Midwest Bible Camp's Senior Week Memento Book

7/25/2019 Midwest Bible Camp's Senior Week Memento Book

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Senior WeekEMBRACINGTHEMYSTERY2016


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I feel so humbled and honored to have been here to capture your senior week this

year. I started attending this week years before I was old enough to be a camper, and

every year I have been changed. I wanted to give you the pieces of this week that, as

a camper, I always wanted.

I loved spending this week with you. I loved eating meals with you and experiencing

God with you. I loved worshipping and praying with you. I loved laughing with you. My

prayer for you is that you dont forget. I know these are only a few pages of paper and

ink, but I hope that on days when you feel distant or unloved you can look over these

pages and know that there is love for you here. I believe there is love for you

everywhere you go now because you have had the privilege of these experiences

and carry with you both the memories and the God who made them possible. I pray

that you have the courage to create your own community back at home with the

pieces you take back and love deeper than you have before.

A special thank you to Dana Street for capturing moments when I didnt know how

and for picking up the slack when I slept in until 11am. Thank you to anyone who stole

or politely asked to use my camera throughout the week and allowed us to see

through their eyes.

Lets go create heaven together.

I love you guys.

Until next year,


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1 /SATURDAY


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Our priority is for you to

encounter God. It doesnt matte

whether you feel close with Go

or far from him; we respect

wherever youre at. If there is a

Godand we believe that thereisthen he is going to try to ge

inside your heart this week. He

not going to miss this opportuni

We want you to leave here

transformed by God and by thi

community. This is your journey

we cant take it for you.

Jason, greeting new campers

The challenge I give you is to try

to create new experiences. The

best way to enhance your

relationships is to bring otherpeople into them.

Todd and Carson, greeting

returning campers


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The problem is that is no matter how big God is, no matter how unfathomable he is, nomatter how hard it is for us to get our minds around itwe tryto make him small. I thinkchristians, I think your church, I think all of usare guilty in some way of trying to make

our big God smaller than he is. Our theme this week is Embracing the Mystery. Weretalking about how big God is, but how we as humans try to make him small. Why wouldwe want to make God small? To understand him? So we can get our minds aroundhim? To raise ourselves? To have control?How many of us are guilty of wanting to havecontrol in some part of our life? The problem with us wanting control is that were notincontrol. The problem with us wanting to understand everything is that were not God,were creatures that are made by Him. This week we have a goal to take God out ofwhatever boxes we try to put him in. Our desire this week is to take God out of the boxand, in doing so, discover blessings. By taking God out of the box, I believe we willdiscover and uncover blessings that he wants to bless us with that we know nothingabout. We think that if we let God out of the box that well lose control, but in reality,theres something right and theres something good and theres something pureaboutGod being God and us being us. So, were going to try to embrace the mystery. InIsaiah 55 it says,

A lot of us come back to camp because we want to get right with God; we want to getback to a certain place. We feel like weve got some issues or weve drifted away orthings get dull and we get complacent. Thats what this verse is kind of about returnto God, turn to him, get back to him, get things right. But whats interesting to me is thatthe next verse says,

If were going to have what we long forwhat we need with Godwere going to haveto embrace the mystery. Lets embrace this mystery, which is something that weregoing to have to spend the week on because its not something that we can do easily orwant to do or do naturally.

Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought ofdoing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he will have mercy on

them. Let us turn to our God that he will forgive generously.Isaiah 55:7

My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts and my ways are farbeyond anything you can imagine.

Isaiah 55:8

introductionJASON HAWKINS, SATURDAY EVENING


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CARSON: I try to manipulate and control every detail of my life to the point where it seems itconsumes all of my daily life. I worry about every single thing I need to work out that day. I wantto spend time with the people I want to spend time with and I want to go to the places I want togo to. And not just the day to day things, but Im talking big picture things as well. Because Iwant the future that I want and I want to desire the things that I want to desire and seek after thethings that I want in my life because its my life and Im the captain of it. I try to control all of itand I finally get to this point where I realize that Ive constructed for myself a very wellfunctioning, meaningless life. Ive constructed for myself a very finely tuned piece of temporarygarbage. Im trying to construct my own thing that Im in control of.

