"SOME OF GODS BEST PRE-MOVES ARE CLOSED DOORS"
Dear Partner,
HYC has seen a few closed doors these past years. So many, in fact, that I often felt the urge to shut the door for good. One of the things that confused me the most was the blessings that continued to pour in despite the closed doors.
At times, it was extremely irritating because I thought with each closed door, it was possibly a sign that HYC was done. Let's rip the Band-Aid off quick, call it quits and move on. But each time I would reach that point, a powerful sign would stop me in my tracks: a generous donation in the mail, with a note saying, "Thanks for the impact HYC had on my kids this summer.”
Or we'd get a call asking if we could take 10 more kids for Teen Week 2? I may not be the most savvy man and I don't always know the full plan God has for us next, but there's one thing I know without a doubt: you can't close a ministry when lives are still being saved, hearts are still being changed, weeks of camp are filling up for the summer by mid spring and money is continuing to come in to fund everything.
And while the gracious hosts at Bambi Lake grew busier with their own guests, it became clear it was time for HYC to find a new path. One day this past summer, while listening to some podcasts, a few phrases echoed through my head:
"I am the man I am today because of Hiawatha" — Former staff member (Beyond Hiawatha Podcast)
"It's not called the book of ideas it's called the book of Acts" — Marc Batterson (National City Church Podcast)
"My relationship with the Lord is what it is today because of camp." — Former staff member (Beyond Hiawatha Podcast )
"When I came home from camp, I was $250,000 in debt for the Miracle Building" — Billy Walker Sr. referring to the summer of 1973 (Beyond Hiawatha Podcast)
"When we get to Heaven, He won't say 'Well thought good and faithful servant'- it's well done". (Referencing Matthew 25:21)
"God used Hiawatha to make a profound spiritual impact in my life" — Former staff member (Beyond Hiawatha Podcast)
At the time, I didn't know what the next step to take might be, but I knew God wanted some sort of action from me. So, I began looking for property and camps for sale in Michigan that HYC might purchase- this idea seemed incredibly naive because, while we have money in our account, we have nowhere near enough for anything I was seeing.
A week later I received a phone call from the President of the board for Camp Kaskitowa in Allegan, Rich. He heard HYC needed a property and asked if we'd consider seeing their camp. They were praying for a Christian organization to take it over and were hoping we might be interested.
You would think I would jump at a chance like this, however, we've knocked on these doors a time or two before, only to have the door abruptly shut in front of us, so I was reluctant to say the least. One visit to the property led to a group visit by a dozen or so executive staff and family checking out the facility. After a couple conversations with Rich, the question of the purchase price for the property was brought up. He asked that we take care of some minor outstanding debt they had. At this point and time, I waited for the "and" to come. It never happened... that was it. Just "take care of the outstanding debt.”
A few short days later, the Board of the Billy Walker Evangelistic Association voted unanimously to accept the very gracious offer from the Board of Camp Kaskitowa to assume ownership of a beautiful 90-acre camp in Allegan, Michigan.
That's right: Hiawatha Youth Camp has a new, permanent home on the west side of the state!
After so many decades in the Upper Peninsula and the last few years renting a facility in Roscommon, we are beyond grateful and completely blown away by the provision of the Lord to make possible this move to our new home. This is an incredible moment in our 60+ year history and is only possible because God still has a purpose for HYC.
We now have a great deal of work to accomplish before the summer of 2026 (and I do mean now). Our new Allegan home needs a lengthy list of updates, repairs, and even some new construction. We had a Miracle Building that was built in 1973- it was called that in part due to the speed in which it was constructed and finished before the start of the camping season that year. Well, we currently have The Miracle 2.0.
Here are just a few examples of the "before winter" needs: Fire inspection, concrete for an auditorium, concrete for a new set of cabins, four new septic systems, foundation work done for restroom additions to cabins, digging of multiple wells, just to get started.
As a conservative rough estimate, HYC needs to raise roughly $750,000 to bring our new conference grounds up to date and according to those who know more about construction than me- about $250,000 of that is needed by November to get these projects under way before the winter season hits. The good news is we have $50,000 on hand to get these projects started- the miracle will be raising the remainder of that before November 1st.
Will you please consider being a part of this endeavor with a special gift? My guess is this will not be the last letter I write asking for your help. However, for the work that must be done before November it may be the most urgent if the 2026 summer schedule is to remain intact.
Thank you for believing in the mission and for standing with us in making The Miracle 2.0 a reality. Together we will open new doors of opportunity for countless generations to come.
Sincerely,
Craig & Lora
P.S. The backstory details to this moment we share in the most recent edition of the "Beyond Hiawatha" podcast, so please be sure to watch it on YouTube here or listen to the audio version here.