April 2020 Newsletter

We hope you and your family are staying healthy, and finding ways to cope with the effect COVID-19 has had on your family and lifestyle. Even though much of the country is closed due to the Coronavirus, Lost Timber is fully operational and we continue to make plans for a summer filled with life-changing memories.

If you have not registered for camp, we encourage you to register soon as our bunks are filling up. Right now, you can register to hold your spot and with no money down! Get registered today and then check out the articles in this newsletter to see what is happening at camp and how we are preparing for the summer.

Summer Camp Update

Staff Training

​Dining Hall Update

On the Horizon

What Are We Doing?

See Our Want List

We Appreciate Your Support!

If you have received your stimulus payment and you don't need it. Would you consider half of it to camp? We do not have registration money coming in right now to help us pay our bills and prepare for summer camp. We would appreciate your help!

General Fund

Dining Hall Fund

Scholarship Fund

Operations Director

Maintenance Assistant

We are Planning on Camp!
We remain very hopeful that our summer camp programs will be in full swing. We’ve never been so eager to ditch the screens and get outside! We continue to monitor the situation daily and will be following the Minnesota Department of Health recommendations.

It’s hard to know at this point, but we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to welcome kids for summer camp while still keeping everyone healthy. Our campfire ring, playing fields, paintball gear, and beach are all waiting for the hundreds of campers who will be making memories here this summer. Your kids will greatly benefit from a week at camp away from devices and full of outside adventures.

We know it's hard for you to plan your summer, and the worry of COVID-19 might be keeping you from registering for camp. You can be assured that your child's health and safety is our #1 priority. We are looking at every area of camp to make sure we are doing what we can to protect your kids. Read more about your COVID-19 Precautions here.

Our Registration & Refund Policy

• When you register your child for camp, we will reserve their bunk for free. No money down!
• Once we have clarity for our summer plans we will contact you and provide a two-week window of time for you to make your payment or deposit to continue to hold your child’s spot at camp.
• In the event that we are unable to hold summer programs, or if you decide not to send your child to camp for COVID-19 related reasons, we will cancel your registration at no cost.
• We will offer a 100% refund for families that have already made a payment in the event that we are unable to hold camp, or if you decide not to send your child to camp due to COVID-19 related reasons.
• Families have the option to receive a refund of their registration fees or convert all or a portion of those fees to a donation to camp. The choice is yours.

Read what we are doing to address COVID-19 related concerns at camp.

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Dining Hall Addition Update
Things are ramping up on our dining hall addition. We expect the drainage tile to be installed within the next week. From there, we are off and running! We do not expect to have the addition completed in time for camp this summer since we still need almost $91,000 to complete the project. But we will go as far as the money will take us. To date, we have raised nearly $210,000! Thank you to all who have donated.
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Volunteers Wanted
We are looking for volunteers with all types of skill sets. Even if you don’t think you have a skill, we can still put you to work on this project. We’d love to have you volunteer! You’re welcome to stay at camp while you work. If you would like to volunteer, click this link to sign up or give us a call at 507-677-2555. We will also be planning work weekends once we get started so stay tuned on our Facebook page.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TOWARDS THIS PROJECT.

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Camper Safety is Our Priority
We know that sending your kids away to camp for a week can be a nerve-racking experience for you as parents. That's why we take the safety and well-being of your children extremely seriously. And now with COVID-19 there is yet another reason to worry. That is why we continue to monitor the situation and are working with the Minnesota Department of Health to make sure we are minimizing the risk. 

While our protocol will likely change based on the science and the suggestions from the MN Dept. of Health, these are some of the precautions we plan on taking.

• Mandatory COVID-19 screening of all passengers upon arrival.
• Even more strict no guest/visitor policy.
• Mandatory and frequent hand washing.
• Hand sanitizing stations in every building.
• Daily cabin cleaning/sanitizing.
• Encourage social distancing.

This list is no where near exhaustive so please call us if you have concerns sending your kids to camp this summer. We believe that we will be able to safely hold summer camp this summer while giving your kids some awesome, life-changing memories.

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IMPACT Staff Training
Every May our summer staff gathers together for a weekend of intense training to equip and prepare them for a summer of ministering to campers. During this time we train on a variety of topics to maximize safety and the effectiveness of our ministry.  Over the years we've found that while many of us know what the Gospel is, we don't know how to articulate it in a compelling way and we have a hard time bringing faith into normal conversations. So we spend a large portion of our training focusing on sharing the Gospel and encouraging campers in their faith.

After our live training event, our staff are also required to review all of our policies and procedures before arriving at camp. When our staff arrive at camp for the summer, they are ready and eager to serve!

IMPACT UPDATE
Due to COVID-19, we are redesigning our training and moving to an online platform. We will miss being together in person but we still look forward to connecting with all of our staff and we can't wait to serve together this summer. If you are serving with us this summer, be sure to watch your email for more details on our online training event.

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On the Horizon for Camp
We are in the midst of some very exciting times at Lost Timber! We are going to begin a long-awaited dining hall addition. That's not all, in fact, that's just the beginning. Our attendance continues to climb year after year and we are starting to run out of space in our summers. The dining hall addition is simply intended to accommodate our current programs, not future growth.

Maybe that sound strange to you. Here's our reasoning. We strongly believe that relationships are important in our ministry to encourage campers in their faith. And we risk that ministry effectiveness if we continue to add camper beds to our summer camps. So how do we grow? Let us fill you in.

We are currently in the early stages of forming our plan but here is how it is shaping up.

• Offer adventure camp programs called "Encounter Trips." These will be adventure trips where campers will canoe and camp while they explore the rivers and lakes of Minnesota. We expect these trips to create many teachable moments where campers will be discipled and encouraged in their faith.
• Develop satellite camp programs where campers will stay in a village of cabins modeled after the tiny home concept. This village would take place on our property so that we can share some of the established camp facilities and still maintain the relationship impact.
• Construct additional facilities such as new staff cabins,  a gym/recreation center, maintenance shop, and program elements. All of these needs are crucial as we grow and continue our ministry impact.

We have not established a time frame for these programs and projects yet but we anticipate some of these things starting to happen as early as next summer. We encourage you to join our support team so that we have the resources to move forward when we need to and not have to wait until we have the money.

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• Paper Folding Machine ($1,700)
• Pick-up Truck (Crew Cap/Extended Cab) w/ Dump Bed
• Band Saw
• Central Air Conditioner
• Couches & Lounge Chairs
• Windows for Moriah Cabins
• Windows for Residence House
• Tube Hill Groomer ($2,000)
• 18' Trailer ($2,500)
• Bobcat/Skid Steer Attachments
  • ​Grapple bucket ($3,000)
  • Auger ($2,200)
  • Brush mower ($4,500)
• ​8 Canoes and 16 Paddles ($1000/set)
  
• Lifejackets
• Old Hay Wagons
• Short Bus ($5,000)

We graciously accept new or gently used items, or monetary donations to purchase these items. Give us a call if you have something you'd like to donate.

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