One of those things that is so mysterious about God is that he is the most uncontrollableforce in the universe. He cannot be contained. The very first words of this book that so many ofyou brought here that were going to be looking at so much this week are, In the beginning,God created the heavens and the earth. Already, I dont get it! Already, it makes nosense! Ifanyone in here claims that they understand those words fully, youre lying. It absolutely makesno sense. There was something that existed before the heavens and the earthGod was justthere? God made something out of nothing! Scientists with all of their technology and theirknow-how on the planet could never just make something out of nothing. It goes against thelaws of everything we understand about how the world works. But God was not only able tocreate something out of nothing, but to create everythingout of nothing. I dont get it.It makesnosense to me. The fact that I was created by a God means that I am notthe captain of my life.

Thats the thing that I like the least and thats why were embracing the mystery of God. It is sodifficult for us because the fact that there is a God that has created all of thisthat in thebeginning he spoke all of this into beingthat means that I have nocontrol. I have no real sayin what happens in this world.

What always amazes me about tsunamis is that these waves just wash away citiescompletely. And that is such a great picture of what happens when we try to contain and box inwho God is. Its so overwhelming that it completely washes away our understanding of who wethought God was in the first place.

sh

elterho

usecampfire

JASON: Those of you who know me best know that I am a self-proclaimed control freak. Thereason why I want to control things is because I can avoid certain things that I dont want. I canavoid certain pain. I can avoid certain discomfort. I can avoid certain feelings of insecurity and

feelings of depressionall these things that I struggle with, if I can just be in control of my life, Ican stay away from those things. And Ive learned enough to know that it never really works.And the only times in my life where Ive ever really felt at peace and fulfilled and not controlledby all those things I just said Im so afraid of, is when I just really let God takeover. And sotheres this contrast between those two things.

Were talking about fear. And a lot of you, those who have been at Senior Weekbeforethe majority of usthis place has become special to you. I would even say that thishas become a safe place for you. Which is kind of ironic because as much as this is a safeplace because we know we can come here and we can be loved and we can get away fromsome of the stuff at home and some of the hurts we deal with, this is also a place where weknow that if we let him, God is really going to work in us. Which isnt always the safest thing.

Because sometimes when God wants to really do work in us, we have to deal with this stuff thatwe so desperately try to control our lives so we dont feel them. And so, its interesting. Becauseyou can see it out here in myself and in you guys. Weve been coming out here for so long andweve seen that even out here, we come out and maybe because its such a special week andthat its so short and its only once a year, we try to control things out here too, dont we? So we have all theses issues and things were concerned about and the truth is thattheres a conflict we face when we come to a week like this. And the conflict is that we want tobe out here, but were not sure what Gods going to do with us when we do. And so I believethat if youre anything like me, you bring with you certain things that we need to let go of. Certaincontrol things. What are you bringing out here this week that youre anxious about, that youre worriedabout, that youre concerned about?

If I just give Him control, whats going to happen?


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2 /SUNDAY

WE DONT KNOW IT ALL AND WE NEVER WILL.


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CAMP WIDE

THINGY

WHY DOES THE FACT THAT WE DONT AGREE CREATE A PROBLEM FOR US?

THE MORE YOU CAN

CONVINCE SOMEONE

THEY ARE WRONG, THE

MORE YOU FEEL RIGHT.

JOB 35:5-8

1 CORINTHIANS 12:12

ONE OF THE ENEMY'S

T R U E S C H E M E S I S

MAKING THE ENEMY

E A C H O T H E R

GOD IS WHO HE IS, YOUROPINION OF WHO HE ISDOESNT CHANGE HISC H A R A C T E R I S T I C S .

WHY CAN WE NEVER GET ON THESAME PAGE IF WE ALL BELIEVE IN GOD?HE DID IT ALREADY, ITS NOT

ABOUT GETTING RIGHT WITH

G O D . I T S A B O U T Y O U R

APPROACH TO OTHER PEOPLE.

