Growing Up at HoneyRock

Grace Ribbe's Story of Life at HoneyRock: From Camper to Staff and Beyond

By HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development

June 24^th, 2022

Growing Up at HoneyRock: Q&A with Grace Ribbe

Recently, I (Miika Forsyth) had the opportunity to sit down with Grace Ribbe and hear about her experiences growing up and working at HoneyRock. As the daughter of executive director, Rob Ribbe, PhD., Grace has spent the majority of her life in the Northwoods of Wisconsin at and around HoneyRock. I wanted to know what it was like to grow up in this place, from when she learned to walk until recently, when she came home to take care of some gen. ed. credits through classes with WIN (Wheaton in the Northwoods) this spring. Here is what Grace had to say about her life at HoneyRock so far.

The Formational Environment

How was HoneyRock a formational environment to grow up in?

Grace: Oh boy. Growing up at HoneyRock was definitely a spiritually formative experience because I was always surrounded by very good mentors. I felt like they helped push me along in my faith and gave me a strong sense of community from a young age. Even though I grew up in a small, rural town, I was constantly surrounded by a huge community of people. I think having those mentors was huge for me and my spiritual formation in helping me adopt rhythms such as intentional time alone with God, studying the Word with others, and worship, which were very key disciplines in the development of my personal faith.

"HoneyRock is where I feel most like myself. Where I have the freedom and ability to be my most genuine and authentic self."

Grace (middle) heads out on the 2017 Hodag Challenge with her dad, Rob Ribbe at the stern, and canoe partner Isaac Shore at the bow. The Hodag Challenge is a 54-mile HoneyRock Staff canoe race from HoneyRock (Long Lake) to Rhinelander.

What did the timeline of your experience here look like?

Grace: I would consider HoneyRock my home. I live across the lake but it’s pretty much one and the same. Before I was a camper, I was already connected to people at HoneyRock. Growing up, my childhood best friend was also a staff kid and her family lived on camp property. So I would canoe over every single day and we would just hang out and run around HoneyRock. As two ambitious five-year-olds, we thought we ruled the place. Summers were especially memorable because we had so many resources. We spent days swimming in Long Lake and we would participate in activities. We just had so much space, so much freedom, and quite honestly spent the majority of it outdoors. Growing up and having the ability to come to HoneyRock by myself was so liberating at such a young age. There was always something to do and always people to see. Everybody knew me yet I was constantly meeting new people.

Here's my timeline:

Camper. From second grade onward I’ve done every camper program HoneyRock has to offer. From Day Camp to Res Camp to Advance Camp to 2:22, and Venture (now a part of the Catalyst 1 program).
Assistant Counselor. After that, I was an assistant counselor in what is now the Catalyst 2 program.
An "Off" Summer. The following year, I took my first summer off. I had just graduated from high school and was planning to take a gap year, so I decided to take some space from HoneyRock. Though it was good to branch out from the place I had spent my entire life, it was sad in a lot of ways to leave such a familiar place.
Wilderness Leader. When my gap year ended the following spring I decided to come back and participate in the SALT program as a leader for 2:22.
Wheaton in the Northwoods Student. And now, another year later, I’m back as a WIN student taking a class called Christian Thought. I’m so grateful to have been able to return but it’s also bittersweet to know I won’t be staying this summer. I love this place so much, it’s always hard to leave.

"When the time came, I started going to camp as soon as I could."

The Bigger Picture

What do you think HoneyRock has equipped you for?

Grace: The idea of equipping whole and effective people has definitely been a theme throughout my life. After high school, my parents fully supported my choice to take a gap year because they knew the benefits from HoneyRock’s Vanguard program. And coming into college I felt a different level of self awareness and maturity than a lot of my peers because of the experiences I had had. During the summers, the leadership opportunities I’ve had, such as being a counselor as a senior in high school really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Having mentors to walk alongside me and hear their stories first hand as well as my own counselors, unit leaders, and staff definitely equipped me to go to college prepared. And of course, having my parents who are pretty ingrained in the organization has also helped me to understand more of what goes on behind the scenes of a Christian organization and how such an environment can be healthy and unhealthy. All this knowledge definitely helped me discern choices such as my gap year and my college. I know HoneyRock is not perfect, but they do a lot of things well. I think that's been a cool takeaway for my time.

