Set amidst the beautiful pines and reflective lakes in the mountain tops of central California, Camp Hye Sierra 2011 offered 82 teen campers, 21 preteen campers and 88 staff a week-long adventure full of Zone-focused activities, friends, fun and spiritual discussions. From the morning flag-raising ceremony, daily compass checks and exciting activities—both fast and slow—to the evening Christian living classes and campfires, the Hye Sierra camp experience this summer has been fantastic! We were each given the opportunity to individually reflect on where we are and where we want to be, as we continue to practice God’s Way in action.

This year’s theme, “A world away from the world,” opened the door to exploring many facets of building godly character. Our daily sub-themes built on each other, step by step, giving everyone direction in personal application. We began by explaining the important foundation that God gave us through His Word. His inspired Word should be the foundation of our lives. With that as our base, we encouraged using God’s Word in order to set the right goals. Personal goals are important, and each one of our goals in this life should point us toward our entrance into God’s beautiful eternal family. From there, we stressed that our goals can only fully be realized through implementing education and preparation. Campers and staff were encouraged to strengthen their relationship with God through prayer and by following His laws, Bible study and serving one another. With these foundational principles in place, we will grow in wisdom and start making the right choices. Much instruction and support was given to all of the campers and staff to practice and apply each of these four growth areas in their daily lives—ultimately experiencing the blessings and benefits from living a life of godly character.

This year we placed strong emphasis on “the Zone,” which defines the environment of our camp. But it’s more than what our staffers and campers do and say, it extends to how we interact with—and even think about—each other. Working together in great concert, all participants strive to create an environment that, as much as possible, is a foretaste of the Kingdom of God today. In other words, we want to have everyone experience something fantastically unique, a small picture of what it will be like when everyone on earth is living God’s way of life! Living in the Zone helps us look forward to a world that is much different than the world we live in.

This year we offered a wide variety of activities during the day, including kayaking, fishing, dance, volleyball, archery, challenge course, basketball, speedaway, capture the flag and hiking. Amidst the majestic giant sequoias, we had journalism, Bible classes and a life skills class. The evenings were filled with free time, evening Christian living classes for each brother/sister dorm with their dorm parents followed by an intimate question and answer session, novelty olympics and nightly campfire with dorm skits and variety show. Camp ended on a high with a Sabbath evening banquet, camper speeches on biblical topics, an awards ceremony and, after sunset, a dance under the stars.

From ministers and elders, activity staff to the kitchen crew, all were given opportunities throughout the week to interact with the campers, in word and example, showing that God’s Way is fun, works perfectly and is a blessing!