WHAT IS IT

T H A T H EC A R E SABOUT THAT

W E R ES U P P O S E DT O B E

REFLECTING?

HAS GOD INTERACTED WITH US IN A

WAY THAT MAKES US FEEL LIKE OUR #1

GOAL IN LIFE SHOULD BE HAVING IT

A L L T O G E T H E R A N D P E R F E C T ?

DOES GOD WANT YOU TO HAVE IT ALL RIGHT? IF NOT, WHAT IS IT HE WANTS?

QUOTES FROM


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PRAYE

R

C

O

M

M

U

N

I

O

N


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We wanted to get us to a place at the beginning of the week where we dealt with the fact that as

much as we appreciate the words in the prayer Carson led us in and as much as we want to know

everything, we dont needto know everything. And thats a humbling experienceto get to a place

where you admit to yourself, Im too concerned with figuring out all the answers and knowing

everything. As we move forward in the week and continue to embrace the mystery, theres a

process were trying to go through as a camp. Were trying to let go of our need to control thingsand our need to know everything and at the same time, search for the things that really matter.

Were focusing on what God really wants us and needs us to know and focus on. I want to share

with you guys tonight a prayer that the apostle Paul prayed for a group of people he really loved.

Theres a letter that we have in the bible called Philippians. Its a letter to a church in a place called

Philippi. Whats interesting about this letter to me is that in the first eight verses he says something

remarkable to them. He says, Every time I think about you, I thank God for you. Anybody relate to

that? There are times during the year when I am reminded of camp and Im reminded of some of

you who I dont see every day or every week and in my prayers, youll come to my mind and Ill just

say, God, thank you. I thank God for people because thats what they mean to me. In the letter to

this church, where Paul says, every time I think of you I thank God for you, after I realized howmuch he cared about these people, I wanted to know what this guy is going to say to a group of

people who he loves so much. And tonight I just want to tell you what he prayed for them and then

were going to pray a version of this prayer about you campers tonight and I want you to catch

something. I can honestly say that I can relate to Paul here. Youre people who, throughout this

year when I think about you, Im going to thank God for you. So when we share this prayer for you

tonight, I want you to know that its a personal thing, kind of like when it was originally written. Paul

says to the church, I want you to grow in your love and abound in your knowledge and your

understanding. And if your knowledge and your understanding cause you to love better and you

grow when youre loved, he says if that happensif you grow in your lovethen you are going to

be able to discern what is best. In the NLT it says youre going to be able to know what reallymatters. Which is kind of what were talking about tonight. We dont need to know everything, but

there are things we do need to know. And what we really want to know is what matters. And so he

says,if you get love, youre going to get what really matters. At the end of the prayer, its is so

beautiful because he says when that happenswhen you get love and that causes you to really

know what matters, then youre going to produce fruit. Which basically means your lives are going

to mean something. Your lives are going to be purposeful; youre going to produce fruit. To put this

in the most simple terms, if we love, we are going to know what matters, and our lives are going to

produce somethingwere going to have meaningful, purposeful lives. Tonight, thats our prayer for

you this week and for the rest of our lives.

CAMPFIRE

JA

SONHAWKINS


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3 /MONDAY

WHAT WE DONT UNDERSTAND.


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WHAT ARE SOME THINGS WE DONT UNDERSTAND THAT PERSONALLY AFFECT OUR LIVES?

THERES A CONTRADICTION

BETWEEN WHAT WERE

TOLD AND WHAT WERE

ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING

A N D F E E L I N G .

W E F E E L L I K E W E R E

SUPPOSED TO BE STRONG

IN OUR FAITH AND IF WE

ARENT, WE FEEL LIKE WERE

W R O N G .

IF WE DONT TELL ANYONE WERE DOUBTING

HIM, MAYBE WE CAN PRETEND THAT WERE NOT.

WERE AFRAID OUR

WHOLE LIVES WILL

CRUMBLE APART IF

WE DONT BELIEVE

A N Y M O R E .

THE VERY THINGS

M A K I N G Y O U

STRONGER ARE

MAKING YOU FEEL

LIKE A FAILURE.

