Being SpringHill Pioneers
The Pioneering Chicago Team of Laura, Zach, Sara and Chelsey Pioneers combine the best qualities of explorers and leaders. Like explorers, they blaze new trails and go to places others have never gone before. But what makes them leaders, and different from explorers, is that they also open up the world so others can follow in their footsteps. Pioneer’s not only do what seems impossible but, by doing so, they make it possible, and even desirable, for others to do so as well.
I know this to be true about pioneers because I just spent two days with a team of them this week.
You see, under the leadership of Day Camp Director Sara Van Winkle, we’re having our first summer of SpringHill Experiences in Chicago. And it’s a full summer. We’re expecting to serve around a 1000 kids at 9 different locations.
And this past week Todd Leinberger and I spent two days with Sara and her team where we watched them effectively work with our local church partner, The Orchard in Arlington Heights, to provide a SpringHill Experience to nearly 170 kids.
It was a blast to witness a church, parents, and kids experiencing SpringHill for the first time. Camp has been so good that parents have already asked about other weeks this summer and registering for camp next year, while the staff at The Orchard has already expressed their desire to double or triple the number of kids attending next year.
So as good pioneers, Sara and her team have opened up a new trail where, as a result, we expect to have a second SpringHill Day Camp team allying with local churches and parents to assure, next summer, even more children in Chicago can hear, see, and experience Jesus Christ in a life – transforming way.
“It’s Been Remarkably Smooth”
Our Tri-State Day Camp Team – Steven, Tim, Naomi, and Julie – making it run smooth. After two weeks of summer camp, and visiting 4 of our 9 camp teams/locations, there’s one word that I’ve heard over and over when I’ve asked people (staff, parents, and board members) how the first two weeks of camp have gone, and that word is “smooth”. I’ve heard things like “it’s going remarkably smooth, maybe the best week one ever” or “the smoothest first opening day we’ve ever had”.
Now granted, because of my position within SpringHill, you might be thinking that our team could be tempted to say camp’s going great because they know that’s what I want to hear. But a leader must always avoid being tempted to rely only on what’s being said without also experiencing it firsthand. That’s why I spend so much of my summer visiting our SpringHill teams and seeing the SpringHill Experience in action.
So what’s my assessment of our first two weeks of camp? Well our team’s spot on when they’ve said things have gone remarkably smooth. So how do I make such an assessment? When I’m “out and about” I look for a few key indicators which provide clues into how things are going.
First, I look at the demeanor of our staff, beginning with our leaders. Are they calm or do they seem frazzled? Are they focused on people (each other, parents, partners and especially campers) or scrambling to get tasks down?
Second, I observe the cleanliness and orderliness of our camps, activity areas, offices, etc. It’s hard for things to go smoothly when behind the scenes it’s chaotic and the small things aren’t taken care of.
Third, I watch campers and their parents. Are they genuinely excited, warmly embraced, actively engaged, and completely safe and confident in the camp experience? Or do they look lost, confused or plain unhappy?
Finally, I combine the testimony of our staff and leaders, my own observations, and our weekly key indicators to arrive at my assessment of “how camp is going.”
In my next post I’ll share some of the essential elements that have led to our “smooth start to our summer.”
Camper Stories – Week 2
In my travels this past week I visited two Day Camp teams as well as our two over night camps where I heard the following camper stories.
Mattie attended our Day Camp in Toledo, Ohio. She is the only family member to survive the tornado that ripped through Toledo in 2010. She has struggled with anxiety because of her horrific loss, and her new family questioned whether she could even attend Day Camp. Yet, through Gods grace, by the end of the week Mattie stood before her small group and shared that “SpringHill is a safe place for kids” and then she told her group that she has “discovered the joy of Jesus this week”.
Another mother arrived at one of Day Camps with her three girls. The mother shared with our staff that her husband, the father of these three girls, just left them the night before. She didn’t know if the girls would be able to stay at camp but she wanted to see how it went. The girls ended up staying the entire week, experiencing the embrace of our staff and other campers, and more importantly hearing, seeing, and experiencing the love of Jesus in a life transforming way.
