DTP at White Buck

This week, the Discipleship Training Program (DTP) campers are staying at White Buck, HoneyRock's remote camp, while preparing for two weeks of local outreach ministry.  Next week, the campers will be back at HoneyRock while they do local missions work. The DTP team will be working closely with local churches in Vilas and
Oneida counties right here in Northern Wisconsin (HoneyRock is in
Oneida County) to serve the poor and elderly population. Nearly 25% of
all residents in these counties live below the poverty line and are in
need of assistance to make ends meet. Our team will be helping these
people by doing some home repair and maintenance projects. This is a
great opportunity to share Christ’s love and make a real impact in the
lives of people in need.

The campers have had some great bonding experiences this week. Here are some pictures from White Buck:

 

Going by Faith

John Vandervelde - Program Director

Before coming to work at HoneyRock my wife and I, and our oldest son Brayden, lived in Zambia, Africa for nearly all of 2004.  As you can imagine we had many life-changing moments and made many memories that we'll cherish forever.  Everyday was an adventure, and an opportunity to grow.  We quickly learned the meaning of a phrase that is said often by people there, "we go by faith".  This phrase was regularly said before heading off on a long journey across not-so-great roads, in a not-so-great vehicle.  People would often smile and say, "we go by faith" - meaning, "we know this vehicle is not going to make it to our destination on these ridiculous roads unless the Lord makes it happen".  "We go by faith" means, "we know God is in control and is faithful".  

Having three young children myself, I know there are a lot of moments in parenting that "we go by faith".  I remember putting Brayden on the school bus for the first time.  I was cautious, nervous, and anxious, but knew God was in control.  I certainly could have taken him off the bus and driven him to school to ease my suffering, but it would not have been the best for Brayden.  The time on the bus is a time to meet new people, learn appropriate behavior, be independent, gain confidence and have fun with friends.  Besides that, rescuing Brayden from the bus puts me in control instead of God.  I'm sure you, if you are a parent, can think of countless situations like this, probably ones even more serious than putting your 5 year old on the school bus for the first time.  Without a doubt, in parenting, "we go by faith". 

It is so easy, and so tempting, to step in and rescue our children from everything uncomfortable, harmful, or scary.  It's easy to want to micro-manage all things in their lives.  We think it helps them but really its about easing our own anxiety and fear as a parent.  We want to pick their friends, we want to protect them, we do their homework for them, we call their coaches to make sure they get playing time, we argue with their teachers over one A-, we have a GPS tracking application on our phones that allows us to follow their every move and know where they are at all times, and we make sure that they wear helmets, even when sleeping.  It's really quite sad if you think about it, isn't it?

There's no doubt we need to shelter and protect our kids.  Sometimes.  But this isn't our only job.  Our job is to raise children of Godly character, ready to handle the good and bad in life.   Our goal is to grow and nurture children who will live lives as agents of the Kingdom of God wherever they go.  The work of raising children doesn't involve just sheltering and protecting.  It means that sometimes we allow our children to fail (I know, Gasp!).  We allow them to make their own choices, even if they are not the choices we'd make.  We allow them to skin their knee once in a while.  We might even do something crazy like send them to camp for 2-weeks! 

A few months ago on this blog I shared an article that was in Time Magazine in November 2009.  The article is called "The Backlash Against Overparenting" and was written by Nancy Gibbs.  You can read the article by clicking here.  I got some good feedback from parents saying they enjoyed the article and that it challenged them.  Since then there have been a few more articles that have come across my desk dealing with the same issue.  I thought I'd share another one with you today, you can find it by clicking here. It's called "Helicopter Parents Have Neurotic Kids, Study Suggests" by Rachel Rettner of LiveScience.

Parents: I share these articles with you to encourage you in our parenting journey to "go by faith" today.  For many parents, many of whom are reading this blog, today is one of those days.  Today marks the start of another session of camp and over 170 kids are making their way to HoneyRock today for 2-weeks (or 4-weeks for Service Teamers) of challenge, adventure, character formation, and spiritual growth.  Way to go parents for giving your children this opportunity to grow and develop into young people of solid character!  I know your child's experience will be powerful for them.  My hope is that their time away from home will allow you to grow as well, and that the lessons learned during this time will help you "go by faith" even more.

God Works in Mysterious Ways

Karen Bartos--Adventure Challenge Team

God moves in mysterious ways.  In 2007, I had the privilege of being in the
Summer Leadership School Program and co-counseled a cabin of eighth-graders
with Nancy Swider-Peltz, Jr.  Our picture
is below.

That summer I discovered how much I really love just “doing
life” with campers – walking faithfully in the events of each day and sharing
in whatever situations or conversations that come up.  Being a counselor is a unique role balanced
somewhere between friend and authority, maybe more like a guide or older
sister.  The experience taught me about
being an authoritative leader and
loving friend on emotional, physical and spiritual levels.

