Last weekend we hosted our in-town winter camp "Winter Blast." Twenty-five middle school students came to the overnight lock-in Thursday night and 75 high school kids came Friday night through Saturday afternoon. We prayed for 100 kids to come and exactly 100 kids came. Our out of state camp speaker, musician, and games people, did a phenomenal job sharing God's love and supporting leaders and kids as they dove into some of life's deeper questions. For more stories and photos, click here.
Winter Blast is one of the highlights of our year in Sitka Young Life. It is a huge opportunity to provide an extended Young Life event. We host two lock-in events. The first for middle school students and the second for high schoolers. We fly in a speaker, musician, and program (people to lead games). This allows our team to focus on being with the kids instead of running camp. The team this year did a great job creating positive energy and sharing about Jesus in a way kids could relate to. The camps included several special events that kids loved: a trip to the gymnastics/ America Ninja Warrior gym, Alaska style laser tag, wallyball, basketball, slackline indoor "snowball" fights, and endless games. Kids enjoyed eating 20 dozen cookies, Philipino food, spaghetti, and a gourmet breakfast, which included a donut wall. We made lots of great memories and were able to share about a God who is fully and totally in love with each of them.
This year we spent more time informing and updating our prayer team before, during, and after the event, and the effects of their prayers were felt. Leaders reported that students were open and honest during cabin times and that they were able to process many deeper questions. The great news about having a camp in town is that leaders have been able to follow up with the kids in their group.
There was a large team of adults who volunteered with the event. We had 13 adult leaders and 5 student leaders engaging with the kids and leading cabin times during the events. Ringleader Yvonne Christner organized the kitchen crew, 12 people who prepared two late night snacks, two gourmet breakfasts, and two wonderful lunches - also leaving the place spotless. We also had additional volunteers help run laser tag, help with greeting and registration, and help with setup and clean-up. With this level of volunteer support, we were able to offer the camp free of charge so that every kid who wanted to go was able to attend. Thanks again to everyone who gave and volunteered in order to make this annual event a huge success!
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