Girls camp this year was truly an incredible journey. We had so much fun and I was once again reminded how much I love the girls I get to serve and serve with. Camp was held in Marysvale, Utah at Big Rock Candy Mountain. Our theme for camp was "Joy in the Journey." We planned several "journey" activities for the girls to experience and we also planned for each day to be a new stop in our journey. Each girl was given a passport with the daily schedule, places for them to journal, camp songs, and spots to get their passport stamped with a sticker representing where we were visiting that day (1st day was America, 2nd Mexico, 3rd China, 4th Italy, and 5th back to America. The food and crafts for the day corresponded with the place we were visiting.
It was a bit of a drive to get to camp but we planned some fun stops on the way. First, we stopped to eat lunch in St. George at Chick-fil-A.
Then we took a short drive to Kannaraville, Utah to hike Kannaraville Falls. The hike was incredible. We had to walk in the water for the majority of the time and the hike went from dirt, to foliage, to beautiful slot canyons with waterfalls that you had to climb up. After the hike the girls all said that this was the best hike they'd ever been on and I had to agree. It really was spectacular!
We got to camp that evening and set up and had dinner. The next day we got to do a ropes course. It was really fun to see the girls really help each other complete each activity.
We also spent some time floating on the Sevier River that ran right by our camp site.
On the third day we got to do a river rafting trip down the river with a guide. Our group was split in half and my group, even though we started out in front, ended up last. Our guide was new so we ran into some rocks and the bank a few times. I didn't mind because it just added to the adventure.
In the evening the older girls took our 2 new Beehives on a snipe hunt.
On the fourth day we got to go zip lining. This was my favorite by far. I was in charge of getting all the girls up to the top of the first tower and got held up with one of our young women who refused to climb up. She is afraid of heights and even though we begged, encouraged, prayed, etc. we could not get her to go. Everyone finished the course before myself and one of our priesthood leaders finally gave up on trying to get her to go so they all cheered us on as we did the course.
Each night one of the young women leaders (there were 4 or us) took turns sharing their journey with the girls. We got to the campsite late on the first night so 2 of us ended up doing our devotionals on the last day of camp. Mine went in conjunction with an activity that I planned for the girls to do. I had set up a little rope journey that the girls had to walk through blindfolded while holding and empty bucket. They went one at a time with a leader who helped them during their journey. While they held the rope, we (a leader) whispered little helps so they knew what was coming and made sure they were safe. The only directions we gave the girls before beginning was to hold on to the rope and that if they needed anything, they only had to ask. During the course one of our priesthood leaders added rocks to their buckets making their journey a little more difficult. At times, I could see the girls struggling and simply whispered the reminder that if they needed help they only had to ask. Some girls asked to have me hold their bucket during a difficult section and others asked for me to give them more prompts as to what was coming. It was really neat for me to see how different the journey was for each girl. They each struggled in different ways and overcame obstacles in different ways too. As they finished the course we asked the girls to sit quietly together until all the girls finished and then I spent some time sharing my own journey through life. I focused most of my thoughts on the importance of asking Heavenly Father for help during our journey here on this earth. We all will have struggles and trials and will need help along the way. Our Heavenly Father wants to help us and He knows what we need to get through the tough times but it is up to us to reach out to Him and accept His help through our Savior and His atonement by praying and asking for help. It was a really special moment for me to bear testimony to these girls and having my testimony strengthened by doing so. I didn't think I would get much out of the activity knowing what it was about, but I was very pleased that I felt the spirit and learned more about our Heavenly Father's plan for us through this activity.
After the activity we spent time finishing up crafts we had been working on during the week and making masks to go with our camp directors devotional.
After her devotional we had a dance party and my first counselor taught us all a dance that works with any kind of techno music.
After dancing we quieted things down by hearing a message from one of the councilors in the Bishopric and then turning the time over to the girls to share their testimonies.
On our last day it was cold and rainy. We took down camp and ate a soggy breakfast then headed to our last activity, a stop at Cove Fort before heading home.
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| A symbolic placement of the Book of Mormon holding up the Bible. |
I think our girls camp was a hit! We had a lot of fun and did a lot of really cool things. I'm sure I am biased in my opinion but I would definitely say it was one of the best camps ever. I am so grateful for amazing leaders who did so much to plan and prepare this camp for these girls. I know I learned a lot and it is my hope that the girls did too.
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