Day Off

There will be no blog entry for today - Wednesday 2/10.

We're off enjoying the snow at Big Powderhorn Mountain!

Reaching

John Vandervelde - Program Director

Today in our staff devotional time we read from Luke 8:40 - 48.  The passage tells the story of a desperately sick woman who is not intimidated by the crowd that is pressing in all around Jesus, but who reaches out, touches his cloak and is instantly healed.  Jesus looks around and asks who touched him, and the woman comes to him and tells her story.  Jesus says to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you.  Go in peace." 

This is one of my favorite miracles of Jesus because it challenges me.  Every time I read it I get to the end of the story and ask myself if I have the same faith as this desperate women.  So often in my life I take my focus off Christ and put it on myself.  Instead of reaching out for Christ with a faith, hope, and trust that he can heal me, guide me, save me, and use me, I look inward and focus on what I need to do for myself.

So today let's reach for Christ.  Let's make Him the center of our lives--not ourselves. 

Remember, Jesus never fails!    

Wonderful Winter Weather Gear: Accoutrements

Becki Henderson--Administrative Assistant

So, once you have the right snow pants and the right
footwear, as we have previously discussed here at the HoneyRock blog, what
item(s) are you still missing?

That’s right!  Hats
and mittens!  Gloves and scarves!  So much fun and so good at keeping you warm.

Here is a random sampling of winter weather gear
accoutrements. 

Mittens (by BaabaaZuzu) are designed to be sort of
mix-and-match.  Liz received these for
Christmas last year and loves to wear them!

Hats (courtesy of the thrift store and a gas station) are
something Steve uses to make a statement—to stand out and be different.  I can personally attest that you can spot
Steve’s blaze orange hat at dusk from about 100 yards away.  It is astonishing.

Gloves (Thinsulate) for Luis keep his hands warm and didn't even come with a hefty price tag. 
He uses them for playing broomball and shoveling.

Scarves (found in a HoneyRock van) can be used for fashion
or for warmth.  This particular scarf was
left in a HoneyRock van.  If you are the
person who lost it, let me know and I’ll send it off to you.  :)

Is My Child Ready for Camp? Part 2

John Vandervelde - Program Director   

Yesterday I gave you some suggestions for assessing your child's readiness for camp and for preparing your child for the camp experience.  Today's blog entry is again directed to parents and I will offer some suggestion that parents can use to prepare themselves for sending a child away to camp.

1)  Pray, pray, and then pray some more.  Prayer is the tool God has given us to talk with him about our praises, confessions, and needs.  God comes close to us in prayer, and we come close to him.  When we pray we begin to realign and refocus our lives to what Philip Yancey calls a "God's-eye perspective."  As you pray about your child and his camp experience, pray for him, for his counselors, and for his growth; also pray that God would give you as the parent a God's-eye view of your child and of his experience at HoneyRock.  Pray that your nervousness, anxiety, and loneliness will begin to pale in comparison to the transformation and growth that could take place in your child's life while he's at HoneyRock.

2)  Don't make promises you can't keep.  Sometimes we promise things to our kids not only to make our kids happy but to make us feel like we are "good parents."  I strongly encourage parents to be very careful about what they promise their child regarding camp.  Making promises you can't keep hurts your child and ultimately hurts you.  Here are a few examples of unfulfilled parental promises we've witnessed here at HoneyRock: a) Telling your child you will talk to her on the phone while she is at camp. b) Promising you'll be at Family Day when you know you won't be able to attend. c) Telling your child she has $100 in her Beehive account when she only has $20. d) Promising her that she will know everyone in her cabin.  e) Telling her it won't rain and that there are no bugs.  f) Telling your child that you'll just come pick her up if she doesn't like camp.

