Girls Camp 2012

Here's to year #2 as the camp director. This year was totally amazing and so different from last year! What beautiful women I got to camp with for four days! 

Here are all our girls and leaders showing off our new SHINE shirts! Seriously love them!!! We all agreed we SOOOO had the cutest shirts up at stake camp. 

Finally we are up at the Crescent Regional Camp.  It is a Stake Girls Camp this year.

 

 

 

Showing off our cute SHINING smiles.

Random picture...not sure how it made it in here. But here is Alayna saying good bye and showing off her darling new short hair to her little girly friends...Then I was off to take her to Fillmore to live with Krista for the week. :) 

Back to girls camp...craft time. The girls LOVED their necklaces.

A little archery is super fun...especially if cleaning the toilets is your motivation to make a bulls-eye!

Day two...we are still smiling. That's good.

A little crafting doesn't hurt anyone. Seriously, these were darling! Composition notebooks, scrapbook paper, embelishments, etc. Make any girl happy!

Shining! On our way to the zip line.

Yeah, these old lady leaders totally screamed louder on the zip line! So fun!!!

One for all, and all for one! Love these girls. 

Skit night. Ours was on dating! The girls did the do's and dont's of dating. (not sure that's a real word?) At the end the reminded other YW girls that Modesty Matters (M&M's) then they threw packages of M&M's out to the girls. It was honestly SO cute. I was proud because they did it all on their own.

Oh, we got a camp fire. With all the fires this summer we didn't think we would. But we lucked out. Do you notice those darling banners hanging in the back ground? Well, yours truly sewed them up and they were SO cute! Every year I will do that!!! Purple was our color this year.

Hiking down to the lake. 

Up. Pretty much these are awesome.

Oh, the clean water. Love it. (not)

 Thursday night. New clean fresh good smelling leaders arrived. We cleaned up the best we could after three days...we all dressed up in our favorite shirts and made sure we hugged them extra good so they could smell like us too!

 Cute girls getting ready for testimony meeting.

 Leaders and girls.

 

The bishopric and leaders came up together. We were all (especially me) super excited to see them. Jared was a good sport and showed off his girls camp spirit. Gotta love bishopric night. The girls adore these men. I have to be totally partial and say Jared is best. Testimony was wonderful. It's always so inspiring to hear the testimonies of these sweet girls, leaders and bishopric members. It was a great night for us all. The entire week was wonderful. We had many laughs, jokes, fun, spiritual, stories, etc. I loved every minute of it. I have to be totally honest, the day this calling changes a piece of my heart will always go missing. I love it! I love thinking about how life especially for these young girls is a ladder. Girls camp allows for them to take one step closer to Christ, strengthening their testimonies and becoming a beautiful virtuous committed daughter of God. I love everything I learn each year as I study, pray and prepare for them. Oh...love it! (tears, again.)

The love of God

I find myself reading the Conference Ensigns over and over again. For many reasons I enjoy a quick read and an uplifting message. I find myself reading a column or two from one talk in the morning then finishing the talk later on at some point along the day. I find as I do this I recall thoughts and feelings and impressions regarding the gospel topic throughout the day. At night as I kneel in prayer I find myself either praying to have more of that trait or thanking the Lord for recognizing such blessings in my life. I know that the words of our living Prophet are true just like all the other leaders of the church. I can not begin to express to you the peace I feel when I do as I have been instructed. It's amazing how our faith and love in the Lord is questioned from one challenge to another.

This quote is one that I have come to love and cherish on so many levels over the past year or so. I am grateful I have taken the time to read from the Prophet's words in the Ensign, because it has given me comfort and peace.

"The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude." ~Joseph B. Wirthlin

I attended my cousins homecoming from his mission on Sunday and he read aloud this scripture that I greatly needed to hear...Doctrine & Covenants 6:22-23...

22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.

23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?

During these challenges and trials in our life, whether it is our trial or simply on the sidelines I have learned this. That we have recieved a great gift, that of a witness from the Lord himself of so many truths. It is our responsibility to remember the witnesses He gives us even during those challenging times. I know that God lives and that He does love me. Because I have received of this witness through the Holy Ghost and I have felt peace. For this I am deeply grateful.