Praying In Public
Earlier this week I was giving a tour of our Michigan camp to three officers from our bank, one of which had never been to a SpringHill Camp before. I love giving tours to people who are new to SpringHill. It’s fun watching them take it all in. People usually have in their mind that camp will be a certain way but when they visit SpringHill they see and experience something totally unexpected.
This tour was no different. We watched campers doing unique activities, cabin groups sitting and talking through their lessons, and TSTer’s making the property look great.
At one point we ran into a number of cabins who were getting ready for lunch. They had gathered around the dining hall in Copper Country and were praying together in their groups.
Our first time visitor watched and listened amazed to see all these kids praying together in public. He commented “I have tried for years to get the leadership of our church to make corporate prayer a part of our church life and haven’t been able to do it. Now I’m here and I see all these kids joining together in corporate prayer and it seems so natural.”
One of our summer camp goals is to help campers become more comfortable with both private and community prayer. We want them to see that prayer is a “natural” part of living, just like eating and breathing. We want them to come home able and willing to pray on their own or in a small group be it the family or at church.
Without sounding arrogant, maybe the reason our new friend’s church doesn’t do corporate prayer is not enough of their people have been to SpringHill? The good news? I think we have an opportunity before next summer to change that situation.
Experiences that Change Lives
Our mission is to create ‘life changing experiences where young people can know and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.” One of the ways we test whether we are achieving our mission is to ask campers the question “how will your life be different when you go home?” Our goal is for a camper to have a change in attitude and behavior that reflects Kingdom values that they heard, saw and experienced at SpringHill.
Camper answering the question at a Indiana closing rally "how will you be different when you go home?" Below is an email we received from a mother of one of our Day Campers. It reflects this life change both in perspective and in action. It also acknowledges the impact a SpringHill Experience can have on a family as the result of a camper going home changed.
“Thanks so much for the amazing camp experience and scholarships for my children, Luke and Cambria. They were so blessed. My daughter made a friend from the Pullman group that was bussed up each day. Her name is Isabella. We are going down to Pullman to take her out for ice cream next week. My daughter, Cambria, has a huge compassionate heart and wants to bring her clothes and shoes, because she doesn’t have any. My daughter and I asked Isabella what she needed. She told Cambria and I what she needed was shoes and clothes. Cambria said “we will get those things you need and bring them to you”. Cambria hugged Isabella and I cried! We are going to take her for ice cream next week and bring her the clothes and shoes she needs because her family is so poor. Thank you God for using your kids to extend your Kingdom here on earth!”
We can never under-estimate the ripple of transformative power upon others when Christ changes a life, especially a life of a child.
Camper at one of our Day Camps climbing "the ladder". The Things that Make Us Laugh!
When ever I am with former SpringHill staff discussion always comes around to those memorable camp moments. Those times where a camper or another staff member did or said something that was so funny that it is repeated over and over for years to come.
As we approach the end of our summer I have begun asking some of our current summer staff to share some of their memorable and funny camp stories with me. Here are a few that I know will be repeated for a long time.
There was the day camper who everyday for water activities would dress up in a Spider Man outfit instead of a swimsuit. After the first day his mom would pack his swimsuit and put away the Spider Man outfit. He would then sneak and take out the swimsuit and put the Spider Man outfit back in his backpack. Nothing like Spider Man coming down the slip and slide.
Spider Man down the slip-n-slide. Then there was the camper who decided to be an expert hamburger chef so spent part of his week thinking of new hamburger recipes. One of the more creative recipes was the “mango burger”. The meat would be venison with Mozzarella cheese in the middle. Then it would be topped with mango. The question this camper had was “How do you eat a hamburger with big chunks of mango on it?” His counselor suggested the mango be thinly sliced. To which the camper exclaimed “Yes, that way I can make more burgers.”
Finally there are the staff who created “squirrel fishing.” They tied a cinnamon sugar twist on fishing line then threw it over a tree branch and lowered it to the ground. As the squirrels would come up and try to run off with the twist they would pull on the fishing line raising the twist up with the squirrel hanging on. Not sure how funny it was to the campers but the staff sure seemed to enjoy it.
Camp is many things, one of which is creating memories, some planned, others unplanned. Laughing at funny memories remind us that God gave us life to be enjoyed even in the silliest moments.
Week 1.8
Camps all over the country measure time during the summer by week number. If this is a camp’s sixth week of camp then it’s called “Week 6”. It becomes so ingrained in our language that we can slip into using this camp calendar when talking to people outside of the camping business.
SpringHill was no different until a few years ago when we started to re-think the perspective this calendar comes from and it’s implication to how we approach a week of camp.
We realized that the calendar, and it’s language, is from SpringHill’s perspective not the camper’s. For a camper, even though it may SpringHill’s Week 4, it’s still their first and maybe only week of camp.
Opening day of Week 1.4 in Indiana. Kids are getting ready for a fire engine ride to their cabins. So we decided to change the language of our calendar to better reflect the camper’s perspective. It started with simply saying that every week of camp is Week 1. Implying we should approach every week with as much diligence and enthusiasm as we do that first week of camp.
