MANITOBA

MISSIONARY

FALL 2007
Reaching our
province . . .

A

s this is being written Hurricane Dean has been ravaging the Caribbean and the
east coast of Mexico. The latest word is that it has been down listed to a ‘tropical storm’
status from the once ‘level 5 hurricane’ status with winds reaching as high as 260 km/hour
it had when it was at the peak of its fury. Many lives were lost and billions of dollars damage
done as this devastating storm moved through its life cycle. In the spiritual battle we
constantly find ourselves in as Christians Satan wreaks his havoc as well claiming lost
lives and causing untold damage along his life cycle. We must never forget that he is the
present ruler of this world but despite his havoc-wreaking ways, there is a place of peace
and rest in the eye of the storm! And, it is this place of calm that all those in our
summer ministries have been encouraging our many campers and ministry attendees
to seek out and find along their journey through life.

Our full-time and seasonal missionaries have been working hard throughout this past
summer to ‘present the Gospel (Good News)’, ‘evangelize the Lost (those without
Christ), and ‘disciple the converted’! Be sure to read about the many storms faced and
‘centers of calm’ found in the summer-end articles written for this Manitoba Missionary update.

It continues to amaze me as I travel from camp to camp and ministry point to ministry point
throughout the summer how many people are involved in making all this happen. I used to
think it was hundreds but lately as I become more observant (comes with age, I guess)
I am more and more convince it’s in the thousands. From prayer warriors to financial
for Christ! supporters to kitchen and maintenance volunteers to our in-the-trench front line cabin
leaders (counselors) and everyone in between, it takes a mass of people to make our
ministries happen! Thank-you so much for being a part!

FALL/WINTER/SUMMER
CSSM Ministries
Manitoba Branch
200 -189 Henderson Hwy.
Phone: (204) 668 - CSSM (2776)
Fax: (204) 667-1496
E-mail: mb@cssm.ca
Web: www.cssm.ca/mb
National Office - Winnipeg, MB
I’m not too sure where they came up with the name HERricane Dean but, regardless, we
need to realize that although the ‘eye of the storm’ can be a safe place for a period
of time, there are many storms ahead that need to be battled through before we
come to that eternal place of peace and calm. Might we set our minds and hearts on
continuing to ‘grow in the Lord’ while teaching others to do the same as we, together, face
whatever storms are ahead!
“And there arose a great storm …
…and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
Mark 4 v 37 - 39
“Keep Encouraged!”
Dean Davidson
Manitoba Branch Director
Shine Like Stars
By: Rod Reimer - ROSEAU RIVER
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so
that you may become blameless and pure, children
of God without fault in a crooked and depraved
generation, in which you shine like stars in the
universe.” Philippians 2:14 &15
“Shine like stars” was the theme verse for Roseau
River Bible Camp for 2007 and there where lots of
shining moments.
The first star goes to an amazing God who answered many prayers:
provided a camp speaker with 1 week notice, 9 cabin leaders within
4 days, provided health for the ministry workers, safety with only a
few minor incidents and blessed us richly in ways too numerous to
mention or remember.
A second star goes to a great ministry team. I started as director in
late spring, not sure what to expect from the ministry workers but
they have been amazing. The ministry team has given of themselves
and invested greatly into the lives of the 1000+ campers this year. A
theme that was used often in team meetings was RELATIONSHIPS.
First and for most we need to work on having a strong, growing
relationship with Christ, second with each other and finally with our
E xperience It!
Richard & Carma Bankert - DAUPHIN
As our second summer at Dauphin Bible Camp winds down we
have so much to be thankful for! We have had an excellent summer
and have had the privilege of influencing so
many lives and all for the glory of God. One
of the highlights has been the addition of
Brooklynn Dawn to our family. She was
born May 1st and has experienced her first
summer of camp from our arms. It has been
a privilege to watch her grow and we are
looking forward to what the future will hold.
Our summer theme was ‘experience it!’.
We were to experience the Christian life
and not just talk about it and that really
came out in putting God first, “do all things
for the glory of God, not yours”. Another
theme that emerged, perhaps because it
was a personal area of growth was simply
trusting in God; allowing Him to work in His
time as opposed to rushing in my way. This summer God brought
681 campers through the doors so far. We still have a final teen
camp and teen retreat to go as I write this. Many came to know
Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and I thank Him for that. I also
know that many, especially the summer missionaries, grew in Christ
this summer. He is truly amazing!
There was one point during the summer when Dauphin was hit with
a major storm. There was rain, lightning, hail and plow winds that
tore through our area and right over top of the camp. As I stood on
the deck and watched the storm roll in I prayed for three specific
things: Carma as she was driving back; that God would surround
and protect the camp; and, that the campers, ages 6-8, would sleep
through the storm. God protected us and put a dome overtop of
campers. The ministry team has done this and they’ve been able to
model Christ’s love to the campers and draw them all closer to GOD.
A star also goes to the campers. They came, they heard and they
were challenged to live the life that God intended for them.
Summer is basically over and I can’t believe how fast the time has gone!
Thank you for your prayers and support and please continue to pray
for RRBC’s Board as they prepare for a planning session in fall; for
the follow-up program that it will be effective in the discipleship of
the campers; and, for funds to come in to meet the budget and our
capitol building projects as well.
Thanks and God Bless!
the camp and around Carma. She drove through the middle of the
storm with out even a scratch. As I looked around I watched lightning
strike in all directions including above us, but none came down to
hit the camp. Giant trees were broken and uprooted on the road to
and from the property, but the camp grounds remained untouched.
Tennis ball sized hail that destroyed windows in Dauphin did not
even touch camp. All I can do is praise God
for His protection of us, and, how He allowed
all the young campers to sleep through the
storm. God is good!
This winter brings excitement as we are
looking to build on many of the plans that were
started last year.
Our website: Upgrading it again to help
reach out to today’s campers and provide
resources for parents.
A Skating Rink: Hoping to build one so we
may have the possibility of having skating
times with kids from the Dauphin area.
New kitchen/dining hall building Plans:
This would enable us to have year-round
camp facilities.
Camp expansion: expanding for next year in an attempt to reach
more campers for Christ.
Please keep Dauphin Bible Camp in your prayers. Pray for wisdom
in our decisions, an expanding financial support base to help cover
the cost of ministry, for prayer warriors to fight along side, for many
more campers and the summer missionaries to reach them! I thank
God for each of you, “blessings on you”!
“I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you
among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above
the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”
Psalm 57:9-11
Being Used By God!?
By: Don & Charlotte Roe - GIMLI
Do we feel ‘used by God’ or are we ‘being used by God’? Our
summer missionaries had to answer this question every day. Our
answer determines our usefulness to Him. It also determines whether
we burn out or are refreshed.
3rd week: Putting their new skills to work in cabins as junior cabin
leaders. This program will help grow our own summer missionaries
and put strong leaders back into churches and communities.
Teen camp change: Camp was split into 2 age groups, a Jr. Teen
(13-15) and a Sr. Teen (15-17). Sr. Teen was ran more like a youth
retreat and it went over very well! We did this so that we could better
minister to the teens at each level. This summer also brought a lot
of growth to our intermediate camp ages 8-12 as both these weeks
were full to capacity. What an amazing summer!

