About 2 months later I was called into the Stake Young Women’s Presidency. Yes, I would still go to Girls Camp and help plan it but I wouldn’t be in the ward. I was both excited and totally depressed – that is, until my friend Brittany was called to be the Camp Leader. The ward girls were in for a treat and it would be so much fun to be at camp with her. Together with her camp assistants: Emily and Jill they pulled off an amazing girls camp for the girls –and went above and beyond in so many ways. It was actually a very physically painful week for Brittany because of bad neck issues and she wasn’t quite sure she’d be able to make it the whole week but she suffered through it and I know the girls (and I ) were so grateful for her service. Thanks Brittany!
Of course looking back I’m so grateful to have been put in the Stake before Girls Camp. I was blessed to work with amazing gals, Yvonne and Annie, and enjoyed working on the big vision for Girls Camp. Kristen, our stake girls camp leader did an awesome job with the whole thing and put in so much time. One of my assignments was to work on the t-shirts. I convinced everyone that we needed bright yellow. Just think of how happy that would be to see all these girls literally shining forth all over camp. It was so fun! I created another logo for the Stake, got the t-shirts printed and ordered, the Service project planned, ordered and organized, FHE lesson made, devotionals ready to go and all packed up.
On Monday morning, exactly 12 hours after we got home from our family Berchtesgaden Trip, Katie and I were on our way to girls camp. So exciting!
When we pulled up, we helped the Stake set up tents and get ready for when the wards would arrive. Girls Camp was held on some military owned land in Baumholder, Germany. We had great campsites, open fields and real bathrooms and showers. Perfect.
Pictures of Heidelberg’s FLAG… Didn’t the girls do such a good job? I love it.
Some of the Heidelberg Beehives… Amanda, Madeline, Katie, Emily and Abi.
Amanda, Madeline, Jenny, Katie, Abi and Emily
All the Heidelberg girls and Leaders…
The wards had from 12:00 noon to 3:00 to get their campsites set up. Then we had a devotional/welcome, made some announcements {upon which the entire group of girls shouted: announcements, announcements, announcements, a terrible way to die, a terrible way to die, a terrible way to be talked to death, a terrible way to die…” Throughout all of camp, if anyone said the word ‘announcements’ everyone would join in. It was cute.} Then the girls were split up into groups with the YCL’s to do some fun activities and set goals for the week.
5:00 Back to the camp site for dinner and then back to Campfire for Camp Calls and then a FHE put on by Yvonne, Annie and I.
The girls with some silly camp songs as we got ready to start…
The whole Kaiserslatern Stake Girls Camp group…
Stake FHE ACTIVITY and LESSON
We, the stake leaders, thought long and hard about what to do for an impactful but fun Family Home Evening for the girls. Annie felt strongly about an activity that she had participated in as a youth. So we put it together. We handed out yellow blindfolds and instructed the girls to put them on and get into lines holding on to the shoulders of the girl in front of them. They had no other instruction. The leaders had been previously informed that we would be playing Green Light, Red Light and that they were to carefully mislead the girls… maybe have them sit down and wait for a second or lead them in a different direction. Annie picked up the megaphone and started to call out ‘Green Light’.
The girls really had no idea what to do. Do we walk forward in a line? Do we let go of the girls ahead of us? Do we just wait for more instruction? Most of the girls understood how to play Red Light Green Light but without any instruction they just didn’t know where to start. The leaders wandered around misleading girls. I was supposed to but it felt so cruel. I wanted to just take them all by the hand and lead them straight to the front. I wanted to explain the purpose. I wanted to whisper to them that they could do it. Instead I just watched the chaos of girls wandering in all directions. As the seconds slowly moved on a couple of the girls broke away from the group and moved towards the sound of Annie’s voice. Sierra, (a family friend) was the first one to make it to her. Annie took her blindfold off, gave her a big smile and a big hug and quietly had her sit down. Sierra immediately started to cry. Slowly more and more girls came over. Some lead by the girls in front of them, unwilling to let go… some by themselves… some crawling… some walking slowly with their arms outstretched – but only about a third or fourth made it. Some just sat and waited on the ground, some just wandered in no real direction at all, some alone, some in groups. An emotional moment for me was when I spotted Katie. She was in the back, her hands firmly placed on Amanda’s shoulders being led right into the bushes in the opposite direction she should go. I cried at the thought of my daughter relying on someone else to get her to where she needs to go and ending up in the wrong place.
