Family Camp – Lutherhill Style

Train up a child in the way he (or she) should go, and when he (or she) is old s/he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6)

Several years ago Gaynell suggested we combine our assorted grandkids and take them all to family camp at Lutherhill where I had retired as Executive Director a few years earlier. Gaynell and I are related by virtue of having married first cousins. That makes our grandchildren second cousins to one another. What with assorted divorces and remarriages the potential gang that can go to family camp with us in any given year is now a very complicated diagram of cousinship. However, they all know two things: 1) They love going to Lutherhill and 2) they’re all related somehow.

LHSwagTen of us just spent another few days together. I continue to be astounded at the impact these sacred acres, combined with the staff and other campers, have on these young people. This year my part of the group consisted of me, one granddaughter now on summer staff and assigned to host us, another of my granddaughters, a step-cousin by virtue of a remarriage on the part of their father’s sister and two grandsons in the LYLE (Lutheran Youth Leadership Experience) program. They wanted to return to this high school training program so badly that they raised the cost of their transportation from Ohio to Texas plus the registration fees. They had a LOT of help from their friends and fans.

staff-pics-1-31-07-044-e1373571966954-720x360I interviewed for the position as director of Lutherhill back in 1996. I remember standing in my Ohio kitchen telling the man who eventually offered me the position, “I really want to take this position because I want Lutherhill to be there for my grandkids.” At the time I had only two grandchildren – ages eighteen months and five months old. The five-month old was our family camp host staff this year. Every grandchild has been to the place many, many times both because we lived there for a while and because they’ve attended various camp programs over the twenty years.

RefundsMy prayer that the camp would be there for my grandkids has been answered on steroids. The impact camp has had on each one of them cannot be measured or adequately defined. All I know is that I am beyond grateful I got a chance to be there and I am doubly beyond grateful all my grandkids have spent time on that holy ground.

Lutherhill-LogoCamp – it does a child good.

Thank you Lutherhill for another amazing summer camp experience. Y’all done good.

2 Comments

  1. Gaynell Meyerholtz

    Hard to explain to someone who has never been, what makes Lutherhill such a special place! God is certainly smiling down on those acres in LaGrange, Texas. I’m so happy that at 15 1/2, Jonathan still wanted to go and share it with a friend! Looks like we’ll have four LYLE’s next summer!

  2. MiLisa Gaertner

    Kathy and Gaynell,

    You have both truly blessed Lutherhill with your love and faith. Thank you for allowing us, at this moment in time, to be here for your grandchildren. I do not have grandchildren yet, but Kathy, I’m stating it now: I want Lutherhill to be here for my grandchildren!
    Watching my boys WANT to come be a camper, and a LYLE, and work, and volunteer. They can never get enough of Lutherhill. What an testimony!

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