UNITED YOUTH CAMPS

• "The Zone" Alive and Well at Summer Camp
• Pinecrest Completes 11th Successful Season
• Campers at Hye Sierra Get Grounded
• Woodmen Campers, Staff Bid Farewell to "Sweet Home Alabama"

"The Zone" Alive and Well at Summer Camp

by Larry W. Greider, UYC National Director

Excursions into "the Zone" have been reported at several United Youth Camps (UYC) this summer. Hundreds of teens have entered the safety and encouragement of the Zone—a type of the world tomorrow, today.

Paul Luecke remarked that the Teton Challenge Camp was "the best camp ever" and said that limiting the size has made the effect even better.

Four of our camps are being visited by the American Camp Association this summer. The ACA visitors at Hye Sierra remarked on the quality of our organization, preparedness and quality volunteer staff. Both visitors were camp owner/operators and well versed in running camps. Other camps to be visited include Camp Carter, Camp Davidson and Camp Heritage. With camps still in progress, please pray for God's protection and continued blessing.

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Pinecrest Completes 11th Successful Season

Pinecrest Camp completed another successful year in "the Zone"—an atmosphere modeled after the Kingdom of God.

Our United Youth Camp mission is to expand on what our parents are doing at home by giving our children an educational and active experience in a wholesome atmosphere that builds godly values among their peers. Sixty-two staff members served 124 campers for eight days in order to bring about that goal.

God blessed us with excellent weather. Rain only came during the Sabbath and during a lunch hour. Two activities were delayed; none were postponed.

Several weeks before camp began, the Pinecrest ministry brainstormed ideas that would be most beneficial for our campers. Our children face challenges at the end of this age that the Bible defines as perilous times. Therefore we decided on a theme centered on 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Bad company corrupts good character" (NIV).

The content of every message addressed the corruption that stems from wrong influences or the edification that results from good company.

The topics given at morning compass checks, seminars and sermons included the following: "A Friend or Just Bad Company?"; "Survival of the Fittest—Darwin, Hitler and the Holocaust"; "Company With God"; "Good Company Enhances Good Character"; "Access to God"; "TV and Movie Guide"; "Music—Good or Bad?"; "The DaVinci Code and Your Life"; "Your Clothes—The Company You Keep?"; and "I Will Survive."

Our Leadership Class challenged our youth to be committed to the right standards in life and to have the courage to stand up for their beliefs. Our youth were reminded that God has a tremendous reward for us and our children, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).

Year after year our campers have been a light to the Nazarene camp staff where we lease our facilities. Fred Yates, the camp manager, told our campers that he "could see Christ living in them." When talking to our assistant director, Tom Clark, Mr. Yates commented on how nearly every organization that comes to use this camp is unbalanced in some manner. Parts of their program may be good, but others have real problems. He stated that United Youth Camps set the standard against which all other organizations that use this camp are measured.

Another adult volunteer who is not a part of UCG said our campers, staff and program are the best he's ever seen. He was impressed by the level of organization, the courtesy of our campers and staff and the way we care for the facilities and each other.

What a wonderful testimony that Christ is working, not only in our members, but also in our children!

—Greg Sargent

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Campers at Hye Sierra Get Grounded Campers at Hye Sierra Get Grounded

When the campers got grounded at Hye Sierra this year, it wasn't a punishment. It was because they were having fun, building strong friendships and learning how to build their faith on a solid foundation!

The camp theme this year was "Get Grounded! Five Things You NEED to Know." Each day at camp during "Compass Check," before a full day of activities, campers were introduced to a vital truth that they must be firmly convicted of in order to stand fast against the storms and trials of life without losing faith. Christian Living classes in the evening gave campers a chance to explore these five truths in more depth. The five truths were:

•How and Why You Must Know God Exists (despite what your science teacher says).

•The Bible Is the True and Reliable Word of God (despite what the Da Vinci Code says!).

•What Does God Promise Me?

•What Does God Ask of Me?

•You Are Not in This Alone.

