What is Wild + Wander all about?
Last year, HeartLife first hosted Wild and Wander camp for boys. Day one brought nerves for everyone, including the counselors, but we knew one of our main camp goals was to make it a fun, faith-filled experience, which helped us power through those nerves. From the moment the boys arrived, we wanted each of them to know that we anticipated and prayed for their arrival.
We did activities such as “fishing for coping skills,” creating sensory toolkit tackleboxes and relay races. We brought the outdoors inside, and the boys brought energy and excitement! Amidst all the fun we undoubtedly had in these activities, our focus remained on growing the emotional health and faith of the campers. We have the same goal for this year.
Another goal we have this summer is for the boys to leave with a renewed sense of God's deep love and care for them. Between the fun, giggles, bonding, and activities, we hope they learn more about how to steward and understand their emotions. We also hope they can see more of God’s detail, as He made each of them so uniquely. We want to celebrate these unique details throughout the whole week!
To celebrate last year, each boy won an award that focused on their growth during the week and their own individualities. The highlight of camp for the counselors was watching the boys celebrate each other during a pizza party on the last day.
Ultimately, our hope for this year mirrors that of last year - that the boys learn more about their emotions, find helpful tools to use to regulate these feelings, and create meaningful friendships.
Camp is an excellent introduction into therapy. It shows the next generation of boys that emotions and expression of those emotions are beautiful gifts from God. We hope they learn more about how Jesus, being fully God and fully man, was well-acquainted with human emotions, and can understand their hearts and emotions like no one else can. What could be better?