Outreach Camp
Since 1970 HPUMC has blessed the lives of children and youth through outreach camp experiences. We offer our campers a week at either Kids Across America Kamp on beautiful Table Rock Lake in Golden, Missouri or a week at Bridgeport’s Urban Camp which is modeled against Kids Across America located on Lake Bridgeport just outside Bridgeport, Texas.
A story of hope from Lori Glanzer and camper Jared
"Super Saturday Sign-Up was the first weekend in February and I knew lots of our campers would come to register. I thought about the kids I would see and put together a worksheet titled, 'What Going to Camp Means to Me' and asked the kids to write about their experiences.
It was no surprise when Jared entered the room that Saturday morning. I remembered getting a call, about five years ago, from a family friend that heads up a support group for murdered family members. Joanne told me about a young boy who was the great nephew of a woman in her group. She said, 'I think I have a young boy that needs camp.' She told me Jared was in the custody of his great aunt after having witnessed his father kill his mother. She continued, 'He's lived a lot in 11 years,' and I knew he needed the experience.
Jared went to camp with us that summer, and it was hard for him to get on the buse and return home after camp closing - he had such an incredible time.
The kids on Jared's bus were concerned about him. I watched him closely as he pulled out the photographs his counselors had given him of his entire cabin. His little body waffled as he cried in his chair. After I called roll, I sat down next to Jared and told him I would bring him back next year. He looked at me, with tears rushing down his face, and said, 'Do you promise?'
I said, 'Yes, and I'll bring you back the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that, until you are too old to come back to camp.' Jared melted into my shoulder and continued to cry. I will never forget that moment...camp has the ability to change children profoundly and touch them in ways nothing else can.
We have made good on our promise to Jared. This will be his 5th summer to attend KAA - he's no longer a little boy but a young man. His father died in the penitentiary last fall from cancer."
What Going to Camp Means to Me, by Jared
"It's going somewhere that is like no other place. It's like going home when you step off the bus. There are the counselors, which are like your brothers, sisters and strange uncles. There are the kids who are like old friends you haven't seen in forever, and then there's the landscape.
If you've ever been to the Ozarks, you know what I'm talking about. The trees are greener, the air is more crisp, and the water is the best you could have ever tasted. The people just ooze energy. You jump off the bus and are bombarded by smiles and cheers and a sense that you are wanted. The first meal makes you think, 'Why did I ever leave?' And the last makes you think, 'Why do I have to leave?'
Sports just seem better there. I've learned to wrestle, golf and do urban art better than ever before. You learn so much from the people. It's astounding! There isn't possibly a better learning environment and it could be one of the greatest places on earth.
Thanks for giving me the chance to go to a place like this with not much and come out a more mature person." |
If this story touches your heart in the way HPUMC and the Outreach Camp program has touched Jared's, please prayerfully consider giving to this unique ministry. If you have any questions, please contact Lori Glanzer at glanzerl@hpumc.org or 214.523.2261.
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