God’s Faithfulness to All Generations
Arlo, Christina, and Violet Maki at Intergenerational Camp, Summer 2021
Fortune Lake is a Place of Grace where God’s goodness and faithfulness are felt and passed from generation to generation. Christina (Kenney) Maki has recently returned to have this truth affirmed for her and her family.
Christina first experienced Fortune Lake as a young camper and then went on to work on the summer staff as a high school student. Like many young adults, Christina then drifted away from church and camp. As a mother of young children, she found herself longing for something that was missing, so she started worshiping at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Iron Mountain, MI where her children attended preschool. Later she began working in their church office. As the administrator, she often saw the Fortune Lake flyers and brochures come across her desk. She remembered “the connection that you never lose” to the people at Fortune Lake, and she longed for that experience again, both for herself and her growing children. She wondered if an intergenerational camp might be perfect for them; Arlo was too young to attend on his own, and Violet was nervous about coming to camp for the first time.
For Christina, her family’s time at Fortune Lake turned out to be “the one true vacation I get as a mom.” She is grateful that she doesn’t have to prep or clean up from meals, prepare a packing list (it’s provided!), or think of structured activities for her family to do. She especially appreciates the adult Bible study time, as she finds the material to be accessible, regardless of a person’s experience, and it fills a deeply felt need in her life. Her children love the time they get to spend with the camp staff, playing games, being silly, and experiencing God’s word at their own levels.
Christina knows that the time her family spends with the staff is more than just fun and games. She remembers how much she looked up to the staff when she was a child–people like Ruth Almen, the Rundman family, and Ruth Warmanen–and how their examples guided her own decision making later in life. She trusts that the staff her children are meeting now will continue to be their Christian role models into the future. She especially values the passing on of the teachings of Jesus and the inclusivity of all God’s people, which are manifest daily at Fortune Lake. Christina hopes that one day her children’s aspirations of working at camp will be realized so they might perpetuate the cycle of passing on faith through trusted relationships.
As the Maki family joined their voices in chanting our summer theme verse–“Spell it out loud: L-O-R-D! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100, verse 5!”– it was glorious to see the truth of these words reflected on their sun-kissed, happy faces.
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