Author: susiejfox

There was canoeing & crafts….there were chores and Bible Science and morning flag raising…..there was swimming and July 4th fireworks…..there were quiet evening vespers in the hills of West Virginia…..morning Revele and evening Taps…..and so much more!

Fifteen campers (grades 3-5) and eight counselors under the able direction of co-directors Pastor Robert Van Horn and Susie Fox had a GREAT time at Junior Camp Joy July 1-5, 2018 in Berea, WV.   Three of the campers (Emma Van Horn, Arabella Lear, and Abigail Lanzer) represented the Pataskala SDB Church as well as the directors and Peter Fox as a counselor.

The theme was “Choose Joy” with Bible lessons each day about ways we can do that.  The campers were divided into four work groups with a different “chore” to do each day: wash dishes, clean the lodge, plan evening vespers, and plan campfire activities.

Everyone was surprised the first night when the electricity went out just before bed-time due to a thunderstorm resulting in no showers or fans or lights after a long hot day.  We had a chance to “Choose Joy” instead of fear, complaining, and irritability!

We had daily cabin inspections which motivated the campers to keep their bunk areas cleaned up as well.  We awarded the “Clean Cabin Award” to a different cabin each day.  Although we also had the “Stinky Sock Award”, there were surprisingly not any cabins that deserved that award throughout the week!

It was HOT, so the “Slip-n-Slide” during recreation time was a big hit and two afternoons swimming at North Bend State Park as well!  During our “rotation” time each day, the campers were divided into three different groups and one third of the group did Recreation, one third went canoeing, and one third worked on some pretty neat crafts.  Every 40 minutes we switched to the next activity until everyone had done all three things.  Each evening after supper, Professor Solomon invited us into her laboratory to explore interesting Bible Science experiments!

Thanks to our cooks (Chip & Michael Thorngate, Hannah Smith, and a little help from Dusty Davis), we had delicious food for 3 meals and 2 snacks a day along with plenty of liquids to keep us hydrated!

Enjoy these pictures from 2018 Junior Camp Joy: 

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[We also had one camper from our church, Lily Van Horn, attend Middler Camp Joy the previous week June 24-July 1, 2018 and Kym Goodson helping cook at Senior Camp Joy the following week July 8-15, 2018.]