Whatcha Gonna DO??
We have so many things to offer you it is hard to know where to start!
Here are a few-
play, hike, climb, swim, canoe, water slippy slide, rock hop, paddle boat, outdoor/indoor cooking, obstacle course, arts and crafts, rock wall, giant swing, volley ball, fishing, games, recreation games, disk golf, low ropes, geo cacheing, bon fires. target sports, agricultural, outdoor camping, the amazing men-o-race ( all camp adventure race), intramural sports, MORE AND MORE AND MORE.
MEN-O-LAN offers so many activities, it is hard to know where to start.
Some of our ‘SPECIAL’ activities include-
Screen on the Green- Grab your pillow &
blanket, we’ll pop some corn and watch a movie under the stars.
The AMAZING Men-O-Race- Are you ready? We will swim, canoe, bike, and eat our way to the finish line.
Western Round-up- Put on your boots,
cowboy hat, and western gear, we are going to have one hootin’ tootin’ good time Y’ALL!
Skate Park- Are you a skater? Have you ever wanted to learn? We have IMPROVED our skate park…Come learn a new trick, or two, or three.
Farm- Love animals? Goats, ducks, chickens, and gardens… You will love discovering
agriculture in a new way.
Evening Activities- Clash and goofy night, skits, pool parties, cookouts, games, and more. Every camper will have the opportunity to cook a meal over an open fire and sleep under the stars (weather permitting). Each FUN day ends with a traditional camp fire.
lives transformed
God is at work, and lives are changed for Him and forever transformed.
How has God used Men-O-Lan to transform your life?
Posted Feb. 4, 2009
Whenever I feel “lost” in my walk with the Lord I try to take time to slow down and remember what I call “God things”. Those moments in life that you can look back on and say that it all happened because of God. It had His fingerprints all over it. I have had several “God things” in my life, starting at the moment of my birth. One significant “God thing” that ranks near the top of my list is Camp Men-O-Lan. Men-O-Lan as many like to call it became a “God thing” for me beginning in the Summer of 1998.
It was a rainy April Saturday in ’98 when I found myself driving north from where I live to a place in Quakertown, Bucks County, to interview for a position to be on summer staff at Men-O-Lan. I had heard of Quakertown, Bucks County but I had never heard of Camp Men-O-Lan. I still don’t know even today how I got the phone number to camp but somehow I did. Just a week before my Saturday day trip I had called the camp to ask about a position, thinking that there probably weren’t any openings. To my surprise there were, and the director at the time invited me to come and interview. After the interview I remember thinking that I probably would not be hired, I had no real reason why, other than it was my frame of mind at that point in life to think the worse. To my surprise and according to God’s will I was hired!
To understand my reasons for not expecting anything I have to tell you my back-story. Before coming to Men-O-Lan I had spent a year and a half looking for a job with no success. I had graduated from college with a teaching degree and was not having any luck landing a job. I had also spent part of the summer before, working on the mission field in Mexico but did not feel that I was to go back. In addition there were several other disappointments in my life at the time. So I had come to the point in my walk where I believed in God but I questioned how much he cared about the details of my life. My choice to work at a summer camp originally was out of pure selfish motives. I had grown up going to summer camp (not Men-O-Lan) and I had always known it to be a place for me where “things made sense”. So in the spring of ’98 I started looking for a summer camp to work in, thinking it would be a “safe” place to work and possibly, hopefully, figure some things out.
Camp Men-O-Lan ended up not only becoming a “safe” place for me spiritually as I wrestled through many questions but it became my second home. After showing up late for the first day of staff orientation (a tornado struck the school that I was subbing in) and feeling so out of place because everyone seemed to know each other, God took hold of my hand and began the slow process to recapture my heart for His glory. The first summer I worked as Craft Director and when I wasn’t teaching a class or helping in some other way I spent my time just observing and listening and watching how real the Lord was in the lives of those I was working with. I wrestled with a lot of questions in regards to if what I was witnessing was real or not; genuine or fake. Like I said I had just spent several months slipping into a mindset of unbelievable doubt and mediocrity. So, during the days of my first summer at Men-O-Lan I became a background observer. I blended in, didn’t make much of anything, yet I took in everything. Every morning I would take walks through the woods or sit at the lake. I would talk to the Lord (and many times cry) just trying to figure out how what I had come from fits into what I was experiencing. And every morning God faithfully met with me and gently showed me that I needed to let go of the past year and a half, allow his blood to wash it clean, and look ahead to what was real – HIM. It was like I was a child who was holding a broken toy, crying for God to fix it. Instead, the Lord came and unwrapped my hands, took the brokenness and he didn’t just fix it, he replaced it with life that was better than anything I had ever experienced!
The summer of 1998 ended and so I thought my experience of camp was over too. However, in God’s sovereignty, it was just the beginning. He called me back to work at Men-O-Lan for another seven summers. Each summer built on the first. Each year I could see myself grow and gain understanding in ways that were/are amazing. Each summer I have grown to know the voice of the Lord so intimately and yet I still don’t know much of anything. There are many, many, times when I am working in my classroom (Yes, I eventually did get a teaching job) that I am instantly taken back to camp in my mind and reminded of a lesson learned, a truth gained, a longing fulfilled, and I simply thank my Father in Heaven. The ministry of Men-O-Lan is with me everyday!
The summer of 2005 was my last summer to be on actual staff but as those who have been to camp know “its in the blood” and I can’t keep myself away completely. You will still see me visiting or volunteering from time to time. And just about everyday you will see me walking the trails of camp if not physically, than in my mind’s eye, talking to the Lord having Him show me one more time how real He is in a world that many times does not make sense. This real walk I have with the Lord is all because of “A Place Where People Meet the Master” allowing me to declare “…That I may KNOW HIM” (Phil 3:10). Amen.
-Mary
This post will be designated to testimonies from camp alumni on how God has used camp to change their life.
If you have a story please email/send it to us. attn: Kelli Smith
Or leave your story below.
Thank you in advance for sharing!
who. what. where.
Men-O-Lan is one of the most beautiful places on earth!
OVER NIGHT CAMP
DAY CAMP
RETREATS
CHALLENGE COURSES
We are nestled in the beautiful Bucks County of Pennsylvania, just an hour north of Philadelphia.
There are 174 country acres for you to enjoy just minutes from the NE Extension on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Guest accommodations range from semi-private rooms and cabins to an all inclusive dormitory style facility. Meeting rooms are provided for Worship, discussions, and fellowship.
Directions to Men-O-Lan
Supporters
Thank you to our supporting churches!
Zion Mennonite
West Swamp Mennonite
Deep Run West Mennonite
Upper Milford Mennonite
New Eden Fellowship
Grace Mennonite
East Swamp
Pine Grove Mennonite
Springfield Mennonite
Indian Valley Mennonite
Lower Skippack Mennonite
We have a vision to reach Eastern Pennsylvania with the Gospel of Christ. With the support of churches, businesses, and individuals we are making Him known. Thank you.
Partner in this life changing ministry.
If you would like to join us in this ‘ Great Commission’ contact the office at 215-679-5144.
Together we are His hands and feet.