Girls Camp!

Girls camp this year was very rewarding and I loved it :D It was my 6th and last year. I can go one more year, and I am going to, but not everyone does. So the make a big deal about the 6th years and you get to answer questions and the stake young woman's leader writes them on a poster and people have to guess who you are. Its a lot of fun and I had looked forward to that since I was a 1st year camper.

Our theme this year was "Your Happily Ever After". It came for President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk which you can read here (it is the most amazing talk, I recommend you read it!)We all had kingdom names for our wards and such and acted like princess the whole week. Our testimony meeting at the end was heart warming. Our ward is the biggest ward with about 21 young women who went to the camp, and almost every girl but about 2 or so bore their testimony and it was amazing to hear what those girls know and believe at such a young age (12 years old is the youngest you can be in young womens :) In those four days I was there, I came to truly understand my Divine Nature and that I am a beloved daughter of my Heavenly Father who loves me. He has a plan for me, my own happily ever after, all I need to to do is turn to him. I am thankful to my leaders and the stake leaders that took SO much time and put in so much effort to make this an amazing experience.

Here are some pics :D

Here is the raging river we camped by. The Forest Service came up and put police tape so that we could go by it.

The river again

Here is what our camp ground looked like

This is a blury pic of my and the other JCs (junior councilors: 5th, 6th and 7th years) up singing songs on JC night. We all leave a day earlier than the other little girls :D

JCs, blury again. :) our young womens president didn't know how to work the camera

Here is Morgan, Rachel, me, and Ashley at dinner on JC night. All but Ashley are in the same ward :D

hehe this is Rachel, Me and Morgan (who is taking the pic) on the bridge by the river... this is before the tape went up ;D

Here is my young womens leader, one of our young campers tied up, another girl from our ward, and in the back is another one of my leaders. lol oh the joys of girls camp ;)

These ladies are our stake leaders doing their skit :D it was hilarious!

After Girls Camp jitters :)

I got back from Girls Camp at about 2 o'clock this afternoon. I had an amazing time. The food was GREAT, the activities were awesome and I had a fun time.

I had some very cool experiences there. My testimony of prayer grew. I was snipe hunting with some of my ward (hehehehe it was fun), and I fell through a pokey bush. It hurt, and I can not believe I didn't see it :) Any way I had had a scarf on when I fell through the bush, and didn't notice that it was gone until we were ready to go back to camp and get some sleep. I could not leave without it because it had special meaning to me. A friend and I stayed after to look for it. We checked all of the places I had gone, including the bush, and could not find it.

When we were looking around the bush I had fallen in, I fell in a very deep critter hole that 2 other girls from my ward and a leader had fallen in also. My shoe got stuck and I tried to pull it out, but I only succeeded in pulling my foot out of my boot. I reached down to grab it but the girl that I was with smacked my hand out of the way and said that she didn't want me to stick my hand in there. That she would carry me back to camp and come in the morning to get my shoe out with a stick. I looked at her and shook my head, (I was trying to get my shoe out the hole the whole time she was talking… it was not working) and said to her that if my shoe was not coming out with my hand it was not going to come out with a stick. I reached back in and retrieved my shoe after pulling really hard on it. I put it back on and left, sadly, without my scarf. I was really worried that I was not going to find it and I said numerous prayers that I would find it.

The next day, the 1st and 4th years went on a hike. We walked right past were I had lost my scarf, but I didn't have enough time to go look for it again, so I my other friend I was hiking with if she would pray that I would find it. She said ok, and when we stopped to rest later she prayed that I would find it. After we hiked a mile, most of the girls went on to go another 1/2 a mile. I was feeling really crappy, and sick so I turned back with a leader and hiked back to camp. When we got to the place where I had lost my scarf on the way back, I asked if I could look for it again. My leader kindly said yes, I went off to look for it. I came back empty handed and I decided to show the famous hole that the 4 of us had fallen in. She was amazed at the depth and when she looked up she pointed over to a place that was partially hidden by the bush. Lying there was my scarf. I was so happy and grateful. I walked back to camp with a smile on my face, and a bigger testimony of prayer.

We had a devotional Thursday, and it was wonderful. The stake leaders had made three different Iron Rods leading to the same place. When my ward were put on the Iron rod we walked past the River of Unclean Waters and the Great and Spacious Building just fine. Then we got to a place were there was one stake leader that told us to put on the eye covers we had, and it was supposed to represent the mist of darkness. We walked without our site to guide us. We all held fast to the Iron Rod and when we got to the end, one of our leaders was there to embrace us. She said to me in my ear, good job Laurel, welcome home, partake of the fruit. We sat down around a tree that had white lights on it and read a note that our leaders had wrote to us. Then we ate Tree Top fruit snacks, they represented the fruit of the tree. It was an amazing night. Our Stake President talked to us and he sang with one of the stake leaders. It is a night I will ALWAYS remember. (Iron Rod scriptures 1st Nephi 8:1-35)

I love Girls Camp. It will always have a special place in my heart.

Girls Camp

Tomorrow I am headed out to the great outdoors to go camping with my stake. My stake has girls camp really early, way earlier then other wards I have been in. We are going to be camping for 3 days, once again a day shorter then I am use to.

Any way, besides that I have been looking forward to this for a long time. I always feel the spirit at camp strongly. Testimony meetings are full of tears, but are special to me and always will be. In my old ward we had what you called Destinies. It is where the stake comes down from their camps and we gather together and have a spiritual meeting. The first night's meeting is always the best. I love them and I am sad that this ward does not have them.
Last year at girls camp, the stake presidency decided to wait and dedicate the camp till we were all there. It was amazing. Then one ward got really sick and all of the leaders were sick and all but 4 girls were sick. It was horrible. After one of the activities the 4 girls who were not sick knelt in a meadow and prayed that their ward would get well and would not get anyone else sick. At dinner that evening, their whole ward was there and they were all well. I know that prayers work and that was just another witness to me that they are answered.

I am exicted to go, and in fact I should be packing right now teehee :)