Hi Mystic Lakers! 

Theme Reveal for summer 2019! 
Which theme will you be joining us for this summer?

Session 1: June 16- June 22
Superheroes

Session 2: June 23- June 29
Under the Sea 

Session 3: June 30- July 6
Party in the USA

Session 4: July 7- July 13
Outer Space 

Session 5: July 14- July 20
Jungle Safari 

Session 6: July 21-27
Christmas in July

Session 7: August 4- August 10
Under the Big Top- Circus

Session 8: August 11- August 17
Blast From the Past- Dinosaurs

 

Visit mysticlakecamp.org to register! 

Global Camping Conference 2018

Amiee at YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park

Hi Mystic Lakers!

On lots of occasions folks ask me what happens at camp in the winter months. In addition to hosting retreat groups, hiring all the summer rock stars and master planning, we also do a lot of training. I had the opportunity in November to attend the YMCA Global Camping Conference with a scholarship from my friends at the YMCA Mid America Camping Conference. 

The Global Camping Conference was held at the YMCA of the Rockies where there are elk that wander in front of your housing units and there are signs indicating the importance of latching the door if you do not want to wake up cuddling a black bear. A little different from what we have here in Michigan. 

I had the opportunity to explore for the first time in Rocky Mountain National Park and spend time with my "camp friends" who are camp directors from YMCA camps across the US and now the world. Whenever I attend camping conferences it puts me in the mind of being a camper myself. I have to travel to get there, check in, meet new people, try new things, sleep in a new bed, eat new food and all the other experiences that come from being somewhere new and away from home. It is a good reminder about how a place like camp can feel so far from home at the start of the week and like it is your home at the end of the week, and how your friends start to feel like your family. 

I attended interest sessions including Women in Camping Leadership, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Creating Inclusive Environments, Character Development and Leading with Empathy. Each of these sessions gives me a new perspective to bring back to camp about how to serve our campers and staff in the best way.

Amiee at Rocky Mountain National Park

We heard from keynote speakers about how chores will help campers grow in their responsibility  (hello hoppers and clean cabin time) and about how we have to continue our work to be sure the outdoors includes everyone, regardless of where we are from or what we look like.

Even as an adult camp continues to help me grow every day. It connects me with some of the greatest people and role models I know.

I hope Mystic Lake inspires each of you the way the YMCA camping movement inspires me.

-Amiee 

Staff Introductions

Coming to us from England, welcome Blaid back to Mystic!
This will be my third summer at Mystic Lake! I have been a counselor and Village Director, and will be Co Summer Camp Director this summer! I'm looking forward to seeing how much has changed since I was last at camp in 2015, meeting new people, and seeing old campers! My favorite part of camp is hidden away in the wilderness of the forest - you always find somewhere new. One of my favorite camp memories is helping the Pioneers defeat Voldemort and successfully complete their first year at Hogwarts!

Welcome Matthew back to Mystic!
This will be my 5th summer working on the beautiful shores of Mystic Lake, but my 16th including my time spent here as a camper. My favorite memory from last summer was when a dance party broke out in the rain one afternoon. My favorite activity is the rock wall because I love watching people solve the puzzle of finding their way to the top!

Welcome back, Emily!
Hi everyone! This is my second year as a counselor, but my 11th year total here at Mystic! My favorite memories from last summer are the senior canoe trips and making skits with my cabins. My favorite place on camp is the bog and I can't wait to teach campers more about the sphagnum moss this summer!

Next up, welcome Paigelynn to Mystic Lake!
Hello! This will be my first summer at Mystic Lake! I'm a senior at Central Michigan University studying Recreation and Event Management. I love arts and crafts, laughing, dancing, and talking. My number one goal for this summer is to try new things, even when I'm scared to do so! I am so excited to meet everyone and have a blast!! See you soon

Hello Mystic Lakers!
I'm Hannah! I was a camper at Mystic Lake for three years and this will be my second as a counselor! My favorite camp activity is by far the senior canoe trip, and my favorite place on camp is the tree climbing grove. I can't wait to see you all this summer!

