GiveBIG St Croix Valley
Tuesday April 26th is the day to GIVE BIG for non-profits in St Croix Valley. Of course, here at Camp Wapo we would be so grateful for your support on this special day of giving. There are a lot of great non-profits in the St Croix Valley and you can share a gift with as many as you want!
Do I have to be a resident of the St. Croix Valley? NO! You can literally live anywhere and still make a gift on giveBIG day.
Can I only share a gift on April 26th? If you use the giveBIG donation site and give on April 26th you could qualify for some amazing prizes for the non-profit of your choice (like a $100 bonus gift!) Our giveBIG donation site is always accepting gifts but you can also share a gift on our website (enter giveBIG in the comment box) lakewapo.org
Do I have to give online? You are welcome to mail a check to us at Camp Wapo, 738 Hickory Pt Ln, Amery WI 54001 or drop one off at our office. Please write giveBIG in the memo.
What kind of an impact will my gift have? All gifts we receive for giveBIG will be used to support summer programs and camper scholarships. Your gift will give kids with financial need the opportunity to attend camp. Your gift is also giving thousands of kids a faith forming camp experience.
Spring is Near
“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.” – Virgil A. Kraft
Ahhhhh…. March! A month filled with the madness & excitement of basketball and hockey play-off tournaments, corned beef and cabbage and some wearing of the green, slushy & melty sidewalks, perhaps tucking away the down-filled parka, and the sweet scent of the warming earth. It’s the month where we feel like we’ve turned the corner and the delightful warmth of Spring and new life await.
Our world does indeed feel quite drab & dirty. Downright topsy-turvy and somewhat filled with fear and dismay, I’d say. War and illness happening at levels we haven’t wanted to experience. But in this moment of brokenness, we have work to do. And this work is good, and needed, and filled with hope.
In just a few months, in this broken and weary world, we will be welcoming young, expectant lives to our camps. We will teach them songs and prayers and lead them through vibrant worship services. We will play with them, roar with laughter among them – we will celebrate them and champion their uniqueness in bold and inspiring ways. We will walk alongside them and ask questions. We will share our thoughts and experiences we’ve learned in our own walk with Jesus. We will watch friendships bloom and blossom, we will squeal with enthusiasm over their art shop creations. We will help them to clean their cabins and tents, and to gently care for their equipment and their neighbors. We will show them how to live among one another in peace, in Jesus’ name, as we offer up prayers as the most important thing we can do.
When you make a financial gift to camp, you are helping all of this Spirit-filled, Christ-led, work happen at Camp Wapo, Wilderness Canoe Base and Ox Lake. Your gift will help a child attend camp for the first time. Your gift will give a camper a week away from the usual stress of life. Your gift will inspire faith growth and encourage a camper in their walk with Jesus. Your gift brings hope to this ministry, a ministry that is so desperately needed by kids everywhere.
We invite you to join us in 2022 – to bring JOY and HOPE to thousands of kids this summer by supporting camp with your gift.
Sending you prayers of peace, comfort and joy this spring!
Now Hiring…2022 Summer Staff
Working at camp is one of the most meaningful and impactful jobs you will ever have. Your leadership skills will soar high, your conflict resolution understanding will deepen, your opportunity to grow in faith will be wide, and you will gain life-long friends. At camp, we are looking for young adults who love God and want to serve in a role that will allow them to grow in their faith, and share the love of Jesus with others. Being a part of camp staff creates opportunities to build valuable tools for life: communication skills, problem solving, creative thinking, teamwork, leadership, and many more!
Most importantly, we are looking for summer staff that are willing to walk with kids on their faith journey during their time at camp. Our staff keeps the physical, emotional, and spiritual safety of all campers a top priority for our mission. Our staff will be committed to providing safe “Places of Grace Forming People of Faith.” This is a place for all to belong—come and join us!
Hear from Nate and Suzi about why you should work at camp this summer.
Apply for the job of a lifetime HERE!
What a Knockout!
Hello from Ox Lake,
Wow, was our day full of awesome and amazing activities. First we started off our day with a trip to 1st village where we introduced our campers to our Laser Tag course. There the kids competed in multiple rounds of 3 vs. 3 to see who was the the true laser tag champion. After laser tag the kids headed back to 2nd village where they fueled their bodies with hot dogs and loaded mac and cheese (a camp favorite).
Next on the schedule was Knocker Balls. We played Sharks and Minnows, where campers got to run around and knock each other over. Knocker Balls was a huge hit -nobody wanted to stop playing! With all the activities we had so far, we decided to give our campers some Quiet Time in their cabins where they either slept, read, made friendship bracelets, played card games, and/or had conversations with friends.
Dinner consisted of Stir Fry where the kids got to sample multiple sauces that some have never tried before. After dinner we had a friendly competition between cabins for Minute-to-Win-It challenges. For each challenge, a cabin would send up one or two cabinmates. Those teams would face off in a minute-long challenge. Some of the challenges that were played included Mummified, Gummy Bear Toss, Bottle Flipping, Counselor Canvas, Paper Airplanes, Balloon Juggling, etc.
