The Camp Luther Log

Dear 2015 Summer Campers and Staff,  We just received the following information from Water to Thrive about the well that is being built in Africa because of your donations!  Country:                       Ethiopia Region:                        Tigray District:                        Werei' Lekhe' Site Name:                   Damariam May Asela GPS:                           12.11074, 39.19067 Beneficiaries:                265+* *This represents the number of beneficiaries that live within a one kilometer radius of the project. More typically, 3-4 times that number of beneficiaries will be using the project regularly. In addition to providing clean, safe water to hundreds of people, your well will significantly reduce the amount of time women and children spend collecting water. Women will gain the time they need to take better care of their families and engage in income-generating activities. Children will have more time to go to school and be absent less often as wat

August 25 th , the last day of camp, arrived too quickly. Like summers of past this one flew by. The full-time staff remains at camp, preparing for the upcoming seasons and continually looking towards next summer.   Camp is empty, but our hearts remain full. Inside each of us we wish to faithfully thank the 2015 Summer Staff for all they did, not only for us, but for your child and for the Kingdom of God.   Yet, how do we begin to say thank you? How do we say thank you to 44 incredible individuals who served at Camp Luther this summer? How do we thank our friends who became our family? How do we thank them for enduring sleepless nights and exhausting days? How do we thank them for their sacrifices? How do we thank them for sharing their heart and love with those who crossed the bridge?   How do we thank them for going above and beyond what was asked? How do we thank them for being an example of hope? How do we thank them for reminding us we are known and loved by God?

Dear Friends!  You can make a difference at Camp Luther! Gather a group of friends and pick a project to help camp this spring or summer and Thrivent will help!!!! It's called the Thrivent Action Teams. You gather a group, pick a project or a fundraiser, and Thrivent provides a $250 bank card to cover project supplies, materials and other expenses. Just think of what we could do for the Camp Luther ministry together! If you are a Thrivent Financial member you can request two Community Impact Cards annually.  If you're not a member you can become an associate member  here.      Here's how the process works: Select a project from the list below. Contact Camp Luther staff to discuss details, timing, costs, etc. Apply for $250 Community Impact Card a minimum of 21 days prior to the event.  Apply here . Promote project and recruit an Action Team (no minimum size).  Ideas from Thrivent Confirm group size, project, and date with Camp Luther staff. Receive C

K N O W N. He knows me. Our theme comes from John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Like most themes, our theme is one in which we can talk about too much, but never enough. At Camp Luther we often sing the song 'I Just Wanna Be A Sheep'. Like our theme, it can be sung too much, but never enough. As the song goes, “I just wanna be a sheep, ba-ba-ba-ba / I just wanna be a sheep, ba-ba-ba-ba . . .”, but when we sing this do we really mean we want to be a sheep? I don't think so.  Let's be honest, if we were going to choose to be an animal we wouldn't choose a sheep. We'd want to be a lion or an otter or a house cat or a T-Rex, but not a sheep.  Definitely not a sheep. What we are really exclaiming when we sing 'I Just Wanna Be A Sheep' is that we want to follow the One who is our Shepherd, the One who knows us. When Jesus spoke the words found in John 10:27 He not only reminded us we are His, but also t

It has been my pleasure since beginning full time ministry in the early 90’s to get to know many families and watch youngsters grow up to have families of their own. As you might imagine, some of these families saw their children become very active in their faith, while others became less involved with church as they became adults. The difference? Those parents who were more successful at passing on their own family values were those who were more successful at valuing their own family. While no parenting style or method is 100% effective, research over the past 10 years or so has shown two things to be consistently true: (1) Approximately 65% of kids who are very active in Sunday school, youth group, church, etc. STOP attending when they are on their own. (2) Those that do re-main active as adults had parents who valued and taught the importance of faith in their home, beyond simply getting the kids to church activities. Single Parent, Traditional Family, Grandpar-ent; the configurat