Spring Newsletter(final)

News
to
EXTREME
January 2009
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SPR 12
20
HOPE FOR WAR HEROES
Grotonwood and Oceanwood are proud to host Project New Hope Inc. of Massachusetts, a program that serves
the needs of military veterans and their families.
Project New Hope’s
Executive Director, Bill
Moore, commented on
the program: “Our
Retreats are for Single
and Married Veterans
and their Families.
Project New Hope Inc.
spends about 75% of
our time helping singles
and couples with their
communication skills.
When Veterans come
back from overseas,
they don’t have the
communication tools to
talk to their spouse about their pain, their frustration, their grief.
And we’re seeing this in both males and females…”
“Our vision is that each American veteran feels welcome at home
and is best equipped with the necessary coping mechanisms and
communication skills within the context of his/her own family and
community, and ready to return to a productive and enjoyable life.”
Military families come to places like Grotonwood and Oceanwood
for these specialized retreats where they can relax and enjoy each
other while GO staff aim to make their stay as comfortable as
possible. Bill Moore continues...
“We see some remarkable transitions at Project New Hope retreats,
We see couples who won’t hold hands. They won’t touch each
other, or put their arms around each other. By the end of the retreat,
all that changes. They’re holding hands. They’re hugging, laughing
and they have Hope!”
In addition to marriage retreats, Project New Hope also runs a male
veterans’ retreat, a retreat for female veterans, and a retreat for
veterans who have suffered traumatic brain injuries and their
families. Grotonwood and Oceanwood are excited to partner with
this great program and minister to the brave men and women who
have risked their lives defending our freedom. We pray that these
retreats bring hope for our heroes and their families.
(Above) March retreat at Grotonwood for veterans who have
suffered traumatic brain injuries and their families.
[1]
GROTONWOOD
Greetings! My name is Bill Krueger
and I want to welcome you to
Grotonwood!
Grotonwood is a special place that has been
transforming and renewing lives in church
communities, youth, families and people of all
ages and abilities for over 50 years! It is our
commitment to be a resource to God’s
people wherever they are, to encourage
spiritual growth and service, and provide a
place where they can come away from their
everyday lives and connect with God and
each other in a special way.
If you haven't been to Grotonwood in the
past six months, there are some new facility
improvements you just might want to check
out. First, we have a new laminate "wood"
floor in our dining hall. This floor, along with
100 new chairs and food service changes
have taken our dining experience to a whole
new level!
In memorial lodge, we have new floors in our
bedrooms, new lights in the meeting room
and a fresh coat of paint throughout the first
floor. Head upstairs and you’ll notice new
stair treads and some bathroom upgrades on
the 2nd floor. Our Family Church
Development Center is next on our
improvement schedule. Here we plan to
make interior renovations to the three cabins;
with new paint, new lighting and some
special touches that you will want to see.
If you’ve had a chance to check out our
summer program brochures, you may have
noticed some changes to our program this
year. We have renamed our youth camps, but
don’t worry, all you “Waddaweek” fans will be
just as pleased with “Breakaway Camp,”
which includes the same trips off campus
you’ve come to love! Our “Impact” high
school campers will be roughing it a bit, living
in large, round huts called “yurts.” Round,
domed structures like these have been used
since the 13th century in Nomadic
civilizations. Its an experience you won’t want
to miss!
New and Improved!
Top: Newly remodeled kitchen
in Family Church Development
Center Dining Hall. Middle:
Durable and attractive new
floors in Main Dining Hall.
Bottom: The first of two
“yurts” where teenage
campers will be staying this
summer in Sargis Matson’s
Pioneer Village. Right: Last
year’s LDP campers in their
“groovy” Live Out Loud TShirts!
[2]
Grotonwood
RD Bill Krueger,
with his daughter
Stephanie, and
wife Barbara
Our Leadership
Development Program is
taking on a new two year structure so
campers will truly get a chance to become
part of the Grotonwood family. First year LDP
campers will focus on gaining leadership
skills and learning more about who they are
and who Christ is. The second year will focus
on hands on application. LDP campers will
help lead activities and chapel times and get
to see what its like to be a part of our staff.
Also on the schedule are some great new
family programs including a 4th of July
getaway, a cooking camp, and a father/son
fishing camp. Our day campers can take part
in our new “Overnight Experience” where
they can spend one night in a cabin and try
out a sleepaway camp, and our loyal adult
campers will enjoy great new evening
programs, crafts, and activities!
We hope you’ll join us this spring for our
youth day of service, this summer for our
fantastic camp programs, or in the fall for a
great Autumn getaway! We look forward to
serving you!