After Minute-to-Win-It, we directed them into Earth Chapel for specialty worship, which included a performance from our counselors followed by prayer stations. Each station was crafted to encourage the campers to reflect on their time at camp and engage more deeply with their faith. Our night ended with a cozy campfire, delicious night snack, and cabin devos.
Today was a Grand Slam!
Happy Wednesday from Ox Lake!
What a jam-packed day! Our morning was full of new and exciting games never-before-seen at Ox Lake this summer. These games included FBI Fugitives and Gladiator. In the afternoon, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent our free time out at Ox Lake. We jumped off the raft, took out paddle boards and canoes on the water, and played volleyball, spikeball, and cornhole on the beach. Our campers especially enjoyed lounging on the raft in the sun and making friendship bracelets.
In the evening, we fueled out bodies with gyros – a new experience for some campers – before hopping right into our third field game of the day: kickball. The setting sun, while lovely, was not a friend to our outfielders searching the sky for pop flies. However, our night didn’t end there! After a high-energy campfire, we enjoyed s’mores over a smoldering fire as we waited for night to descend. We also had a dance party as we snacked, which included a whole line toe-tapping to Cotton Eye Joe. As if our day wasn’t busy enough, we also played our night game: Lightning Bug! Our cabins had a great time chasing down our counselors for chips, dodging giant light-up pool noodles, and engaging in silly activities and challenges when they didn’t dodge our counselors well enough. Our smallest cabin, with just four boys, managed to pull through with the win! Congrats to the Ash cabin!
As you can see, nothing can stop us from having a great week! We’re so excited for everything our last full day together holds: laser tag, knocker balls, and specialty worship, to name a few. We’re so thankful for the joyful spirits and enthusiasm of this crew!
Flowing through the Week
Happy Tuesday from Ox Lake!
This morning we had the opportunity to spend time on our lovely low ropes course. Our cabins had a blast doing trust falls, walking across wires, and other challenge activities. Afterwards, we spent our afternoon at DD Kennedy, a local park, where we had a picnic, played cornhole, spikeball, kan-jam, and splashed around in the water. While some campers enjoyed making bracelets, playing board games or cards, others spent their time going under the waterfall. On the walk back to 2nd village, we handed out electrolyte freeze pops to improve our hydration and stay cool!
After the walk back from DD, we gave our campers some rest before we fueled their bodies with a delicious meal- fajitas! After dinner we moved on to our first field games of the day which included Snake and Rat-a-tat-tat which seemed to be a big hit for this week’s campers. Finally, our night finished with a movie screening of Tarzan in the Earth Chapel with popcorn, snacks, and pop for a complete movie-going experience.
We couldn’t be more excited for tomorrow and all the activities and opportunities to grow in community and in relationship with God. We’re thrilled to have so many more days of fun ahead!
A Monday to Remember
Happy Monday from Ox Lake!
Another great day in the books. We started our morning with sunshine and swim test, then moved into some new and fun field games: Wizards-Giants-Elves, Battle Bots, Ox Ox Noodle, and Mighty Mighty. Our Bible study today focused on the story of the Good Samaritan, delving deeper into the nuance of the story and how it relates to our own walk as Christians. The night wrapped up with an energetic campfire, with Prince of Peace and Waymaker being big hits. Before bedtime, the kids got to enjoy a delicious night snack called choco tacos! We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Small (but Mighty) Sunday
Happy Sunday from Ox Lake! We’re coming at you live from Week 9!
We are so excited for this group of campers – our second week of just senior high campers, our smallest group of the summer, AND our last group of the summer! – and all the fun activities we have planned for the week. To welcome our campers, we served a gourmet pasta dinner and threw them into two classic camp field games: Medic and Exploding Enchiladas. Although the rain made the ground muddy and we all walked away with dirty shorts, we also walked away with big smiles as we transitioned into our first canteen time of the week. So far, cream sodas and Nerds ropes have been a huge hit! We finished off our night with a drizzly outdoor campfire, where our top singles of the night were Feewah and Gospel Light.
What a great start to camp! We love the energy of this group already and can’t wait for everything else this week has in store.
Big Ending!
Happy Friday from Ox Lake!
Time flies when you’re having fun, and today was no exception. After brunch and Bible study, we managed to sneak in one final game of Mighty Mighty to warm up for our closing worship. We had a great time singing and doing actions for all of our favorite songs with our families (and family pets) present. We loved all the energy our campers brought for the last day of camp!
Although goodbyes are always bittersweet, we’re so happy to send off this week of campers into the rest of their summer physically exhausted, but spiritually refreshed. Even though we teach the same Bible studies week to week, this group surprised us every day with their enthusiasm and creativity. Today they surprised one of our staff with three jugs of water, a memory that will definitely remain with us long after this week. We can’t wait to see them again next summer – maybe even on staff! As always, we welcome our campers to stay in touch with us via snail mail. We would love to hear from you!