On closing day at our Michigan overnight camp, I had two fathers tell me their stories about their youngest kids who attended our Junior Explorer 3 day camp (which meant they came home on Wednesday while their siblings stayed at camp for the rest of the week).
The first dad, while on the drive home on Wednesday, had looked into the rear view mirror only to see his daughter crying in the back seat. He asked “what’s wrong honey?” His daughter answered “I wish camp wasn’t over and I was still there.”
The second camper, a little boy, told his dad on the way up to pick up his brothers and sister from camp on Friday “Dad I love you, but next year I’m staying for the whole week.”
Help a Kid go to Camp this Summer without Writing SpringHill a Check
Yes, you can help send a financially challenged child to SpringHill this summer without writing us a check. Let me explain how.
You may have noticed the note below the “Books I’m currently Reading” section of my blog (right side of the main page). It’s there because my friend and one of SpringHill’s regional Vice Presidents, Craig Soderdahl, recommended in March I apply to become an Amazon Sales Associate.
Craig, being the great entrepreneur that he is, told me that I should be receiving commissions for any books sold through Amazon that I recommend or review. So, with his help, I’ve become an official Amazon Sales Associate.
Now, please understand, I write my blog for a number of reasons, but making money isn’t one of them. Instead, after talking it over with Craig, I realized that I’m actually, in some small way, helping Amazon make money. So, in fairness, Amazon should compensate me for promoting their products.
So here’s my idea – use all of my blog’s commissions to send a needy child to SpringHill this summer. So far without mentioning it at all, my blog’s earned nearly $100 in commissions, part way to sending a kid to camp.
And here’s the best part of this whole deal, my blog receives a commission on every sale of any item that started with a click on my blog, not just the books I’m highlighting. And, even better, it costs the buyer exactly nothing more buying through my blog than going directly to the Amazon website.
Now you see how you can help send a kid to camp (and keep my reasons for blogging pure)?
Any time you buy from Amazon, just access their website through my blog by clicking on one of the books on the right. All the accounting happens automatically and confidentially (I have no access on who makes purchases) and the sales commission will go to our Camper Scholarship Fund.
And, the best part, at the end of the summer, I’ll be able to share with you the story of the child we help send to SpringHill.
Courage to Take Steps to Go Deeper
Yesterday marked the end of week 1 of summer camp and I spent closing day with campers, families, and staff at our SpringHill Indiana camp. There were a number of moving testimonies by campers and staff during the closing rally, but there was one in particular I want to share with you.
Ariel is a returning SpringHill camper and this year she was a part of our Inpursuit middle school camp. According to her area director Sara, Ariel came to camp with anticipation, because she believed that God was going to do something tremendous in her life. In the past she had committed her life to Christ but felt that somehow God was going to take her deeper this summer.
So this week, before her counselor and her cabin group, then before an amphitheater full of campers, staff, and families, she announced that she was going to go deeper in her relationship with Christ by reading the entire Bible through in a year. This young woman, who, like all junior highers, has a thousand things competing for her time and trying to steal her life away, has decided to go “against the current” and to do something that will forever positively transform her life – read all of God’s Word.
So, as I listened to Ariel tell us of her commitment, all I could do was sit back and thank God for her courage, and for the good work of her counselors and her area director Sara in challenging Ariel to a new level of faith.
And like Ariel, after hearing so many incredible stories yesterday, I’m full of anticipation at what Christ is going to do in the lives of our campers and staff this summer.
More than a Photography Lesson
This week I spent some time with one of my favorite photographers and, more importantly, favorite leaders in the world – Mark Beeson. Mark is the Senior Pastor at Granger Community Church (GCC), one of our key local church allies. Mark, the GCC staff, and their middle school students are spending the week at SpringHill experiencing their annual Granger middle school summer camp.
I snagged some time with Mark with the promises we would do a little exploring in the “backlands” so I could glean some wisdom and practical help in taking better photographs. Mark loves photography, takes incredible photos, and in particular, because he loves the outdoors, does incredible wildlife and landscape photography. So getting him out into the woods for a couple of hours wasn’t hard. And I learned a lot, most of which was basic stuff to him, but for me like gold.
Such things as:
“Always have a firm foundation for your camera.”
“What’s a few extra seconds to get the right shot?”
