It was another successful three and a half days at Camp Buckeye in north-central Ohio, although it’s difficult to tell who enjoys it more, the 64 campers or the 76 staff members that came to serve them! This year we were pleased to see that 20 percent of the staff were new to Camp Buckeye, as many are parents of children who are now entering the camp program.

Activities for the campers kicked off right after orientation, as Ron and Janet Barker once again led the dorms through a variety of Novelty Olympic games on Sunday evening. The dress-up relay was likely the most fun to watch.

Every day started with a Christian living class immediately after breakfast. Our daily activity schedule included many of our traditional activities such as archery, arts and crafts, basketball, broomball, canoeing, duck-duck splash, fishing, gaga ball, kickball, volleyball and watersports.

This may have been the most “epic” year for fishing, at least as far as I can recall. Every dorm caught fish and most caught multiple fish. A total of 42 fish were caught. Many prizes were given for most fish caught, largest fish, smallest fish, etc., and one to the most dedicated fisherperson—the one who just kept at it and never quit trying. Fishing can certainly be a lesson in patience and perseverance.

Escape room was a new activity this year. The campers entered a room filled with Bible-based clues and needed to work together to solve the clues in order to “escape.”

Something new for Camp Buckeye was the addition of a support services staff comprised of 13-year-old “graduates” from Camp Buckeye. They served under the oversight of Mr. and Mrs. Barker, helping with all the background duties that need to be done to keep camp running smoothly, including cleaning and restocking the picnic tables between meals, cleaning the restrooms, organizing the evening staff lounge, delivering water coolers to activities and many other duties. We are already planning for next year, to expand this into the Camp Buckeye Service Academy, that will include focused education directed to this group on what it means to have the heart of a servant.

As always, we’re most grateful to Almighty God for blessing us with beautiful weather, an amazing group of volunteer staff and the overall health and safety we experienced once again. Finally, thank you to all of the parents for the sacrifices you make to get your children to Camp Buckeye. It is always a pleasure to serve them and we are already making plans for next year.