Some of my memories of this summer that stand out: As everyone goes home
Going into chapel on Thursday evening, after sending 5 children and a quiet settles over
home that week and correcting seemingly endless swearing our camp, please join us
and misbehavior, and watching 90 kids aged 10-12 praising in praying for those who
God with all their hearts and mind and strength! served this summer and
Having an 11 year old boy take me aside, after being after him are now back in school
for bullying and being disrespectful all week and share the or at work. Pray for those
“secret” that his cabin was going to win the best cabin award kids who came and heard
that week because he had memorized so many verses. the gospel for the first time;
Listening to the girls joy and excitement as I drove them to their that they will continue to
overnight tent-out that they had won. have that desire to know
Having to restrain a boy several times because he couldn’t control more. Also pray for all
himself—and the times talking with him afterwards. those seeds that were
Watching the ministry team grow in confidence in themselves sown and watered; pray
and God as they minister to some very needy kids. for the growth that will
follow. Please pray for us
Last December, when we were as we change over to “retreat” mode and get back into hosting rental
designing this year’s shirts, we groups; and into the preparing of our toboggan hill and its schedule.
were discussing whether we
should have a Bible verse on it It is hard to believe that another summer is complete, however with
and what it should be. I jokingly that said, we are feeling more excited and settled in the ministry
picked one at random - Habakuk God has called us to!
1:9 “and they all came bent on
violence”. We had a good laugh Thank you for your continued prayers!
at how appropriate that “theme
verse” would be for us. We see
so many children here that are

Amazing God
angry and acting out that it is
sometimes difficult to look past the rebellious behavior and see the
hurting child inside, crying for help, that God sees. One 11 year old
The Werry Family - BEAVER LAKE
got into a fight with another boy but then went wild, seemingly wanting
to kill anyone or break anything in sight. We protected the other children
Our first year directing camp came and went way too quickly! We
and tried talking him down for over half an hour until he put his fist
had many challenges, amazing memories to look back on and a
through a window. As George and I moved to restrain him before he
whole lot of fun.
could hurt himself more he curled into the fetal position and in a baby’s
voice begged “don’t kill me”. As we comforted him I cried because of
On one of our many trips to and from camp I came across a song
all the violence that boy had experienced at the hands of his father.
that God told me was our ‘theme’ for camp this summer: I love you
He did not leave camp “rejoicing in the Lord”; but we trust that God
more than the sun and the stars that I taught how to shine, You
will preserve the love that he received while he was here. We
are mine and you shine for me too, I love you yesterday and
praise God that He chose us to be used to share His love in this way.
today and tomorrow, I’ll say it again and again I love you more
through the joy and the pain, I love you more.

