Dreams into the Future

This past weekend, Steve and I and two of our children (Ben 14 and Alex 8) had the opportunity to attend Camp Prime-Time. http://www.campprimetime.org/ Camp Prime-Time is about an hour from Yakima, up on Clear Lake. It is devoted to serving families with special needs. Every weekend throughout the summer months, families who have children with disabilities and special needs come up to Camp Prime-Time to experience a weekend in the mountains. It is so relaxing and fun. There are activities to do, but for the most part, all the time is free time and it's up to the families to fill their time the way they choose. Groups of volunteers sign up to cook and serve meals to these families for the weekend. For a donation of $20.00 per family, these families with special needs children, have the ability to attend a family camp from Friday afternoon until Sunday noon.

One of the really cool things about this camp is that all the families there are living with some sort of "special need". Meal time "melt-downs" are common place and parents don't feel judged because everyone just understands...

Although is was fun and relaxing, I felt that one major camping component was missing... God! We were surrounded by God's beautiful handiwork and He, the creator of all wasn't mentioned! Maybe this is a blast from my upbringing, but camp doesn't seem like "camp" without a service or two and a sprinkling of classes.

But here's the rub... To be able to attend classes or listen to a speaker someone has to watch the children.

At Camp Prime-Time, parents are responsible for their own children 24/7. Here's my thought... Add Buddies!

I would love to see a family camp set up for families with special needs. (it is nice to not stick out like a sore thumb... with everyone having to deal with some sort of "special need", everyone seems "normal") But... if we could add buddies to the mix, that would give parents the ability to go classes and even visit with friends while their child is having fun and being watched. This could be a little tricky because the buddies (who would probably be teens) would need to have a counselor or someone (who is not there as a parent) who is keeping an eye on them. The buddy program would have to be organized. The buddies would have to be trained and have specific things to do besides some free time as well.

Children would stay in cabins with their families. Families would eat meals together, with the buddies either eating with the families or at a buddy table. There would be activities for families to do together and also activities for the kids to do with the buddies while the parents are in meetings or when they are visiting.

Well... that's the basic idea. Now all I have to do is find a camp and staff. Oh yeah... and money to do all of this might be a good idea as well. So now I shall pray...