2022 Impact Report
2022 was an incredible year for Camp Wapo, Ox Lake and Wilderness Canoe Base! We have so much to be grateful for…over 3800 summer campers at our sites and thousands more retreat guests. Click here to view the Impact Report.
Welcome to the Team, Eric!
Please help us welcome a new addition to the administrative team at Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp. Starting February 1, Eric Golberg will join our staff as the Director of Administration.
Eric has served in several financial advisory roles throughout his career, leading companies and individuals through a disciplined investment process. He has a Masters of International and Public Affairs from Columbia University and a BA from Luther College. Eric also serves on the ELCA Foundation Board as well as several other advisory roles for various non-profits. Eric and his wife Mikiko live in New Richmond, WI and are members at Redeemer Lutheran in Burkhardt, WI. They very much enjoy taking trips to visit their adult daughters who reside in New York City and London.
Eric’s experience in finance, his professional network, and commitment to service, paired with his passion for non-profit management and outdoor ministry will make him a great addition to the team at Camp Wapo, Ox Lake, and Wilderness Canoe Base. We can’t wait for you to meet him!
Be a Mustard Seed Giver!
You know the parable where Jesus says, “the realm of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches?” (Matt 13:31-32)
It might not be the perfect analogy, but even a few coins or dollars set aside every month over several months become enough to buy something that helps the community—so that children, youth and families can come and be safely sheltered and find a space to experience God’s love.
Or maybe the parable of the yeast that a woman mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened, resonates with you. Yeast is a magical ingredient (it’s really a fungus) that can be activated to create carbon dioxide and alcohol and make a little lump of dough expand to many times its original size, providing enough bread to feed a crowd.
How would your gift of $5, $15, $25 or $50 a month provide seeds or yeast for the ministry that happens at Camp Wapo, Ox Lake and Wilderness Canoe Base?
Over one year,
- $5 becomes $60, enough to provide a week’s worth of trail snacks for a Wilderness canoe trip;
- $15 becomes $180, enough for a weekend of s’mores supplies for Seeds campers at Wapo;
- $25 becomes $300, enough for two 2-person tents in the Boundary Waters;
- $50 becomes $600, and provides one camper scholarship for a family with need.
These are some fun examples of how a seed or some fermented yeast can grow and expand into something so much bigger than it began. The point is, once you get started, your gift will grow and multiply and do more than you ever imagined.
Your monthly investment at a level that’s meaningful for you, mixed with some faith in the transformative power of Bible camp, will yield incredible results.
Think of the joy the planter of the seed and the baker of the bread feel when the community shares the shelter of the tree and the loaf of bread in community together! You can feel that same humble pleasure of knowing that you are a mustard seed giver all year long!
Click here to start your monthly gift today!
Merry Christmas!
After seeing the incredible new photos of the stars and galaxies coming from outer space in 2022, I am awe-struck by the expanse of God’s creation. Did you know that the average star is between 1 and 10 billion years old?
What a miracle that God set the stars in the heavens and that you and I are here on this tiny planet now—each one of us a unique gift from God—and that God gave us a baby, born under the star of Bethlehem, to be the light of the world.
The Advent and Christmas seasons are upon us. It’s a time of hope and expectation of the miracles that await. I celebrate the gift of each one of you as members of the Camp Wapo, Ox Lake, and Wilderness Canoe Base community.
We are living with enormous change and many unknowns about the future but like the stars in the galaxy, God’s plan is so much bigger than we can imagine. I am deeply grateful for your past support and investment in camp’s mission, “Places of Grace Forming People of Faith.”
You play an essential role in making the stars shine for our young campers and summer staff who are looking to find their place in the universe.
As we near the end of 2022 and look forward to a new year, we are counting on your support for a strong year-end financial position to be equipped for many exciting opportunities and plans for 2023.
Your gift has an incredible impact on the ministry that happens at camp. This summer just over 3700 kids and families experienced camp at Wapo and Ox Lake. Wilderness Canoe Base led 98 canoe trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and hosted 5 family camp weekends. You make all of this possible through your continued generosity. Use this link to make a gift today!
The 2023 theme ALL THE STARS is based on Isaiah 40:26 “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? God who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of God’s great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”
Thank you for being an important part of making sure that all campers know they are called by name – each one a shining star, claimed, known, and loved by our Almighty God.
Merry Christmas,
Heather Eggert
Executive Director