Unfortunately we still had the need, internally, to know which week of camp we were in. So as good as the language “every week is Week 1 at SpringHill” was from a camper perspective it didn’t help us in managing our weeks of camp.
So by the end of that summer one of our staff figured a better calendar and calendar language. One that communicates both which week of camp we are in and which week of camp it is for our campers.
Thus was born the new calendar that every week is Week 1.camp week. Each week is a new version of Week 1. It captures both the internal need to track which week of camp we are in and also reminds us that this is the first week of camp for our campers.
So yesterday morning at our Michigan overnight camp’s summer staff meeting we ask “What week is it?” And the answer the staff yell back was “It’s week 1.8”. It’s our 8th week of camp, but more importantly for our campers, it’s Week 1.
Opening Day of Week 1.8, a little entertainment for arriving campers. “I Want to Buy SpringHill!”
I love elementary age kids. I love watching them and interacting with them at camp. I love hearing the stories about the things they do and the things they say to our staff. I will share some of these stories with you next week but I have one to share with you from yesterday.
I was walking around our Michigan overnight camp with one of our long time summer staffers, Skylar, having a deep conversation as only you can have at camp, when I was stopped near the climbing wall by my nephew Mattson. He just finished climbing the wall with his cabin and came over to say hi and give me a hug.
Mattson in the red and the potential buyer of SpringHill in the olive. One of his cabin mates asked “Hey Mattson is that your uncle, the President of SpringHill?” I usually try to keep a low profile about my job title but Mattson answered before I could respond “yes he is.”
So this Copper Country boy came up to me and said:
“I want to buy SpringHill.”
I responded by asking him “How much are you willing to pay?”
He said “One dollar.”
I told him “You will need to add a few zeros to that number before we could talk further.”
He said, “How many zeros, I want to buy SpringHill?”
I asked him “How many fingers and toes do you have?”
He thought about it and first said “Ten” then after further thought answered “Twenty.”
I said “That’s how many zeros you have to add to the end of your number 1 before we talk about selling SpringHill.”
He was still trying to figure out what the number would be as Skylar and I walked on. Skylar laughed and said to me, “In other words SpringHill is not for sale.”
No it’s not, not when kids like this young man love SpringHill and have their lives impacted by what Christ does through it. There are not enough fingers and toes in the world to come up with a sale price.
Mattson's cabin all wanted a photo with his uncle the President of SpringHill. This is the Way to Start the Week!
Staff worship at SpringHill’s overnight camps is one of the most significant parts of our summer staff’s experience. It’s an incredible opportunity to worship together with people from all over the country, from every walk of life and Christian tradition. Frankly, it’s how I envision Heaven will be.
In Michigan this week our summer staff, lead by Clarence Hogan, put together the “SpringHill Gospel Choir” in the tradition of African-American churches. I need to tell you it now ranks as one of my top highlights of the summer.
SpringHill Gospel Choir Lead by this choir of 20 people and a band of 4 we sang, danced and clapped (well most of us, I do not possess any rhythm so the dancing and clapping are a bit of a challenge) to songs such as “Bless the Lord”, “More than Anything”, “Revelation 19 – Hallelujah, Salvation & Glory” and “Lord You are Good.” I think the whole town of Evart, 3 miles away, heard our worship.
Staff worship is an opportunity to prepare ourselves for a new week of ministry to the arriving campers. What makes it such a significant experience is the shared mission we have together, the work we do together, the pain and trials we live out together and the joy we experience together as we serve 1000’s of campers.
Worship does not create a community of people committed to mission and to each other. Instead, I’m convinced after 13 summers at SpringHill, that a community of people committed to each other and to a shared mission are, as a result, blessed to share incredible worship together.
And that is what I and about 700 other people experienced today. This is the way to start the week.
A Letter to Mom
As a follow-up to my post yesterday about TST I thought I would share an email we received from a mom of one of our TSTers this summer. It provides a glimpse into the spiritual impact this program can have on a high school student.
“I just have to share with you a letter I received from Taylor after her first week of TST. It arrived on Sat. and I still had a week before I could give her a big hug. I asked her permission to share it. So enjoy!”
Dear Mom,
I want to thank you so much for you in my life.
Today a girl in my cabin, named Megan, told us how God has tested her because her mom died when she was in 5th grade and she struggled a lot this year. It was her first year at high school and she wanted to be able to talk to her mom about girl things like everyone else. I realized I take your presence in my life for granted and I just want to thank you for everything.
I love our relationship and how I can talk to you about everything including God. I love you! Thanks for everything you do for me and I thank God for you.
Love, Taylor
Thanks for being here for me for all the girl things :o)
“I shared this with my sister and she said ‘you know, that is like getting an award. No it is a trophy!’ Remember that this is the same daughter that 2 years prior couldn’t stand me. That stage lasted about 9 months. It is a blessing to see things come full circle.”
