Akron Ohio Stake News

by Ryland Most, Canton Ward

Young Men’s Camp is something I look forward to every summer. I enjoy getting together with the young men in my ward, planning out what we’re going to bring, figuring out tent arrangements, and eventually driving up to camp. This year the theme was “Hold Fast.” A term commonly used on ships. We were split into groups based on age, and the groups were named after famous ships. We met at Camp Tuscazor on Wednesday, June 15th, and stayed until the following Saturday, with over 100 young men and leaders in attendance this year. A few of our fun activities were volleyball, zip-line, trust ladder, human knot, axe throwing, tarp flip, and capture the flag. These activities taught all of us the importance of teamwork. Most of the activities couldn’t have been completed without us working as a team and helping each other to succeed. We also got to travel to a place called “Woah Zone.” Whoa Zone was an inflatable obstacle course on a lake. After we all got life jackets on, we raced to the entrance, and the fun began! We all laughed at ourselves as we slipped and fell off the course. They had climbing walls, slides, balance beams, monkey bars, and a rope swing. People had games of tag going on throughout our two hours of fun at the course. Our more spiritual-based activities included a class titled Hold Fast Scriptures. The class taught us how to get more out of our scripture study. The leaders taught us the importance of engaging and wanted us to strive to put in more focus while reading. They gave us suggestions on how to do so, such as starting with a prayer, listening to and reading the scriptures at the same time, and talking with our friends about what we read. Another activity was a motivational seminar titled Time Management. Leaders discussed ways how to end procrastination. Such as setting goals, taking away the decision, and prioritizing what we need to get done over what we would like to get done. The food this year was spectacular! The cooking staff outdid themselves, and their hard work was greatly appreciated. I will never forget the things I learned this summer, but I will also never forget the eventful thunderstorm we had on the second day. It rained very hard over our camp for about an hour. Things did get a little wet, but it was nice for everything to cool off a bit because the day before was about 100 degrees. Young Men’s camp was so much fun, and I appreciate all the leaders and stake members that helped make it fun and enjoyable for all of us. The Young Men are very grateful for you!