GOD IS BIG ENOUGH FOR OUR DOUBTS.

SATAN USES DOUBTSTO BUILD A WALL, GOD

WANTS TO HELP US

GET OVER THE WALL.


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Prayer experienceSELF IMAGE (ROMANS 8:15-18, GALATIONS 3:26-29, PSALMS 139:13-16),GOD IN PAIN, WHY CANT I GET OVER MY SIN? (JAMES 1:13-18), WEB OF

DOUBT, CONFESSION (MATTHEW 16:24-25), QUESTIONS TO GOD,

MYSTERIOUS LOVE (PHILIPPIANS 2:1-8), COMMUNION, BE STILL, GOD

CHOSE US.


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4 /TUESDAY

WE ARE NOT THE POINT.


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WE DONT GET TO DETERMINE OURVALUE IN GODS EYES, BUT GOD ALSODOESNT CHOSE TO DETERMINE HISV A L U E I N O U R E Y E S .

QUOTES FROM CAMP WIDE THINGY

IF THERE IS A GOD

WHO CREATED US,

WE WERE MEANT TO

E X I S T .

CAT CHRISTIAN

/

DOG CHRISTIAN

YOURE NOT THE POINTB E C A U S E Y O U R E

SOMETHING BIGGER

T H A N T H A T .

C H R I S T I A N I T Y H A SG O T T E N T O ADANGEROUS PLACE WITHTHE OVEREMPHASIS OF APERSONAL RELATIONSHIPW I T H G O D .

GOD SHOULDNTBE AT THE TOP

OF OUR LIST, HE

SHOULD BE THE

PIECE OF PAPER.

ALL OF OUR SIN IS ABOUT MAKING US GOD.


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Mess Night

I love you

in general

I love you

your smile

you love me

my laugh

you dont know

my file

theres pages

of loneliness

theres poems

of guilt

theres torn pieces

of past hurt

you only love me

one mile

tell me

your tears

show me

the dark

grant me permission

to write on our arms

the pressure

the painthe mess

we confess

the truth is in hiding

I love you

I know

you doubt

what you feel

Ill hold you

youll heal

I love you

not

in general

I love you

for real

POEM BY MEGAN MADIS


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5 /WEDNESDAY

WHAT IS THE POINT?


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O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you / as the day rises to meet the sun. / Glory to th

Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and w

be forever. Amen. / Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the LOR

our Maker. / Song Lord, Take Control / Speak, Lord : for your servants are listening. / Psal

86: 1-7 / Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer : answer me, for I need your help. / Prote

me, for I am devoted to you : Save me, for I serve you and trust you. / You are my God. / B

merciful to me, O Lord : For I am calling on you constantly. / Give me happiness, O Lord : fo

I give myself to you. / O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive : so full of unfailing lov

for all who ask for your help. / Listen closely to my prayer, O LORD : hear my urgent cry. /will call to you whenever Im in trouble : and you will answer me. / Speak, Lord : for you

servants are listening. / 1 Kings 19:11-13 / James 5: 13-16 / Speak, Lord : for your servant

are listening. / Mary Olivers poem Praying reads: / It doesnt have to be / the blue iris, it ca

be / weeds in a vacant lot, or a few / small stones; just / pay attention, then patch / a few word

together and dont try / to make them elaborate, this isnt / a contest but the doorway / int

thanks, and a silence in which / another voice may speak. / Praying for Others / Our Father

heaven, / may your name be kept holy. / May your Kingdom come soon. / May your will b

done on earth, / as it is in heaven. / Give us today the food we need, / and forgive ou

sins, / as we have forgiven those who sin against us. / And dont let us yield t

temptation, / but rescue us from the evil one. / In the name of the Father, the Son, / an

the Holy Spirit. Amen. / Purify our hearts, O Lord, to long for the one true thing and b

distracted by nothing. Amen. / May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever h

may send you; / may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through th

storm; / may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you; / may h

bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

14 HoursofPrayer


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quotes from camp wide thingy

GOD WANTS TO WALK US

T H R O U G H O U R

STRUGGLE, NOT FOR US

TO JUST GET OVER IT.

