Newsletter jun08.pub

Volume 19, Issue 1
Woodhouse building update
As most of you are aware, our major building
project was completed in September 2007. This
was the largest building project ever undertaken by the camp costing over $1.2 million.
There were many who went above and beyond
in their giving to Hidden Acres so that we
could complete the project on time. So far we
have raised over $560,000 through donations
and low or no interest loans. We still have a
large mortgage that we would like to eliminate
as soon as possible.
Now what is this new building that we have
invested so much time and so many resources
into being used for you might ask? The new
“Woodhouse” has enabled us to expand our
rental program and is used by groups of all different kinds year round for: retreats, reunions,
conferences and other events. This additional
building allows us to accommodate either one
larger group or two groups at a time and has
allowed us to expand the number of people we
are able to serve each year.
The building features much needed additional
washrooms, bedrooms, an indoor activity
room, a dining hall, a full kitchen, laundry facilities and a large meeting room. There is also
a church worker’s suite that can be used for
personal retreats for pastors, others in ministry, or as a place of accommodation for missionaries on leave.
As the summer approaches this new building
will allow us to expand our single mom’s program, allowing 4 additional families to
participate in each of the two weeks of camp!
The indoor activity room will also provide a
much-needed venue in case of inclement
weather during our summer camps. The
additional dining room will be used to host the
growing number of campers who will participate in Watsa Basketball Camps at Hidden
Acres this summer, as well as allowing us to
provide ample space for larger school groups.
The new building also provides additional
washroom facilities to be used by the campers.
The Woodhouse has and will continue to provide more opportunities for ministry.
June, 2008
BOWLATHON 2008
Hidden Acres 26th Bowlathon was held on Saturday,
March 1st 2008.
This year’s Bowlathon has raised $22,100 so far, with
some contributions still to come in! A big thank you goes
out to all the bowlers who participated as well as those
who sponsored them!
This year's proceeds will go toward: new porch railings
on the Stonehouse, a new counter in the girl’s outdoor
washroom, trees, a new metal roof for the focus shelter
and new flooring in the men’s washroom in Stonehouse.
The rest goes into the Woodhouse capital project.
The Bowlathon continues to be our ministry’s most successful on-going fund-raising event. The Bowlathon
continues to be our ministry’s most successful ongoing
fund-raising event. Hidden Acres' various outreach programs touch many lives (over 6,300 last year). The contributions which are made through the Bowlathon enable us
to continue our involvement with single moms, needy children, and the various retreats offered throughout the
year.
SUMMER CAMP is just around the corner! We still have room for more children to enjoy a fun-filled week!
R e g is t e r N O W!
HAC WISHLIST
Indoor fireplace
Small loader tractor
Small steam cart
Zippered pillow cases
Single quilts & comforters
Solar powered lawnmower
Aging Well – Senior’s Retreat Spring
2008
During this one-day retreat we enjoyed Marianne
Mellinger in the morning speaking on the subject
of aging well in our physical, emotional, social and
spiritual life. In the afternoon Mike Strathdee and
Sherri Grosz challenged us to ‘Leave a Legacy’ the
way we want. Both the morning and afternoon
were very full and rewarding. Judging from the
comments of the people attending, the subjects
were very timely and well received
In the morning Marianne discussed the characteristics of aging well. This included being pro-active
in mobilizing our resources to cope with agerelated decline and making lifestyle choices to preserve and promote wellbeing. She also discussed
cultivating flexibility to deal with current situations, and finally, focusing on the positives not just
the problems of aging.
Our retreat was held in the new Woodhouse retreat centre, which was very accommodating.
Susan Pries served the noon meal in her professional and very efficient way with the help of her
son. We were informed that the other part of the
building (Stonehouse) that we have used in the past
was being used by St. Mary’s High School.
The afternoon session was challenging as after a
big chicken dinner part of aging is having a rest.