Next up, Emma!
Hi friends! My name is Emma and this is my second summer as a counselor at Mystic Lake! I am most excited to meet new campers and to reconnect with returning ones! My favorite camp activity is opening campfire, and my favorite place is the fishing dock when the sun is setting. See you soon!

It's time to begin meeting the Mystic Lake staff for summer 2018! We will be introducing people that are full of positive energy and ready to give campers memories that will last a lifetime. 

This week we are introducing Amiee, Haley, Casey, Jenna, Carlee, Fletcher, Chris, Maggie, Patrick, and James!

First up, meet Amiee!
This with be my fifth year at Mystic Lake as the Program Director. My favorite place on camp is the back porch of the Castle watching the sunrise with my dogs Larry and Charlie. This summer, I am most excited to meet new friends and see how tall the campers have gotten over the past year!

Next up, say hello to Haley!
This summer with be my third summer on staff at Mystic Lake, and my first as Co Summer Camp Director! A couple of my favorite memories from last summer are going on a Doodle Hunt with Teen Nation and the senior canoe trip. I can't wait for lake swims and foil dinners this summer! I'm so excited to see past campers and to share the Mystic Magic with new ones. See you SOON!

Everyone say hello to Casey!
I have been a counselor here for three years, and was never a camper at Mystic but I wish I had been. My favorite camp memory is making foil dinners every week with with all of my campers and fellow counselors and enjoying each others company! My favorite place on camp is the fishing dock when the sun is setting (except for the mosquitoes that want to take me away) 

Hello Mystic Lakers!
My name is Jenna, I have been a camper at Mystic for eight years and this will be my second year as a counselor. I can't wait to see all of my returning campers as well as meet new ones. My favorite place to be at camp is the barn with all of the horses!

Next up, Carlee!
I have been a counselor for three years and this will be my first year as Equestrian Director!! My favorite part of last summer was doing overnights at the barn with the Wranglers and Ranchers. This summer I am looking forward to being reuinted with the horses and return campers as well as meeting all of the new campers, getting to spend long days at my favorite place on camp (the barn) and getting to lead trail rides!

Everyone welcome Fletcher!
Hi! My name is Fletcher and this will be my first year working at Mystic Lake after being a camper for five years. I'm very excited to get to know everyone this summer and to make awesome memories!

Welcome back Chris!
This summer will be my eighth year at Mystic and my second summer as a counselor. My favorite place on camp is the boating area, and I'm most looking forward to scaling the rock wall this summer!

Joining us from England, welcome James Ray to Mystic Lake!
My name is James and I'm a Law student from Durham, which is a very small city in the North East of England. This summer, I'm really looking forward to playing soccer at camp because the World Cup will be taking place during my time there. I love being on the water, so I'm excited for lake activities as well! I love sports and can't wait to do all of the different activities that Mystic Lake has to offer!

Welcome back Patrick!
I spent seven years at Mystic as a camper, and this will be my third year as a counselor. This summer I'm looking forward to endless rounds of ultimate frisbee under the beautiful summer sun. My favorite place on camp is the cookout site Old!

Next up, say hello to Maggie!
This is my third year on staff at Mystic Lake, and my first summer as Waterfront Director! My favorite memory from camp is slip n sliding in the rain. This summer I'm looking forward to spontaneous dance parties!

Alumni Gathering!

Hello Mystic Lakers!

Join us Friday, March 30 from 6-8 pm at Spare Time Entertainment Center in Lansing, 3101 E Grand River Ave, Lansing, MI 48912. 


We will be gathering together to share camp stories over pizza. Bring your friends and come for a visit. Share your favorite camp memories, look through some photo albums and reconnect with your Mystic family!

All are welcome!

Hello Mystic Lakers!

Camp counselor Jenna is in the process of applying to college and applying for college scholarships. For one of her applications she took inspiration from her time at Mystic Lake and wanted to share it with all of you! We are lucky to have you Jenna!

Mystic Magic

My best outdoor recreation memory happened this summer while working as a camp counselor at Mystic Lake YMCA Camp of Lansing Michigan. It is not a single memory that I have but a blur of summer that I spent canoeing, hammocking, hiking, singing, climbing and teaching campers about the great outdoors. Mystic Lake is not like any other place you have been before. There is this crazy force that always pulls you back. I like to call it Mystic Magic. This magic not only makes you want to come back but it also tells you to never to leave.

