Camp. It seems so long ago, but it was a life changing week for me. On the drive home I cried as I told Darryl it was one of the best experiences of my life, right up there with getting married and giving birth. I know that sounds dramatic, but it's not an exaggeration. It was fantastic. It is so true what they say about the hardest things you go through in life are the most rewarding.
There have been 2 times in my life where the spirit whispered to my heart and I knew I was going to receive a calling and I knew what that calling was going to be. The first time it happened I remember being pregnant with Carter, washing my hair on a Sunday morning and I knew I was going to be the new gospel doctrine teacher. The second time was in November when I was in church. I looked at Brother Conley (the man who gave me the gospel doctrine calling) in sacrament, and it was so clear in my head and my heart that he was going to call me as the Stake Camp director.
And then, I felt my heart sank because I felt like I was being asked to do something I wasn't capable of. I am sooooo not a camper, not only that, but I would almost always rather be indoors. But I love the YW and would do anything for the girls in our stake. I was so hesitant and completely overwhelmed. But then he told me the Lord would make up the difference and that everything would be OK. He was so right. During the months that followed, there were hours and hours of planning. Luckily I had tons of help and support from stake YW leaders, especially our Stake YW President, who is so organized and talented, and my wonderful, amazing, assistant camp director, Rachel. There were meetings with the other stake we were camping with, lots of shopping trips, lots of conference calls, menu planning, cutting, pasting, organizing, ordering t-shirts, water bottles, wristbands and backpacks, praying, praying and more praying. Once or twice I felt it was too hard to keep up my weekly activities and lessons with the girls in the ward that I love so much, be there for my own children and my kids at school and do camp too. But there was this "camp synergy" that Sandra kept telling me about, and she was right, it all came together. Little mini miracles really. Sisters all throughout the stake doing things, making necklaces and video slide shows, things they were never asked to do, but it all worked out perfectly.
It is an awesome thing to watch girls form friendships, have fun, and most importantly, feel the Spirit. I was grateful that the other women I was planning this camp with had the same camp philosophy I did. We really didn't care if the girls left knowing how to tie a knot, purify water, roll a bed or identify a plant. We wanted them to leave with a stronger testimony, knowing they were a daughter of God, and hopefully with some new friends.
The girls were fantastic, they made the camp what it was. They came with the right attitude. They brought the Spirit with them, and it made for an amazing week. We laughed, we were silly, we zip lined, we crafted, we sang, we kayaked. We talked about the things that were important to them. Our theme was "Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful" and it really resinated with the girls. A lot of them mentioned that they don't really feel beautiful most of the time, which broke my heart. We talked a lot about inner beauty, and countenance and truly loving ourselves. It was really amazing to watch the girls learn and grow. We had a ridiculous amount of fun and I can hardly wait for next year.
There is something about being on dedicated ground. Like I said, I am not one to enjoy nature, but the feeling I get every time I pull up to that camp is similar to those feelings I have at other, sacred dedicated buildings. The water is gorgeous, the trees seem greener. It is beautiful, it is clean and it is so lovely. It was built specifically for women to enjoy. The missionary camp directors mentioned to us that the official name of the camp is the Thomas S. Monson Girls' Camp. The church wanted a safe, protected, well maintained property that the girls could come to with hot running water and beautiful facilities. The pavilions are named after the YW values. It is just awesome.
I thought of the hundreds of hours priesthood brethren had spent building it and clearing brush. It made me thankful to be a woman in this church. Our stake presidency attended camp and were so complimentary towards us. They were impressed with the program we ran, they were helpful, they assisted us in so many ways. Even in the planning process they were so supportive and let us have the freedom to direct the girls however we saw fit.
I just have to add, I am so grateful to know my role in the gospel and as a woman. I feel so fulfilled and content with my role in this church. I feel at peace in the temple. I feel at peace when I read the proclamation on the family. My inner feminist is so calm and confident with this doctrine. Since I am hoping this blog/book is something my daughters and granddaughters will read, I feel that it is important for me to bear testimony on this subject. I know the blessings of the priesthood and priesthood authority apply to all, but being ordained with the priesthood is reserved for men only, and that was Heavenly Father's plan since the beginning. I know there is modern day revelation, and I grateful for a prophet who leads and guides and directs with ongoing revelation from God, and I know things change and will continue to progress, but If God wanted women to have the priesthood, he would've given it to Eve when he gave to Adam. Jesus Christ, who loved, honoured and respected women, would've given women the priesthood when he was restoring God's perfect church to the earth. And that's OK. It's more than OK. It is a glorious thing to be a woman in this church, where we can preach, expound scripture, lead, teach and guide. We can have equal, yet different roles, and we can be confident in the divine role we have been given.
Anyway, that being said, my role as camp director is not over and the wheels in my head are just spinning away with ideas for next year. I can hardly wait.
My family has been so blessed to be able to spend so much time with the youth this summer. My calling, and having my 15 year old brother here most of the summer has made for a lot of teenagers passing through and I absolutely love it. Having the YW and YM in my home has brought the Spirit in, blessed me and my family, especially my children. I love teenagers. I really, really do. I had no idea how much I did until being in Young Women. One of my best friends was a counsellor in YW before I was, and she would go on about how fantastic it was, helping the girls see who they really are and teaching them the gospel. I thought it was nice she was enjoying it so much, but I was quite happy in Relief Society and I thought it didn't get much better than that. I had been in Primary, which wasn't a great fit for me at the time, and I thought RS was where I should be, since it was the most comfortable. But again, the experiences and callings we have that are the hardest, usually stretch us help us in ways we didn't know are possible. Darryl had an opportunity again this year to attend Youth Leadership Conference. He had an amazing time, and had a really great group of boys. I think he is wonderful example to these young men, and he loves going and being with them. When I went to pick him up, I was swarmed with young women from my ward and from camp, telling me all about the awesome experiences they had, and the Spirit they had felt. The youth of this church continue to impress and inspire me everyday. My hubby and I have talked about it a lot since he got home last week, and the calibre of these young people is amazing. I can't wait to see what this generation accomplishes.
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