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“The idea of going to camp and unplugging was something we felt was important to do,” says Ken Wood. “But our kids didn’t like that idea at all!”

In September, Ken and his wife Carrie took their high school and middle school children to Luther Springs for the Family Camp weekend retreat. It was the family’s first trip to Luther Springs, but Ken says the information about the family weekend really caught their attention. “We were interested in some scheduled time away to prioritize our family and our spiritual life,” shares Ken. “It gets more and more complicated to do that as the kids get older, so we were looking for out of the box ways to be together.”

Initially, Ken and Carrie’s children were not happy to be at the retreat, but that soon started to change. “After a few hours their attitudes began to soften,” Ken recalls. “By the end, they were both having a great time and didn’t want to leave.”

Playing foursquare as a family was one of the ways the family started to relax and have fun. “I was going retro and using foursquare terms from my own school days,” Ken laughs, “and the kids were sharing their own terminology. It’s fun because the game can go on forever.” The family enjoyed having some structured activities during their time at Luther Springs. But Ken says they also appreciated the flexibility. “It gave us plenty of time just to be,” he says.

As the retreat wound down, Ken says he saw a big change in the way his children felt about camp. “When we were leaving they were thanking us for taking them. Both of them want to go back for events for their age groups. Because they’ve had this experience, they are more receptive to it now.”

Since the family has been back home, they’ve been thinking a lot about their time at Luther Springs.
“The memory is important to us,” says Ken, “and we learned something about the importance of time away. I hope we can look for more opportunities to do things as a family. If we wait until a time presents itself, it never will happen. It needs to be something we prioritize on an ongoing basis.”

Carrie agrees, and she’s glad for the time to unplug at Luther Springs. “I really enjoyed the time with our family, without our cell phones! It was nice to be disconnected so we could reconnect for the weekend.”

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