news article
From the Advocate: Why I chose to donate to the Skye Farm Camp & Retreat Center
May 4, 2016 / By Lauri Nair
I loved the Skye Farm Camp & Retreat Center from the moment I first set foot on the property in 1974. I grew up in a family where we spent lots of time in the woods on weekends and vacations in rustic cabins in Canada. I love the outdoors, especially mountains and lakes. I enjoy swimming, fishing, and boating. I feel especially close to God in that environment.
As a music teacher, working with children was always special to me. The opportunity to lead a music camp at Skye Farm was most appealing, and I spent 26 years doing just that. I saw the children grow as musicians and grow in Christ.
Many of my school students attended camp, and that was special because, at camp, I could share my faith with them, talk about Jesus, pray with them, and work with them on a level that I could not in the public school system. Many of those young people have remained in touch with me as adults, and they often talk about how much camping made a difference in their lives. I am glad, yet humbled to have been a part of that.
Over the years, it was amazing to see lives transformed in just one week at camp. We had one young camper who was definitely “hanging out with the wrong crowd” before coming to camp. By the time his week was over, that young man had changed and made a commitment to turning his life around. And he did just that, very successfully. That is the impact that camp can have on a young person.
Many campers came back year after year, and when they aged out of being a camper, they came back as volunteer or permanent staff. We saw quite a number who met their future life partners at Skye Farm. We even had folks who grew up as campers come back and bring their own children to us to continue the family tradition.
It has been amazing to see the faith that has grown and been nurtured through the camping program. It was also amazing to watch the adults who were willing to freely give a week of their time to nurture these children. When you realize that a camp counselor spends more time with a child in a week at camp than they can as a Sunday school teacher in an entire year, you see that the influence is tremendous.
To see God’s handiwork and live in such a beautiful setting, without the fast-paced scenarios and distractions of normal everyday life, is indeed a blessing. I hope to see this continue for many generations, and that is why I have made a commitment to give financially to Skye Farm Camp & Retreat Center.