I have been busy this month getting to the parents of our Kids Hope students information and registration forms for Camp Geneva. For those of you who did not know this, Camp Geneva has a program for Kids Hope kids that allows them to attend Camp Geneva for about 1/3rd of the cost. For 2019 it now costs anywhere from $385.00 to $435.00 for a child to attend camp for 5 days. Whew! That has gone up a bit since I went to camp back in the 60’s. Thanks to Larry and Karen Mulder who contribute to a fund set up to help our Kids Hope kids attend camp, our campers only pay $25.00 and Camp Geneva and the Mulders pick up the rest. This is truly amazing!
This year we have 3 students who are planning on attending. 2 have been there in previous years and 1 is brand new to the camp experience. They will all be in for a great week of camp that promises a variety of experiences including worship, splashing in the pool, dancing to songs and skits and creating meaningful relationships with other campers and with the Camp Geneva staff. A typical day looks like this:
7am Wake up and Polar Bear plunge in Lake Michigan (optional)
8:30am Breakfast
9:15am Songs and Skits
10:15am Bible Study
11am Cabin Activity
12pm Lunch
1:30pm All Camp game
2:30pm Free Time (store open)
4pm Interest Groups
5:30pm Supper
7pm All camp activity
8pm Evening Worship
9pm Snacks, cabin time and Bed
Bring back any memories for those of us who attended in our youth? What is also great about their daily schedule is that the Camp Geneva Staff prepare a specific curriculum, written by them, that is used for the Bible Study. They do this by first picking a Bible verse that speaks to them and then they come up with a theme that grows out of that verse. This year they chose 1 John 4:10; “This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” As they read this they thought “that’s wild!” and thus made WILD the theme for this summer. It will be interesting to hear how they carry out that theme not only in Bible Studies but also in the activities the campers participate in.
So if this has perked your interest you may want to visit Camp Geneva again. They have 2 Open Houses planned with one for Kids Hope campers and another for the general public. The general public one is on Sunday, May 19 from 2-4pm. I would encourage those interested to go and see all the changes that have occurred and relive some of those memories. The pool is open for a dip, the paths are still there to lead you around and the amphitheater where we got our camp photos is still in the same place. It was such a great time going to Geneva and now thanks to the generosity of the camp and the Mulders, kids that could not normally afford to go to camp will be able to go and thus experience the WILD love of God on the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan! Thanks be to God.
~Vicki Rumpsa, Kids Hope USA Director