RUSH COUNTY — The Dominican Sisters of Peace who reside and minister at Heartland Farm carry on a quiet existence 51 weeks a year. The farmstead in Rush County is 14 miles west of Great Bend, 10 miles northwest of Pawnee Rock and 12 miles northeast from Larned.
The sisters’ mission is to welcome visitors into a place perfectly suited for spiritual retreat, study and prayer and learning and creative expression.
Peace Camp is their one week of the year to connect with area youngsters, who generally have a family connection with Barton County.  The day camp is inexpensive and scholarships help several students attend the week-long day camp.
The students worked on various projects and games that emphasized working together as a group.
Fifteen students attended the 2012 Peace Camp, including two youth leaders from Great Bend High School — Megan Durland and Angel Serna. Their job was to get their group to work together to complete a task.
Megan has participated in band, choir, Kayettes; and art club at Great Bend High School. Several of the campers know Megan’s brother Ryan.
“I thought it would be fun to do and I’d get a chance to meet some new people,” Megan said. “Once you got to meet the kids, you realize they all have different personalities. I like helping kids and it was a new experience.”
Megan’s favorite activities were water balloon volleyball, swimming and swinging in the tree.  
Angel is a school leader for FBLA and also participates in Kayettes and drama at Great Bend. Her sisters attended the camp.
“One of my teachers gave me an application and it sounded like a fun week,” Angel said. “There were a lot of fun activities that got everyone involved. I like working with children.”
Angel has a natural knack with children and she plans to pursue a career in that direction. Her favorite activity was water balloon volleyball. Her favorite game was food chain gang.   
Students attending were Tashe Helms, Taye Helms, Kyle Burks, Clayton Cooper, Ethan Sexton, Taylor Howard, Kyler Feist, Kalib Wilson, Hannah Serna, Sarah Serna, Sarah Hammeke, Erin Hammeke, Sierra Brown, Jefferson Hathcock, Jordan Hathcock.   
The 80-acre homestead features homegrown organic food, cropland and pastures. The vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce, spinach and others, are organically grown with an eye on preserving the environment. The Dominican Sisters of Peace operate five eco-farms in the United States.
“We wanted to show our support for small farming operations,” said Sister Terry Wasinger. “We believe in the organic-style of farming.”
Sister Joan Ice, Sister Marilyn Pierson, Sister Mary Ellen Duter, Sister Jane Berlanger and Sister Terry Wasinger assist with the week-long camp.
Sister Ice worked to put together one of the highlights of the week — a quilt project where each student composed and signed a quilt square. The flower imprints on the quilt were done by pounding flower petals into a fabric especially equipped to take on the color.
“It’s a fun week, but exhausting,” said Sister Jane. “A lot of it are competitive exercises, but the students learn to work together as team to get things accomplished.”
Heartland Farm’s brochure reads, “We welcome all who seek time away to deepen their own spirits, reconnect with the land and experience the enjoyment of nutritious food and a simple lifestyle.”