Girls Camp 2016- GIrls on Fire

July 25-28 I went to girl's camp for the first time as a leader.  I was already up in Cornville so I left my kids there and drove myself to Camp LoMia and met the girls in Pine AZ.  My phone didn't get much reception so I was only able to talk to them once of twice.  By far the longest I've ever been away from my kids.  The first day we had a spiritual lesson rotation, it was rainy and one of them had a fire pit so that was nice.  The theme was "Girl on Fire" (not Hunger Games).  We had FHE and movie night (Once I was a Beehive of course!).  Some of the girls had a hard time going to sleep that first night.

The next day was certification, including a small hike to this 300 year old tree.  Some of the girls were pills this day not wanting to go to certification.  We kept finding them back in the cabin or in the showers instead.

We saw 2 deer behind our cabin.  Lots of squirrels too.

The girls loved all the craft stuff we had at the cabin.

The third day we had a service project where we formed assembly lines and hauled wood off the mountain to help the firemen.  I was one of my favorite parts.  We also had Olympic/Value themed games, including a mud tug of war, and this water game.

At the end they had us go across a bridge then covered us with colored corn starch and then the firemen hosed us off.  There was a long line for the showers before bishop/skit/testimony night.

Lowlights of camp- all the drama leading up to it, there wasn't a ton of drama at camp thankfully but some.  The girls not having a good attitude, working hard, going to their events without pushing them.

Highlights of camp for me were being in nature in the cooler weather, getting to know the girls and leaders,  the skit, the hike, the fun hand game, and the awesome food I didn't have to cook.  The food was seriously good!

I drove back to Cornville and thought I might spend one more night there but my kids all wanted to go home.  They had a good time, and according to mom were pretty good.  Miles couldn't make it through lunch either.  I was pretty tired after staying up too late the last night- next year I need to go to bed earlier or sleep one more night in Cornville before going home.  I'll include my talk from sacrament about camp in here- 

Girls Camp Talk

The most memorable days usually end with the dirtiest clothes.

This was definitely true of girls camp this year!  On the last full day of camp we had mud tug of war, water balloons, and marshmallows in the mouth basketball, pouring water from a cup on our heads into the cup of a team mate lying on the ground.  Then they walked us across a bridge over a dry creek for no reason, we thought, until they dismissed us to go back to camp and realized the bridge formed a gauntlet of stake leaders with colored corn starch, to sprinkle on top of the sweat and mud, sunscreen we were already caked in.  It was not pretty. But don’t worry, at the end of the bridge they had the Pine-Strawberry fire department there to hose us off.  It was really quite thoughtful of them.

As we were preparing, for much longer than you would think, six months of planning for camp we talked about the goals of camp.  One of these was to enjoy camp and have fun.  I know I saw each of the girls enjoying themselves at camp.  Maybe not every time they saw a bug crawl into our cabin, but they did find something at camp to enjoy.  When is the last time you had a memorable, dirty clothes day?

• Another goal of girl’s camp is to Build friendships. One of my favorite parts is the bonding that occurs between the girls and also the leaders.  I always feel bad when someone can’t come because it’s the best way to make friends in the ward and stake.  We had a few girls from the Liahona ward, and the two Arnall girls Sariah and Abby that were brand new.  I was amazed at how quickly they became friends with the girls, it is definitely a talent they both have.  I found a quote that summed it up “Camp is where strangers become friends and friendships last forever”

• Camp also give us an opportunity to Serve others. I used to think how much fun the young women leaders had planning all our activities.  Now that I am behind the scenes to see the tremendous amount of work that so many people contribute to make this experience possible I am humbled by the love they have for these girls.

 I especially wanted to thank you in the ward, you let the girls knock on your doors at night at practice selling fundraiser tickets, you came and set up tables, brought desserts, donated secret sister gifts, you gave rides- even if you didn’t have a young woman going.  I felt so much love from our ward family supporting these girls and we truly appreciate it. 