GOD WANTS

TO TAKE OUR

B U R D E N S ,

NOT BURDEN

US.ISAIAH 42

YOU DONT HAVE TO HOLD ON TO YOUR MESS

FOREVER, IT CAN GO AWAY.

JUST BECAUSE WERE NOT PERFECT

DOESNT MEAN THAT WE STOP

STRIVING TO BE LIKE JESUS.PSALM7

3


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If there was ever a room that depicted God, it might be this room.Ive seen God do some crazy stu! in the shelter house that I do not

getthat I will never understand. Ive seen us praising God in this

place and thunderstorms with winds that look like they should just

make this shack fall over raging outside and 70 people just singing

totally una!ected by the rain and the wind. Ive seen people that I

never thought I would see have their hearts humbled, bowing down

before a God they cant even see. Ive seen so many people have their

hearts moved and stirred in prayer in this place. Who can reallyexplain that? Who can put their "nger on that and analyze it? Who can

accept it and say it means this one particular truth. Its so hard to

really put your "nger on what it is about worshipping God in this

place that makes it so special. I cant tell you why, I just know that it

is. CARSON, SATURDAY NIGHT CAMPFIRE

the shelter house


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6 /THURSDAY

NAVIGATING THE MYSTERY.


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quotesfromcampwidethingy

IN ORDER TO GET US TOWHERE WERE GOING, HE HAS

TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE AT

NOW.

JESUS DID SOMETHING IN THEPAST THAT WE NEED TO THINK

ABOUT FOR THE FUTURE AND

LIVE FOR TODAY.PHILIPPIANS

3

TRYING TO BE IN CONTROL OF OUR LIVES TELLS GOD

THAT WHAT HES DONE AND IS GOING TO DO ISNT

GOOD ENOUGH.IF I HAVE DOUBTS THAT

GOD LOVES ME, I WILL

A L S O H A V E T R O U B L E

TRUSTING HIM WITH MY

LIFE. JO

H

N

3 WE DONT KNOW

HOW TO UTILIZE THE

BEST GIFT JESUS GAVE

US. JOHN1

4:36

THE BEST WAY TO LIVE BY THE SPIRIT IS

BY LIVING UNCONTROLLABLY.

IT DOESNT ALWAYS MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD TO LIVE LIKE JESUS.


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oil NightOil night is universally loved here at senior week. I was here the first year it

happened and I can honestly say that there is a beautiful difference in how it

went that year to the experience we all had this year. Immediately afterpraying, I saw campers and staff eagerly stand to bless others when usually

a few moments would pass before anyone moved. And I love that. I love that

we have found comfort in honesty together. I love that we are eager in our

kindness. Jason later said that oil night this year was a taste of heaven, and

I think we all felt that. I love that we have grown from moments of uneasy,

timid honesty to eager, joyful honesty. And I love that I have experienced this

growth. Oil night has instilled in me the knowledge that being honest with

people changes things; it heals insecurity and it grants confidence and it

spreads love. I think we all left wishing we had more time, as two hoursnever pass as quickly as they do on Thursday night of senior week. I pray

that we no longer wait for these moments to be given to us, but that we are

loving and reckless with our honesty.- MEGAN MADISON


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7 /FRIDAY

CELEBRATING THE MYSTERY.


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QUOTES FROM CAMP WIDE THINGY

OUR NEED TO FIGURE

IT ALL OUT VANISHES

IN THE PRESENCE OFGOD, ALMOST LIKE

BEFORE WE TOOK A

BITE OF THE FRUIT.

THE BEST PART OF MY MYSTERY

IS THAT HE IS BIGGER THAN THE

B O X A N D W I L L N E V E R

UNDERSTAND HIM FULLY SINCE

HE IS GRATER THAN WE CAN

IMAGINE.

DO WE REALLY WANT A GOD WE CAN FIGURE OUT?

H E R E S W H A T I

K N O W A B O U T

HEAVEN: I LL BE

WITH GOD AND

EVERYTHING WILL BE

AS IT SHOULD. JOHN1

7 THIS TASTES LIKE HEAVEN

BECAUSE THIS IS HOW

THINGS ARE SUPPOSED

TO BE.

