1203 Inwan St. Milford, IA 51351 1.800.OKOBOJI WWW.OKOBOJI.ORG

Congregational Visits Four staff members of Ingham Okoboji Bible Camps are pleased to come to your church or organization to talk to the congregation, youth, children, or a combination of any of these. We can offer information about the camps, provide a children’s sermon, give the sermon or mes-sage as we lift up the camp’s ministry, offer a temple talk, lead music or provide other activities. Rod, Jim, Lynn and Dan are all available and ready to come to your congregation this winter or spring. Call soon as the calendar will fill up quickly. Don’t forget!! On-line registration begins on February 1st. Our early bird registration ends on March 15th! Take advantage of the $50 early bird discount! Give Lynn a call at 1.800.OKOBOJI to schedule a staff member to come to your congregation or e-mail her at registrar@okoboji.org.

Special Occasions in a Beautiful Setting! Ingham Lake and Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps are both beautiful settings and can accommodate groups, all seasons, for many different occasions such as weddings, family reunions, family get-aways, church gatherings, and other specialized events.

One family has been coming to Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp annually for 31 years. They gather together the weekend after Thanksgiving, for fellowship, great food, lodging on site, and great recreation here at camp.

Okoboji has also hosted weddings at the new amphitheatre down by the lake. This is a beautiful location for an outside wedding or other event. The guests are seated so that as they look at the bride and groom they are also looking out over the beautiful lake. The chapels at both camps are also available for weddings as well. Give Jane, our retreat coordina-tor, a call at 1.800.OKOBOJI or e-mail her at retreat@okoboji.org to see what’s available.

Seasons Lakes Winter 2013

To know Jesus Christ and to make Christ known to all!

Staff Members Needed! We have begun to accept applications for summer staff 2013 – and some pre-summer maintenance help. • Summer Camp counselors, program staff, kitchen and office staff. • Maintenance Assistance seasonally or longer. We seek volunteers primarily, but may also have an opening for a paid assistant maintenance staff person beginning in April/May. • Soon seeking additional office help. Call Rod to share your interest, skills and

availability. Consider joining us! For more information, visit our web site, or call Dan Antoine or Rod Quanbeck at the camp office: 1.800.OKOBOJI.

Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not,

Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been,

Thou forever wilt be.

Chorus: Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand

hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Words by Thomas O. Chisholm © 1923. Renewed 1951 Hope Publishing Co. Used by permission CCLI License # 173493

Another year of Opportunity - because God is faithful!

As we look back on 2012, we can-not help but give thanks to God for the many ways God led, God worked, God provided and God changed lives! We thank God for pray-ers, donors, volunteers, pas-tors, youth leaders, speakers, youth and family campers, board members and staff members. We thank God for a great spring and fall season of retreats and re-charges, and a great summer sea-son of camps. More than any-thing, we thank God for God’s faithfulness! God is always faith-ful. That is one of the few things we can count on in life: God is always faithful. It is with that very same assurance that we look ahead to this year of 2013: God will continue to be faithful, and we give thanks for the

many opportunities God will bring this year to lift up Jesus Christ for the world – one person at a time – to see Jesus Christ and believe in Him as Savior and Lord, and to follow as a disciple of that very same Jesus Christ! It is really a simple – but so very important - message that we bring to campers and to the world: “Jesus loves you and came to forgive and redeem you. Trust Him. Follow Him. Jesus is the way to life eternal and life abundant.” In the face of so many complications in life, God’s love and salvation reaches further and deeper. We are blessed, privileged and excited to bring this message to campers and the world another year as we look ahead in 2013! Thank you for being partners with us! Join us whenever you can this year! May the Lord continue to bless our work together for the sake of eternity! Thankful for God’s faithfulness and for your faithful partnership, Rod Quanbeck P.S. Because God faithfully provided for Ingham Okoboji through God’s people, the ministry expenses for 2012 were all met. Thank you to all who were part of this! We hope you will continue to partner with us in 2013 and beyond.

We hope more women will plan to join us next fall, September 20th-22nd, and maybe even invite a friend to come along. Our fall Recharge season for youth was a record breaker. Our largest weekend, we had 208 campers, plus adult leaders and counselors. There were five weekend recharges, in which our total number of youth campers was a little over 500. Recharges are weekend youth retreats PACKED with fun, fellow-ship and growing in faith. Partici-pants discover the great God we serve, learn more about the Bible, and have a blast with others at camp. We hope you and your youth will make plans to join us for one of our spring Recharge weekends! Reserve your spot now before the weekends fill up. You can do that by calling Lynn at 1.800.OKOBOJI or e-mail her, registrar@okoboji.org. We hope you will make plans to join us!

Great Retreat Season

Fall was a busy but blessed time at Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp! September concluded with a group of forty women who gath-ered together for the annual Women’s Retreat. The theme was “The Joy of the Lord is my Strength: Pray for Sunshine but Pack for Rain” and the speaker was Kathy Yoder from Morning-side Lutheran Church in Sioux City. The women enjoyed a weekend of bible study, worship, laughter and sharing personal stories with each other in their small groups. Some even braved the chilly weather for a pontoon ride to take in the beautiful sites around the lake.

IOLBC Annual Meeting April 20th, 2013 at 1:30 p.m.

At Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp

Areas of Camp…. ...Get a Makeover Navaho cabin, in English Village, is one of the larger projects on the to-do list this winter at Okoboji. Wiring has been done, windows installed, new interior walls and insulation are up. We have had two wonderful and faithful volunteers that have come almost weekly to lend a hand on this project. We are always in need of volunteers! For some projects we could espe-cially use the help of those that are specialized in specific areas such as wiring, drywall, carpentry, etc. We hope that you and your fam-ily or church group will consider volunteering at camp! If you are interested in volunteering please call Dennie Fry at 712.320.6496 or e-mail him at dennie@okoboji.org. Volunteers are needed at Ingham Lake Bible Camp also. With the camp located in such a rural area with a lot of woods, the springtime especially lends way to a busy cleanup time to get the camp ready for summer. Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps ministry would not be possible without our wonderful volunteers throughout the year. We give thanks to God for the gracious people who give of their time and talents at both camps!

Upper Christopher-haus is also getting a new look. Mary Nich-ols and the quilting ladies at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines have been busy mak-ing quilts for these rooms. The first room is done and the new quilts are bright and beautiful. Thank you

ladies! You are all wonderful blessings to the camp!

Spring 2013 Recharges

�Apr. 5-7 6th-12th Grade �Apr. 12-14 6th-12th Grade �Apr. 19-21 6th-9th Grade �Apr. 26-28 4th-6th Grade

Invite a friend to join you! Register on-line at www.okoboji.org or

print out a form and mail in.

We hope you will join us this year! • Pray for this ministry! • Come to camp and/or invite others! There are opportunities for all ages in the 2013 Program Guide, or visit our web site: www.okoboji.org. We also welcome your calls, visits, or emails. • Send financial support now if you are able and continue to stand with us, each year and all the way through your estate planning.

Over 200 youth and sponsors gathered for a Fall Recharge weekend packed with fun, fellowship, and growing in faith. Make plans to come this spring and have a blast with others!

I Want to Help!

Checks can be made out to IOLBC and sent to: 1203 Inwan St., Milford, IA 51351 Name: ____________________________ Phone Number: (____)_______________

Address: ______________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip Code: ___________________________________________________

Email: ________________________________________________________________

Church and Church City: ________________________________________________

Enclosed is my gift of : ___$50 ___$100 ___$250 ___$500 ___$1,000 ___$ other

We are thankful for the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us this past year. We too give thanks to God for a great summer and fall camp and retreat season at both Ingham Lake Bible Camp and Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp. The camps are blessed by and able to continue their ministries through the wonderful

gifts from individuals, contractors, congregations and the many friends and families of the camp. We give thanks with a grateful heart. To God be the Glory!!

∗ Electric Golf Cart with box or flip back seat

∗ Walk behind snow blower - Thank you! ∗ Metal chop saw ∗ Handyman Jack ∗ Multi-function oscillating tool ∗ Rubber Spatulas ∗ Tongs ∗ Water pitchers ∗ Plastic drinking cups ∗ Silverware ∗ Hobart mixing bowl ∗ Bobcat/skid steer ∗ Sod/grass seed ∗ Newer lounge furniture

∗ Adopt a cabin or projects ∗ Trees/perennials ∗ Life jackets/vests ($20 each) ∗ Exterior paint ∗ Used tools (hand or power

tools) ∗ Volunteers for: Carpentry,

painting, landscaping and grounds work

∗ Regular cab 4x4 pickup with 8ft bed

∗ Minivan ∗ Partners in prayer ∗ Committed Young Adults to

join our summer program staff

The Gift of Ministry! Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps are special places where people’s lives have changed for the better. Some come to know who Jesus Christ is during their time at camp. For others, their faith relationship has been strength-

ened through their Bible camp experience. You can make a difference in someone’s life! Would you consider giving a monthly gift or invest-ing in God’s work in one of the following ways? Outright Gift of Cash. Any amount with any number of digits to the left of the decimal point is always welcome.

Outright Gift of Appreciated Long-Term Capital Gain Property. Rather than selling appreciated securities that you have held for more than one year consider transferring the ownership of the securities to Ingham Okoboji. (We have a brokerage account ready to receive such gifts.) With such a donation, your gift value and deduction is based on fair market value of the securities at the time of the gift, and you will avoid income taxes on the capital gain that you would have realized if you were to sell the asset.

Outright Gift of Grain. Some Farmers have donated to the camp by hauling a load of grain to the elevator and selling it in the name of Ing-ham Okoboji. The camp gets a check directly from the Elevator, and in many cases this is a good practice for the most tax benefit to the farmer.

Gifts in Kind: Consider helping us with a gift of an asset which would benefit the camp. Check out our wish list on the adjacent page, or con-sider other items you believe may be helpful.

Last Will and Testament: List us as beneficiaries of your life insurance or any asset account, or remember us in your will for a specific amount or percentage gift. Remember to list us as Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps.

Thrivent Choice: If you are a Thrivent Member, please consider elect-ing to have your share of THRIVENT CHOICE dollars sent to Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps. Please be aware that there are several Bible Camps in our area with similar names, so carefully select Ingham Okoboji. We would be happy to help you make Thrivent Choice Desig-nations. Please call 1.800.OKOBOJI and ask for Lynn or Rod for assis-tance.

We are very grateful for the generous gifts of God’s people that make this ministry possible! Thank you! Thank you! Please write checks to Ingham Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camps and mail to our office at 1203 Inwan Street, Milford, IA 51351.