Annual summer day camp offers fun activities for area children

GENTRY — The Gentry Seventh-day Adventist Church has been running a free six-week summer day camp program for the past eight years, and this year’s camp ran from June 3 to July 13, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday, of each week.

The hours were filled with activities, Bible lessons, games and special features. The summer day camp program was open to anyone 8 to 14. Campers were required to bring their own lunches.

On Mondays, the focus was on team building. From bridge building to games such as “Junk Scramble,” campers developed tighter friendships and practiced working together as a team.

Tuesdays usually found special guests coming to the church. One week, a representative from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission visited and told stories and taught the campers fun facts from nature. Did you know Arkansas black bears eat around a pound of bugs every day? Other special guests included members of the Gentry Fire Department, Air Evac Lifeteam, and North-West Health Emergency Services.

Wednesdays were generally community service days, and the campers did activities such as collecting trash at the Gentry Park or singing day camp songs to residents of local nursing homes.

Thursday was swim day and it was a hit with many of the campers. The church bussed the kids to a private pool where they had a blast jumping off the diving board, racing across the pool and enjoying the water together.

Announcements about next year’s summer day camp program will be available at www.gentryar.adventistchurch.org or by calling the church office at 479-736-8808.