“Perspective is what makes a photo interesting.”
“When photographing a person’s face, capture the eyes, because everyone’s drawn to the eyes.”
“Nobody wants their picture taken, but everyone likes to look at a photo they’re in.”
“Capturing a moment in a person’s life blesses them more than we know.”
As you can see from these morsels of wisdom, my impromptu photography lesson was more than just a lesson in taking better pictures. It was a lesson on leadership because it gave me a glimpse into the perspective and the heart of this passionate and effective leader.
Click here to read Mark’s blog and see some of his photography.
What Lies Underneath
You never know what you’ll find when you remodel an old building. For example, at our Michigan overnight camp, we’re in the process of remodeling and expanding our New Frontiers infirmary and as our team peeled off the siding from above the front of the building this is what they found (see photo above).
It’s a strategic location for all our arriving guest and staff to see over the next few weeks. And there’s no doubt it was a painted in that spot, by some daring volunteers and staff 40 years ago, because of its visibility, and the laughs it would bring, to those who arrived at camp during the infirmary construction.
And these same daring staff and volunteers have now given our current guests and staff, especially those who appreciate the cultural significance of the television show M.A.S.H. was in the 1970’s, another reason to smile as they arrive at camp.
But time does moves on, and as it does, cultural icons end up buried under old siding, only to resurface again one day, giving us a glimmer of where we’ve come from as well as reminding us of the people who’ve helped bring us to the place we are today.
“If You Don’t Have Time To Do It Right, When Will You Have Time To Do It Over?”
In these busy weeks of May and June, as we prepare for summer camp, all of us at SpringHill reap what we’ve sown over the past 8 months. We’ve either prepared well and have a manageable, yet challenging schedule, or we end up with an impossible schedule trying to accomplish an impossible list of tasks, in an impossibly short amount of time.
It’s during these crazy months that I often return to a simple question, attributed to the great basketball coach John Wooden, I learned while leading a Quality Assurance initiative back in my former life in corporate American – “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”
You see if we haven’t done our preparation for summer camp right, we’ve literally run out of time to do it over. Unintended results can be – staff burnout, lower quality of camper experience, disappointed parents, and missed opportunities. Even if we’re able to recover by doing it over again, it’s usually at the cost of our personal health, our families, our relationships with each other, and our own spiritual well-being. None of these are worth the time we thought we were saving by not doing it right the first time.
But, as I watch our team this spring, it’s obvious, that through training and discipline, we continue to become better at doing things right the first time, and thus eliminating the need to find time to do them over again, especially in these craziest of seasons. So I’m proud of our team, as well as I’m confident of a great summer of SpringHill Experiences that’s ahead.
What Has Eternal Value? By Mark Olson
Lisa and Mark Olson, 1984 In remembrance of Mark Olson, past President of SpringHill on what today, May 20, would have been his 54th birthday, below is one of his last published letters.
“Smiles are the outer representation of the long-term impact camping has on kids.”
I will never forget hearing the doctor tell me “this [disease] goes quickly. If you do not get treated soon, you could die within the next four months.” Over the next few weeks, while determining the best course of treatment and emotionally preparing for the road ahead, I also reflected upon how I have spent the time given to me. Inevitably, the question arises, “what of my life has eternal value?”
My initial response was to create two mental columns, one with the heading “eternal” and the other “temporal.” I then tried to distinguish those parts of my life that had eternal value and those which did not. This proved to be a difficult and basically unhelpful exercise.
Upon later reflection, I also found this approach contrary to what Scripture teaches. At the core, creating columns to dichotomize our existence is rooted in the type of thinking that John addresses in the first chapter of his first epistle. “The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life.” (I John 1:1). John was addressing dualistic thinking in which people persisted in dividing the components of their lives into that which is spiritual and that which is not.
In our vernacular we use the term “spiritual” to refer to that which is most important. We often attach great eternal value to activities such as leading a bible study, preaching a message, working at a Christian organization for “God’s purposes,” etc.
