CAMP KATEPWA chapter 107

The next summer we moved the teen camp to southern Saskatchewan in the Qu’Appelle valley. Ft. Qu’Appelle was the focal point of a string of five beautiful lakes, located 70 km northeast of Regina. We rented a Baptist camp on Lake Katepwa. There were considerably fewer mosquitos.

The move brought more campers. It was a great place with typical youth cabins, a directors cabin, a dock, canoes, volleyball, established campfire a great dining hall with cook residence and other guest rooms overhead.

A drawback was that the camp did not have showers. In fact there was no well and no on site water. It was trucked in twice a week from Ft. Qu’Appelle. The lake was very important. It was were we jumped in to get semi-clean. So I was crushed on arrival to see a ribbon of algae clinging to the docks and shore of the camp. I anticipated the problem when I passed two other lakes and saw the algae clinging to the southern shores. I was hoping we wouldn’t have it, but I was dreaming to think we would be exempt. The kids were already gathering at the water with huge disappoint. Dr. Hindmarsh had brought the boat he bought specifically to help improve the camp experience so we could have water skiing. He didn’t even want to bring his boat into the stuff.

I knew what I wanted to do, but I also wanted to wait for Harrison Weaver to arrive. When all the leaders were settled we gathered on the dock in a circle holding hands where quite a few campers joined us. We prayed believing God wanted this camp to be a blessing and touch the lives of those who gathered, therefore, the algae had to leave. After our prayers were completed we watched the green slimy algae gradually crawl to the opposite shore. The camp waters were clear. It was going to be a great week.

I had talked my two favorite cooks from the Saskatoon church to come to camp. Mrs. Borsenko and Mrs. Kowalenko were sisters who cooked for all the church events. I loved them. The never wanted any help and had no problem handling our little group of eighty. They bickered, argued and corrected one another and always produced terrific meals. The kids did the dining room set up and clean up and these women ordered them around like army sergeants. Everything was done right.

God visited this camp in supernatural ways. Most camps have a pretty good closing campfire, but God crashed in on night one and it just got better each night. Campfires are meant to be in the dark. We always planned the campfire for 10:00 but to do that clocks were reset to fit the lighting. We adjusted the times. Our 9:00 a.m. was actually 11:00 a.m. so campfire began at our 10:00 p.m. or midnight. We all loved it. It sounded so normal but wasn’t. The teens thought this was great.

The first night the campfire went two hours and by the fifth and final night the sun was coming up before anyone went to bed. We tried to shut things down earlier each night but the campers kept it going. God was working.

The lodge and dining room

As it turned out, this was just the beginning. I remained at Saskatoon long enough to experience four camps at Katepwa. They just got better and better. Why God chose to visit us was beyond my understanding — He just did.

One of the cabins

This transformed church youth groups throughout our district: Regina, Outlook, Saskatoon and others. Kids were saved. Lives were changed. Churches were impacted in ways they did not yet understand. The teens were leading the churches spiritually but the adults did not see it yet.