Cover story:

Unconventional

Eric Mennel's video, "Unconventional" (about a foster child's life-changing experience at Luther Springs Camp and Retreat Center in Hawthorne, Fla.) won first prize in the individual category for the 2009 "God's work. Our hands." video contest. Learn more at the ELCA website.

'Camp changed my life'

Gather around the campfire for some good old memories

Editor's note: The Lutheran is grateful for all the submissions that helped shape the camp story.

For some it was that memorable week at camp and all its amenities: campfires, s'mores, singing, counselors, nature, friends, faith. For others, it was that week and much, much more: discovering vocation, meeting a future spouse or a faith stirred up for a lifetime of service.

Every year Metigoshe Ministries, Bottineau, N.D., designates one week for kids from the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation to attend camp — kids like Lori Beth Wilkie, Belcourt, N.D.

If you think everybody has a camp story — or that every Lutheran does — you might be right. When readers were invited to send their Bible camp stories to The Lutheran, they began arriving like young campers spilling out of a bus. And they haven't stopped.

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