Sincerely,
Bill Krueger
Resident Director, Grotonwood
Oceanwood
Resident Director
Scott Merrow with
his wife, Dayna.
To
say I am
incredibly excited
about all the things that are
happening at Oceanwood is an
understatement.
Over the past year, thanks to many
volunteers and an amazing effort from our staff,
we have seen many improvements to camp's
physical & structural condition, including new
bathrooms in Ataloa Village, upgrades to
Mitchell and Holt, new french drains around the
dining hall, cleaning, painting, and other
general upgrades throughout camp.
Over the winter, we have been busy building 40
new bunk beds which will go into Family
Colony. Once we clean and paint the inside of
the cabins, the new beds will be moved in.
Additionally, this spring we are renovating the
Family Colony bathrooms.
All the improvements to the facility have been
fantastic, but what I'm most excited about is
the increase in the number of retreat and user
groups who have come to us this spring and
are going to be coming this fall. The
anticipation of our new summer camp
programs for youth are very exciting as well.
Often, one of the difficulties we have
encountered is articulating the value of the
experience that takes place in our community.
Over the past few months we have spent
considerable time interviewing campers,
groups, staff and alumni in an effort to better
define the intangibles of the Oceanwood
culture. It is clear to us that though our
property is unique, it is the people that make
Oceanwood truly special. The tranquil, aweinspiring location, the proximity to the ocean,
the pines that guard this place-- they are all
spectacular. But it is the warmth of the
community, the connection to God, and the
culture of support, acceptance and family that
keep people coming back each summer.
OCEANWOOD
In the year 2012, the age of the Internet and
social media, the world seems to pass by so
quickly, leaving us limited time to slow down
and re-energize our bodies, revitalize our
spirits, and reconnect with our families and our
faith. At Oceanwood, we make time for all of
this - that is the difference. We gather around
campfires and sing songs together. We sit
down at the dinner table with 100 of our closest
friends and share wonderful conversation
during a meal. We serve God - we volunteer,
lend a hand and give of ourselves. We love our
family and friends. We are kind. We share
stories, experiences, and laughter. We support
each other in our faith and we worship
together. We learn and discover, we gain
independence, we build lasting friendships, we
develop character, we experience God and
nature, we grow and change and take positive
risks. We meet different types of people and
become part of a true community, practicing
forgiveness, compassion and acceptance.
Come visit us this spring. Join us for the golf
outing. Be part of camp's Mid-summer
Festival. Enjoy a walk on the beach. Be part of
a true Christian community, and part of our
extended family. Be sure to visit our website
www.oceanwood.org and friend us on
Facebook to stay updated with all the exciting
news! See you soon!
Sincerely,
Scott Merrow
Resident Director, Oceanwood
New and Improved!
Top: Beautifully upgraded
Holt Lodge Meeting room.
Middle: One of the brand
new bathrooms in Ataloa
Village, which will make
family camping a lot more
comfortable! Bottom: One
of forty new beautiful
wooden bunk beds. Say
goodbye to those old metal
creakers! Left: Last
summer’s Oceanwood LDP
campers with their
certificates.
[3]
A SUMMER OF SERVICE
“...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many.” Mathew 20:28
How Can uSERVE Grotonwood &
Oceanwood?
Angel Tree Camping
This summer, Grotonwood and Oceanwood are
partnering with a Prison Fellowship Ministries
youth program called "Angel Tree", which helps
provide camping
experiences for
children and
youth who
have a parent
who
is
incarcerated.
“Every child
has a story.
For 1.7 million
A m e r i c a n
c h i l d re n , t h a t s t o r y i s fi l l e d w i t h t h e
abandonment, loneliness, and shame that
comes from having a mom or dad in prison. For
many, it may also include following their parents
down the same destructive road to
incarceration.
There are a few great ways you can serve
Grotonwood and Oceanwood and help us
change lives through the camping experience!
GIVE: Your faithful giving helps children, adults,
and families come to camp! Our camps are not
for profit, they are for the life altering moment
when campers come to know God and are
forever changed. If you feel led, you can give
online by visiting www.grotonwood.org or
www.oceanwood.org and clicking “Get Involved.”
Mission Camp at Grotonwood
Each year, Grotonwood’s mission camp provides
a unique opportunity for servant-hearted teen
campers to spend a purposeful week at camp.
Mission campers take part in the very best camp
activities, like tubing, rock-climbing, archery and
arts and crafts, while also participating in special
trips off camp to do service projects in the city.
Campers in this program are not afraid to get
their hands dirty to help those in need!
VOLUNTEER: Lend a helping hand! Join us at
Oceanwood’s Family and Friends Work
Weekend May 11-13, or Grotonwood’s youth
service day on May 19th! Call the camp offices
for more details.
