as FLLC is proactively expanding the welcome and making it abundantly known that this place of grace affirms and celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community, I am even more proud to claim camp as a spiritual home. Camp continues to transform the hearts and lives of people who open their spirits to the mystery and profound love of God that encompasses this place.

Now that I have the privilege of serving as a campus pastor with students at Purdue University, one of my goals is to connect these young adults to camp, Fortune Lake or any other ELCA outdoor ministry. Join the Tenacious 200 if you, like me, think about Fortune Lake frequently enough that it never feels so far away.

Thank you, Pr. Kristin, for your generous monthly support of Fortune Lake through the T200!

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When the Spirit Goes You Up

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Heide (center) and a group of Vagabonds prepare a cooking fire

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt – seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth…”

– Matthew 5:13, The Message

There comes a point in everyone’s life when they realize that suddenly they are the adult in the room. For Heide Gallagher, that moment came in a canoe, when a L.I.T. (Leader in Training) called her as such. That wasn’t the only moment when God stretched and strengthened Heide while on staff at Fortune Lake. The Spirit continually worked through her during the summer of 2021, bringing out the best in her, and in turn, blessing others through her.

Heide’s first step onto the grounds of Fortune Lake was in her godmother’s arms, when she was just an infant. Though she only knows of the memory through pictures, almost two decades later she would come full circle when that same godmother (Pr. Kelly Ylitalo) encouraged her to apply to summer staff between semesters at NMU.

Heide recalls being nervous, even terrified going into her summer at camp. She wasn’t sure she could do it, thinking, “I’m the adult, now?!” Her faith provided strength beyond what Heide expected; she describes how something ‘would just come over her’ when working with campers. She wasn’t scared of the dark. She could open any container. She could help a group of 1st and 2nd graders not only transition from one activity to the next across a huge distance for their small legs but also dance and sing while doing it. And she did it all, she says, with the support of God and the support of her fellow staff members.The Spirit works through lives at Fortune Lake, helping individuals see themselves in new and expansive ways.

There is an image from the summer that Heide takes with her into her life outside of camp. It is during a break in the action during a camp week. On the slope of a hill outside of the dining hall, at a certain time of day, the sun hits the grass at the perfect angle. Heide and some of the other staff lay back in the grass. They are entirely comfortable talking/laughing together there on the hillside, or sitting in silence. Camp is a place where the Spirit calls them beyond themselves to wildly bless the lives of campers, and then that same Spirit bathes them in the grace of radical acceptance, the capacity to show up just as they are.  

Heide has since returned for multiple summers on staff at Fortune Lake, and in her words, she remains so excited – excited for the kids, the community, and excited for that familiar feeling of belonging. In the meantime, she tries to take some of that grace from camp into her university life, in day by day interactions. We are grateful for Heide’s leadership at camp and have enjoyed watching God work through her grown up, yet ever youthful, Spirit-given gifts.  

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There are many meaningful ways to engage in supporting Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp!