The photos and videos tell the story: the Victory Lane Camp summer session at Bradford Woods was amazing. From challenging climbs on the ropes course to laugh-inducing skits around the campfire, families who attended the camp were inspired and energized.

But there were some significant obstacles facing camp organizers before camp even began.

“The newest unknown for this camp was our extremely low serving family numbers. We have never had a camp with such low serving family numbers before,” shared Tiffanny Younquist, VLC Assistant Director. “It challenged us to rethink how the camp could be successful and how we could overcome the obstacle.”

Additionally, this was the first year VLC needed to recruit Meal Missionary teams to provide meals at Bradford Woods. Zonda Ketcham stepped up to take on the large task of coordinating the Meal Missionary teams during camp. Families from the VLC community who live in the Bloomington and Martinsville area helped connect VLC with groups who would sacrifice time, energy, and food for camp.

“Cyndi Johnson, Noell Mosca, and Diane Helton helped out so much with the Meal Missionary recruitment,” Tiffanny noted. “The Johnson family even provided a meal for the serving families the night before they came to camp themselves. Noell brought two groups to provide meals throughout camp. And Diane connected VLC with groups who provided meals over the weekend.”

With fewer serving families, those who were involved needed to step into roles they normally wouldn’t take on during a camp session. One example of this was Carlie Johnson, VLC’s summer intern. Carlie took over campfire skits this year.

“She did a great job and really reduced the stress that skit creation often causes the VLC staff,” Tiffanny expressed.

Challenges in organizing camp aren’t new, as there are often unknown factors that keep camp staff on their toes. At this camp, however, the challenges resulted in blessings. The camp session had an intimate feeling and those who attended were able to strengthen relationships. Some of Tiffanny’s favorite memories were Carmine catching two gigantic catfish, and Howie’s sharing on the last day about how he felt like a real dad again. The entire VLC camp planning team saw God at work throughout the session.

“God just wants our obedience. He will take care of the details. So many times in the planning of this camp it seemed like the obstacles were too much to overcome. But as always, God’s plan is better than mine and it is only through my obedience that He will reveal his great plan,” Tiffanny said.

As the next summer camp session approaches in July at Cornerstone Campground in New Castle, there is still a need for serving families. The camp planning team is asking the VLC community to pray for the upcoming camp and to consider serving during upcoming camp sessions. For more information, visit https://victorylanecam.wpengine.com/serve/.