A Spectacular Summer It’s amazing how God works

because all through camp that
was the message. God made
Gordon & Jennifer Giesbrecht - VALLEY VIEW the sun and the stars and he
taught them how to shine. He
It truly has been an exciting summer! What an honor it is to serve wants us to shine too! Cabin
God in such an exciting ministry here at camp! God truly blessed us Leaders took advantage of
with some outstanding workers! this and had devotionals out-
side under the stars.
We made some changes to our program this year that we believe
will improve our ministry. 2 Corinthians 4:7 “We now
Added a Leadership Development Program for 15 -16 year olds. have a light that shines in our
1st week: Start out with a solid grounding of Biblical teaching, hearts, but we ourselves are
leadership techniques and activity skills development. They also like fragile clay pots containing
learned how these new traits can be used together to share Christ this great treasure. This makes
with those they lead. it clear that our great power
2nd week: Some interaction with cabin groups and more sessions is from God and not from our-
about cabin leading and Bible lessons. selves.”

God used the same message through each speaker. Each was unique
and the kids really understood. We expressed to each and every one
of them that they are special, came to camp because God chose them
to, that they have a purpose and that God loves them regardless of
their situations or past.
Beaver Lake Bible Camp’s 2nd annual canoe camp was a hit again
this year with a 48 km trip around ‘Amisk Lake’ (which stands for
‘Beaver Lake’ in Cree). Despite all the weather glitches, God provided
the strength and the endurance to press on to the night’s destination.
The trip was a huge success not just for the campers but for the leaders
as well. We touched base on many teenage issues. All the campers
listened, were involved in many of the discussions and had questions
relating to what God had to say about each situation.
BLBC would like to thank all our helpers. Especially our Beaverette
family (ministry team), and, we won’t forget our beloved Muskrat. We
would like to extend an invitation to anyone who would like to
join and experience our BLBC Family. Just give us a call; we would
love to see you here next summer. God Bless! out the plans formulated!
“Dear Children, let’s not merely say that we love each other, let us
show our love by our actions.” 1 John 3:1
Did You Know?!
CSSM Manitoba Information
Each month (Sept. through May) a group of people join together
to pray for CSSM ministries in Manitoba and across Canada.
Why not join them? Call 668-2776(CSSM) for a prayer guide that is
prepared for this important group of supporters!
Prayer is upholding God’s work and workers before Him, and, in
responding in Praise and Thanksgiving at seeing Him work.
Each summer we conclude with a Camp Directors’ (Ministry Leaders’)
meeting to review the past summer of ministry and plan ahead for
the fall-winter-spring ministry. Pray that the right decisions are
made and that we have great discernment as to how to carry
The fiscal year for all CSSM Ministries ends Sept. 30. Pray that all
the ministry points will end their year in the black and not the red
so the gospel will continue to go forth unabated by financial shortfalls.
This year marks the 80th Anniversary of the Canadian Sunday
School Mission. In early November all the full-time missionaries

Upcoming Events Guide

Seniors Music Night
DATE: Friday October19, 2007
TIME: 2 p.m. Practices start (Seniors welcome to listen)
7 p.m. Program starts (orchestra prelude will likely start 6:30 or so)
LOCATION: Winkler Senior Centre, Winkler, MB
will gather together in Pinawa, MB for their ‘once every five years’
Personnel Conference. Pray for this time of spiritual renewal,
fellowship and celebration for our CSSM Ministries Family!
We’ve just spent considerable time and expense to reduce our
mailing list to who we think are the ones who really want to be on it.
Pray that we continue to be sensitive to our constituency members’
wishes while being good stewards of their trust and support.

Low German Music Fundraisers!

Coming to Winkler and Steinbach in November. Dates &
Neighborhood Bible Day Camp
Ela Klaue - CSSM MB Children’s Ministry

locations TBA (to be announced)! WATCH FOR THEM! My first summer as a Day Camps and Follow-up Coordinator has been
filled with many activities and exciting visions for the future.

