Did you know that you can view many of the camp photos from years past? These photos are stored on Flickr. Enjoy remembering your wonderful Pine Lake experience and we will see you when you return.

Click here to view Pine Lake photos.

To all concerned parents and leaders of Junior Winter Retreat Campers: we are monitoring the winter weather forecast closely for this weekend. At this point in time the Junior Winter Retreat will be held as planned. A final decision will be made by noon on Friday and we will alert all parents and leaders.  Please check this spot for an announcement as well.

This is always a tough decision. We will consider the safety of all involved and honor the decisions of parents, leaders and drivers. Should weather change before the weekend is over, we will be prepared to host any campers who can not safely return home for as long as need be.

You already know that things are "changing" at Pine Lake. Our new sister camp relationship (unofficial until after the Feb. 6 vote) with Trout Lake Camps is starting to reveal itself in our web site, summer camp brochure (coming soon) and future plans. Stay tuned because there is more to come. You won't want to miss a minute of this new adventure.

The last three days have been spent traveling back and forth across the state with Jon Wicklund, Executive Director of Trout Lake Camps. We met with pastors in LEAD Teams and held dinner meetings with friends of Pine Lake. What an exciting and encouraging time! We've quickly realized that the process, the job, the responsibility of bringing our two camping ministries together is a monumental task! Wick has turned to me several times and said, "What are we doing?" Just as I was writing this, his statement was, "The beauty of this is it's all in God's hands!" What else could we ask for? 

While we've been on the road, the recovery from the hail storm three months ago continues. We've been blessed with good and prompt insurance coverage. Windows have been repaired and replaced and we are over half way through replacing all the shingles on all the buildings. Give the guys a couple more good days and every building on the property will have a new roof! It will be a blessing to not have to consider that piece in our future budgets and calendars for a long time!

On November 7th, the Iowa Baptist Conference and the Minnesota Baptist Conference both voted overwhelmingly to move ahead with the merger process. Both also continued their November meeting until February 6, 2010, at which time the final vote will be taken.

For several years, First in Forest City has been working on Chestnut and Cypress, (part of the "Cedars" complex on "Girl's Hill"), as their Adopt-a-Cabin project. They've accomplished roofing, staining, sanding and painting. Now they're getting new carpet! Until recent years, we still called these the "new cabins" though they are approaching twenty years old and were desperately in need of sprucing up. Thank you, Forest City, for helping us provide safe, comfortable and pleasing cabins for our guests.

One week before the hailstorm that did so much damage, a team from First Baptist in Muscatine was a significant part of the crew that changed the look of the parking lot at our office. This 16'x40' building is already providing a place to store and work on our many pieces of small powered equipment. It's a great blessing and I would also say a long-awaited vision/dream come true. The gifts that made the shop project a reality came from many places over the last several years, including the 2007 & 2008 IBC Men's Retreats and First Baptist, Forest City.  

The 2009 summer theme, "Awaken The Dawn" proved to be a great ministry. We believe that forty-three campers made very real, first time decisions for salvation. Another twenty shared a recommitment decision with their counselor. After the final audit, we had
exactly the same number of campers as last year, five hundred & seventy four! Given the challenging economy and a multitude of other demands and options for our campers and their families, we celebrate that number!

Over the past several years, TimeShare has provided a way for churches to commit to a block of camper days.  It has motivated churches to see that beds are filled with campers who need the ministry of Pine Lake, both young and old. TimeShare has also provided stability to the cash/income flow of the camp. Consequently, PLC & TLC staff have determined that it is a good thing to conue the TimeShare program at Pine Lake. If your church is not currently a participant in TimeShare and would like to know more, or if your church was previously a participant and would like to be reinstated, contact Roger at 641-849-5553. 

"Awaken The Dawn" closed with a hailstorm of "Biblical proportions"... as it has been described by some in our community! We were within minutes of ending the summer schedule during Pine Lake Homecoming Weekend, when the storm chased us into the hallway of the chapel for cover! All were safe and accounted for. Praise the Lord.

For the most part, and thanks to many willing and giving hands, when you look at our most used spaces, you would not know that the camp was hit with wind and hail in historic proportions on August 9th. Our buildings are secure. We are awaiting insurance settlements and a glass company. But... we are in full operation... unlike our friends across the lake at Camp Quaker Heights who don't expect to be able to serve and minister to guests until after January 1.

This week, our friends from First Baptist in Muscatine, made a trek to Pine Lake on a "mission's trip." Work being accomplished ranges from erecting our new small equipment shop to scraping and painting several buildings. The list of projects is long. The biggest challenge for me has been keeping everyone productive and supplied with the materials and plans! But that is good. When the week ends, a great number of those "nagging" projects will be marked off.