Are You Ready?

Our Assistant Counselors got to camp this afternoon and Intro and Advance campers will arrive one week from today! We're so excited to finally welcome campers to HoneyRock for the summer.

Preparing for camp can be a stressful time for parents and campers - sometimes what should be a time of excitement is overshadowed by a cloud by anxiety. However, it doesn't have to be that way! Here are 5 simple things parents can do to better prepare their children for camp and lower the stress level of the transition.

 1. Set some goals and expectations:

Talk to your child about camp and what it's all about. Watch the videos on the website.  Talk to other families who have been to HoneyRock before. While you can't prepare your children for everything, you can give them some idea of what to expect. It will also give you a good opportunity to set some goals for camp.

Some sample goals:

• I want to do Solid Rock Club.
• I want to get an Intermediate in Sailing.
• I want to become friends with 3 new people - kids not from my school or church.

2. Practice being away from home:

We highly recommend this for new campers who are going away to camp for the first time. Have your child do an overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's house or another close friend's house without you. This will give them some experience in being away from home before they head off to camp.

3. Begin praying about camp:

Set aside some time at meals or before bed to pray about camp. Pray for your child's cabin mates, their counselors, the bus ride up to camp, the Bible studies they will participate in, the activities they will do, and for safety while they are at camp.

4. Don't make promises you can't or don't intend to keep.

As parents we often make little promises to our children in order to alleviate their fears before they leave for camp. It can be devastating to a camper if those promises aren't met. Some examples:

• Don't promise you'll be at Family Day if you aren't planning on it.
• Don't tell your child they have $100 in their Beehive account.
• Don't promise they will know everyone in their cabin.
• Don't tell you child that you come and pick them up if they don't like camp.
• Don't tell them it won't rain and that there are no bugs.

5. Read through the Information Packet.

The Information Packet contains packing lists, transportation information, as well as forms to have ready before you arrive for bus check-in. Download the PDF Information Packet for your child's session. 

HoneyRock's new 2:22 program - What's in a Name?

Welcome to the column for 2:22 written by me, Rick Masters, the Adventure Ministry Program Manager. Every Tuesday and on some Fridays you will find information about 2:22 that will include program philosophy, articles about our youth culture, stories and testimonies from staff and campers, and programming elements you (or your son or daughter) will do and learn. Friday's blog will be a bit more light-hearted and will also include information about our Graduate Program Assistantships and Winter Retreats.  I look forward to engaging your heart and mind on this space.

What's with the name...2:22????

 

Remember how you felt when your 3rd grade teacher got your name wrong?  Well, we want to get this program's name right and make sure you as a reader, camper, staff member and parent get what is in this name.  

The name comes from 2 Timothy 2:22 for three reasons:

1.  Paul, the writer of the book, is the older/mentor and Timothy, the recipient, is the younger/learner.  Paul is pouring into Timothy in a tough time in his life as he is becoming a disciple of Jesus and leader in a ministry. This model works contextually because mentoring is central to what we do at camp in the counselor-camper and program director-counselor relationships here at HoneyRock.

2. This verse goes to the core of what we need to be encouraged to pursue rather than what our media, culture, social sources and surroundings may try to sell us as important.  As you know, at  HoneyRock we pursue Jesus with all our hearts.

3. The surrounding verses are a great context to understanding the specific verse and giving the text more life and practical advice in how to become a disciple of Jesus.

The name 2:22 isn't important to us--it's actually the vision of who Paul is calling Timothy, me, you and your son or daughter to be, that is important.  The principles of this verse will be a set of guiding principles, a set of glasses/scaffolding/filter for all we plan to accomplishing in hearts this summer.  I won't deprive you of the opportunity to open your Bible and read the book of 2 Timothy a few times to see why we are excited about teaching its truths.

Join me in reading, commenting, and reflecting on this column.  I hope you will be informed, prepared and excited for what GOD will do as we prepare and plan for the summer.  I look forward to engaging your heart and mind here in this space.  If you are a thinking of coming to our new program this summer, I hope you get to read and comment on this space so you can tell everyone to come to HoneyRock with you!