Standardation of several different forms, posters and brochures has

FInancial greatly contributed to the smooth operation of this year’s Day Camps. I

Update
CSSM Manitoba Branch am also thankful to have received 150 Gideon Bibles for free distribution.
I praise God for the loving body of Christ that welcomed us and worked
(October 2006 - August 2007) along side with us in 8 rural communities. As a special element of
some Day Camps, the ILD (Introductory Leadership Development)
SAME PERIOD
ACTUAL encouraged teens to take on several roles of responsibility. One of these
LAST YEAR
roles included the creation and recording of audio dramas. These
INCOME $207,653.61 $193, 521.29 dramas were used as backdrops for the camp’s puppet shows and will
potentially end up on our Phone-a-Story line as follow-up material.
EXPENDITURES $223,701.48 $210, 711.59
I also thank God for our faithful and enthusiastic Day Camp teacher,
TOTAL -$16, 047.87 -$17,190.30 Rosario Klassen, and the rest of the team helpers. Our team included
Ashley Friesen, Corey Klassen, Dan Klaue and Monika Kaczorowska.
For your information, we are still several thousand dollars short of our Rosario and her husband, Corey, were excited for the opportunity to do
Branch Office obligations to the ‘Student Worker Assistance Program’ ministry work together as a married couple team in Pierson, and I was
(SWAP). DO HELP US continue to encourage those who served with equally excited to do the same with my husband, Dan,in Goodlands.
This brought a unique aspect to those Day Camps this year as young
us as summer missionaries as they return to schooling costs that are
boys had a chance to meet and to be led by Christian male role models.
becoming more and more burdensome as the years go by! THANK-YOU!
However, the most exciting part of the Day Camps for Rosario and
ALSO: going by how we ended our fiscal year (end of Sept.) last year myself was to see positive growth in the children we met last year.
(approx. minus $8,000.00), we encourage you to consider an extra gift at
this time to help keep us from going further in debt (as possibly indicated I’m looking forward to walking alongside these young people as they
looking at the figures above) at the end of this fiscal year. MUCH grow towards God’s direction throughout the rest of this year and for
APPRECIATED!! [NOTE: much of our income and expenditure comes years to come. Let’s pray that these children answer the invitations
in and out through our summer missionary assistance programs.] to learn more about God through the “U.B. David & I’ll B. Jonathan”
correspondence lessons and the Phone-A-Story ministry. The Lord has
ATTENTION: If wanting your gift to go to a specific camp, please mark clearly been at work, encouraging us onward and seeding His Word and
it clearly on your donation insert so we can pass it on to the camp His Love into many hearts across Manitoba. We praise God for choosing
indicated. Otherwise, donations received go for the operation of the us to be His messengers of His ‘Good News’ and we’ll continue to
Provincial Office and the services it provides. trust Him to help us in our work for Him as He grows His seeds of love.
All Things Are Possible
Howard & Kathy Weir - TURTLE MOUNTAIN
Nothing is as remotely powerful as when God’s people go to the ONE
who rules a hundred billion galaxies to focus His love and power on
a ministry, person, situation or need. We are deeply humbled and
grateful for those who come alongside us through prayer, finances
and active involvement. Your partnership enables the ministry to
impact the lives of staff and campers for His glory!
We rejoice at the opportunities God has given Turtle Mountain Bible
Camp the past 60 years in sharing the truths of the Gospel with precious
campers. This message has not only changed the eternaldestination
of many campers, but has given their lives hope and meaning. Many
were very receptive to the message and as children have given their
hearts to Christ, we can never underestimate how far reaching the
effects will be as they impact their family, friends and world. It is always
encouraging to be contacted by individuals who have witnessed a
change in the lives of campers and staff when they return home.
As part of our camp promotion in the spring we showed a DVD
entitled, “Facing the Giants”. It emphasized that: “WITH GOD, ALL
THINGS ARE POSSIBLE”. We can truly say we have evidenced the
prayers of God’s people and His intervention in ways that are nothing
but miraculous. A few weeks prior to camp starting, we only had about
25% of our summer missionaries in place. Once again God has proved
Himself faithful in providing an incredible, united, godly and focused
staff to meet each need. Seven staff came from Ontario and Shirley, a
dear Hutterite lady (who left the colony in June) provided consistency
in the kitchen all summer. She won everyone’s heart and was such a
testimony in her deep hunger for God and desire to learn and grow in
her faith. She was such an encouragement to Kathy who faced new
challenges in preparing menus and food orders this summer. Megan,
a blind cabin leader, had such a positive attitude and listening ear.
Her passion for Christ and the campers and perseverance amidst her
‘challenge’ was an incredible testimony to us all.
God enabled the ministry to side two more cabins, install a safety
barrier on the climbing wall, relocate several buildings, make some
waterfront upgrades and build a new and much needed washroom
facility (see picture). Only God could have raised up the needed
volunteers and finances to see these projects to completion. We still
need volunteers to help us complete the basement of the staff/guest
accommodation. We praise God for the safety, wisdom and staff unity
He provided. PRAYER is the language of dependency on God! It is
through prayer that every victory, provision and breakthrough comes
from God’s throne room. Our hearts desire is to give HIM the glory as
He has done ‘exceeding, abundantly, above anything we could ask
or imagine!’