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Letter to Parents Post-Camp
Here’s a letter I wrote today to our high school ministry parents the last night of camp – if you do something like this already, post it in the comments, and if not use this as a base for one from you next year after camp. Enjoy!
Hi parents!
It is 1AM and I’m just getting back to my cabin to pack up and get ready to head home tomorrow morning. Your kids are doing the same thing right now after a hilarious late-night talent show – the finale of a truly great week!
I wanted to share some highlights with you before we make it back into town tomorrow afternoon. We’ve been up at Camp Ojai (www.foresthome.org/ojaivalley) all week with the theme Love: Revolution. Our speaker was Afshin Ziafat (www.afshinziafat.com), a former Muslim who accepted Christ several years ago. He has a powerful story he shared on the opening night – and continued each of the following evenings to challenge students to love God, share their own story and invite friends to church. The music leader was Tim Timmons (www.timmonsmusic.com), our guest from Mariner’s Church this week. He’s done an amazing job helping us be grateful for each day of life, which was especially poignant after sharing his battle with cancer.
I’ve encouraged your student to spend time with you on Friday night – before they jump into their world. I asked them to escape with you for the evening to talk about camp. I can’t wait for you to hear their stories and share their decisions with you. If it is at all possible, grab dinner and talk about camp together – here’s a few things you could talk about, a few questions to get you started:
• What struck you about Afshin’s story?
• Who was your counselor? What did you learn from him/her?
• How was the day at the beach?
• Did you make any decisions this week?
• What song was the most meaningful to you? Why?
• What did you do during the free time?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how was the food at camp?
• Did you miss me?And just so you know, every student received a free T-shirt, a highlight video and a personalized card/letter from their counselor. They probably got an extra sock or two in their suitcase, too, because it is camp and that happens.
Well, I’ve got to put some more aloe vera gel on this sunburn and get at least a few hours of sleep. Camp is silent … for now. Thanks for sending your student to camp – it is such a worthy investment – you’ll see it in their eyes when they get off the bus. See you tomorrow!
JG
Sorry to be really thick: how do you get it to them before they meet their child at the bus? Do you email or have you pre-written and posted it before camp?
Looks a really interesting idea, and as we’re off to camp in 8 days time, one I might just be able to implement before we go!