PRAY:
Pray for our campers, that God will
prepare their hearts for what He has for them
during their time at camp. Pray for our summer
staff as many of them are gearing up for final
exams! Pray for wisdom and guidance for full
time staff as summer nears, hiring continues,
and facilities are prepared. Above all, pray that
God’s will would be done in each camp this
summer.
“Angel Tree is a ministry that reaches out to the
children of inmates and their families with the
love of Christ. (From www.angeltree.org)“ Angel
tree will provide both funding and a listing of
churches in the area who also partner with
Prison Fellowship and have identified youth in
their church who would benefit from at week at a
Christian camp. Our partnership with Angel Tree
and local churches will allow us to share the
summer camping ministries of Grotonwood to a
new group of campers.
Thank
You!
MARIO’S STORY
We caught up with Mario, a stellar counselor from Summer ’11, to find out what it is about
camp that brings him back for a second year
How did you hear about Grotonwood, and
what made you decide to work here last
summer?
“I heard about it in a magazine called
January. My first decision was that I
wanted to go back to USA to work as a
counselor because above all, my last
summer was great. The organization I
"Speak up". They said it was an
used to go with (YMCA) didn't work with
opportunity to know the American country,
those kind of exchanges anymore but they
improve your english and above all, have a
did offer me some other jobs. At that
great time working with campers. I was a
moment I decided that I preferred to go
camper too when I was young. In my teens,
back to Grotonwood...
I used to organize games with my younger
The main reasons I chose to come
Mario
Corominas of
Barecelona,
Spain
What are you looking forward to most this
summer at camp?
“My first year I felt like a foreign
person, not only because of the language
cousins and I enjoyed it as a kid, so I knew
back were that I had made some really
but the fact that most campers in
I could do the job.”
good friends on staff that are coming back
Grotonwood had been there many more
Why did you decide to come back to camp
for a second summer?
again this summer; the [leadership] team of
years than me. So this year I want to feel
camp (Richard, Bill, Fred, Barbara...) cared
more like a Grotonwood Staff experienced
about me so much that I felt really
member. And I want to meet again the Staff
the beginning I didn't think about it. I
comfortable at camp; and I loved the
and the campers, and see how are they
started thinking about it after my exams in
campers I had! (Almost all of them, hehe).”
doing and have a great time with them!”
“Well, this decision wasn't so easy. At
[4]
LEAVING HER MARK...
Grotonwood Alum Amanda Wilkes
spreads a message of
true beauty through
her jewelry
company, Joppa
International.
Ingredients:
(makes 2 dozen cookies)
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
Amanda
Wilkes
is
2 3/4 cups flour
a
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
vibrant, blonde
1 teaspoon baking soda
bombshell with a
1/4 teaspoon salt
heart of pure gold.
3 tablespoons sugar
She brings energy and
3 teaspoons cinnamon
intensity wherever she goes, and shares freely
her story and God’s vision for her company.
“When I was nineteen, God put a scripture
in my heart (Isaiah 58) about helping the poor
and the oppressed and then took me to Africa
and my heart was changed forever. I
understood that everything I did was for
speaking for those who did not have a voice. A
vision to help women and children globally had
birthed inside of me. Joppa was birthed with
that vision.” Amanda’s goal is to use business
to speak for
COOKS’
C
O
R
N
E
R
Carolyn “The Cookie Queen”s
Best Ever Snickerdoodles
women, using the very
thing that captivates an
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl.
3. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
4. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.
5. Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the
fridge.
6. Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl.
7. Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/ cinnamon mixture.
8. Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture.
9. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes.
10. Remove from pan immediately.
American audience-FASHION.
Also
intriguing is Joppa
International’s ability to
connect the women
overseas to women in
America by just one
piece of jewelry with a
name and a face on it. Through Joppa, women
in Africa, like 49 year-old Bongekile, an expert
beader from South Africa, make beautiful
jewelry which is then sold here in America.
Bongekile has eight children and one
grandchild, and buys food for her family with
the money she gets from beading.
“Joppa” means “Beautiful” in Hebrew...we
are trying to show people that we are MADE
BEAUTIFUL and that every women deserves a
beautiful life.”
To learn more about Amanda, her
c o m p a n y, a n d t h e w o m e n o f J o p p a
International, visit www.joppaintl.com or email
Sample Summer Menu
BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
DESSERT
Scrambled eggs,
Sausage links,
Yogurt,
Fresh fruit
Steak and Cheese
Subs,
Sauteed peppers
and onions,
French fries,
Salad bar.
Cheese ravioli,
Garlic
breadsticks,
Broccoli,
Turkey meat
balls,
Salad bar.