Mike and Sherri were pretty good at keeping our
interest with clips from Corner Gas (except for
those of us that fell asleep as soon as the movie
started). The information that was shared dealt
with the financial aspect of aging and having our
affairs in order. This included how to handle the
disposition of our assets. They also stressed the importance of having a Power of Attorney named for
both financial and medical reasons. The best news
was: if we are writing or updating our wills Mennonite Foundation will look it over and give us
their input at no
charge.
Nevin Gingerich
My HAC Timeline
I started off at Hidden Acres in 2002 as a CIT (counselor-intraining) and have been working here pretty much all summer every
summer since then. That means I’ve been here for 7 years (6 as an
official HAC staff member. As I start up another summer here at
camp as the Assistant Director (I’ve been working my way up the ladder during those years) I’m looking through all the previous years
newsletters wondering how can I summarize what I have now calculated as almost a years worth of summer months into a few paragraphs?
As I was looking back I was wondering if I could separate my memories
enough to come up with one defining moment or lesson that I took with
me after each summer I have spent here… I guess we’ll see. This is my
personal HAC timeline of lessons learned:
20022002 CIT year-this year was my first time at Hidden Acres and was a
year of deepening faith, breaking out of my shell and an amazing CIT
out-trip experience of fun, relaxation and spiritual discussion.
20032003 This year I was really pushed to develop my leadership skills.
This summer was a summer of fun, friendships and the invention of the
Ultimate Ball Game.
2004–
2004 One of my most defining memories from this summer was camping out during single mom’s week with a cabin of 4 and 5 year olds… and
although we only hiked to the baseball diamond and set up our tent to
them it was a wilderness adventure that they were sure to remember.
20052005 This summer I took on the role of Head Counsellor and learned
that to be truly successful in our role as camp staff God calls us to put
the campers needs before our own which can be a tall order when surrounded by a group of close friends.
20062006 In 2006 I had the privilege of leading the CIT program. This
summer I got to watch as God turned the Counselors in Training into
strong leaders using the other staff members to guide them on their
way.
20072007 This past summer I had the rare opportunity to be Hidden
Acre’s Program Director for the Summer. Going into last summer I was
scared out of my mind for all the responsibilities I had before me.
However I made it through the summer without too many glitches. I
loved the challenge of coming up with crazy themes and activities for
the campers and staff to enjoy. One of my favourites was
holiday week and watching the campers stop the Grinches from stealing Christmas! It was also amazing to watch the staff work with the
campers and to see what an important experience a week at camp can
be for someone, whether they are staff or campers.
The life lessons I have learned at camp will stay with me for a lifetime.
So yes, I’m back for one more summer and I can’t wait to see what I
will learn this year!
-Tina Ashley (APOLO)
94 NHL All Stars Back On Top!
The thirteenth annual Road Hockey tournament was featured on a beautiful May day with not a cloud in the sky. Appropriately 13
teams registered, though only one could hold the famous trophy aloft.
The tournament featured two divisions with the top 4 in each moving on to the medal round. Intense competition was noted throughout the round robin and great work by the referees was noted by all as lead by Ray Martin and his sons Kyle and Justin.
The playoffs started with an exciting match between the 94 NHL All Stars and Venom. The Venom had gone undefeated but met
their match with the All Stars who upset them 4-1. In other semifinal action the BP Knights knocked off the Hackers, K.P. Saints
made a furious late rally to upset the Old Milwaukees and the Blazers handled the French Connection.
In Semi final action a great game between defending BP Knights and a talented Blazers squad ended 7-6 in favour of the Blazers
who have won three past tournament championships. Meanwhile the K.P. Saints were clearly spent after their exciting comeback win
in the quarters and had trouble beating stalwart Andy Yantzi in the 94 NHL All Stars’ net and despite an otherwise solid game, went
out of the tournament.
