The Impact of Camp

Barb grew up in rural Pennsylvania. She wanted to make a change in her life so she decided to do Mennonite Voluntary Service (VS) in New York City. Barb first came to Camp Deerpark in 1975 when she was working with the VS unit. Barb remembers, “It was kind of a long ride, but I would come up once in a while and help in the kitchen and with some cleaning.” Her VS unit was remotely run by Leonor and Jerry Kennell, who were also the directors of Camp Deerpark at the time.

In 1982 Barb married Frank Freeman, and the following year they moved to the town of Bullville in Orange County—about a half-hour drive to camp. Barb volunteered for many years at camp, but accepted a paid position in 1987. She worked part-time as she had a young child at the time.

Barb works in the office now and often gets phone calls from former campers or parents of campers. “Campers call us sometimes, or adults who were once campers here, and they’ll talk about camp memories,” Barb said. There is one story that she remembers from a few years ago. There was a girl who came to camp while her family was going through a rough time. “The family had gone through a divorce with bitter anger and hate; it was a bad situation,” Barb said. “But there was a lot of forgiveness that had come. It was like God’s hands were there working on this family through camp. It was a young girl who wanted the family to start praying together.” Cabin devotions had been meaningful to this camper, and when she got home she requested her family do the same and pray together every night.

Barb says that there are countless other people who have come to her and told her how camp has changed their children for the better. “Their kids came home as changed children, and they couldn’t thank us enough for whatever had happened here,” she said. “Camp helped change attitudes; it changed behavior. There was even one parent that was like, ‘Hey, my son is alive because of camp.’ That was her belief.”

“Many times someone will remember a counselor’s name,” she said. “Those counselors have major impact, as do the directors and all of the staff. Some campers even send their great-grandchildren here. It’s amazing. Above all else I would like to see that remain strong.”

Barb remembers many moments at camp that have impacted her life. She met Frank here and she was baptized in the old pool. Barb said, “It was Steady Eddie, Donna Stoltzfus and me, and it was cold! I was around 19 or20 years old.” Barb was born into a conservative Mennonite church and she accepted Jesus into her heart at an earlier age, but decided not to join the church by baptism until she was at Camp Deerpark. When she was baptized at camp it felt right to her because she experienced a sense of community with the people here. “Camp has definitely influenced my life,” she said. “Camp helped me to start focusing on being a better follower of Jesus—just being a better disciple.”

Barb believes that camp has the ability to impact everyone who comes here and she hopes that it continues to be a second home for people. She thinks of camp as a break from the rush of the city and hopes that camp will “continue to be a place of service and revitalization, of growing, and of people coming to know Christ.”

—Written by Dillon Hershey, Goshen College intern.

Barbara Freeman, former summer staff and volunteer, current office staff.

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