Chocolate
pudding pie with
home made Oreo
crust and
whipped cream.
Amanda at [email protected] to get
involved!
[5]
FUTURE CAMPERS
1.
2.
5.
13.
4.
7.
6.
10.
8.
11.
9.
14.
12.
14.
17.
18.
15.
1. Nivya Prashastha
Evangeline Moses
3/16/09,
daughter of
Ernest and
Sahiti Moses; 2.
Alex Samuel
Darby 8/1/10,
son of Shannon
Latour; 3. Orion
Robert Dix 1/16/12,
son of Joanna and Dan
Dix; 4.
Adriana Joy Arndt 1/24/11,
daughter of Aaron and Jenny Arndt; 5.
James Sinclair Dolham 12/18/11, son of
WHO’S
WHO?
3.
16.
Scott and Liz Dolham; 6. Hana Peroutkova
12/13/11, daughter of Eva Peroutka and
Jiri Peroutkova; 7. Ethan Anselm Michael
Waldron 6/3/11, son of Beth and Stephen
Waldron; 8. Brody Patrick Coyne 1/3/12,
son of Kimberly Coyne; 9. Anastasia
Grace Lamson 7/1/11, daughter of Jeff
and Nicky Lamson; 10. Lily Amber Bragg
11/6/09, daughter of Julia and Benjamin
Bragg; 11. Madeline Elizabeth Sobolic
10/27/10, and Porter Fillip Sobolic
11/18/11, children of Meg and Tomas
Sobolic; 12. Ella Mae Arsenault 3/15/11,
and Kaylee Serena Arsenault 11/14/09,
daughters of Tim and Kerri Arsenault;
[6]
13. Hawon Seong 10/4/11, daughter of
Sangeun Um; 14. Tegan Terrill Hurt
3/27/12, son of Robert and Bobbie-Jo
Hurt; 15. ElyjahGabriel JeffreyBrooks
Maxwell 2/9/12 and TrinityGrace Noelle
Maxwell 12/10/06, children of Jessica
Grace and Brooks Maxwell; 16. Amelie
Michel Crawford 08/06/2012, daughter of
Scott and Rachel Crawford, granddaughter
of Mark and Cheryl Michel; 17. Audrey
Elizabeth 11/12/06, Timothy James
5/11/08, and Joshua Guillermo Cisterna
2/4/12, children of Pat and Oshea
Cisterna. 18. Nixon Kane, daughter of
Kasandra Kane.
2.
4.
NEW TO SAY “I DO”
1.
3.
6.
5.
8.
7.
9.
1. Victor and Lucy Jacek March
17, 2012; 2. Jonathan and
Allie Ardrey July 3, 2011; 3.
Isaiah and Corinne Bullock
June 26, 2011; 4. Jamie and
Chelsea Boyd-Bell May 14th,
2011; 5. Joseph and Alexia
Beaulieu July 1, 2011; 6.
10.
11.
Rafael Magalhaes and Nayara
Bastos Magalhaes Feb 4th,
2012; 7. Nick and Emily
Thacker July 3, 2011; 8. Ryan
and Rachel Scott October 28,
2011; 9. Michael and Seneca
Egan September 10, 2011; 10.
Justin and Heidi Campbell
[7]
April 1,
2010; 11.
Eva
Peroutkova
and Jiri
Peroutka May
28, 2011.
=Camp Sweethearts!
WHO’S
WHO?
167 Prescott St.
Groton, MA 01450
www.grotonwood.org
17 Royal St.
Ocean Park. ME 04063
www.oceanwood.org
Non Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
Paid
Permit No. 31
Randolph NY
UPCOMING EVENTS
MAY
May 11th-13th- 7th Annual Oceanwood
Family & Friends Work Weekend
May 19th- Spring Youth Clean-Up/Work Day at
Grotonwood
JUNE
June 3rd- Preview Day at Grotonwood
June 3rd- Open House (Oceanwood)
June 8th-10th- Golf Retreat (Oceanwood)
June 9th- 3rd Annual Oceanwood Golf Open
JULY
July 21st- MBMM Multicultural Festival at
Grotonwood
July 27th-29th- Mid-Summer Festival at
Oceanwood
CLICK Visit our brand new websites at www.grotonwood.org & www.oceanwood.org for more information!
CONNECT New baby in the family? Great stories from your time at camp? We want to know what’s happening in your life so
we can stay connected with fellow alumni and GO supporters through future newsletters! Email [email protected]
SHARE “Friend” us on Facebook and share our pages, so others can hear about Grotonwood & Oceanwood!
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Week
s
‘til cam
p!