By Anne Crosby
The Page All Nations Seventh-day Adventist Church hosted their annual day camp for their community earlier this summer. Featuring team-building games and educational activities, day camp serves as a place for children to come during the summer and every year more children want to attend with their friends.
The theme song for camp this summer was “My God is So Big.” Each morning during worship, staff members took turns telling miracle stories from the Bible, emphasizing how the most amazing thing God can do is change our hearts.
“This theme is so important for our camp because many of the children who attend have little concept of who God is and what He can do in their lives,” said camp director Anne Crosby.
To help underscore their theme, the group took a field trip to Walnut Canyon National Monument their first week where the children learned about how big God is through the nature He created. The young people learned more about the park’s historical significance and enjoyed God’s creation.
Each day after worship, day camp participants spent time enjoying the sheep and chickens on the church property and gardened in the church garden called Seeds for Life. The young people harvested produce and planted flower and herb pots to take home.
Every week, the staff led out in a hands-on cooking class. The children worked in teams, helping each other combine ingredients. The first week, the children picked their own zucchini from the garden to make zucchini bread to take home. In the afternoon, the entire group hiked to the local lake for a refreshing swim.
For the final week of day camp, the group traveled to an animal sanctuary to tour the parrot garden and learn more about the importance of showing kindness to animals. At the end of the excursion, the group stopped to enjoy the local park and splash pad. For one of the field trips, the group went rappelling on a small geological formation outside of town. The children enjoyed the hiking and climbing involved.
According to local parents, the Page All Nations day camp filled a need in their community. One mother said, “This town doesn’t have things for children to do, and we’re so appreciative of what the Adventist church is doing!” Many children expressed their wish for the camp to continue for a few more weeks. The fun-filled summer with outings, interactions with the staff, and Bible lessons helped young people experience the love of God.
“I enjoyed getting to understand the children better this summer and teaching them valuable life skills that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives,” says camp staff Jason Sevick.
The Page All Nations church is grateful that they were able to have an opportunity to bring valuable learning experiences and the joys of summer fun into children’s lives through their day camp.
