connecting after summer camp

Here you go, driving up the sunny Camp Allen driveway, winding past friendly faces. You happily wave at them, anxious to get to your child's campsite for the sweetest reunion. It was a big week for them and you! You missed them terribly (or maybe you feel guilty for enjoying a break and trust us, we're happy to keep them for the week) and they had a huge week long experience that didn't include you, and now you're eager to know everything! 
​

They hug their friends and say goodbye to their counselor and now you're back in the car with some stinky luggage (sorry - summer camp at Texas doesn't mess around)  and a camper slowly coming down from the week. You're desperate to hear about their week, but maybe they fall asleep on the car ride home, crashing after their week of non-stop fun activities. Perhaps they get their phone back and tune out as they flip through a week's worth of Instagram posts they missed. No matter the case, sometimes it's hard to get back on the same page. Whether you have a senior high camper who has been-there-done-that, or a primary camper who just got home from their very first week away, reconnecting after camp can sometimes be challenging. They've had seven days worth of experiences that you were not privy to, and sometimes it can be tough to get back on their level. All you want to do is hear about their week and discover what they learned about God, but sometimes life just gets in the way. 


Well, we want to help you bridge the gap! We sat down with session director Trish Houser and comprised a few suggestions that might help you get the conversation rolling so you can help them process what they learned and also get inside their experience here at summer camp! After all, our hope is that what God does here at camp is just the beginning. We pray that what starts here ends at home with you and your child having great conversations about God and all that he does not only at summer camp, but also what he does every day of our lives!

• Begin by utilizing that phone-free zone for just a few hours more and leave their phone at home. This gives you the car ride to really connect. Take it a step further and throw your phone in the glove compartment so they know you're really interested!
• Start light and build. Ask basic questions to get the conversation flowing:
  1. What do you like about camp at Camp Allen?
  2. What was the highlight of your week?
  3. Which day or activity was your favorite?
  4. Tell me about the people in your cabin.
  5. What was your counselor like?
  6. What was the theme of your campsite?
  7. Tell me about the dance decorations.
     
     
• Once they're talking about their week, here are a few questions that might help you talk about their spiritual experience here at camp:
  
  
  
  1. Did you connect with someone in a surprising way this week?
     
     
  2. What is one way of doing things at camp that you wish you could bring back to real life or your friend group (that's not canteen or the blob)?
     
     
  3. What's one thing you heard in the spiritual programming that stuck out to you?
     
     
  4. What did you learn in your devo times with your counselors and what verses stuck out to you? Why?
     
     
  5. How did you see God this week? Did you have any God sightings?
     
     
  6. Did you learn anything new about God that you didn't know before?
     
     
  7. Did you hear something at camp that makes you want to learn more about God, Jesus, love, forgiveness, (etc)?
     
     
  8. Did you learn something about Jesus that you've never learned at church?
     
     
  9. Did you leave camp a different person than when you came in? And why?
     
     
     

Close by telling them you prayed for them to have a great week and learn new things and that God answered your prayer! You could also flip through their session's photos and watch their campsite's recap video with them. You can find it all here, and you should have received an email with the password. The video is able to be downloaded to your computer and the photos are available for purchase through Zenfolio. A fun idea would be to create a Shutterfly memory book of each summer your child was here at camp!  
​
We hope this will help you connect with your child spiritually and encourage future conversations like these. And thank you for sending your children to us for summer camp - we are so honored that we get to do this!