Summer camp is all about having fun, getting dirty, exploring, imagining, and playing. However, at Camp Wyoming, summer camp is also about growing in your faith, interacting with God, and learning from Christian counselors who can be your mentors and your guides. For many kids, the time they spend at summer camp is invaluable to their faith journey, and that experience changes the lives of their family.
Lance came to Camp Wyoming first as a Pioneer camper when he was in 5th grade. He returned again in 1994 to volunteer, and met a summer staff member named Karen. It turns out, Karen was a lifetime Camp Wyoming camper, and she and Lance had actually been in the same Pioneer camp together as kids. For the next two summers, Karen and Lance worked on staff together. Today, they are married and live in Eagan, Minnesota with their three children. Lance says Camp Wyoming was an integral part of his faith journey and still influences how he lives as a Christian, a father, and a husband. His experience at camp is now impacting the next generation, and he hopes that is a trend that continues.
Lance loved working on summer staff at Camp Wyoming. “The thing that I enjoyed most besides having the opportunity to work with the youth, was the wide variety of things that Camp Wyoming has to offer to everyone. You have a chance to meet new people, go on a Christwalk, view nature up close and personal, play games, study the bible, you name it. The other great thing about Camp Wyoming is once you make the drive into camp, you can leave the real world behind and focus on connecting with God, one on one.”
Today, Lance and Karen live far away from Camp Wyoming, but they have connected with a wonderful church family that they have been a part of for the last 8 years. Each of the members of their family have found ways to be involved in their church community. Lance and Karen are involved in multiple singing groups and church choirs. Their oldest daughter, Kaelyn, volunteers in the church nursery, and their middle son Adrian also helps with the young children during the church service. Their youngest, Jordan, participates in youth activities during church. Lance says that the passion he and Karen developed at Camp Wyoming for working with young people and growing in their faith has definitely been passed on to their children, and now they will have a chance to impact the generation after them.
Looking back, Lance is grateful for all of the experiences he had at Camp Wyoming. “Every time I think of Camp Wyoming, I get a great big smile on my face. All of the friends I made, campers lives that I touched, and in how they influenced me in return. Camp Wyoming made me a stronger Christian because I learned that each and every day I needed God in my life. I need God there to guide me in my daily devotionals and to help me focus my thoughts and God’s vision for me. It has also helped me in guiding my own children in their faith development. Since my wife and I met, the Lord has been a huge light onto our journey through life, and will continue to be there everyday.”
