12 Get Healthy at Mountain View’s Wellness Camp

Pastor Daniel Morikone gives James Ray Strawderman a graduation certificate.

Twelve campers walked away from the Mountain View Conference’s Wellness Camp last week with the tools to totally transform their health.

During the 10-day camp at Valley Vista Adventist Center in Huttonsville, W.Va, volunteers led cardio exercise sessions, lectured on biblical health principles, served delicious vegan meals and provided support to help the campers continue these healthy habits.

The campers took advantage of those tools and lost an average of more than 6 pounds and dropped their blood sugar and cholesterol levels, says Pastor Daniel Morikone, camp director and director of the conference’s Health Ministries Department.

Morikone says they even had a camper who could only walk 527 feet at the beginning of camp.  After the program she walked a full mile without any shortness of breath or pain, he says.

“You get out of the program proportionate to what you are willing to invest,” says program director Chris Hasse. “Total transformation? Yes, if you want that. A Band-Aid? Yes. If you only want that. Tools to change were abundant and powerful.”

Campers make progress on their health goals
-Average weight-loss was more than 6 pounds
-Average blood sugar drop was 14 points, or 12 percent
-Average cholesterol drop was more than 38 percent
-Average hsCRP drop was 29 percent (indicator of inflammation in the heart muscle and arteries)
-Two campers quit smoking