At camp we also got to participate in a service project where we worked with the fire department to move brush piles off the side of a steep hill so they could be burned in the field this winter.  We formed an assembly line to pass the branches down the hill.  It’s hard to stand on uneven ground and pass heavy branches.  I was so proud to see so many of the girls working hard the whole time.

• Another goal was to develop leadership skills.

We might not usually associate leadership with sacrifice but I felt it was an appropriate word to describe what I experienced.

“Sacrifice is defined as “the act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else more important or worthy.” 2 Sacrifice comes in many forms and may not always be convenient. Latter-day Saints make a covenant with the Lord to sacrifice. By doing so, we surrender our will to His, dedicating our lives to building up His kingdom and serving His children.

Another covenant you made at baptism was to serve. Having callings or responsibilities within your ward or branch is a great blessing and opportunity. When you serve, you grow spiritually and experience the joy of following Jesus’s example. You will also form bonds of friendship and love with those you serve. As you reach out to help others on the path to eternal life, you will find that your own problems and worries will become lighter, and you will be strengthened in your resolve to continue the journey.”

At first it was easy to focus on the sacrifice I saw the leaders making to leave our small children, an elderly mother, or take off work to go to camp.  But as I talked with the girls I realized the sacrifices they and their families made so they could be there as well.  Many of them babysit for their younger siblings while their parents are at work, some had to miss jobs, or their parents took off work and rearranged their lives to give us rides to and from camp.

I saw these leadership skills especially in our older girls who served as youth camp leaders.  Many have reached the point where every mutual activity might not be as thrilling as it was as a beehive.  I saw these girls light up as they served other wards in the stake and work as leaders at camp.  I could see the love they developed for “their girls”, just as we have developed so much love for them. 

On a side note- another highlight of camp for me, and a sacrifice for the girls was that no cell phones or technology were allowed.  They struggle a lot to put down their phones long enough to have a conversation or listen to a lesson.  I loved seeing the interactions and how they appreciated nature more when they weren’t glued to a screen.   A few quotes about this-

Kids don’t remember the best day of television

There is no WIFI in the forest, but I promise you’ll find a better connection.

I’d encourage you to apply this at home more.  We need more hiking and dinners together and less texting.  More playing and talking together at mutual.

The last three goals of Young Women camp I’d like to talk about together, they are:

• Draw closer to God.

• Appreciate and feel reverence for nature.

• Become more self-reliant.

On our first night at camp after we had turned out the lights and finished talking, we could hear some of the girls tossing and turning in the squeakiest bunk beds ever made.  After a while all the bunkbeds stopped squeaking except one.  I would doze off and then my mom sense would hear this and wake me up.  I knew which girl it was and I would whisper, “It’s okay, you’re safe, try to relax and go to sleep.”  Then I would doze off again, and wake up to hear her tossing and turning.  Finally after doing this a few times the next time I woke up I could hear her crying.  I’d been praying that she would be comforted but I knew she needed more than my silent prayers.  So I tried to climb quietly out of my bed and creep across a cabin of sleeping girls.    She was on the top bunk and I stood by her and asked her why she was crying. She said she was scared.  So I asked her if I could say a prayer with her and we prayed that she would feel Heavenly Father’s love and be comforted and be able to sleep.  She stopped crying and I crept back to my bunk.  I was doubtful, she wouldn’t be able to sleep.  But she did sleep, that was the last time I heard her tossing and turning.  The next morning she told me she was so jealous of everyone snoring away.  I asked her why she had been scared, she said she was terrified of the bugs so she had worn her jacket with her hood cinched up inside her sleeping bag and she was so hot she couldn’t sleep while thinking about all the bugs!  She wanted to sleep in my car the next night but I convinced her she could make it in the cabin, and she did.  It was so amazing to watch each girls confidence away from home in a different environment, and their testimonies grow during our time at camp.

I am grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the young women.  I love them. I pray for them.  I love these wonderful women I get to work with.  I appreciate the gospel so much in life.  The direction and comfort it brings to me.  I have a testimony of this and the power that comes from prayer and scriptures, and the blessing of sacrifice and service.  In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.