Northern Light Spring 20

From the Director of HoneyRock, Rob Ribbe

It's amazing to reflect on how the world has changed since our last edition of the Northern Light. My original plan had me writing this note to you from the beaches of Australia as I wrapped up my time at the Christian Camping International tri-annual gathering. Instead, I'm looking at 10 inches of fresh snow in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

I trust you and your family are healthy and well. As I'm sure it's been for all of you, this has been a wild ride for us. Despite the long slog of information gathering and decisions we've been making over the last 6+ weeks, the team at HoneyRock is healthy and well, too. 

This edition of Northern Light encompasses pre- and present-COVID-19 life. It has been important for us, at HoneyRock, to continue all that we can continue—site and facilities projects, our graduate program, and more. You’ll get a glimpse of how life has continued at HoneyRock despite the novel coronavirus.

Yet you’ll also see definite marks of the pandemic—our Vanguards leaving early, content for recent blog posts, and casual mention of moving everything online. 

If you would like a more in-depth read on summer camp 2020 reflections, click the plus below. In short, we have not yet cancelled camp, but are in a season of deep information gathering and discernment. We hope to have an update on/around April 30.

If you’d rather jump into what else is going on at HoneyRock, scroll to Erin Sharp’s story about the barn and retreat programming—you'll enjoy the "tour" provided by two of our newest ponies. It'll bring a smile to your face.

We’re praying with you, now and always. If there are specific ways we can join you in prayer, let us know.

Grace & peace, Rob

In this edition:

Impact of COVID-19 on HoneyRock | Reflections from the Barn | Pony Tour of HoneyRock | Site and Facilities Projects, Lately | Vanguard Gap Year Update | Congrats, Grads! | Recap: International Conference on Outdoor Leadership | Recent Blog Posts | Homegoing of Gabrielle White

From Scott Eppler, Site Manager

On Saturday, April 11, we celebrated our five graduating Outdoor and Adventure Leadership M.A. students. After moving to HoneyRock, they invested two years of their lives studying, working, and leading programs. They grew in profound and wondrous ways, and we're excited to launch them into their next season of ministry. As a part of their experience, they completed a creative project or thesis. Below, you'll see the titles of their work:

David Aiello: Creative Project - Camp Curriculum for Adolescents who Have Experienced Trauma

Abrahm Duarte: Thesis, Historical Theology - A Theology of Retreat and its Application in Outdoor Ministry for Young Adults

Jessica Port: Thesis, Quantitative - Impact of Summer Staff Employment on Leadership Skills in Emerging Adults

Emily Tumility: Thesis, Qualitative - The Effects of a Wilderness Experience on Adolescent Development

Jake Tuttle: Creative Project - The Dirtbag Gap Year: A Climber's Ascent in Spiritual Formation

In 2018, HoneyRock began integrating the 6+1 Curriculum for wilderness leadership from the Wilderness Education Association (WEA) into our wilderness leadership programs.

This sparked a budding relationship with WEA, which led to February's conference. We were privileged to be selected as the host site for this exciting international conference! The theme was “Judgment and Decision Making the WEA Way". Over 50 attendees gathered for three days of clinics, hands-on training, and informative break-out sessions. It was an awesome opportunity for iron to sharpen iron as we traded notes, lessons, and syllabi.

From HoneyRock, Rob Ribbe, Rachael Botting, Mike Odberg and HoneyRock graduate students Jess Port and Emily Tumility presented on a variety of topics.

We were blessed with the opportunity to connect with so many different outdoor professionals and students from many colleges, universities, and other outdoor adventure programs, some of whom had spent time at HoneyRock in their youth and young adult years! 

On Saturday, the WEA awarded Jess Port, our 2:22 Coordinator and graduating OAL student, with the Student Leadership Award. Her contributions to SALT/2:22 and pioneering the integration of WEA's 6+1 curriculum was recognized above all other student achievements. 

The attendees heaped praise on our retreat team. Special thanks to Abe Duarte, Retreats Coordinator G.A.!  He spent countless hours before, during, and after the event to ensure its success. The WEA vows to come back!

Like many programs this spring, we made the difficult decision to send our current Vanguards home 6 weeks early.

In spite of the physical distance and disruption caused by COVID-19, we have been able to digitally continue our classes and community. We miss our Vanguards greatly but know that God is working in the midst of this unforeseen season.  

As we look forward to next year we are anticipating our largest Vanguard cohorts yet! The incoming class is already 12 strong and we're seeing inquiries and new applications continue to roll in. 

Know a student who could benefit from a gap year? Send them my way at charlie.goeke@wheaton.edu