Great encouragement!

We received this email over the weekend from a former camper.  What a great story and a wonderful encouragement as we head into our 60th summer of ministry here at HoneyRock!

55 years ago, in 1955 and 56, at the age of 9 and 10,  I attended
Honey Rock for summer camp. I went for 4 weeks at a time and loved every
minute of it.  But the most precious memory I have of Honey Rock is a
night the campers gathered in a building (hard to remember) and listened to a
young lady tell the Gospel story.  She told us that we could ask Jesus
into our hearts that night on our bunks before we went to sleep.  She said
that if we did to make sure to tell our counselor. I couldn't wait to get
to my bunk that night. In the quiet night on a top bunk, I asked Jesus Christ
to be my Savior.  I thought morning would never come!  As soon as it
was light, I told my counselor.  She was so excited for me.

I will never forget Honey Rock.  I just wanted to share this with
you and encourage you to never stop proclaiming Christ to the children who
attend the camp.  Thank you and have a very blessed summer.

Sincerely,

Mallory Storer Lenig

The First International Partnership

This summer we're planning on having 3 young men from Hong Kong come and be part of our training program this summer.  These men will participate in SLS and will then return to Hong Kong to take what they have learned and implement it in their ministry there. 

We're excited for an new international partnership to take shape here at HoneyRock.  Working with other camps and organizations all over the world has been a part of the HoneyRock story since the early days.  I hope you enjoy this story from Coach Chrouser, the founder of HoneyRock.  It comes from his book "A Place Apart" and it tells of Peter a German young man who came here in 1951 or 1952 to learn about camping.  He was perhaps the first international partnership we ever had.

New Friends Bring Challenges - p. 22

"That June (early 1950s) brought a most interesting letter from the United States State Department asking us to accept one "Peter Schneider" of West Germany as an observer for our leadership training program.  The letter stated further that the State Department was assisting the German government in establishing American-type youth movements to take the place of military-type groups.  Peter would be coming to us from a large YMCA camp in North Carolina.  When Peter arrived he created quite a stir.  He was a handsome, well-groomed young man, sharp and alert to what his mission was.  As an 18-year-old he had been a Nazi Youth and served time as a prisoner of war working in the Belgian coal mines.  His father was an educator in the German university systems.  Peter was a student of German higher criticism, which seemed to major in reasons to doubt the Biblical record and authority.  At first Peter was cagey on spiritual matters, but it soon was evident that he was developing a thirst to know the truth.  Peter was good for all of us at camp, and the camp was good for Peter.  His Honey Rock days laid the foundation for his decision for Christ which came in late August.  He came to campus in the fall and because of over-enrollment was limited to part-time student status.  After another semester and some special courses at Wheaton he returned to Germany well-founded in the Word. 

What is significant about this story?  Peter was being prepared to be a key interpreter in the Billy Graham German Crusades and a key figure in the evangelical movement in Germany.  He has visited the campus several times since and reminisced about Honey Rock days.  Peter was good for the students.  His penetrating questions made them aware of the reasons for their faith.  All of this seemed to stimulate our counselors as they led their cabin groups." 

Counterfeit Gods

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

I recently read the book Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller.  I enjoyed Counterfeit Gods because I, like many Christians, struggle to find complete satisfaction in God alone and I wrestle with idols in my own life.  Keller asks the question "Have [we] learned to trust God alone, to love God for himself, not just for what [we] can get out of God?"  It's a convicting question.  Keller makes the observation that we become like what we worship.  If Jesus isn't the most important thing in our lives and we aren't worshiping him, then we will become like the other things in our lives that we worship: our idols.

To give you a very brief synopsis of the book, Keller says that "the human heart takes good things like a successful career, love,
material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things."  We turn those things into the center of our lives thinking they can give us significance, security, safety and fulfillment." So really, anything at all can be an idol.  What makes it even more challenging is the fact that we tend to think that idols are only bad things.  But we often create idols out of good things, and Keller asserts that the "greater the good, the more likely we are to
expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can
serve as a counterfeit god, especially the very best things in life." 

I would encourage you to get a copy of Counterfeit Gods.  I think it will prove to be a convicting but rewarding read. 