3)  Have your child contribute financially to his camp fee.  There are several benefits to doing this.  Children who contribute some of their own money to camp have higher ownership for the camp experience--they take it more seriously and they go 110% while they are here.  So many kids today have everything given to them that they've developed an entitlement mentality.  This is a way to help break that mentality.  Another benefit to you as parent is that you will see your child's desire for camp grow and his ownership increase.  This will begin to put your mind at ease and build your confidence that your child is going to have a great summer.  We have a matching program set up for kids who contribute their own money to camp.  Check it out here.

4)  Talk to us.  Instead of sitting at home wringing your hands and wondering if you should call HoneyRock to ask a question about camp, our counselors, our activities, if your child will really be safe, or anything else that comes to mind, pick up the phone and call us.  Or you can drop us an email.  Yes, we are busy people, but we are here because we love kids and families.  We want to answer your questions and help put your mind at ease.  Remember there are no stupid questions.  You can call me at 715-479-7474 x202 or email johnv@honeyrockcamp.org   

5)  Apply for financial assistance.  One of the biggest causes of stress on families who want to send a child to camp is finances.  Parents who are worried about how they are going to pay for camp aren't in a state of mind where they can prepare their child or themselves for the summer ahead.  It is a big financial investment to send your child to HoneyRock, and for many families sacrifices must be made to come up with the funds.  I want you to know that help is available.  Last year we gave nearly $200,000 away in financial assistance to camper families.  If the stress and worry of funding the camp experience is overwhelming, please apply for help.  You can do so here.  We will never let finances stand in the way of a child coming to HoneyRock. 

We know that for some families sending a child away to HoneyRock can be a tough thing, both for the child and for the parents.  We don't have all the answers to every question and concern, but we've been at this since 1951 and we've learned a few things.  I hope these blog entries have been helpful for some of you who've been wrestling with these issues.  Again, please contact me if you have any concerns or questions.

Is My Child Ready for Camp? Part 1

John Vandervelde - Program Director   

Most people register for camp during January and February.  During these two months many parents are asking, "Is my child ready for camp?"  Gone are the days when as soon as a kid hits age 7 he or she is loaded on the bus and shipped off to camp.  Parents are much more cautious about making sure their kids have a good camp experience.  They want their children to be safe and have a fun time, not a time full of homesickness or complaining.  Parents know that sending their child to camp will be good for their child, but they want to do it right.   

I am often asked via email, "Is my child ready for HoneyRock?" or "How do I get my child ready for camp?"  Truthfully, it's a tough question for me to answer because every child is different and every parent is different.  There are a few key things I usually suggest to parents to help them discern if their child is ready for summer camp and to prepare them for a HoneyRock summer. 

Just to clarify, these suggestions are for parents who have children who seem not to be interested in camp at all or who are interested but are not totally on board:

1) Involve your child in the process early.  If you know he's not totally into camp, don't spring it on him.  Don't say, "Happy Birthday!  We're sending you to camp this summer and it's all paid for!  Aren't you excited?"  First, take him to the HoneyRock website, watch some videos on YouTube, and show him the brochure.  Find a friend or family who has gone to HoneyRock before and have them talk to your child about it.  Give your child time to warm up to the idea of going to camp.  Let him explore it a bit himself and don't force it down his throat.  If he still just won't buy in at all, don't send him to camp!  It will be a bad experience for him, his counselors, and the other kids in his cabin.  

2) Practice being away from home for a night.  The main reason kids don't want to go to camp or feel unprepared for camp is that they are not ready or willing to be away from mom and dad and the comforts of home. If your child seems to be attached to you and doesn't do well when she is away from you (at school, on sleepovers, etc.), she may not be ready for camp yet.  I suggest that you give her opportunities to be away from you for a night or two to build up her confidence and to also ready her for camp.  Please don't allow her first night away from you to be when she comes to HoneyRock.  Send her to her grandparents' house for a weekend.  Giving her the opportunity to be away from home briefly will allow you to assess how she did and see if she is ready for camp.  If she did great, had a good time, and wasn't too homesick, she is probably ready for camp.  The challenge for parents is that when she's at camp you won't be able to call every 30 minutes to make sure she is okay.