From my present vantage point (that is, struggling with a life threatening disease), I have come to believe that the faithful execution of the most menial duties of life will, in the end, have the greatest eternal value. Washing dishes with my wife will have a value that extends into eternity. Going fishing with my sons while listening and chatting about the realities of being a first and fourth grader will have a value that extends into eternity. Going to my daughter’s dance recital has a value that extends into eternity. Going to breakfast with a group of guys on a regular basis, getting to know them while they learn to know me, has a value that will extend into eternity.
Eternal value can never be defined by simply listing those things that are perceived as spiritual and those that are not. The “Word of Life” was something handled, touched, and seen. So, that which has eternal value is anything that is done in a spirit of faithfulness and service to our God. We demonstrate our faithfulness, gratitude, and love to Him by being faithful, grateful, and loving to Him as a husband is to be toward his wife by following through in the seemingly mundane and “earthly” aspects of our life. I believe this is what Jesus meant when he so closely links love with obedience – “If you love me, obey my commandments.” (John 14:15)
It is within this context that I have come to believe that everything we do to bring glory to ourselves has temporary value. This brings us back to the very first commandment, “Do not worship any other gods beside me.” Anything we do with the purpose of bring glory to ourselves (whether it be a basketball game, a business deal, a makeover, or academic excellence) is simply a form of idolatry. Everything we do with the purpose of bringing glory to God is worship of the only true God. As a friend once told me, there is a god someplace in everyone’s life.
Furthermore, this journey has confirmed for me the value and the importance of camp experiences like SpringHill and InPursuit in the life of a child. At camp a child goes through the day with a counselor, a friend, a role model. This counselor is reminded constantly that they are here to serve and to be “Jesus” for a child who may never have the opportunity to see Him again. They go to the archery range, climb a tower, go to the craft shop, eat a meal, ride a zipline, canoe in the lake, have a campfire, go to ‘club,’ sleep in a teepee, while the counselor bears testimony to who Jesus is by serving and loving the child in the midst of daily activity.
Because of this relationship, the counselor has a “voice” in which they can share in word and action the “good news.” As a result, the child experiences the love of Jesus and may respond by placing their trust in Him to remove their sin so that they can know their Creator who loves them dearly. A life is changed for eternity.
It is because of this I have very few regrets. I would not have changed my involvement at SpringHill and InPursuit, which continues to be a very rewarding way to serve my Savior. When I walk away from this disease, though, I will aspire to do less of that which is seemingly spiritual, and do more of that which is seemingly temporal but in the end has great eternal value. I will spend more time fishing with my sons and friends, take the girls to the golf course, and listen more carefully to the person with whom I am sharing a conversation.
Also in honor of Mark we have a limited number of copies of Brennan Manning’s book Ruthless Trust – A Ragamuffin’s Path to God (one of Mark’s favorite authors) I’ll send a copy to anyone who subscribes to my blog while the supply lasts. If you’re already a subscriber and would also like a copy let me know and I’ll send you one as well.
What Inspires “New and Improved”!
People often say that they can’t wait to return to SpringHill to see what’s new and improved. We’ve developed a reputation for not sitting comfortably on the current state of our properties, facilities, activities and programs. So people come to our camps with anticipation.
I believe this is true because SpringHill staff live with two types of dissatisfactions. The first is we continue to have that artist’s “dissatisfaction with the present” that we inherited from our Founding Director, Enoch Olson. It’s that God-given desire to create, with the belief that there’s always room for something new that will add more beauty to the present.
The other dissatisfaction, which I’ll admit may be more closely related to the first one than I’m acknowledging, is the dissatisfaction that comes from always wanting things better, more exciting, bigger and faster. It’s driven by our desire to “wow” our campers and guests the second and third time they’re at camp, not just the first.
It’s also why I looked forward, with anticipation, to visiting our camp in Indiana last week. It’s been a few months since I last visited, and I knew there’s been a lot of good work being done by our team, all inspired by these two dissatisfactions. And I wasn’t disappointed.
I saw the improved dining hall and large group meeting area with its better acoustics and stage. Also one of our campers’ favorite activities, the “Party Barge”, went through a major renovation. Then our team’s added a giant’s swing that will propel campers high into the sky, and finally, though maybe not as exciting but just as important, we’ve added electricity to all our cabins.
So I left camp confident that our campers will not be disappointed, just as I wasn’t, when they return this summer, and see what’s new and improved.
