HoneyRock Blog

The Speech

Below you will find a speech written and performed by Keri Kerns.  Keri is a HoneyRocker and daughter of Don and Denise Kerns - Don serves as our Site and Facilities Manager.  Keri is a freshman at Wheaton and gave this speech in her Communications 101 class this Spring.  We thought you'd enjoy this great speech, and the creative way it "markets" HoneyRock! 

Way to go Keri!  I hope you got an "A". 

Why Wheaton Students Should Go To HoneyRock

 

I.           Attention

A.     Have you hit the freshman frenzy, the sophomore slump, the junior jungle, or the senior speed bump?

B.     You know, that time when your head pops up from that greasy stupe burger, you break out into a cold sweat, you get the deer in the headlights look in your eye and you think, “Who am I? What am I doing here? What is my purpose?”

C.     Those 3 simple questions make way for the 3 major dilemmas I see facing college students today, and more specifically Wheaton students.

II.         Need

A.     College students today face a psychological dilemma: the identity crisis.

1.     In the past 5 years, 81% of counseling centers on college and university campuses report an increase in the number of students struggling with psychological disorders reported Michael Lastoria in his article for Growth Journal.

2.     This leaves us to question what could be causing such trauma for college students.

3.     College is a time of extreme development for young adults.

a.     In the words of David Johnstone in his review of a “Conceiving the Christian College” written by our very own Dr. Litfin, “The traditional undergraduate age is one where students often, for the first time, encounter the serious personal implications of faith, calling, relationships and self discipline.”

b.     Lanstoria fleshes out the struggle even more as he discusses the pressure for students to achieve academically, maintain social popularity, live up to parental expectations, and adjust to culture shock, in the effort to find identity.

4.     Making it even harder for the students to withstand this pressure is the lack of familial support.

a.    In a study on identity crisis conducted by Ernest Andrews, the impact of the family becomes quite evident.

b.    Explaining the trend of self-discovery in College, He continues to discuss how the absence of support, encouragement, and direction usually provided by the direct parental relationship can be detrimental if not found from a surrogate source. Andrews advocates that without these things, stable identity realization becomes difficult, if not impossible.

B.    College students also face an educational dilemma: being unique.

1.     According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment was at a striking 9.7 % as of March 2010.

2.     In such a competitive job market, it is important to not only be a qualified job candidate, but also a unique one.

3.     At Wheaton, our general education requirement makes us well-rounded job applicants, but will it really make us stand out from the crowd?

C.     And finally, college students face a social dilemma: being self-centered.

1.     In a recent discussion with my mom after a visit home for Easter I was informed that I tend to live in my own little world and don’t realize how self-focused I am. It hurt a lot to hear.

2.     After I passed the defensive stage I started to think objectively about my mother’s rebuke and I realized she was pretty right. We have so many options to invest in others and a lot of times we pass them up.

3.     Granted, Wheaton students are on the upper end of the scale as far as college students who give back to their community, but we can always do more.

III.       Satisfaction

A.     These 3 dilemmas are rather different, but all three are equally important. So how do we go about solving them?

B.     What if I told you there was a way to EXPLORE your identity in a safe and fulfilling environment while you LEARN unique skills that not only prepare you for future jobs but also for life in general. What if I told you that you could do both of these things while experiencing what it means to truly SERVE? Would you believe me?

C.     It’s true, it says it right on the logo right under the name: HoneyRock. Explore. Learn. Serve.

1.     Within the tight and supportive community of HoneyRock Wheaton students have an opportunity to explore their identity in Christ.

a.     Students are forced to do things that challenge them, forcing them to not only rely on Christ and their peers, but also building confidence through success and learning through failure.

b.     Striving to be “a place apart”, HoneyRock creates a relatively safe environment that removes or limits many of the stresses and pressures of the normal college environment.

c.      In this way, HoneyRock provides a safe but effective place for students to explore their identity.

2.     The many educational offerings give students a unique learning experience.

a.     According to the HoneyRock website, over 15 professors serve as faculty on site offering classes in subjects ranging from psychology to Christian education in a unique environment.

b.     In addition to typical classes that you would find on a college campus, HoneyRock offers classes such as wilderness first response, ropes course facilitation, and certified horsemanship.

c.      The learning goes beyond classes as well. As to be expected with a summer camp program, there are many paid positions that need to be filled from office work to operations staff (who get to work with my father!) all of which provide training and real life work experience.

d.     And as an added bonus to your now well-educated self, all of the above look great on a transcript or résumé! 

3.     HoneyRock’s strong emphasis on service comes in many forms.

a.     One of the most commonly known service programs is Summer Leadership School, or SLS. SLS allows college students to take classes and minister to youth at the same time.

b.     Affectionately known as work/play weekends, HoneyRock also offers opportunities for Wheaton students to take a refreshing weekend away from campus to play and relax while spending part of the weekend volunteering around the camp.

