At Trout, we want campers to joyfully know and follow God. We are excited to report that many campers made significant spiritual decisions this summer. 290 campers made a first time decision to follow Jesus. 410 campers rededicated their lives, 415 campers have a new or increased understanding of their assurance of salvation, 60 campers decided to go into full-time Christian service and 160 campers made other significant spiritual decisions (1,325 total). We praise God for how He worked at TLC.

This past week, volunteers from Berean Baptist Church painted the east side of the Dining Hall at Timber Ridge. They used 12 gallons of paint with three different colors (forest green, cedar and mahogany). Also, we are installing the last sections of siding and we will need more painters in the near future. Contact Mark Grindahl at 218.543.4565 if you would like to volunteer. 

Way to go Kyle! He is the holder of the course record which is 3 under. The new mini golf course does exactly what it was designed to do. This summer we have had huge rain storms at Trout and the course remains playable. Removing the trees has helped significantly in keeping the course clean. Lastly, it is a place where dozens of campers hang out each day and good conversations are had. Thanks to all who helped make this new activity area a reality.

For the first time ever in Trout Lake Camps history, we have over 3,000 summer campers registered. These are exciting days at TLC and we praise God for His faithfulness. Our summer staffers are doing an incredible job serving and loving kids. We recently received a note from a camper parents stating, "I was amazed by the amount of work you all do to make it an enjoyable week for everyone...keep up the good work and may God continue to bless your ministry." 

Trout Lake Camps is in full swing. This week we will be hosting 427 residential campers (those kids and teens who stay overnight at Trout and Timber Ridge) and over 115 day campers at our traveling vacation Bible school program. Our camp speakers are Kristin from Emmaus Church in Northfield and Adam who is a longtime Trout staff member. Chapel time is amazing and during the evening the camp songs echo across the lake.

Also, this week we revealed our new mini golf course at The Point and during free time it is not uncommon to see 20 plus campers enjoying this new activity area. Other areas that are in full swing are the beach, boat dock and six zip lines.

Did you know volunteers at Trout make a huge difference because they complete many projects around camp. 14 families from Calvary Church in Roseville helped: put in the docks and lifts at the beach and boat docks, painted a cabin, washed and placed landscaping rock at the new mini golf course, cleaned the chapel at Timber Ridge and much more. After a day of working hard, the group (photo: Nelson family) played wiffle ball in our new field. They worked hard and played hard. Thanks Calvary Church. 

Wow, the new mini golf course at The Point is looking amazing. The new design has a more modern feel when you play the course which means that kids, teens and adults will enjoy the memories made while playing mini golf. Our goal is to have the course playable by the first week of summer camp on June 20. Thank you donor and volunteers for your help with this project. We still need approximately $7,500 to complete the course (photo is Hole 1).

Al Diers has spent countless hours working on the new dining hall at Timber Ridge. One of the projects which has taken significant time in the last two weeks in preparing the beams for lifting and positioning into place. It takes four people to install one beam.

With the help of many donors and volunteers, the ground work is being laid to install a new mini golf course at The Point. Currently, the retaining walls are being arranged and next week the forms for each hole will be put into place so that cement can be poured.

During three weeks in April, over 145 volunteers from around the state prepare camp for summer time. Projects like painting, cleaning windows and basic repairs fill everyone's time. We are thankful for people like Arlene, from Oak Haven Church in Ham Lake, who donate their time and skills to make Trout what it is today. Arlene spent her time staining windows at the new dining hall at Timber Ridge. Thanks Arlene!

Mark Grindahl, our general contractor for the new Timber Ridge Dining Hall, measures norway pine trees which will be used for the three main beams. He needs to find twelve 14-18" in diameter beams, that are fifteen feet long to meet the needs of the building. A volunteer is going to custom fit the logs so that when they are hoisted 28' feet into the air it will look like one solid beam.