How would you say HoneyRock has met you in the various transitions you've encountered so far?

Grace: My family has definitely been core to my transitions. In many ways what we place importance on and what we value aligns with HoneyRock’s core values. The relationships I have with my family and our shared experiences of living here have helped me process what life has brought my way. Though my time at HoneyRock has been different from every one of my family members, sharing a life here brought me not only closer to my family and community but to God. The knowledge that each person I hold closest to me has come before me into this place has provided a strong sense of stability in the midst of transition.

Outside of my family, the friends I made through camp also had a huge impact on my ability to communicate and process what was in front of me. I met one of my closest friends at camp when we were in eighth grade and she still remains my friend six years later. Those have been such core relationships even despite being long distance.

Through all these key relationships and experiences, HoneyRock was also the place where I learned so much more about myself and my faith and how I could make that my own. I learned how to be independent here. And no matter where I go, I know the Lord is with me and I know I’m pursuing a relationship through the practice of so many disciplines I first encountered here. In some ways HoneyRock spoiled me when it came to intentional and authentic community. It’s hard to find a place that does it so well, but at the same time being here has taught me the value of true friendship.

"The knowledge that each person I hold closest to me has come before me into this place has provided a strong sense of stability in the midst of transition. "

The Value of Friendship

"And no matter where I go, I know the Lord is with me and I know I’m pursuing a relationship [with Christ] through the practice of so many disciplines I first encountered here."

That brings me to my next question; how do you think HoneyRock showed you the value of true friendship as opposed to more traditional environments such as school, sports teams, clubs, etc?

Grace: Community has been a huge part of my life. When I was in high school I was a camper here and my cabin experienced the loss of one of the people in our program. It was an awful experience for all of us, but having the community in that heartbreaking tragedy was what got us all through it. We had so many people come back the following summer from that program and we were able to continue processing the loss and grieve together. We still to this day stay in touch and pray for one another. I could easily say that that loss bonded us together in a way that I’ve never had with anybody else. And though we did have to go through something really hard to get to that place, there was so much redemption in that situation because of the people that we were and how we leaned on one another. In a deeper way that experience shaped our lives and made the Lord evident even in our sadness, anger, and bitterness, all the emotions that come with loss. Walking with them changed the trajectory of my life and I would have been a different person if it hadn’t been for that tragedy and the community that came out of it.

Grace as Health Services Assistant in 2017. Photo by Lisa Heegaard.

How would you say the thread of HoneyRock has worked in your life?

"Every part of my life has been impacted by HoneyRock in some way, in the positive and in the negative. Even in the harder moments that camp brings out in all of us, I saw the positive outcomes that came out of it."

What does HoneyRock mean to you today?

Grace: Honestly, it means everything to me. No matter how much time I spend away from this place it will never stop being my home. There will always be someone who loves and knows me here and there is always someone new to meet and relationships that will come out of this place. HoneyRock is where I feel most like myself. Where I have the freedom and ability to be my most genuine and authentic self. It’s my favorite place in the world.

Grace Ribbe, Rob Ribbe, & John Welsh on Chrouser Lawn. Photo by Miika Forsyth.

A Life of Equipping

You’ve just finished your sophomore year at Calvin University. Have you felt that HoneyRock has equipped you in any unique ways to serve your college community?

Grace: I'm pretty involved in the outdoor recreation department at Calvin partly due to the fact that I grew up camping and going to HoneyRock. Being outside has always been an integral part of who I am. I wanted to find that opportunity at school. I’ve also been able to lead some trips thanks to a lot of the practical skills I learned in SALT like knot tying, filtering water, and packing for trips. I am actually the manager of the Gear Cage which is Calvin’s version of a trip locker. I’ve learned so much more about programming and how to help people prepare to encounter the outdoors well. HoneyRock definitely gave me the skills and knowledge to lead others safely and meaningfully.