Life in Highland Park can be and will always be discouraging at times. The poverty of finances, education, and homelife is overwhelming to say the least. Yet, our God remains faithful. What an awesome reminder to know that He is far more powerful than anything this world may bring us! Here are the highlights of what happened in Highland Park this summer:
Day Camp
Another year of day camp has come and gone. The weeks flew by; it’s hard to believe all that happened within those six weeks. The day camp staff was incredible: a beautiful mix of talents, skin colors, personalities, and past experiences truly made the staff a team. It was a blessing to have such a diverse group with a common purpose. God united the staff for His glory and we can praise Him for that.
Urban Arts
Our second to last week of day camp, we had the pleasure of welcoming Urban Arts. Urban Arts is a Christian program in Detroit; they came in with their own staff and took over for a week, teaching our kids music dance, and art. We (HPCO’s staff) had the opportunity to step back from the roles of teaching and learn along with the kids. The kids absolutely loved it! New talents were discovered in the art room and on the dance floor. The Friday of that week our kids gave a performance of everything they learned that week. Parents and grandparents came to see their kids showing off their new moves and lyrics. It was an incredible week and we’re thankful to the Urban Arts staff for their help.
After day camp ended, we had one week of overnight camp. Overnight camp was available to kids ages 11-15. We partnered with Youth For Christ Detroit and brought 17 of our kids to Wildwood Ranch in Howell, MI. What a unique experience for our kids! Life at Wildwood is dramatically different from life in Highland Park; some of our kids loved it for that, others had a harder time. The kids had opportunities that most of them have never had before: horseback riding, canoeing, rock climbing, etc, all while hearing the Word of God. It was great for our kids to step out of their comfort zones and open their eyes to a different world than they were used to. Two of our boys enjoyed it so much, they went back again the next week.
Book Signing
Amidst all that was happening with camp, our tutoring program was still meeting. Dana Hall, the thirteen-year-old that faithfully attends tutoring every week, has written her own book. One of our volunteers, Miss Betty has been working with Dana for months now. Dana, though far behind in her reading levels, proudly finished her book titled “The Three Girls,” written by Dana Hall and illustrated by Sarah Hilliker. What an honor to have an author in our midst! We held a book signing and invited friends and family to help celebrate in Dana’s accomplishment.
p.s. be sure to find us on facebook! we have more pictures from day camp!
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