Our second Winter Getaway is in the books, and we are so thrilled with all the growth that has happened over the last year. We were glad to see new faces, and returning ones. The weekend itself was full of almost perfect weather, great Biblical teaching and friendships being built. It’s always my dream to see new people introduced to Beacon and that’s exactly what happened!

Our fourth Family Day Festival was no different - a new high for attendance, with lots of new families coming to check out Beacon for the first time. It helps answer the question of “how you do introduce someone to a camp when the first step is usually to spend a week there?” I think the answer is to host people for a day!

There were a lot of highlights, but I think some of my favourites are (in no particular order):

1. Tube Run Anti-Speed Mats: Our tube run was once again SO popular that the constant tubing really packed down the snow and increased the speed down the run. Wanting to keep campers safe is a top priority, so all the credit goes to Luke “Technic” Stewart for using some rubber mats as anti-speed mats during the day. It kept things fast AND safe, and we’ve already invested in more rubber mats for next weekend!

2. Amazing Carpooling: As the welcoming parking lot attendant again this year, I was actively praying that we would have enough parking for everyone. It made me so happy when a car would pull up with every seat filled! If we keep this up, there is the definite chance that we can open up even more space next year - just gotta find a few 15 seater vans I guess!

3. Tunnels Galore: All of Mark “Mr. Tok” Vandervecht’s work to make a great lake rink paid off with one of the best rinks we’ve had in a few years, but the added bonus was the huge pile of snow that was quickly turned into an amazing den of tunnels and hideouts for campers of all ages. If only we could get a big pile like that into the soccer field one year…

4. Snakes of all Kinds: Not only did we welcome Scales Nature Park for a hands-on adventure with amazing creatures like turtles and snakes, but Doug “Curio” Smith introduced Beacon to the Snow Snake - a great game to be normally played on flat surfaces, or the beach hill on Family Day! Well done, Doug, for balancing all of that. We saw so many smiles!

5. Community: It goes without saying, but from Friday night to Monday at 5:00pm when we had to finally shoo the last few stragglers home, it was so wonderful to see almost 250 people spend time at Beacon. It reminds me that we are one big family, not just at Beacon, but in Christ. My hope and prayer is that spending this time with everyone will renew and rejuvenate our commitment to our brothers and sisters, for God’s glory!