So, imagine my joy when I discovered that this summer (2010)
all of my eighth-graders are back doing various HoneyRock high school
programs!  Three girls did Adventure
Camp, two just finished the Sawtooth Mountains wilderness
trip, and one is an Assistant Counselor. 
Below you will find our picture from this morning, the first time this
summer that our schedules had us all in one place!

But why is that so cool? 
When campers come back to HoneyRock over multiple years, it reminds me
of the complexity of how God works.  He
worked through Nancy, me and the girls to impact each other's lives at HoneyRock
in summer 2007, and He had to have worked
in their lives outside HoneyRock to bring them to a place where HoneyRock can
once again work in their lives in summer 2010. 
When I think of the minimal impact that I and HoneyRock have by our own
effort, I know that it is by God’s sovereignty and power working through
me and beyond me that allows us to see His work in our lives.  I love these girls so much, but as I am
flawed and cannot care for them continuously, I am thankful for a God who loves
them through other people at HoneyRock over the summers and through His work
for eternity.

Family Day

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

Family Day begins at 1:30pm today.  Parents can come down to the Barn to sign up for a one-on-one with their child's counselors.  Then families can enjoy the afternoon together, participating in activities and watching the rodeo.  They can also watch the ski show while eating a delicious BBQ dinner.  Family Day at HoneyRock is unique.  Several months ago John Vandervelde, HoneyRock Program Director, was asked to write a brief article for the Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) about Family Day.  Below you will find what he wrote.

About 20
years ago HoneyRock
(Three Lakes,
Wis.) started Family Day as a way to have parents be more involved in their kid’s
camp
experience, and today staff consider it a crucial part of their
ministry. Participating in
Family Day is how parents can maximize their investment of sending their
child
to HoneyRock. They learn hands on what happened in their child’s life at
camp
as they experience life at HoneyRock for the day. One of the activities
is a
meeting for parents to get to know the director and other staff. Parents
also
get to spend some important time with their child’s counselor or trip
leader. “We see ourselves as a partner with
parents in helping them
raise their kids for Christ and His kingdom. Family Day is about us
learning about parents and their needs and concerns,” Program Director
John Vandervelde says.
Family Day takes
place on the last Thursday afternoon of each session (Friday afternoon
for
one-week camp). At no charge, all parents and siblings can come and
enjoy a
rodeo, ski show, dinner and evening activities. “The connections we make
with families are worth every dime we spend feeding them dinner,” John
says. “Parents who come to Family Day are often so thrilled at the
experience that they commit to sending their kids back the following
summer
because of it. They also become donors and prayer partners. It is
well worth the expense.”

We are so blessed by the families who make the trek up to HoneyRock for Family Day and we are thankful for their continued investment in the lives of their children.

Below are some pictures from our first Family Day of the summer.

Camper Worship

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

Every morning at 10:00am all the Residential Campers, Advance Campers, Assistant Counselors and SLS counselors gather together in the Tent for worship.  Camper worship is the bridge between Cabin Impact (Bible Study) and the first activity period of the day.  It is often a high-energy time where everyone can sing and dance and praise the Lord together.  Worship songs that have motions have proven to be quite popular at camper worship.  This morning they sang the following songs: Trading my Sorrows, Days of Elijah, Every Move I Make, Everlasting Love, In the Light, and We Want To See Jesus Lifted High.

The music and singing is led by Dave McHale and the other Unit Leaders.  We are thankful for the way that God has gifted Dave musically and we are blessed by his leadership.  It is always exciting to hear the Lord's name being praised by campers and their counselors.  This morning all the Res Camp girls are out on their wilderness trips, so only the boy Res Campers and Advance Campers were at camper worship. 

Family Day is TOMORROW!  Check-in begins at 1:30pm. 
Please remember that pets are not allowed at HoneyRock.  If you need
directions to HoneyRock, click here. 
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow afternoon!

Activity Staff Intro

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

HoneyRock has so many fun activity areas that campers can choose to participate in: Riflery, Archery, Wilderness Skills, Mountain Biking, Climbing, Canoeing, Sailing, Kayaking, Waterskiing, Swimming, Crafts and Ceramics.  Have you ever wondered how campers know which ones to choose?   

At the beginning of each session, the Activity Staff do a fun presentation to introduce the campers to the activity choices.  As you can see from the pictures below, the Activity Staff are all in full Viking garb as they creatively communicate the highlights of their specific area to the campers. 

On Family Day, parents and siblings will have the opportunity to participate in activity areas and see their campers show off their new skills.  We're excited to see you at Family Day on Thursday and hope that many of you are able to come!