Incarnational Living

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of taking a graduate class at Wheaton College entitled "Developing a Missional Church."  It was an amazing opportunity to sit under great teaching and to grow deeper in my faith.  One of the things we talked about extensively was the missional-incarnational church.  I won't pretend to be anywhere close to the source of knowledge on this topic (and sometimes the words themselves are still a little confusing for me) but I want to share some of the things I learned. 

In its most basic form, "missional" simply means sent.  While this isn't a new concept, the word missional is relatively new.  God has called each of us to go out into the world and engage with the people and culture around us.  We can't spend our time hiding in the church or only hanging out with Christians; we are called to go and make disciples.  Going doesn't necessarily mean leaving your home and going to an exotic location, it means looking for the people in need within your sphere of influence. 

"Incarnational" is a little more complicated, but there are six incarnational discipleship practices that we explored that were modeled by Jesus during his time on earth:

1. Presence--How we (and the Holy Spirit who lives in us) are when we're with other people, identifying with others, and taking time to know their stories, their struggles and their history.


2. Proximity--How we will be geographically close to other people.  We have to get close enough to people to rub shoulders with them so that they see Christ in our lives.


3. Powerlessness--Coming into situations as a learner and with a dependence on those we are trying to reach.  We can't assume we know everything or have all the answers.  We can't be judgmental, arrogant, or unkind.


4. Prevenience--We must depend on God's presence that is already at work in people's lives and we have to look for the image of God in the people He has called us to reach out to. 


5. Passion--We have to be willing to engage in the pain of those around us which then activates our emotions and our compassion. 


6. Proclamation--We must boldly proclaim the name of Christ.

My challenge for today is to take some time to think about those God has called you to reach.  Who do you know that is marginalized?  Who do you know that needs the love of Christ?  Who is lonely and broken?  Take a step of faith and invite someone over to have dinner with your family, hang out with people who don't know the Lord, and be willing to strike up conversation with a stranger.  God is already at work in people's lives, but He longs for us to join him in that work.

Giddy Up!

Sorry we didn't update the blog yesterday, but we do have a good reason.  We spent the entire day out of the office on a mini staff retreat.  In the morning we met at Living Waters, a lake front cabin here at camp, and spent time going over all the details of summer.  We organized calendars, identified tasks that need to be accomplished, discussed our summer theme, and prayed together.  It was a very productive morning.

The afternoon was spent at the barn with the horses.  Our whole team learned first-hand what goes into running the equestrian program at HoneyRock.  We brushed horses, saddled them, learned riding techniques, and went on a trail ride together.  We learned a lot more about all the hard work Becky Webber, our Ranch Manager, puts into this program and we also had a lot of fun! 

Enjoy the pictures! 

1. The HoneyRock staff team.

2.  Craig Miller saddling up Alex.  

3.  Don Kerns getting ready to ride C.B. 

4.  The Sisters Henderson - Liz and Becki

5.  Rick Masters strapping on a saddle.   

6.  Dell Ledbetter looking like cowboy.
  

7.  Dan Elsen & John Vandervelde - ready to ride.
 

8. Elizabeth Baltus confidently riding Montana.

9.  Rob Ribbe on Tonka. "Giddy Up"
 

10.  Heading off for our trail ride.

*Photos taken by Heather Ledbetter

Wheaton Passage

Last year 240 students participated
in Wheaton Passage, and with more than 1000 students now accepted to
Wheaton College, Wheaton Passage Registration for 2010 is well underway. 
Wheaton Passage is a program designed to ignite the Wheaton College
experience for incoming students.  Passage is a truly memory-making experience
for the new incoming students who participate.  Students who participate
will also earn 2 hours of credit before they even step foot on the main
Wheaton campus.  

Students can choose from
the Wilderness Track, Camp Track, or new Urban Track.  All tracks culminate
with five days at HoneyRock during which time a faculty member will
join each of the established small groups and lead them through a curriculum
based on the following four themes: foundations of a world view, community,
spiritual formation, and service.

There are currently 69 students
registered for Wheaton Passage 2010.  This the most students we've had for this time of year.  So if you're interested it's time to register!

You can learn more about the Wheaton Passage program by clicking HERE.