Camp director James Capo gave a sermon on the Sabbath at the end of camp showing how these "Five Things You Need to Know" are like the five smooth stones David selected before his battle with Goliath, and if we are solidly grounded in these truths, we can stand against any "giant" that can threaten our faith.

Fun-Filled Activities

Campers and staff came from the United States, Canada and Mexico and participated in such popular activities as kayaking, rock climbing, archery, dance, basketball, volleyball, speedaway, crafts, fishing, team building, an "Amazing Race" challenge course and hiking among the giant sequoia trees in the Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

The Sabbath evening banquet and dance concluded an outstanding week of fun.

A new challenge for the kayakers was to learn the "Eskimo roll," where they are able to right the kayak from an upside down position in the water. Many campers came close, but Byron Norrod was the camper who finally succeeded in accomplishing this difficult skill. Micah Preston came out the champion archer, scoring a total of 39 out of 40 possible points in the archery shoot-out, winning a bow and set of arrows.

Two of the dorms went on an overnight hike in the Jennie Lakes Wilderness, crossing snowfields and camping beside a scenic mountain lake at 9,000-foot elevation in some of the most beautiful backcountry in the High Sierras.

Through it all, God's Spirit of love, unity and peace was evident as we truly came to live in "the Zone." We were blessed with near-perfect weather, safety and an abundance of fun—God's way!

ACA Visit

This was our year for the American Camp Association representatives to visit Hye Sierra, one of four of our camp programs to be visited this year as part of the process for maintaining our status as an ACA-accredited camp. ACA is concerned with health and safety standards in all aspects of the camp program. After a thorough review, we were glad to receive high marks in all areas evaluated.

We had a great time at Hye Sierra this year, with many experienced campers and staff members commenting that this was the "best camp ever!" We thank God for blessing us with such a good camp, and we're looking forward to next year.

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Woodmen Campers, Staff Bid Farewell to "Sweet Home Alabama"

Camp Woodmen plunged into "the Zone" with both feet Sunday, July 2, kicking off its final year at the northern Alabama facilities. Fifty-six staff members and 124 campers from 17 different states joined together for a week of "immersion education," as they spent every hour of the next week learning God's way of life by complete immersion into it.

Each day began with Christian Living to start out on the right foot. Those giving the classes presented God's Holy Day plan in order, covering one festival each day of camp. Meanwhile, the staff received training through a series of leadership classes.

Activities included high and low ropes, archery, speedaway, swimming, riflery, softball, basketball, volleyball, golf and outdoor living. Many of the activities, like low ropes and speedaway, were designed to emphasize the necessity of teamwork.

Outdoor living brought a new challenge, "The Amazing Woodmen Survival Race," in which campers ran around campus gathering clues based on compass coordinates, and used survival skills such as pitching a tent, tying various knots and starting a fire with no matches or lighter.

Special activities were planned for evenings. Monday night, Bruce Gore called a lively square dance and led campers through the basics. Tuesday night brought dorm-building activities ranging from physical competitions to math games, Bible Baseball and Name That Tune.

Dorms competed in the Novelty Olympics Wednesday evening, ending the night with an exciting race in which the female staff members fed male staff members orange juice out of a bottle to earn points for their teams. Campers versus staff activities occurred Thursday night, with challenges in softball, volleyball, basketball and archery/riflery.

The Friday night Bible study was formatted in a way that was new to Woodmen: Situations and real-life problems were posed to campers, who were then given time to find biblical answers. If anyone disagreed with the group's answer, they could challenge that statement, and debate continued until a general agreement on the solution was reached.

The week's activities concluded with Saturday night's traditional dance. Mark Winner, who served as disc jockey, lamented that it would be the last time "Sweet Home Alabama" was played at the Alabama campsite.

Final farewells took place the morning of Sunday, July 9. Hugs and addresses were exchanged as campers left as ambassadors for "the Zone."

Campers came away with many fond memories of Camp Woodmen, Alabama, and have high hopes for the new program next year as their journey continues at Camp Woodmen in Georgia.

—Karen Sutherland and Melissa Fergen