3)  Start giving your child more independence.  This will allow you to assess if he is ready for camp and it will build his confidence that he can handle camp when the day comes.  As a parent I know how easy it is to micro-manage your child's life and be a helicopter parent.  It is tough to balance protecting and advocating for your child while also allowing him to grow, fail, learn, and experience life on his own.  Children who come from overly-sheltered situations are often the ones who are the most reluctant to get excited about camp and hardest to get ready for camp, but also the ones who need it the most.  I strongly suggest enrolling him in activities in your church or community such as soccer,
youth group, or boys brigade that will allow him to interact with other kids and
adults outside your home.  It's okay to be the coach, but you don't need to be the coach and leader for every activity he does.  Don't get me wrong: be involved, but give him space and independence, too.  As his confidence grows, he will be more likely to get excited about camp and he will be ready to excel at camp when he arrives.

4)  Have them sign up with a friend.  If kids know they are going to camp with a close friend they will be far more likely to get excited about camp.  We have several campers who sign up to go to camp each year with their cousins who live across the country.  It's a great idea because it builds family connections and memories and gives each child a buddy to go to camp with.

5)  Wait a year.  You may think I'm crazy for telling people not to send their child to camp.  I'm not.  I know that if you force your child to come to camp, he or she will likely have a negative experience and will never want to come back.  Additionally, you as a parent will not want to send him or her again.  If you wait a year, you will allow your child to gain more confidence, independence, and excitement about camp. Then your child will have a good experience and will come back to HoneyRock year after year.  I would rather miss out on having a child here for one summer than on a lifetime of involvement with HoneyRock. 

The discernment process involved in sending your child to camp can be a difficult one.  If you have more questions, need another suggestion, or just want to chat about it, please call or email me.  My phone number is 715-479-7474 x 202 or email me at johnv@honeyrockcamp.org. 

Tomorrow, in Part 2 of "Is My Child Ready for Camp?", I will be giving suggestions to parents on how to prepare themselves for sending a child away to camp.  Stay tuned.

Give 'Em a Hug

John Vandervelde - Program Director

I'm back at work after taking 4 days off to be "Mr. Mom" for our three children while my wife, Kari, was in South Carolina visiting the Ribbe family.  I joked with another HoneyRock staff person today that life is "back to normal."  He laughed and said, "What is normal in a house full of children 6 and under?"   This was the longest time I'd every been alone with the kids (Brayden 6, Wyatt 4, and Annika almost 2).  I came away learning a great deal about my kids, and with even more love and respect for my wife, who runs her own calligraphy business but is primarily a stay-at-home mom.  I always had a suspicion that she was a super-hero, but now I am totally convinced she is.  How else can a person manage all that goes on in our home unless they have super-hero powers?

Kari and I are definitely not perfect parents, but we try our best.  We feel like we parent very well together as a team.  When one of us is at the end of our rope the other seems to be able to step in with grace and compassion.  When I'm tired, Kari seems to have energy.  When Kari can't change one more diaper, I'm there to help.  Okay, that last statement about me stepping in to change a diaper is a bit of a stretch, but you get my point. 

There is one piece of parenting advice that Kari and I received that we try to never forget.  It came from a friend who ran a ministry caring for orphans in Zambia.   He told us, "You are going to make a lot of mistakes as parents.  You'll say the wrong thing, you'll get angry, you'll goof, but the best thing you can do is tell your kids you love them no matter what."  He continued, "You see, no child has ever died because they were hugged too much.  Hug your kids all the time and tell them you love them." 

So today, hug your kids no matter how old they are, what they've done or whether or not you consider yourself the "hugging type".  Tell them that you love them, no matter what.  It doesn't mean you give in and give them whatever they want, it means you love them.  Give 'em a squeeze and tell them they are loved.  Remember love always wins.  

I realize there are people reading this who don't have kids.  Maybe someday you will, or maybe there is someone in your life like a parent, a sibling, a roommate or a friend who needs a hug and to know that they are loved.  So today's the day--let them know it.

God is love and love always wins!