The Seed for Camp Huawni Was Planted Years Ago in the Minds of Its Founders

Camp Huawni summer camp is the dream-come-true of Earl and Retha Adams. These lifelong Texas educators invested their lives in the encouragement of youth. Camp Huawni, founded in 1965, is a tangible legacy of their Christian faith and their love of kids. That tradition continues today as Camp Huawni remains one of the top Youth Summer Camps in Texas while being operated today by Earl and Retha's sons, Mike and Pat Adams.

Natural Setting
Mr. Adams, having grown up on the very land that surrounds the camp, wanted to establish a place where young people could experience the simple pleasures of a Texas summer by spending time outdoors... Days would be filled with rollicking laughter of sports, games, and activities and quiet times of conversation with a friend. Sunrise and sunset could be seen and not just measured with a clock, the call of the whippoorwill at dusk would be commonplace, and the last sound before sleep would be the soothing summer breeze whispering in the East Texas pine trees.

Christian roots
A second ingredient of this special place would be counselors who not only loved the outdoors, but also, more importantly, loved kids and offered them the help and support that reflected the camp's Christian philosophy. The Adamses envisioned a summer camp where wholesome summer fun was the objective, challenging sports and activities filled the day, and one on one encouragement was the norm and not the exception. And finally, this vision would be set in the natural arena of God's creation, where the youth's Christian values and the special relationship with the Creator God would be celebrated daily. The Christian roots of Camp Huawni summer camp are alive and well today.

Camp Huawni is the ongoing experience of this dream.
Today, the ideals on which Camp Huawni youth camp was established live on. Its mission is succinctly embodied in the camp motto, "where a better youth arises ... and the fun never sets."

At Camp Huawni, we pay attention to kids. Our philosophy is best expressed when a camper leaves Huawni having realized three goals. They are ever so simple but critically important to what we are trying to accomplish at Huawni.

• First, we want a camper to have fun. That would almost seem a given, but today, good, wholesome, uplifting fun is a rarity. The people, the program, and the environs of Camp Huawni are all focused toward this good-feeling, youth-oriented fun. It does not happen by chance; it happens by design. And it is especially important that fun be real, not contrived.

  This task is a challenge, but the satisfaction experienced in the hundreds of tell-tale smiles is indescribable.



• Secondly, we want a camper to feel better about himself or herself for having experienced Camp Huawni. Self-esteem is a much discussed concept. We do not think that it can be overemphasized. Encouragement is an amazing elixir. In fact, the entire Huawni staff is guided by our three point axiom - "Love the kids, love the kids, love the kids."





• The final guiding principle is spiritual enrichment. The natural setting of Huawni affords a pristine environment for a young Christian person to more fully understand his or her unique relationship to the Creator God. This personal inward look at oneself is encouraged so that a person's growth during the few weeks at Huawni is full and complete..