Seeking God in a 'thin place'
Photo: Ainsley Dunn
I grew up attending a relatively small Mennonite church—Foothills Mennonite in Calgary—with my family. My family was fairly involved in my church, and I grew up with a typical Mennonite faith.
Camp Valaqua
Valaqua cabin dubbed ‘the bat cave’ after furry visitors move in
Little brown bats like this one took over cabin four at Camp Valaqua this summer. (Flickr photo by Ann Froschauer)
Things got a little batty at Mennonite Church Alberta’s Camp Valaqua this summer.
During spring cleaning at the camp, located an hour northwest of Calgary, staff discovered a maternal colony of little brown bats in one of the cabins.
Three youths reflect on their experience at Amplify!
Ethan Willms and Kai Willms (Photo by Deanna Willms)
Dinner in the dining hall. (Photo by Joani Neufeldt)
Guest speaker Christy Anderson challenges youth to work toward reconciliation. (Photo by Joani Neufeldt)
Campers learn new songs and actions at Amplify! (Photo by Joani Neufeldt)
Ethan Willms
Foothills Mennonite Church, Calgary
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend Amplify! at Camp Valaqua. This was an amazing experience for me, and it left me wanting more.
‘Finding God in uncertain times’
Donita Wiebe-Neufeld leads members of Edmonton First Mennonite Church on a mushroom tour at their fall retreat at Camp Valaqua near Water Valley, Alta., from Sept. 2 to 4. (Photo by Jessica Evans)
Edmonton First Mennonite Church has a long-standing tradition of holding its fall retreat every Labour Day long weekend at Camp Valaqua. For the first time in two years, members were once again able to come together and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and spend time in each other’s company.
Biking and hiking raise funds for Alberta organizations
Cyclists (left to right) Ernie Engbrecht, Edgar Dueck, Dave Neufeldt, Doug Wiebe, Ken Esau, Zachary Wirzba and Ron Esau raised $10,000 for MCC on July 15. (Photo by Annie Dyck)
The annual Hike-a-thon for Camp Valaqua involved walking the north end of Jumpingpound Ridge on June 11. (Photo by Jon Olfert)
This summer, Alberta supporters of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Camp Valaqua got physical to raise funds.
Valaqua gets a spring makeover
Louisa Adria, a Foothills Mennonite Church youth worker, carries a log at Camp Valaqua’s annual spring work day on April 30. (Photo by Ruth Bergen Braun)
Camp Valaqua welcomed approximately 30 enthusiastic volunteers at its spring work day on April 30. Volunteers and staff focused on cleaning up brush and splitting wood.
“Our woodshed went from a few sad sticks to full in just a day!” says Jon Olfert, Valaqua’s camp director.
Volunteers also repaired the siding on one of the buildings and cleaned the eavestroughs.
Remembering the early days of Camp Valaqua
George Heidebrecht, who was instrumental in the early days of Camp Valaqua, fiddles with his slide projector. (Photo by Ruth Bergen Braun)
George Heidebrecht fiddled with the knobs of his slide projector in anticipation of a morning of storytelling.
Watch: Great grey owls of Camp Valaqua
Four great grey owls keep watch over Camp Valaqua. (Screenshot)
Did you know that owls pant to cool off, and that they fly without making a sound?
Those are just two of the facts you’ll learn when you watch the latest edition of Ninety Seconds of Nature, a series of videos in which Camp Valaqua director Jon Olfert talks about the outdoors surrounding the camp.
Camp Valaqua, then and now
(Photo courtesy of Levi Klassen)
In March, my friend and I were fulfilling our duty of cleaning out the Canadian Mennonite University Student Council room when we came across a filing cabinet of school newspapers from the 1960s. Being rather loosely committed to our cleaning assignment, we soon found ourselves leafing through submissions sent in by students during the summer, and lo and behold, I came across a letter written by someone working at Camp Valaqua (Water Valley, Alta.).
Focused on the good things
Camp Valaqua, Hike-A-Thon 2020 logo
In this year of so many disappointments, it is easy to lose track of the good things. Even when summer camp is cancelled and so many major events are postponed, God brings us joy.
‘It’s a bit overwhelming’
Carol McNaughton hikes the Wasootch Ridge as a participant in the 2020 Camp Valaqua hike-a-thon fundraiser. (Photo by Hossein Talebi)
Lethbridge Mennonite Church and Springridge Mennonite Church in Pincher Creek, Alta., join forces to raise money for this year’s Camp Valaqua hike-a-thon. (Photo by Elaine Klassen)
Lorne Earl of Holyrood Mennonite Church, Edmonton, hikes along the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, in support of the 2020 annual Camp Valaqua hike-a-thon fundraiser. (Photo by Patrick Earl)
Scott and Corinne Martens participate together in this year’s Camp Valaqua hike-a-thon fundraiser. (Photo by Corinne Martens)
Camp Valaqua received great news recently. As of Aug. 26, its annual hike-a-thon raised a record amount of $34,456, nearly double the previous record of $18,000.
Ron Janzen, who is often the biggest fundraiser, beat his own record, raising more than $10,000 this year.
Why was so much raised in 2020?
‘I can’t wait for summer’
A camper climbs the rock wall at Camp Valaqua in order to ring the bell at the top. (Camp Valaqua photo)
The sun is shining through the tall trees today at Camp Valaqua near Water Valley, Alta., and the a hint of spring is in the air. This time of year brings hiring, planning and anticipation into our little corner of the camp world. Sometimes it is tough to keep track of why we work at this all year long and so I tell myself stories to remember. Here is one of my favourites:
