See YOUR Impact at Camp
YOUR SUPPORT CHANGES LIVES!
We just wrapped up our first week of On River Time camps for children living in group children's homes. What a joy it was to host the kids from Palmer Home for Children and Still Creek Ranch.
We knew it would be a special week from start. During our "burn your fears" ceremony, the night of our first full day, the kids opened up and shared their fears and strongholds. Several expressed fear about repeating the mistakes of the generations before them. Others expressed concern about offering forgiveness to an abusive parent. Some shared strongholds they are trying to overcome. But one by one, as the kids shared, it was often their peers, including teens they just met the day before from a different children's home, who offered words of support and encouragement. To watch them build one another up was truly inspiring.
Our camps are about so much more than 'fishing'! As Drake Bassett, the executive director of Palmer Home for Children in Mississippi describes, "On River Time is like a super charged event that helps the kids make great strides in their healing in a short amount of time".
Our camps take place at The Lodge at Palisades Creek in Irwin, Idaho and include two days of fly fishing, a day trip to Grand Teton National Park, whitewater rafting on the Snake River. In addition, the kids receive inspirational talks from fellow survivors including our founder, Steve Davis, and On River Time board member, Liz Huntley. They also participate in moments of reflection through daily devotions as they come to experience that God has a beautiful plan for their lives. In our final pinning ceremony, they're given the opportunity to express gratitude and recognize others who impacted them during the week.
It's beautiful to watch them honor one another.
These are some amazing kids and we were sad to see them leave, but we look forward to welcoming Big Oak Ranch tomorrow and doing it all again! Thank you to The Lodge at Palisades Creek for hosting us and for their incredible hospitality and care for the kids we serve.
Your support MATTERS. We are so grateful for your love and prayers for these precious young people and your support for the work we do. We could NOT do this sacred work without you. On River Time Camps are our largest expense of the year. Would you please consider making a donation to ensure that more kids of abuse and neglect living in group children's homes can attend camp? Let them know they have a future filled with HOPE.
