During the summers of 2000 to 2006 the Nevada-Utah Conference did not conduct youth summer camps. Instead the youth department offered $50.00 scholarships to kids who attended their choice of other Adventist camps. But in 2007 summer camp returned to the NUC, with buses transporting campers from the three main metropolitan areas of Las Vegas, Reno and Salt Lake City.

The week-long camp was held at Day Star Academy in Castle Valley, Utah. Campers could choose from activities such as canoeing, archery, acronastics (a combination of acrobatics and gymnastics), horsemanship, sculpting, recreation, crafts, river rafting and mountain biking.

Sounds like a day at every other summer camp, right? Well, not exactly! For starters, conference president Brad Newton taught archery daily, while his wife Jennifer taught craft classes. Rhonda Unterseher, wife of ministerial/education director Larry Unterseher, and Debby Delaney, the president's assistant, cooked delicious vegetarian meals for the campers. "It was a real blessing to have the president and his wife with us, and I'm not sure if you'd find too many Conference presidents teaching a class during summer camp," exclaimed camp director, Larry Unterseher. "Where else would you find conference office personnel actively taking part in camp?"

Many of the activity leaders were well-known experts in their field, and some made significant personal sacrifices to work at the camp. Randall Mae, renowned artist and sculpture, donated his time to teach the sculpting class. And the mountain biking class was taught by Mike Smith, a highly sought-after mountain bike instructor and guide.

Steve Ward, a Day Star teacher and riding enthusiast, taught horsemanship. When Steve learned there were not enough horses for the campers, he arranged to work at a local farm in exchange for campers' use of their horses.

"I'm not sure if the campers realized just how fortunate they were to have the teachers they did leading out, but I am thankful for each one and the blessings they brought with them," said Unterseher.

"Spiritual growth was an important part of the campers' experience," said Unterseher. "Camp is a time for fun but it is also one of the most crucial times in young peoples' lives for spiritual nourishment. We don't push the campers for baptismal decisions, but the camp staff is trained to lead campers to Christ in all they do."

Many of the campers came from Adventist Christian homes, but a few had very little exposure to Christianity. One example was a young girl who won one of the camp scholarships offered. By the end of the week the heavily made-up, dark and somber faced girl was replaced by a bright-eyed cheery young woman who had decided to give her life to Christ.

Staff and campers affirmed that the return of summer camp to the Nevada-Utah Conference was a success. Conference personnel, campers and parents are looking forward to next year.