Ask the children at Abba’s Child Camp about their week, and their answers sound like those of any summer camper. “I’ve enjoyed swimming,” an Abba’s Child camper said. “We can swim around and jump off the dock.”
Campers will mention their favorite horses, swimming, banana boat rides, laughter and new friendships. However, among those ordinary moments of childhood is something these campers understand about one another without always having to explain it. They know grief.
Abba’s Child Camp at Sunset Lake Camp gives children who have experienced the death of someone close to them a place to enjoy summer camp while processing grief alongside others who understand part of what they carry.
Shalaine Miseretta and Kyle Bert, Abba's Child Camp counselors both in their third summer with the program, have learned there is no single way that process looks.
“Sometimes you can tell that a kid is really ready to share with the group what they’ve been carrying,” Miseretta said, “and some kids carry that heaviness with them all the way through the week.”
During the first days, campers may hold their cards pretty close. As the week progresses, many begin opening up. Even when they do not share everything, connections form.
“Every year that I’ve seen this, there’s at least a connection that they’ll make with each other,” Miseretta said. “They leave at least knowing someone who's had a similar experience.”
Some campers exchange phone numbers or discover they live near one another. Others return another summer having remained friends throughout the year.
Camp also creates room for emotions children may otherwise struggle to express. “I always enjoy when these kids recognize that anger is not a bad feeling,” Miseretta said. Campers can be angry, quiet or even goofy without judgment. “It’s nice to see the guard that they have just fall away,” she said.
In one activity, campers break pottery and reconstruct the pieces. “We break a pot, and then we put it back together with gold glue,” one camper explained.
The camp does not promise that grief disappears. “Grief is not something that goes away,” Bert said. “It stays with you. You learn how to live with it.” For Bert, accompanying children through that reality is also an expression of the gospel, helping them know they are fully accepted and loved, just as they are.
Perhaps the simplest description of what that looks like came from a camper. “Coming here is a good experience to carry your grief and learn about other people’s grief,” the camper said, “as well as having a fun camp experience.” Abba's Child Camp provides room for both.
To learn more about Abba’s Child grief camps, visit abbaschild.org.
A camper takes part in horseback riding, one of the many activities that allows children at Abba’s Child Camp to simply enjoy being kids.
Campers enjoy a banana boat ride, one of many traditional summer camp activities that provide opportunities for fun, friendship and healing.
Campers spend time together at Abba’s Child Camp, building friendships with others who understand the experience of grief.