Our Indiana TST crew welcoming campers to SpringHill and taking care of their luggage. Where Friendship and Work Come Together to Make a Difference!
There is a group of people who are instrumental in making summer camp happen at SpringHill. These people come as volunteers to serve our campers and staff by washing dishes, serving food, cleaning bathrooms, landscaping and being trained as future staff. They are our TST campers.
Our TST landscape crew If you don’t know TST stands for Teen Service Teams and it is one of our most popular summer programs. It’s designed for high school students and has three unique components – service, community and spiritual growth. Each component creates one of the most unusual summer camp programs you will find. It is also truly life changing.
TST crew doing the dishes - think they are having fun? Yesterday I talked to a number of TST teams I bumped into on my walks around our Michigan overnight camp. I asked each team a couple of questions. Let me share some of the answers with you. They will provide a glimpse into who these students are and why they become TSTer’s.
When I asked TSTer’s how many times they have been to SpringHill the answers ranged from “this is my first time” to “this is my eighth summer” and everything in between with most students having been to SpringHill multiple times.
These students are from all over the world including China, Columbus, OH, Midland MI, Birmingham, MI, Indianapolis, IN, and Rochester Hills, MI.
When I asked what they like about TST their answers included “everything”, “my crew”, “the people we get to work with”, “being with friends”, “the staff”, “the work”.
Friends serving together TST is truly one of our more amazing ministries. A program where students literally come from all over the world, year after year to do the lowliest jobs at SpringHill. They do it because they love the people they serve with and because they become a part of a team that makes a signficant difference in the lives of others – the campers of SpringHill.
The 2010 TST dance performed for the diners at New Frontiers There’s No Bad Weather Just Bad Clothing!
Camp, by its nature, is spending lots of time outside. We design our camps and camp programs to maximize the beautiful settings we are blessed with. We believe being in the out-of-doors provides many physical, emotional and spiritual benefits to kids.
Matt Casburn our Copper Country Director welcoming campers and parents to camp in the rain. That’s why, unless the weather is dangerous, we do camp in the wind, rain or shine. We embrace all kinds of weather and believe it’s a gift from God. We just need to dressed appropriately for it and maybe adjust our perspectives.
Amanda Thompson, our Storybrook Director, prepared for any kind of weather on opening day. I love our staff’s attitudes and actions when others think the weather is less than ideal. They have fun, assure that campers have fun, and turn rain, cold or heat into something exciting.
They lead their campers in dancing and singing in the rain.
On cold Michigan mornings they turn blobbing into something manly called “polar bear” blobbing.
They take the heat and humidity of southern Indiana and use it as a chance to ceremoniously drink water together.
Weather is an opportunity to create a shared experience, not something that get’s in the way of it.
So when it rained a bit yesterday on opening day in Michigan, our team enthusiastically embraced it. So much so that arriving parents and campers were caught up in the “great weather” we were having.
Our summer staff providing a warm welcome on a rainy opening day. When you think about this approach to weather it applies to other things in life. It’s not always our circumstances that are bad it’s our attitude and actions towards them. We need to, instead, take those circumstances and turn them into an opportunity to “sing and dance in the rain.”
And as we say at SpringHill “there is no bad weather just bad clothing!”
Randy, one of our volunteers, dressed for the wet weather. From Rocks to Rallies
The last night of summer training our Indiana staff pray for each camper registered for camp. They are given 5 rocks and 5 names of campers then proceed on a short walk and pray specifically for each camper. At the end of the walk the rocks are placed in a pile along the main road entering camp. This walk continues until every camper is prayed for.
There are now 11 piles of rocks, one for each summer of camp in Indiana. And there are over 22,000 rocks, one for each camper who has had the opportunity to hear, see and experience Jesus Christ in a life changing way since our first summer in 2000.
These rocks provide a daily reminder to all of us of the campers and their families we’ve had the privilege to serve.
Closing Day is the culmination of our preparation, work and prayers for these campers. It’s the day parents come to pick up their kids and we celebrate the campers week of camp.
As part of Closing Day we have a Closing Rally for parents, friends and staff. It’s where we hear and see what God has done in the lives of the campers we have prayed for and served during their SpringHill Experience.
We start with a rock and prayer. We end with a rally and a celebration for all that God has done in the lives of campers.
To give you a glimpse into how God answers our prayers the following are some Indiana camper quotes about their SpringHill Experience.
In answer to the question “What was the best thing about this week at SpringHill?”:
“I met many great people that have helped me in my walk with the Lord and about things at home.”
“Being so spiritually connected with my cabin and gaining so much insight & knowledge on Jesus’ sacrifice.”
“Learning about God’s forgiveness.”
In answer to the question “How was your life impacted or changed this week?”
“I know that reading the Bible is very entertaining.”
“I learned what Jesus did and what He wants me to do.”
“I really accepted Jesus into my life this week.”
“I learned not to judge people on the outside.”
“Been lost in my faith, COMPLETELY changed.”