IV.       Visualization

A.     If you haven’t been to HoneyRock already, it might be time to consider your options.

1.     It’s too late for you to participate in Passage as an incoming student, but perhaps you could lead a trip. Imagine yourself leading a group of your new fellow students as they prepare for their Wheaton experience. You’d experience the wilderness with them, laughing and crying with them as they are challenged and grow, and you’ll be challenged and grow right alongside them.

2.     Maybe you’re called to join the summer staff for the season. Can’t you just see yourself waving to a group of jr. high boys as they play soccer on the field you just mowed?

B.     The possibilities are almost endless! It’s time for you to make your own story as you explore, learn, and serve up at HoneyRock.

V.         Call to Action

A.     So my only question now is what are you waiting for?

B.     Getting started on your HoneyRock experience is just a few steps away, or even just a click if you’re feeling particularly lazy.

1.     We’ve got our very own slice of HoneyRock right here on campus! The HoneyRock office is located on the first floor of Schell hall, first door on the right when you walk into the building. If you want to go up to HoneyRock but aren’t sure where you would be best suited, stop in and talk to the staff, Dan Elsen and friends would be glad to give you some suggestions.

2.     And if that chair in Lower Beamer is just too comfortable and you can’t seem to pick yourself up out of it, you can log on to the HoneyRock website at www.honeyrockcamp.org.

C.     This is a rare opportunity we have as Wheaton students, and I urge you not to miss it.

D.    So, I was starting to get a little sad thinking about this class ending and not seeing you guys every other day anymore, but now I’m not so worried, after all, I’ll see you next summer!

--
Keri Kerns

The Gift Goes On

Earlier this year the food service company that serves Wheaton College, Bon Appetit, did an extensive remodel and upgrade to its service on campus.  Part of the change there was to get new dishes.  The old dishes were then graciously donated to HoneyRock, and we are putting to use what we can but have more than we need.

This past week the staff from Camp Daniel came to tour our kitchen and learn more about our food service system.  Camp Daniel is a unique place; their mission is "Bringing God's Love to People with Disabilities."  Based in Athelstane, WI, Camp Daniel serves hundreds of people with physical and mental disabilities, both young and old,  through an amazing camp ministry program.  Each camper is assigned one counselor--that's right, they have a 1:1 camper counselor ratio!  Camp Daniel is run by hundreds of volunteers and survives on contributions from donors.  They are doing amazing ministry that is changing lives.

During their tour of HoneyRock, Dell Ledbetter, our Food Service Manager, learned that Camp Daniel was in need of new dishes.  So we're donating a bunch of dishes to Camp Daniel this spring. 

We got this thank you note from their camp staff:

Dear Dell,

Thank you so much for your time showing us around and answering our questions.  Thank you for the dishes!  This is just another way that God has provided for us.  It is quite an adventure to live a life of ministry!  When people come on the Camp Daniel grounds, we give them a tour.  Everything has it's own story about how God provided for us and we share that with others.  Now we have a story about the dishes!  You are a part of that, an extension of our ministry.  Thank you for all you do.

Blessings,

From all of us at Camp Daniel

Preparing the Ropes Courses for Summer

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

The last week of April is that special time of year when we prepare all our ropes courses for the annual inspection.  Scott Eppler, Matt Ulrich and I have spent the past few days performing maintenance and quite literally tightening every bolt on the entire course.  It's been my observation this week that Matt and Scott have no trouble hanging or climbing like monkeys to reach some of the farther bolts, while I prefer the “Koala Bear” method of clinging tightly to the pole and just reaching out a little ways.  (In my defense, I do go out onto the elements to tighten bolts, but my preference is to hang out near the poles.)  In addition to tightening all the bolts on all our courses, we are also doing some maintenance and rebuilding on our Stillwaters course. 

Next week will begin two weeks of adventure challenge training.  Greg Robinson Ph.D. of Challenge Quest, Inc. in Oklahoma is arriving to spend time building and teaching.  Fifteen students are taking Challenge Course Level One Instructor Training. The following week will be the Advanced Ropes Course Instructor Training for a smaller group of people including Matt Ulrich and Karen Bartos who will be facilitating Adventure Challenge throughout the summer.  As part of the training students have the option of taking CFM 564: Adventure Challenge Education for four hours of graduate credit through Wheaton College.  Adventure Challenge training is primarily comprised of our own GPAs and staff, but we excited to have some students from Hong Kong and neighboring camps join us this year. 

REMINDER:  Today is the last day to submit a photo for the 2010 Camper Scholarship and Photo Contest Opportunity.  If you haven't sent in your photo yet, please email it to liz@honeyrockcamp.org by 11:59pm tonight!

Scott Eppler is a pro on the ropes course.

 

I really do prefer hanging out by the poles!
 

