Last week, my girls (Clane) and I went to church girl's camp.
Nine leaders supervised about 26 girls in our church for a week.
Camp was in a beautiful area of Utah,
with thick woods and a little lake in the center.
We spent one afternoon on the lake canoeing around, and
one morning, we led the girls on a 5-mile hike above our campsite.
One afternoon, we took the girls fishing (and saw a bear!).
Other days were spent talking and cooking together.
At night, we sat around the campfire, talking about the events of the day,
we talked about the welfare of each other and what we
would work better for tomorrow.
Each girl was responsible for one another. It was neat to see the girls
(ages 12-18) care for and genuinely love each other.
We talked about our love for the Savior and
His grace and His perfect love for each one of us.
I asked a different leader to share her
courtship/engagement/wedding stories each night.
It was a highlight of camp...for me, anyway!
Hearing how other people fall in love is so fun and so exciting!
A few leaders are not married, and I appreciated their sharing
stories about love and fulfillment in their lives.
We all have stories, and we are all
valuable no matter where we are in life.
There is no electricity or hot water at camp, which makes it tricky;
especially washing our campfire-stained hair.
I asked one of the darling girls to braid my hair each day,
in fact, most of us had braids in our hair.
I missed Christian most of all. Each night, wrapped up in my
sleeping bag in the corner of the cold cabin on the hard ground,
I thought about him. I also thought about the other leader's husbands
holding down their forts at home.
I thought about my testimony of the Savior. He is everything,
and I tried to teach these girls whom
I was responsible for that; we truly need Him every hour.
I believe being up among nature brings one closer to God.
The beauty surrounding us at camp, hearing the wind through the leaves,
and singing worshipful songs around the campfire brings us
closer to His love, strength, peace, and example.
At camp, we learn about faith, enduring to the end,
unity, and God's love.
Almost twenty years ago, I spent girls' camp summers with my cousin
I was lucky enough to lead this trip with my cousin Jayne.
It was just like old times.
She's a good worker ;)
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Chatting TODAY from the MTC!
