Go For the Gold-Girls Camp 2012

Where to start? I LOVE Girls Camp!! Our church has a program called Young Women, it's for girls 12-18.  We have a theme that we recite every Sunday, and in that theme-there are eight values that we strive to recognize within ourselves and live by: Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountablilty, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue. They all have a different color. This year's theme was the Olympics and Going for the Gold (Virtue is represented by the color gold). When I joined the church I was 16 years old, because I graduated when I was 17-I only really had a year in the program, but since then, I have been asked over the years to serve with the Young Women in various callings/responsibilities. I currently am over the 12 and 13 year old girls. I adore them. I mean it-don't get me wrong, sometimes with all of the energy they posess, just looking at them makes me tired-but they are each, individually a-mazing girls and it is an absolute priviledge to work with them.

That being said, I was asked this year to go to Girls Camp for 4 days and be with the.......wait for it....12 and 13 year olds!! I got to be partners with a dear friend of mine and I was asked to give a Destiny Class-which is a 30 minute devotional type thing-not really sure how to describe it other than a class?? My topic was "Get Up and Finish the Race". I almost cried when I heard the topic, I felt like I could really relate to it in all aspects of my life. So we loaded up early Tueday morning and headed out. I wasn't feeling well, but I kind of blowed it off due to the lack of sleep (Kris had been sick, Reese was sick, both kids had pink eye all the week before). Later that day I started to feel bad and-I lost my voice-not like, it was a little scratchy-like, I had to whisper, write notes, and play charades. This has never happened to me for that long of a period of time (it ended up being A WEEK!!!). And I am a bit of a "talker" so it was very annoying and humbling to say the least. I was feeling bad, you know-the kind when you have to keep moving and smile, or you will just start bawling?

There is something about being away from everywhere, surrounded by women who have the same faith that you have, and who are really trying to do the best that they can. I felt so supported, and humbled for the way that I was helped. People (especially my partner Desi) went above and beyond for me. I have a hard time asking for help, but the service was overflowing. The sweet girls I worked with would get quiet when I spoke, or play charades with me-I was worried about my class and I had friends who were standing by in case I needed them to speak for me. I felt so sick that I got a blessing while I was there from two of the priesthood holders. It was amazing, and I wasn't able to talk before my class, or after-but I was during with the help of a microphone. I started to feel better and was able to do what I needed to do.

I sat back and thought of all of the blessings I had-by not being able to talk, (which I really did have a hard time with) I was able to listen-for things that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. I was so nervous about the class I was doing, and sometimes when I get nervous I tend to ramble, but because I had no voice-there wasn't allowance for rambling, only for what needed to be said. It was a very special experience. It was a long week full of drama, hyperness, spiritual strengthening, friendships made, coming outside comfort zones, gnats, and mosquitoes-but I loved it. I may have even volunteered to go back next year!