Matt Ulrich is fearless.  Unfortunately we don't have a picture of him in prime monkey form.

 

Great encouragement!

We received this email over the weekend from a former camper.  What a great story and a wonderful encouragement as we head into our 60th summer of ministry here at HoneyRock!

55 years ago, in 1955 and 56, at the age of 9 and 10,  I attended Honey Rock for summer camp. I went for 4 weeks at a time and loved every minute of it.  But the most precious memory I have of Honey Rock is a night the campers gathered in a building (hard to remember) and listened to a young lady tell the Gospel story.  She told us that we could ask Jesus into our hearts that night on our bunks before we went to sleep.  She said that if we did to make sure to tell our counselor. I couldn't wait to get to my bunk that night. In the quiet night on a top bunk, I asked Jesus Christ to be my Savior.  I thought morning would never come!  As soon as it was light, I told my counselor.  She was so excited for me.

I will never forget Honey Rock.  I just wanted to share this with you and encourage you to never stop proclaiming Christ to the children who attend the camp.  Thank you and have a very blessed summer.

Sincerely,

Mallory Storer Lenig

The First International Partnership

This summer we're planning on having 3 young men from Hong Kong come and be part of our training program this summer.  These men will participate in SLS and will then return to Hong Kong to take what they have learned and implement it in their ministry there. 

We're excited for an new international partnership to take shape here at HoneyRock.  Working with other camps and organizations all over the world has been a part of the HoneyRock story since the early days.  I hope you enjoy this story from Coach Chrouser, the founder of HoneyRock.  It comes from his book "A Place Apart" and it tells of Peter a German young man who came here in 1951 or 1952 to learn about camping.  He was perhaps the first international partnership we ever had.

New Friends Bring Challenges - p. 22

"That June (early 1950s) brought a most interesting letter from the United States State Department asking us to accept one "Peter Schneider" of West Germany as an observer for our leadership training program.  The letter stated further that the State Department was assisting the German government in establishing American-type youth movements to take the place of military-type groups.  Peter would be coming to us from a large YMCA camp in North Carolina.  When Peter arrived he created quite a stir.  He was a handsome, well-groomed young man, sharp and alert to what his mission was.  As an 18-year-old he had been a Nazi Youth and served time as a prisoner of war working in the Belgian coal mines.  His father was an educator in the German university systems.  Peter was a student of German higher criticism, which seemed to major in reasons to doubt the Biblical record and authority.  At first Peter was cagey on spiritual matters, but it soon was evident that he was developing a thirst to know the truth.  Peter was good for all of us at camp, and the camp was good for Peter.  His Honey Rock days laid the foundation for his decision for Christ which came in late August.  He came to campus in the fall and because of over-enrollment was limited to part-time student status.  After another semester and some special courses at Wheaton he returned to Germany well-founded in the Word. 

What is significant about this story?  Peter was being prepared to be a key interpreter in the Billy Graham German Crusades and a key figure in the evangelical movement in Germany.  He has visited the campus several times since and reminisced about Honey Rock days.  Peter was good for the students.  His penetrating questions made them aware of the reasons for their faith.  All of this seemed to stimulate our counselors as they led their cabin groups." 

Counterfeit Gods

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

I recently read the book Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller.  I enjoyed Counterfeit Gods because I, like many Christians, struggle to find complete satisfaction in God alone and I wrestle with idols in my own life.  Keller asks the question "Have [we] learned to trust God alone, to love God for himself, not just for what [we] can get out of God?"  It's a convicting question.  Keller makes the observation that we become like what we worship.  If Jesus isn't the most important thing in our lives and we aren't worshiping him, then we will become like the other things in our lives that we worship: our idols.

To give you a very brief synopsis of the book, Keller says that "the human heart takes good things like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things."  We turn those things into the center of our lives thinking they can give us significance, security, safety and fulfillment." So really, anything at all can be an idol.  What makes it even more challenging is the fact that we tend to think that idols are only bad things.  But we often create idols out of good things, and Keller asserts that the "greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the very best things in life." 

I would encourage you to get a copy of Counterfeit Gods.  I think it will prove to be a convicting but rewarding read. 

Incarnational Living

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of taking a graduate class at Wheaton College entitled "Developing a Missional Church."  It was an amazing opportunity to sit under great teaching and to grow deeper in my faith.  One of the things we talked about extensively was the missional-incarnational church.  I won't pretend to be anywhere close to the source of knowledge on this topic (and sometimes the words themselves are still a little confusing for me) but I want to share some of the things I learned. 

In its most basic form, "missional" simply means sent.  While this isn't a new concept, the word missional is relatively new.  God has called each of us to go out into the world and engage with the people and culture around us.  We can't spend our time hiding in the church or only hanging out with Christians; we are called to go and make disciples.  Going doesn't necessarily mean leaving your home and going to an exotic location, it means looking for the people in need within your sphere of influence. 

