Viborg, South Dakota December, Some of the different faces at SLCC Pictured to the left 2017 Schedule

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1 Some of the different faces at SLCC Swan Lake Christian Camp hosts many groups throughout the year. Pictured to the left are a group of young girls from France. These girls visited the USA in April to attend a basketball camp and to have workouts with college coaches. Kent Becker, missionary to France, made the connection with Swan Lake Christian Camp. Although language was difficult, we were able to show Christ s love to a group of girls who are not often exposed to Christian hospitality. Pictured below and left is a Red Hat Society group from Centerville, South Dakota. They had a luncheon in Still Waters back in July. Kerwin Klinkenberg, who has spent much time helping with the retreat center, offered to give the ladies a spin around the lake on his pontoon boat Schedule 5th and 6th Grade Winter Retreat is January 27-29th with Scott Connor as bible leader. Junior High is February 3rd-5th with Adam Ansel and Senior High will be held February 10th-12th with Stacey Waltner leading. Mark your calendars and plan to attend. We can t guarantee the snow, but we will guarantee the fun! 5th & 6th Grade Winter Retreat.. Jan Junior High Winter Retreat Feb 3-5 Senior High Winter Retreat Feb Swan Lake Marathon June 11 Cottontail Day Camp (Ages 5 & 6).. June 12 4th Grade Camp June th Grade Camp June Chipmunk Day camp (Ages 7 & 8).. June 26 3rd Grade Camp July 5-7 6th Grade Camp July 9-14 Senior High Camp July Junior High Camp July 30-Aug. 4

2 Introducing: Swan Lake Christian Camp is pleased and excited to announce Tiffany as our new Program Director. Tiffany is familiar to Swan Lake as she was a camper, a counselor and a summer staff member (2009). Most recently, Tiffany has been working at the YMCA in Grand Island, Nebraska. She is a graduate of Viborg High School and of Northern State University in South Dakota. Along with her infectious smile and exuberance, she brings another perspective as she worked for a year with Ingham Lake Lutheran Camp in Iowa. Along with working with the youth camps, Tiffany will work to provide new adult programs in Still Waters Retreat Center. I encourage each of you to get to know Tiffany. You will be blessed by the experience. Although it may be cold and snowy outside, it is warm on the inside. This picture was taken December 16th outside Still Waters Retreat Center just after sundown. The air temperature got down to 21 F. We still held the young adult retreat (no outside activities) We were very fortunate that the wind which was forecast never really happened. Pastor Nick Stoddard spoke about being in stages of transition, but still building houses, planting gardens and doing what it takes to build community as we wait to hear where God is calling us. Above: Tiffany in 2009 with one of the puppies. Right: Tiffany with Kate, Megan, Erica, April, Emily, Chelsea, Nathan, Shane and Doran, summer staffers in 2009.

3 Piano Night Update These pictures are just some of the faces of Swan Lake Christian Camp. Piano Night and all of our fundraising events help to provide the facilities which we use for the purpose of sharing the love of Christ This has become an annual favorite event for us here at Swan Lake Christian Camp. As you may know, it started three years ago as an idea of mine. I find this ironic because of all of the staff here at camp, I am the least likely to get excited about music. I know that others really enjoy good piano playing and so we organized an event in the new retreat center when there was very little sheetrock hung yet. We decided to make this a free will offering event. The response was fantastic, the performers were great and the food was awesome. Each year it has been well received and is fast becoming a Swan Lake tradition. This year, on November 6th, we again had a wonderful evening. We had 95 people attend this year and we raised $16,000 toward the completion of the Still Waters Retreat Center. This will help us reach our goal of having the upper floor rooms complete before this coming June. Also, that evening the remaining guest rooms were adopted. This means that someone has committed to decorating each of the 14 rooms on the upper two floors. While the layout of each of these rooms is the same, the completed rooms have each taken on a personality of their own. We are so pleased with how these rooms convey a sense of peace and hominess. Thank you to each of the performers this year: Austin Unruh, Lennea Clark and her family, Sheila Wipf, Michelle Meyers, Marilyn and Jay Kroeker. A special thanks goes out to Mary Anderson who, once again, really out did herself with the meal. She then stole the evening by playing a couple of pieces on the piano with Lennea. I also want to thank each of you who gave financially. You are blessing us now, but more importantly, you are blessing those people who will come to Still Waters, who will hopefully experience Christ Jesus in this place. Our goal is to create space where people of any age feel safe enough to open their hearts to his saving grace. While it is a fantastic space, my hope and prayer is that its true value is in the lives that are transformed in this space. If you are still interested in making a financial donation towards the completion of Still Waters, we believe that we are now about $45,000 from having everything short of the basement kitchen and elevator completed. I thank you for your support of this project and for your support of the youth camps that are the core of our mission. May you feel God s blessing in your life this Christmas season. Jerry

4 I want to highlight a couple of stories about Still Waters. I fully acknowledge that in highlighting some, I will be missing other equally significant contributions, but it still seems appropriate. Maxine Bergen of Henderson, Nebraska loves to quilt. She has been experiencing some significant health challenges the past couple of years. In light of this, the women s mission group at the Bethesda Mennonite Church wanted to honor her by donating one of her quilts to Still Waters. Maxine s family also wanted to honor her in this way. The family donated a quilt for room 218. The mission circle then donated money to furnish this room. This particular room is special for me. When we were framing this part of the building, Laura, my middle daughter, asked if she could help build the walls. Later, she helped hang the sheetrock and then she painted the walls in this room. She claims this room as her own and wanted to decorate it. As a sophomore in college now, she is limited in her financial means. Knowing this, the Bethesda women s financial gift and Maxine s special quilt make Laura s dream to decorate this room possible. Judi and I have always encouraged our kids to help out at camp, but this is special. In the pictures at the bottom of this page, you will see Laura and I working on the exterior walls. Laura is holding the nail gun. Melissa joined in to hold the bar clamp just for the picture. I am nailing in the top plate to hold everything together. Both Laura and Melissa helped shingle the roof, so they have invested in this project at the highest levels. Not to be outdone, Kayle, our oldest and least inclined towards high adventure, crocheted and donated the last supper pictured to the right. She estimates at least 150 hours to complete this masterpiece which will hang on the balcony. I am very proud of all three of my girls. Wish List A artificial Christmas tree (not pre-lighted) to be used in Still Waters. Perhaps an after season discounted purchase. Someone to tape and mud the Still Waters basement. Adjustable pallet forks for the Gehl skid steer. A 14 Bandsaw for wood similar to Powermatic or Jet A set of 4-8 Furniture risers Stamps for mailing letters to campers they wrote to themselves Mission Statement

5 Pictures of a wedding held at Swan Lake Christian Camp this fall. The chapel looked incredible and the weather was amazing. The horse and carriage were arranged by the wedding party. We do provide food service to meet a variety of needs. For more information about pricing and hosting of similar events at Swan Lake Christian Camp, please contact the camp office.