He Ran Towards His Buddy: Hope Family Camp Highlight

What filled your summertime this year? Ours was full of seeing healing first hand, watching relationships blossom, and enjoying the beauty of creation in the outdoors. 

Hope Family Camp was a soaring success this summer! Kids and caregivers both gathered to learn, heal, grow and have fun. Between fish on the lines, s’mores, hiking, dogs, games, art, silly string, and more, campers had lots of fun.

One thing struck me at camp. I saw a small boy rushing to his buddy early in the day. Buddies are trained and vetted volunteers who have a heart for kids from hard places. They go with the kids throughout the day and help them regulate, learn, and have fun as they encourage and coach them. Both buddies and kids get to experience camp together as they use TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) principles.

This little guy was so excited to see his buddy. My own heart was so blessed from witnessing it, and I wanted to hear what the buddy thought.

Kay shares, “To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect, but from the time I showed up and was introduced to Kyrin the first day as his buddy, I knew God had me exactly where he wanted me with this sweet little boy. Bonding happened easily.”

“So upon arrival the next day when he arrived, he ran up to me excited hugging me saying ‘[M]y buddy!’ It melted my heart, and I was so grateful to God to be his buddy.”

I remember hearing her say, “Thank you, Father” as she thanked God out loud afterwards. To see those who love Jesus serving, stepping up, and helping kids from hard places is a powerful thing. And to see them grateful for the opportunity to help and celebrating what God is doing is amazing. 

Buddies and kids alike had fun while learning at Hope Family Camp. The opportunity for healing and growth was amazing to witness in real time. 

“We had so much fun together, experiencing things, hiking, playing games together, carrying him, holding his hand, speaking into him and hoping that I was able to make camp a time for him to remember for many days to come.”

Like she mentioned, one key part of camp is the opportunity to speak life into kids from hard places. To let them know they are loved, not alone, and can learn. Using hands-on tools, campers worked on building trust, giving and receiving care, sharing, and even honing their outdoor skills.

Our team was blessed by Hope Family Camp. It was a joy to see the families enjoy camp and be encouraged and empowered with tools and strategies. May God be glorified in His powerful working in these kids’ lives. 

Are you ready to step up for kids in your community? Check out our get involved tab on our website, or contact our office.

 While buddies and campers were enjoying their activities and adventures, adoptive parents and kinship caregivers were learning the principles of Connecting, Empowering and Correcting from the TBRI principles to implement in their homes. Spending time with other adults who were raising children from hard places provided understanding and insight on their parenting journey.

We look forward to offering Hope Family Camp in the coming year for adoptive families and kinship families to continue this investment in strengthening the family and serving children from hard places in their journey towards healing.

100% human written. No AI was used in the creation of this story.