A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

oughout the year under the supervision of a full-time camp director. A similar camp project has been sponsored by Mennonite Brethren in the Winkler area. The Winkler Bible camp is located six miles northwest of the town of Winkler. Construction of buildings was begun in 1949-50. The camp can accommodate about eighty children at one time. The three children's camps sponsored in 1951 enrolled a total of 212. John Boldt, director of this camp for a number of years, stated their objective as follows: "Our aim was to carry the ideals of the Christian life into all camp activities." 6 ' In Saskatchewan camp work was begun even earlier than in Manitoba. The West Bank Bible Camp in South Saskatchewan was started by the Western Children's Mission around 1944. Under the energetic leadership of Rudolph Wirsche (Flowing Well) this camp was built up at a site three miles south of Seventeen Mile Bridge, northwest of Swift Current. Beginning with the 1948 camping season the work was enlarged to include youth camps. Total number of attendants for that year was 141. fts In North Saskatchewan the Redberry Bible Camp in the Blaine Lake area was officially opened in July, 1953. In previous years the M.B. Mission of Saskatchewan had operated the Sand Beach Camp, but since the latter campsite had been almost inaccessible during rainy weather, the brethren decided to move the camp buildings to the new location — a distance of sixty miles. Here a very intensive camp program has been developed for both children and young people. The first children's camp on the new grounds attracted 160 campers. Camping constitutes an 238 HISTORY OF THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH integral part of the outreach program of the Saskatchewan M.B. churches. Because the Alberta Mennonite Brethren congregations are scattered over a vast geographical area, it has been more difficult to organize activities of this nature on a conference level. Camps for young people were organized for a number of years and held on campgrounds leased from the Canadian Sunday School Mission in the Vauxhall area of Southern Alberta. In the 1960's the brethren were able to establish Camp Evergreen situated in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. In British Columbia the "camp idea" met considerable resistance in many of the Fraser Valley churches. During the winter of 1958-59 the Mennonite Brethren Camp Society was organized. The society purchased sixty acres of land overlooking Cultus Lake. Under the direction of Jack Block of the Fraserview M.B. Church (Vancouver), who was able to engage much voluntary labor, the society erected eleven cabins and a spacious dining hall by the summer of 1959. Here again the missionary character of the camp was evident from its very inception. In cooperation with the West Coast Children's Mission the society enrolled 168 children during the first summer. Over forty decisions for Christ were recorded, most of them children