"Incarnational" is a little more complicated, but there are six incarnational discipleship practices that we explored that were modeled by Jesus during his time on earth:

1. Presence--How we (and the Holy Spirit who lives in us) are when we're with other people, identifying with others, and taking time to know their stories, their struggles and their history.
2. Proximity--How we will be geographically close to other people.  We have to get close enough to people to rub shoulders with them so that they see Christ in our lives.
3. Powerlessness--Coming into situations as a learner and with a dependence on those we are trying to reach.  We can't assume we know everything or have all the answers.  We can't be judgmental, arrogant, or unkind.
4. Prevenience--We must depend on God's presence that is already at work in people's lives and we have to look for the image of God in the people He has called us to reach out to. 
5. Passion--We have to be willing to engage in the pain of those around us which then activates our emotions and our compassion. 
6. Proclamation--We must boldly proclaim the name of Christ.

My challenge for today is to take some time to think about those God has called you to reach.  Who do you know that is marginalized?  Who do you know that needs the love of Christ?  Who is lonely and broken?  Take a step of faith and invite someone over to have dinner with your family, hang out with people who don't know the Lord, and be willing to strike up conversation with a stranger.  God is already at work in people's lives, but He longs for us to join him in that work.

Giddy Up!

Sorry we didn't update the blog yesterday, but we do have a good reason.  We spent the entire day out of the office on a mini staff retreat.  In the morning we met at Living Waters, a lake front cabin here at camp, and spent time going over all the details of summer.  We organized calendars, identified tasks that need to be accomplished, discussed our summer theme, and prayed together.  It was a very productive morning.

The afternoon was spent at the barn with the horses.  Our whole team learned first-hand what goes into running the equestrian program at HoneyRock.  We brushed horses, saddled them, learned riding techniques, and went on a trail ride together.  We learned a lot more about all the hard work Becky Webber, our Ranch Manager, puts into this program and we also had a lot of fun! 

Enjoy the pictures! 

1. The HoneyRock staff team.

2.  Craig Miller saddling up Alex.  

3.  Don Kerns getting ready to ride C.B. 

4.  The Sisters Henderson - Liz and Becki

5.  Rick Masters strapping on a saddle.   

6.  Dell Ledbetter looking like cowboy.
  

7.  Dan Elsen & John Vandervelde - ready to ride.
 

8. Elizabeth Baltus confidently riding Montana.

9.  Rob Ribbe on Tonka. "Giddy Up"
 

10.  Heading off for our trail ride.

*Photos taken by Heather Ledbetter

Wheaton Passage

Last year 240 students participated in Wheaton Passage, and with more than 1000 students now accepted to Wheaton College, Wheaton Passage Registration for 2010 is well underway.  Wheaton Passage is a program designed to ignite the Wheaton College experience for incoming students.  Passage is a truly memory-making experience for the new incoming students who participate.  Students who participate will also earn 2 hours of credit before they even step foot on the main Wheaton campus.  

Students can choose from the Wilderness Track, Camp Track, or new Urban Track.  All tracks culminate with five days at HoneyRock during which time a faculty member will join each of the established small groups and lead them through a curriculum based on the following four themes: foundations of a world view, community, spiritual formation, and service.

There are currently 69 students registered for Wheaton Passage 2010.  This the most students we've had for this time of year.  So if you're interested it's time to register!

You can learn more about the Wheaton Passage program by clicking HERE.

1125 lbs of bacon - we're ready for camp now!

John Vandervelde - Program Director

Here at HoneyRock we've almost switched gears completely into "preparing for summer" mode.  The snow is gone, the ice has melted, the buds are out on the trees - Spring has sprung here at camp.  As every department prepares for camp we turn our attention to the kitchen for today's blog post. 

There are 20 people that serve on the kitchen staff team in the summer and they will serve nearly 150,000 meals.  The kitchen and dinning hall is a very important place and key to our ministry of service to young people.  Every participate spends time in there 3 times a day, or on their wilderness trip eats food packed by the kitchen crew.  Dell Ledbetter, our Food Service Manager, runs an excellent food service operation.

Just this week Dell went to a food show in Duluth, MN.  Beyond learning about new products and ideas, it is also the place where Dell negotiates pricing and does a lot of ordering of summer food.

Here is a list of some of the things Dell ordered this week for our summer meals.  He told me, "this won't get us through the whole summer, but it's a good start."

1000 lbs of breakfast sausage (links & patties)
1125 lbs of bacon
1600 lbs of ground beef
4800 burger patties
2000 lbs of chicken
600 lbs of mozzarella cheese
800 lbs of cheddar cheese
400 lbs of butter
2700 lbs of eggs
300 lbs of sour cream
500 gallons of milk

In case this list worries you - next week Dell orders all the fresh fruit and vegetables!