DIRECTOR’S CORNER - Freezing Cold Weather and Warm Heart Miracles
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Have you ever prayed and received a completely unexpected answer from God? Maybe even a miracle? On January 25, I prayed one of those prayers and
God’s answer is one that I don’t think I will ever forget.
In the middle of running our Combo 1 Avalanche, we had almost 250 people at camp on the coldest weekend of the year to date. The whole weekend
was below zero. Outdoor activities were cancelled, and we worked to figure out more indoor activities. We received an email on Saturday that the power company was asking us to pull power to Lakeview Lodge and run on generator power from 6-11 am. We prepared
for the outage, talked with the leaders about what would be happening, and told them to relay to the students that it was an opportunity for us to love our neighbors by helping free up power for others. We were all excited for an ‘adventure’. The next morning
at 6 am the generator fired up and it was –34 degrees. All was well until 6:30 when the generator gelled up. Josh called Scott to come help, and Scott took our only working vehicle down to camp to work on the generator. I got my kids up and told them I had
to get them to camp and asked them to pray we would get power restored, and I was off to walk the half mile to camp. I was praying the whole way.
I prayed that God would help us get the generator running. It was the most logical prayer. In my mind, that would fix the problem, right?
I added to the prayer that ultimately I wanted Him to have to glory in the outcome, assuming He would fix the generator, and we would give Him the glory.
When I got to camp, there were a few leaders milling about and the kitchen staff in the dark with one flashlight. AJ, our cook, said he
had oatmeal on, but we could not cook anything else without power. He said that we MAYBE had enough for one small bowl of cereal per person and enough milk if we portioned it. So, we set several volunteers on pouring 250 bowls of cereal and setting it up for
a breakfast rush. The generator was still not working.
At 8:30, with everyone gathered in the dining hall, we prayed for the meal with our portable speaker and microphone and dismissed tables
to go through the line to eat. Everyone went through the line, and tables were still mostly full of bowls of cereal. We dismissed campers for seconds and watched half the camp come up for more, and the tables still were half full of bowls. We announced that
people could keep coming to help themselves to cereal. I know I saw several young men eat five or six bowls of cereal. We never ran out of milk or cereal! We truly had a Matthew 14 moment! There is no way to describe what happened other than that it was a
miracle!
Shortly after, we finally got the generator up and running. We were able to send the campers home with a hot breakfast after chapel.
Another miracle is that Lakeview only lost three degrees of heat during the entire time it was without power. Between the wind blowing off
the lake and doors constantly opening and closing, the temperature should have dropped quite a bit. But it didn’t. God sustained it.
God could have helped us fix the generator. But in all honesty, we could have easily taken the credit for fixing the generator of our own
skill and missed the miracle. But the cereal? Lakeview holding temp with no power? There is nothing we could do to take credit for that. It was truly God providing and showing up in a big way. It was a reminder on a frigid cold day that God is our Provider
and Sustainer!
As awesome as that story is, there is something more miraculous that we witnessed over the past two months – lives changed! When God brings someone
from dead to spiritually alive it is most remarkable! How God transforms lives is powerful and amazing!
The night before, at chapel, the speaker called students up to the alter to do business with God. He laid out a clear gospel presentation and
a call to follow Jesus. Within minutes the front of the chapel was full of students getting right with God. I have heard a few of the testimonies of students saying that the pull to come to Jesus was strong and clear. Another said they saw clearly that God
is their Savior. That night we had three students say YES to Jesus for the first time and over 55 students rededicate their lives to Jesus! Many told us about the next steps they want to take in their faith, and many more shared prayer requests.
Nights like these are a reminder of why we do what we do! It is why we pray, give, volunteer and send campers. God continues to use Big
Sandy Camp to change lives for eternity. And that is the GREATEST miracle of all!
Rhonda Wynegar
Camp Director
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WINTER RETREATS
- We started off the year with Young Adult retreat January 2-4. It was such a fun retreat. If you know a young adult,
encourage them to attend next year! Check it out at: https://youtu.be/gqzLbX1P6lI
- We had FIVE Avalanche winter youth retreats this year! We had over 725 in attendance, 20 first time YES decisions
for Jesus, 176 recommitments to follow Jesus, and 294 campers tell us a next step they want to take in their faith. Pray with us for those who encountered Jesus that their faith would grow!
