Christmas MBC Compass – Widji 2020 In Review

Widji 2020 In Review

This has been the strangest summer in Widjiitiwin’s history, but there are many things to celebrate and we invite you to celebrate with us as we look at how it went. When we (Moose and Heyoo) made our video announcement in April that camp would be closed for the summer, it was heartbreaking. It was not the summer we wanted or expected, but we made the best out of the situation.

We entered this summer with four initiatives and four seasonal staff to carry them out. This summer Oi, Hobart, MyBro and Mufasta joined Heyoo at Widji. They learned a lot and did a great job!

Camp in a Box
eCamp Portal
Widji Radio Audio Drama
Maintenance Projects

Our initial projection forecast 23 participants in an eCamp, Camp in a box program. I am happy to say we exceeded that with a total of 57 campers. While this number is short of the hundreds of campers we have welcomed in the past, we are very pleased to have welcomed so many into this experimental program. Some campers are still accessing the eCamp portal.

The eCamp portal incorporated 22 online courses formatted into electives and “days” of programming. A sample day may be viewed here as a playlist. Campers could also engage in discussion with other campers and staff through the portal.

Widji Radio Drama – Grady Goes to Camp
The pilot episode of Camp Widjiitiwin’s Widji Radio Audio Drama, Grady goes to camp introduces Grady to all the strangeness of summer camp. At first, Grady struggles with being at camp, but learns about second chances from the Bible. Read more at Soundcloud.com.

Facility Update
With seasonal staff on site we undertook many improvements to the facility, most of which are minor, but appreciated. These include painting projects, new parking spaces, cleaning and the construction of a stage by the firepit. One major project undertaken at the end of the summer was to remove a wall and reconstruct part of the floor of the kitchen. This renovation was much needed, replacing our stove which dates from 1964, a new range hood and new flooring.

Registration for 2021

If you’re wondering what is happening with camp and registration for 2021 you’re not alone! At present we have not received any clear communication on what is or will be required to operate camp next summer. Additionally you may have heard stories of financial concerns for summer camps in Canada. I can confirm that we, like most camps, have experienced a significant decrease in generous giving, revenue and have operated on a net-negative budget and this positions approximately 400 camps in Canada for bankruptcy by the end of this year and around 600 by the end of next.

We have good news. As a ministry of Muskoka Bible Centre, we had a successful summer as an organization and this positions us to be financially stable enough to plan to open in 2021. As we await details on what that would require, we have postponed our usual registration launch with the intention of opening forms in January. As we have updates we are committing to provide you with a monthly update to keep you informed. Watch our website and social media for announcements.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support, we look forward to serving you in the future as God provides and we continue to see our country recover from the devastation of this pandemic. In all things we know our God is more than sufficient.

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