The final was a classic between 2 former champions of the tournament. The Blazers took an early 1-0 lead and appeared to have
things well in hand until the 94 NHL All Stars knotted things up with only 4 minutes left on a goal by Josh Willms. This game was
one of the classics in tournament history with both teams playing extremely hard but very clean in an evenly matched final. The contest fittingly went into overtime with Brent Steinmann draining the winner for the NHL All Stars early in the overtime stanza. Andy
Yantzi was named tournament MVP while Brent Steinmann picked up game MVP for his overtime heroics. Both received prizes
respectively from Peter Maranger at Cooperators Insurance and Stratford City Mazda. The All Stars received the usual hockey sticks
courtesy of Memorial Cup Finalists, Kitchener Rangers, and the Blazers received hats from Accountable Automotive. Jeanine and
Maggie Clarke and Sarah Bice did a great job in the food booth. Both SWO ball hockey and Probation Officers Association – Southwest Branch made financial contributions. In all the day raised about $2500 for the children’s summer camp program at Hidden
Acres.
Due to previous commitments the Martin family refs had to leave. This led to a call-up of a veteran of past tournaments, Leigh
Steckley. His experience served him well as ref for a semi-final match and the final. Thanks to all the volunteers and players it was
another great tournament!
-Jeff Clarke
94 NHL All Stars
2008 Road Hockey Champs
Dan Albrecht
Andy Yantzi
Josh Willms
Brent Steinmann
Brent Dubecki
Brandon Gingerich
THIS NEWSLETTER IS
ONLINE!!
Our newsletter is available at the Hidden Acres’
website. If you would like to be notified by email
when it is posted as a PDF file, please let us know.
Also let us know if your address has changed or if
you would like your name removed from our mailing
list. Thanks!
We would like to thank the Women of Avon Mennonite Church, Crosshill Mennonite Church and
Beth Good for making and donating comforters for the new Woodhouse bedrooms!
Thank you for all your time and energy!
1921 Line 37, New Hamburg, ON, N3A 4B5
Phone: 519-625-8602, Fax: 519-625-8606
Email: [email protected]
Grandparent and Grandchild
Days 2008
Coming Events
Staff Orientation
June 23-26
Family Camping
June 27– 29
Single Moms’ Camp
June 30-July 4 & August
18-22
Children’s and
Basketball Camps
July 6-August 29
Building
Community Retreat
September 5-7
Fall Seniors Retreat
September 29
Hidden Acres
Annual Meeting
November 25
Family Day
February 16,
2009
Grandparent/Grandchild
Days
March 16 & 17, 2009
We would like to extend a BIG Thank You to the crew who helped
put a much needed new roof on the Focus Shelter over the May long
weekend. Headed by Joe Wagler this hard working group did a great
job getting the new roof on! This metal roof promises to last for
years and years to come. Thank you to all
those who came out to help!
Joe Wagler
Greg Zehr
Dave Albrecht
Andrew Schefele
Russel Schumm
Brian Ropp
Pete Bechtel
Michael
Mark Ropp
Gary Horst
Hidden Acres hosted it’s
first Family Day on
February 18th, 2008.
8 families participated in
a day of crafts,
comforter knotting, singing, games and most
importantly time together
as a family!
Hidden Acres had another successful
Grandparent and Grandchild Day this year.
The theme for the day was “Growing Things”
with an emphasis on sharing stories and experiences of growing, the guest speaker
Randy Lebold of Wycliffe Bible Translators
gave a very engaging talk relating the theme
to scripture; it was enjoyed by grandparents
and grandchildren alike. The grandparents
and grandchildren that attending the retreat
also got to participate in fun activities including pretzel making, flowerpot decorating
and seed planting and knotting comforters.
The day ended with a tasty treat as the participants sat down to enjoy the pretzels they
had made! Thank you to all those who helped
out with the day:
Bernice Barratt
Beth Bender
Chris Nisbet
Ben Hisey
Sheryl Frey
Jessica Mavin
Hayley Schmidt
Natasha Martin
Shirley Gingerich and assistants
You can now make donations to Hidden
Acres on our website with your credit
card using Membership Application
I would like to support the ministry of Hidden Acres by becoming a member of the Hidden Acres Mennonite Camp
Association. I agree with the Hidden Acres mission statement “to provide a setting in nature for all groups of people
to experience a meaningful encounter with God through times of recreation, reflection, worship and service.”
Enclosed is the $25 fee for membership.
Name:_________________________________________ e-mail:__________________________________________
Address:_______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________ Phone:__________________________________________