April Update
"...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
The Good News of the Gospel is what drives our mission here at Riverside. God has led people here and continues to lead people here to hear and experience the Good News of the Gospel. While we were still _________(fill in the blank with sin), Christ died for us. And He rose again, defeating sin, death, and the devil! Thanks be to our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ--He alone is our hope and it is Him alone we worship! We're ready for these grounds to be filled with people once again, and hearing the praises of His kids echo across the river valley this summer! Here are a few updates around camp:
Busy February and March. We had a great past few months here with several groups coming to Riverside for retreats. This included our Daddy Daughter Dine and Dance and our Marriage Retreat. We welcome 38 couples for our Marriage Retreat and were so blessed by our time together. God was on the move in powerful ways...and we sure laughed, ate good food, and had great weather to be moving around outside!
Grounds and Facilities Update. Our staff and volunteers have been busy around camp taking this opportunity to make much needed repairs and improvements! Here are a few highlights: 2 new Retreat Center cabins(completely remodeled), all new gravel on roads, basement of the Dining Hall remodel/reconfiguration, deep cabin cleaning, several dead trees removed, clean up downed trees in the oxbow/river, challenge course improvements, and much more! Join us to help on Saturday April 17 for our Spring Work Day!
Summer Updates. Our team continues to meet weekly to discuss summer camp operations in light of COVID. We're in communication with our local Department of Public Health and other camps from around the nation on best practices. We have ordered a giant tent (40 feet x 180 feet) to gather together for worship and other large group gatherings. We received a special gift to cover the cost of the tent and are excited to gather under the tent in worship all summer long for a summer not to be forgotten!! Our summer camper numbers are on track with where they were in 2019 and 2020 at this time--telling us that we are potentially looking at a summer with around 2,000 summer campers again this summer--praise God!
Partner Events. We are so grateful for our Riverside Partners, those who pray and generously support God's work here at His camp through giving. Usually we would have a Spring Gala and a Partner Dinner in the spring. We would love the opportunity to connect with our Riverside partners this year in a few different ways. We will be sharing a few different evening times to connect over zoom online for updates from camp, as well as offering a Night at Riverside event in late August or early September for an outdoor dinner event underneath the tent. Look for more information and dates in the near future. If you have any questions, you can always call or email Chris (chris@riversideLBC.org, 515-733-5271).
Eagle Scout Projects. We're so grateful to Caden Sporleder and William Licht who completed Eagle Scout projects out here recently! Caden's work focused on our Campfire Hill area with work done restoring all of our benches and fire ring. William built 21 great wooden benches that will be distributed all around camp for use. Thank you, you two!
God's bless you and we hope to see you soon!
Chris
