‘Because of Jesus’ summer camp nurtures 130 youth in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
MADISON – A local church’s special event connected on a personal level with 130-plus children who celebrated faith and friendship.
Starting summer in a positive way, the day camp carried the theme, “Because of Jesus,” for children from eight congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The children “gathered at the Madison meetinghouse for a Christ-centered summer day camp . . . (with) a full schedule of activities aimed at helping children grow closer to the Savior,” contributor Angela Walser said.
Now in its third year, the camp attracted youngsters from across the Madison area. The local Primary presidency planned and led the event with support from 24 youth volunteers. Grouped by age, the children rotated through stations that taught gospel-centered principles like peace, hope, truth and faith, Walser said.
One of the most memorable stations involved making butter from cream. This experience served as both a physical activity and a spiritual object lesson. “It took a long time to shake the cream and turn it into butter,” 11-year-old Bekah Fredrickson said, “but, eventually, it worked.” “Our teacher taught us that faith is kind of like making butter. Sometimes, we have to be patient and wait for things and trust God, but we can have faith that He will bless us,” Bekah said.
Other stations featured gospel metaphors brought to life. In one, children used blocks and sticky notes to build towers tested by wind — even a leaf blower.
“It represented how, if you have the gospel, you have the advantage,” eight-year-old David Walser said. “If you do all those things, you can build a high tower.”
Lantern-making offered another hands-on way to explore gospel themes. “You punch holes in something and then you put a light in and go somewhere dark. Then you turn it on. It’s super cool,” nine-year-old Caleb Mc-Gowen said. “It was to shine Jesus’ light.”
Even simple games were meaningful for the children. David said the sack race, which he won, had an impact on him. “I’m normally not really good at physical activity,” he said. “But winning that really boosted my mind and made me think I can do it.”
Ten-year-old Diana Walser especially appreciated the messages behind the activities. “Each station was based on words from the song, like ‘truth’ and ‘light,’” Diana said. “I felt the spirit there . . . it just felt fun and like it was the right place to be.”
Diana realized the camp helped children from different congregations to form new friendships. “I was the only person from my congregation on my team,” she said, “but we made small talk while we were making butter with nothing else to do. We joked about stuff.”
Second counselor Clarissa Fredrickson reflected on the spirit of the day. “Many kids didn’t know each other at all, but they each shared a pure and simple love for Jesus Christ. It was a beautiful thing to see their little testimonies shine,” she said.
“Our youth leaders were incredible. They were all so patient and loving with the kids and helped them to have a great time,” Clarissa said. “Most of them are very busy teenagers. I was so impressed that they were all willing to volunteer their time to spend the day with the kids.”
For Diana, the camp was a meaningful sendoff before aging out of primary and joining the youth program. “When I was just a year or two younger, I thought, ‘It’s fine. We don’t have to really focus on enjoying this . . . we still have like a billion more years,’” she said. “Now I’m like, this is my last time. It’s really weird.”
