Monday, July 21, 2008 proved to be an incredible day in history at Camp Luther. The family week six campers settled in nicely on Sunday and enjoyed a lively campfire complete with family introductions. Monday brought a beautiful day filled with Discovery, action, pool time, sports, crafts and all around fellowship. We enjoyed chapel in The Xander Outdoor Chapel followed by a life-sized “Luther” family version of Trivial Pursuit. The Camp Luther store opened and roundabout 9:30 the teens began their “teen game” of the week and the adults settled in the lodge for an organized game entitled, “Star Power.” While the teens were running around playing their game, what appeared to be heat lightening glistened over the lake. The winds were calm. The game wrapped up a little before 11:00 p.m. and the teens along with their evening counselors sauntered in the lodge in search of snacks. Moments after entering the lodge (we’re thinking somewhere between 11:00-11:15) the wind suddenly began to blow at an unbelievable rate. Within minutes torrential rains began (sideways!) along with what sounded like and appeared to be hail. Within a minute of this astounding wind and unimaginable cloudburst, trees were randomly plucked from the ground (roots and all) as if they were a simple weed……HUGE trees, such as the giant cherry tree that WAS on the bluff. This ancient tree was among the oldest on our grounds and sat majestically protecting us for years. It was extracted and threw back down on the ground facing the chapel. This tree that weighed tons was FEET away from the RV’s and tents when it hit the ground, yet this same wind allowed our RV’s to remain grounded. Our tent campers were actually picked up off the ground (IN THEIR TENT) yet were not hurt. One of the RV’s survived a bullet like tree slamming into their front windshield, all were in the RV, yet the entire family was not hurt. Many more trees were totally uprooted including the giant pine on the right side of the chapel as you enter the chapel and two LARGE trees along the tree line on the left side of the road (near the sports shed) as you walk down the drive toward the dining hall. These trees hit the telephone pole on the right side of the drive which holds our main power feed to the entire camp. This entire pole came down and the transformer busted and this GIANT mass of trees, poles and random wires started a fire. All power to the entire camp went out. Campers had been ushered into the lodge and witnessed this entire scene. The bells began to ring and those who were not already in the lodge/dining hall began to pad their way to their assigned storm shelter. Campers began to brace themselves at their locations and within minutes the entire storm “microburst” had totally passed and when we looked up into the sky, we saw the Big Dipper! Everyone was ushered back to their cabin locations due to the immense amount of trees and wires EVERYWHERE. After speaking to many emergency personnel the last staff member went to bed around 4:00 a.m. and the camp was buzzing with people again by 6:00 a.m. as relief trucks began to line our driveway in the order in which their services were needed. We managed to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner without electricity. The power was finally restored at 6:30 p.m. The magnitude of this “straight line wind” was truly indescribable. Our camp looked like a war zone……everywhere. It is similar to a tornado but moves in a straight line (which it did) bowling over everything in its way rather than picking things up and flinging them like a tornado would do. Emergency personnel AND campers chipped in to get the clean-up procedure moving. Family week six campers were phenomenal throughout the entire ordeal. If you could have seen our camp once the sun came out, you would have been speechless, like many of us who could just walk around dumbfounded for the first hour or so. If you could have seen our camp once the sun came out, you would wonder and wonder and wonder how every single person remained safe. With the high number of people still out and about, it is astounding that there were no casualties. Not just from the microburst but from parents running to their children unable to see downed trees and live wires and running right into and through masses of tangled trees and wires. The weather alert on our Walkie Talkies and radios did not go off, there was no warning. We made the decision to ring the bells from common sense. This was an odd storm that was not expected at all and no radar tracked its intensity. In fact, it was SO odd, that the entire microburst was pretty much stationed directly over Camp Luther and died down once it crossed Lake Road! Local news reporters could not believe how localized it was, the severity of our damage AND the fact that not one person was even hurt. At this writing we cannot even tell you how many trees were uprooted…we are not done counting. Most of the mess on the main grounds has been cleaned up but now we must tend to all the trees down in the “outback.” We are able to use the amphitheater but cannot go any further to the outdoor chapel until downed trees are removed. In all the years camp has been in operation, there has never been inclement weather that compares to this. We have challenged to continue to support this amazing ministry through day to day operation expenses, erosion control efforts and now this immense clean-up project. There is no doubt in our minds that God is good! The mission carried out at Camp Luther far outweighs any setback we face. God is with us and we remain committed to Him through our work at Camp Luther. We praise God for keeping us safe and we pray that all of us are able to rejoice each morning when we see another new day and use our lives to glorify the Lord!