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Camp In Three Words

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by Bob Strodel, Executive Director

This will be my 29th year on staff at Brookwoods, and as a 2nd generation Camp Director, I can tell you in ONE second why it is important to send your child to a Christian summer camp. Camp’s temporary community is a terrific investment that pays eternal dividends for your kids through great role models, learning opportunities, developmental experiences, and time away from Mom and Dad! We have had some very talented people write for The Friday Blog from the extended Brookwoods, Deer Run, and Moose River family that delve into some of the finer points of the camp life and convey the advantages of a summer at camp. 

There is another reason to send your kids to camp that we don’t talk much about as much as we should, but it is a very important component of a healthy adolescence. It can’t be qualified on a spread sheet, put on a resume, or factored into some return-on-investment calculation. This reason can be summed up on three simple words. Ready?

Camp is Fun!

Campers get to spend 2 or 4 weeks in an outdoor environment, doing fun activities that can’t be done at home, learning new skills, and experiencing new adventures. New friends, great role models, and camper friendly food are all part of the camp experience!

Camp is Fun!

The past 13 months have not been fun. Life has been disrupted with changes to school, work, and family patterns. Opportunities have been lost that will never be able to be reclaimed: graduations, wedding celebrations, family reunions, sporting events, senior proms, summer camp, and travel. Many of us have also experienced first-hand impact of COVID through personal sickness or the loss of a loved one. It is time to move forward to reclaim some of what we lost, to restore life’s joy and fun.

Camp is Fun!

Over the past 18 months the Christian Camp and Conference Association, to which we are a member, collaborated on a musical film about camp, A Week Away. The movie is streaming on Netflix, and while it is not 100% “proper camp” [for example you never take off your mask while playing paintball] it does a great job of capturing the joy and fun of summer camp.

If you enjoyed “High School Musical,” you will love this movie. Spread the word, share the trailer and maybe have a watch party with your camp friends. This movie is a great reminder that camp is super FUN. I hope you enjoy A Week Away as much as I did! Aren’t you glad that camp is two weeks, not just one?

 

Bob and Debbie Strodel on a hike up Mt. Major.

Bob Strodel has been the Executive Director at Christian Camps and Conferences, Inc. since 1995, and this summer will be his 47th at Brookwoods! His favorite camp activity is model rockets. You are welcome to drop Bob a note and share a favorite camp story, bob@christiancamps.net or email the 3Camps Podcast,  podcast@christiancamps.net.  Check out the podcast wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. We’re super excited to share FUN camp stories with the extended camp family in a new way!

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