- The Men’s Committee of the NCD-CMA did a trial run with a Father Son retreat, and it was a fun and engaging weekend.
Their annual Men’s Retreat is coming up starting TODAY, March 6, 2026!
- We have hosted two other contract groups, including our own CCC Rochester youth group.
It has been a busy and beautiful winter retreat season so far! We are praising God for the ways He continues to reveal Himself to those
who seek Him!
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- LADIES RETREAT - Space for God – April 17-19, 2026 - For all ladies ages 15 and up!
- SPRING WORK DAY – May 2, 2026 - all ages and skill levels are welcome!
- RIVERSIDE KIDS CAMP – June 15-19
- EXPLORERS (Gr 3-5) and ADVENTURERS (Gr 6-8) Camps - June 23-27
- ROOKIE (Gr 2-3), EXPLORERS (Gr 3-5) and CRAFT (Gr 4-5) CAMPS - June 29-July 2
- FAMILY CAMP 1 - July 3-5 – Speaker Jonny Olson
- ADVENTURERES & WAKEBOARD CAMPS (Gr 6-8) - July 7-11
- PATHFINDERS (Gr 9-12) CAMP - July 14-18
- NEXT GEN CAMP – July 20-24
- FAMILY CAMP 2 – September 4-7 – Speaker John Stumbo
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Scott Wynegar
Director of Development
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Scott is the newest member of our team! He joins us as the Director of Development. The heart of this role is to develop relationships and
partnerships with churches and church leaders, develop positive relationships with our local community, and develop funds to complete projects to keep Camp moving forward. Scott was saved at a Bible camp as a young boy. As an adult, he served as a fundraised
campus missionary with CRU, worked as a deckhand on a remote supplier in SE Alaska, served as a property manager, owned his own construction business, and now homeschools his three kids among other things. He has a heart for seeing Jesus change lives and loves
to talk to people about God over a cup of coffee. Since his first visit to Big Sandy Camp, he has developed a BIG heart for the ministry here and wants to see BSC continue for the next several generations.
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GIVING OPPORTUNITY
-Paddle 365-
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PADDLE 365 is
an annual giving program for camp that goes towards taking care of what God has entrusted to us. Camp needs a lot of love. For a dollar a day, you can join with others to manage this upkeep. It is an incredible opportunity help BSC continue creating
space for people to encounter Jesus!
In return for your support, we pray for you on a date that you adopt and give special PADDLE
365 updates twice a year.
Our goal for 2026 is to find 365 people who love camp and what God does at BSC who are willing to stand
with us in supporting camp 365 days a year! We still have over 320 days open! Join with us in filling them!
Join us by
giving
to PADDLE 365 and shoot us an email at development@bigsandycamp.org so
we can connect with you! Donations can be made monthly or annually. You can also mail a check to us at
52511 185th Pl, McGregor MN 55760.
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CAMP WISH LIST!
Check out our giving page to see our “Wish List!”
https://bigsandycamp.org/giving/
We still have many items on our wish list. For those of you who like to give a tangible gift, please check out our wish list! We know some things on it are expensive, consider going in with others
to raise the funds!
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- Praise God for His protection and provision over camp, campers, volunteers
and staff.
- Praise God for the campers lives that were impacted this winter. Pray that
the seed will grow in good soil (Matthew 13:8).
- Praise God for all the gifts, donations and prayers that help keep this
place going. We are grateful to our many partners in this ministry!
- Pray with us for growth in camper numbers. More campers = more lives changed!
- Pray for the summer staff team to come together.
- Pray for us to have a full crew of LIT’s (Leaders In Training) this summer!
- Pray for lots of volunteers for camps, projects, and guest cabin leaders.
- Pray for God’s provision of funds for the projects that we need to complete
to keep camp in compliance and running well. I know we have said it before, but this is a DAILY prayer around here!
- Pray for wisdom for decisions, finances, and
future development of spaces and people!
Thank YOU for being an integral part of the ministry of camp. We truly cannot do this without
YOU! It takes a large village to make camp a reality!
We LOVE our Big Sandy Camp Family!!
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GET IN TOUCH
Big Sandy Camp & Retreat Center
52511 185th Place
McGregor, MN 55760
218-426-3389
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