MACC 2016-Where Everyone Knows Your Name!

Well the Mid-American Camping Conference has come to a close and once again, it was amazing to be in the company of a few hundred like-minded folks.  Being in the camping industry, you often come across folks who have no idea what exactly goes on at a camp, they wonder what you do when no one's there, and they don't always understand the impact your work has on people.  We are within our own mission field, impacting our campers and weekend guests for a lifetime.  I wish I could have remembered all the amazing statistics of the impact an overnight camp can have on a child, the impact one caring adult can have on a kid who's gone through adverse events, and the importance of taking the time to invest in the life of a child.  What's so fun about the conference is being among people who know exactly the struggles and triumphs, the work and hours that go into camping, and truly realize how important camping is to kids.  This isn't a job, it's a lifestyle and it's a commitment to something greater than yourself. You'll work incredibly long hours, get paid very little, and sacrifice time with friends and family....but you do it for a cause that's totally worth it.  We listened to great speakers, networked with folks who work in like departments, and got reenergized for the year ahead.  Our last speaker spoke of empathy, of looking at others and viewing life from their perspective, and taking the time to truly listen (not "listening" to respond, but truly listening) in a conversation, child or adult.  We ended this session by singing the Cheers theme song.  I never really listened to the words of the song until that point and I realized that is the reason so many kids are touched by camp.  I know I make it my goal to know the name of every EQ camper that comes through the barn.  It's important that they know that we're glad that they are here.  How many times do we not listen, we dismiss their thoughts and ideas, and are so critical of kids?  They are our legacy!  It's not just about boating, archery, campfires, and smores....those are just the tools we use to make the impact.

Cheers at MACC

In Loving Memory....Fond Memories of My Summers at the Lake

Monday morning I found out that my "Uncle" Rob had unexpectedly passed away.  It had been years since I had last seen or talked with him but the news still hit me hard.  He wasn't my uncle but I never knew him by any other name but Uncle Rob.  In fact, to be honest, I have more dear memories of him than I do of many of my uncles.  I mostly saw him when we took our annual summer vacation to Lake Michigan where we stayed at Gintaris resort with my dad's brother's family. These past few days I have thought a lot about our summers there.  I got to spend really good quality time with my cousins and aunt and uncle that I didn't get with anyone else in my extended family.  It was awesome to all stay under one roof, cooking meals together, carrying everything up and down those thousands of stairs (ok maybe not thousands but at some point we counted and definitely in the triple digits), and spending evenings in the lodge with no tv, no internet (we didn't know what that was in the early 90's!), and no phones.  I remember that Uncle Tom would give us basketball practice in the morning before we headed down to the beach and I really appreciated that time with him.  I remember that whoever cooked meant that the other group had to clean up.  I remember my dad and Uncle Tom telling me that a good dryer (of dishes) took care of what a bad washer did....not sure if that was the best advice or not.  I remember the dads cooking out on the grills under the beach umbrellas because it was raining.  I remember going to sleep with the best sound on earth....crashing waves.  All the girls in one room, the 2 boys in the other.  The game room that held the same games for so many years-pool table, pin ball, and pac man (and I think a racing game??).  I remember our families getting so big that the kids were "entrusted" to stay in another small lodge away from the parents because there was no more room in the big lodge.  Hot sand, burned shoulders, walks up and down the beach to try to find the "point", finding sea shells and rocks shaped like states, attempting to find the sand bars which, to our fascination, moved!, scoping out the boys that were there for the week along with my cousins, making smores on the beach, watching the sunsets each night, and, of course, eating at Redamaks one time before leaving. I went back to the lake one time since graduating, just with my immediate family, but it wasn't the same.  Nothing will ever be like it was back then...the Hunsberger crew-Tom, Jill, Ryan, Amy, Melissa, Kristin, and my own family....and usually a friend or two tagged along.  Still new memories to be made, while realizing you can't duplicate the past ones.

Since there was no TV, internet, etc to "occupy" our evenings once the sun went down, we played lots of games from board games to card games, had dance parties, and just plain had fun in that big living room of the lodge. This is where my fondest memories of Uncle Rob came in.  Uncle Rob and Aunt Sally...not related to them but I always felt like I was.  I always thought they were "so cool"!  I felt like he treated myself and my cousins like his kids, his little princesses, daddy's little girls. I remember always asking, "Will they be there?" before heading up to the lake because of the value of their presence. I cannot exactly describe what he did or said, but I just remember feeling loved by him and feeling special even with all those other adults and kids running around the lodge.  I felt like if I was talking to him, nothing else around him mattered because he paid so much attention to the conversation.  Looking back, I realize how much love, patience, attention, and devotion it takes to really pay attention and truly listen to the words of a child and to not dismiss them or half heartedly listen.  I remember dancing with him to some very silly children's songs during our dance parties (one of those songs was definitely about Daniel Boone and I hope my cousins, if they read this, may remember those dance parties too).  And I remember holding his daughter when God decided to bless him with his own children.  And I still felt special even though he had his own girls now.  He had this way of making you feel like you were somebody.  And then we stopped going to the lake....I had no way of really seeing him or his family anymore, time passed, and it all became just a memory.  I didn't understand wholly how much I thought of him until I got older and realized how much it takes to give children your time, your attention, your love and then...I found out he was gone.  I never got to tell him how much I thought of him.  Many years had passed since I'd last seen him and his family.  It might seem strange to have such strong fond memories of someone I saw one week a year over 20 years ago....but that's the impact he had.  He had so much love in his heart and even my preteen self realized that.  I find it extremely fitting that he will forever live on at the lake.  And he'll live on elsewhere too.  Because I realize he taught us all a lesson, one that I can personally continue on at camp and try affect the lives of so many campers and guests....to stop, listen, and to make them feel that someone cares and that they are indeed special to someone.  Sometimes all you need in life is one person to make you feel that way and it can change the course of your life.  I ask the same of you all as well.  It takes no money, no training, just time, patience, and caring.  You just never know who you might touch.