WHAT IF INSTEAD OF GETTING ENOUGH JESUS AT CAMP TO

SURVIVE EACH YEAR AND COME CRAWLING BACK TO REFILL

THE NEXT SUMMER, WE TOOK WHAT WE KNOW IS RIGHT

ABOUT THIS PLACE AND SHARED IT BACK HOME?ROMANS8

:18

ARE WE GOING TO LIVE FOR OURSELVES AND CREATE HELL OR LIVE

FOR SOMETHING GREATER AND CREATE HEAVEN?


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COUNSELORS: JJ McConnell & Nate Lacina

CAMPERS: Ryan Cambell, Tucker Sledd, Chad Behal, Jonah Howe, Trey Pierson, Christian

Schramm, Joseph Zaiger, Levi Sledd

CABIN 2


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COUNSELORS: Cole Craddock & Aaron Johnson

CAMPERS: Ian Welch, Bryce Smith, George Johnson, Alex Hinrichs, Cameron Kurtz,

David Blom, Chris Martens, Landon Dobbs, Zach Milliken

CABIN 3


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COUNSELORS: Frankie Dixon & Alex Kinyon

CAMPERS: James Lamansky, Nate Lamansky, Logan Street, Aden Torneten, Skylar Doland,

Cameron Brown, DArtangnan Deuel, Jaden Gillespie, Dalton OBrian

CABIN 4


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COUNSELORS: Tiona Brown & Halie Ewing

CAMPERS: Leah Ruth, Jasmine Weaver, Becca Hollies, Rachel Lamay, Angel Edwards, Alexis

Ingram, Lexi Martens, Martina Wilson

CABIN 9


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COUNSELORS: Erica McConnell & Cassidy Wilson

CAMPERS: Brittany Carlson, Nova Armstrong, Taylor Gish, Tegan Horvath, Emily Cronquist, Ema

Pauling, Breauna Archer, Madison Brant, Kendalyn Pierson, Devyn Alt

CABIN 10


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COUNSELORS: Megan Street, Ellie Johnson, & Courtney Weaver

CAMPERS: Kelly Bienfang, Katherine Rzonca, Ileia Kraft, Regan Ferreira, Mikayla Brant, Cassidy

Towell, Mallory Madison, Erica Ru!enach

CABIN 11


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COUNSELORS: Michelle McCann, Emily McCullum, Morgan Graham, Ashley Henn

CAMPERS: Catherine Toth, Elizabeth Thompson, Katie Kearns, Kristen Fatsinger, Alexis

Hoeppener, Reagan Townsend, Jordan White, Annie Battles, Desiree Simmons

CABIN 12


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DININGHALL

DANA BRANT, DAN McCAN, NICOLE RUFFENACH

COOKS

TERRI GRAHAM, PATTIE MADISON, DONNICE HAMILTON, EVA PERRY, DOLORIS

JAMES, BRENDA OBRIAN, DANA STREET


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DIRECTORS

JASON HAWKINS & CARSON TUTTLE

NURSE

LISA SUESSMITH

SECRETARY

SHERRY NORRIS

INSPIRATION

HAL JAMES


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TEACHERS

CASON PYLE, KALVIN GRAHAM, SETH ROEPKE, TODD TIPTON

SPIRITUALLIFE

MORGAN GRAHAM, CHASE CRADDOCK, TODD TIPTON


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HEADBOY&HEADGIRL

ANGIEHAWKINS&MELANIEJAMES

ALEX&MAURE

ENKINYON

PRAYERTEAM

MEDIATEAM

MEGANMADISON&JORDANMADISON


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CONNOR ROSEKE, JAKE SANNER, NATALIE KUENY

SPORTSDIRECTORS

JULIA SUESSMITH, LAURA HAWKINS, EVA HAWKINS, HARRISON KINYON,

MEREDITH MADISON

FUTURECAMPERS


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Midwest Bible Camp's Senior Week Memento Book

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Transcript of Midwest Bible Camp's Senior Week Memento Book