I would like to think magic is real but it’s not. The Mystic Magic I am talking about is created by my fellow counselors and the memories we make together. Late nights in the dining hall bonding over mosquito bites and campers. We gave each other the Mystic Magic. We passed it to campers while they were achieving their goal high up on the rock wall, learning how to swim, and listening to the camp legend of Bruno. The Mystic Magic is what kept us moving when we had four hours of sleep, a troubled camper, and not enough energy to keep going. It is and was the Mystic Magic that was the spark to the fire inside of me.

The memories that I group together and call Mystic Magic is special to me because it taught me many different things. Over the course of the summer of 2017 I learned how to be patient. To have patience is the key to any difficult encounter with any person, especially kids. I was taught the true meaning of family. Family can be anyone, anywhere. They do not have to be related to you. They are the people that will support you through your most challenging times. They are the people that make you laugh when you thought nobody else could. I was taught the importance of family and friends.

Mystic Magic is remarkable to me because it showed me how to be comfortable while being myself. I was brought out of my shell of social anxiety. I was surrounded by people who did not judge me for being me. This experience is unforgettable because of the feeling it gave me. The feeling of being free from the confinements of society. I was my best self around my Mystic family. They did not want me to wear a mask to impress them. They were impressed when I was being myself. I will never forget this feeling of open arms for being true to who I am.

The Mystic Magic guided me to be the best role model and leader I could be. I was taught that every kid needs a positive role model in their life. As a camp counselor I could give kids the Mystic Magic for a week. The week they spent with me, was a week they didn’t have to worry about their next meal or having a bed to sleep in. Mystic Magic lets kids be kids.

My best outdoor recreation experience was Mystic Magic, made of dirty feet, mosquito bites, and the support of each other. The unforgettable feeling of family created at Mystic Lake where dreams come true.

"Mystic Lake is the happiest place on earth and I’ve been to Disney.” -Amiee Woodrow

Thank you for sharing your camp experience with us Jenna!

Thanks To You

The holidays are a small slow down for Mystic Lake. We have wrapped an exciting fall season working with many schools and are now gearing up for our winter retreats and conferences all while we prep to do it all over again for 2018. During this season of gratitude I wanted to share with you a few of the things I am thankful for.

I'm thankful my job is camp. I'm thankful for the days going to work means I'm on my way to say hello to the pioneer girls, give elbow bumps to the challenge boys and then head to assembly after breakfast. I'm thankful I get to lead campers in the long version of Rise and Shine because its my favorite song and nothing gets me more excited for the rest of the day. I'm thankful campers trust me to teach them swim lessons in the cool summer mornings. Thankful that I get to share my love of synchronized swimming with campers and thankful they push through performances even when the speaker shorts out. I'm thankful I get to walk home each night to the sounds of laughter pouring out cabin windows. I'm thankful campers tell me this is the happiest place they have ever been and thankful they love their counselors. I'm thankful campers feel safe here and are able to be the most genuine versions of themselves. I'm thankful that being a goof is embraced, that you're encouraged to sing loud even if you think you're not good at it and that whoever you are is welcome here. I'm thankful for the slow songs and for the way camp feels when we sing them.

I'm thankful my job is camp. I'm thankful that I get to work with an inspiring group of people who put others before them, who allow giant bins of water to be dumped on them, who leave encouraging notes in my mailbox, who inspire me to be the best me I can be, who stay up late to take their kids stargazing and people who care about each other and are able to show it. I'm thankful that I always have someone to talk to about my struggles, that when I ask for 100 wood cookies to be cut by the evening program they are done, that I have a team who remembers the small details and makes sure they're completed and that whenever I ask for help I can always count on getting it. 

I'm thankful my job is camp. I'm thankful to finish my days knowing what my staff and I have done has made the world better. I'm thankful we help kids grow and teach campers honesty, caring, respect and responsibility. I'm thankful parents allow this team of young people to help shape their kids. I'm thankful I get to see campers turn into our staff. I'm thankful for the moments that seem small but are actually the biggest. Finally, I am thankful for each one of you who took time to read this and let me share this with you. 

Have a Happy Holiday season!

-Amiee