After 10 minutes or so Annie had all the girls stop right where they were and take off their blindfolds. Each girl silently took note of the girls surrounding Annie at the end of the field and where they were. Without a word all the girls were gathered to the girls and then I spoke about the Holy Ghost…
As we strive to stay on the path that leads to eternal life, the Holy Ghost can guide us in our decisions and protect us from physical and spiritual danger. When we come to this life we don’t know anything. Just like you at the beginning of the activity. It’s like we are spiritually blindfolded. We can’t see where we are going. We can only rely on the voices we hear to help us navigate. But the problem is we hear lots of voices… telling us to do lots of things. The voices of the world may seem reassuring or pleasing or may seem closer to us than the steady voice of the Holy Ghost.
But actually listening to the Holy Ghost is not hard.
1. KEEP IT SIMPLE. Sometimes the only thing you need to hear is STOP or GO. We move forward when he tells us to… and stop when he warns us to stop. When we listen to the simple counsel of the Holy Ghost he will direct our path and we needn’t struggle… even if we don’t understand the counsel... MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH.
2. Always in life there are obstacles. Things that block our progression. Do we just stand there and wait for instructions, NO, we PUSH FORWARD. And what does PUSH stand for… PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS.
Heavenly Father wants to give us answers, confirm our choices and direct our path but we can’t receive those confirmations while we are standing still. We must PUSH forward. When we act in Faith then the Holy Ghost will let us know if we need to GO or STOP.
3. DON’T GET DISTRACTED. Sometimes we let other voices tell us what to do. You go when you’re supposed to go and stop when you’re supposed to stop. Even if your friends aren’t, even when you’re family isn’t.
If you haven’t been going and stopping and heeding the counsel of the Holy ghost then just get back on the path and PUSH forward, ‘pray until something happens’. Start again… it’s not a race.
4. Obey the promptings we receive – so more will come.
The Holy Ghost can comfort, guide, and testify. He “witnesses of the Father and the Son” (2 Nephi 31:18) and reveals and teaches “the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). We can receive a sure testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ ONLY by the power of the Holy Ghost.
This week pay close attention to what the Spirit is telling YOU. If you begin by praying until something happens, then the Holy Ghost may comfort you, guide you to STOP doing something or CONTINUE pushing forth, and WILL testify to your hearts TRUTH. Listen for what he says to you and TREASURE the time you have here to really listen.
One last thought…
I just got back from a trip to the Switzerland Alps and Berchtesgaden. It was BEAUTIFUL there. We had some great weather and some cloudy rainy weather. But the change in weather helped me to realize something that made quite an impact on me.
Sometimes in the valley between the mountain peaks, it was cloudy, grey and overcast but when we got to the top of the gondola there was blue sky and bright sunshine. The sunshine didn’t suddenly come out. The sunshine and blue sky was always there, but from where I was I couldn’t see it at all. It never occurred to me that the Sun was just on top of those clouds right where it always is. Sometimes gloomy clouds come through and we think the Sun is completely gone.
The Son of God, our Savior, is there for us… ALWAYS – whether we feel that he’s close, or not. He doesn’t move or change but sometimes situations or circumstance of our own doing or not prevent us from realizing that. Your Savior loves you so much. He wants to send you messages this week. Be open to the Spirit and you will be able to feel him powerfully and quietly testifying of Christ.
Then Annie got back up and started singing our camp song… Michael McLean’s “Celebrating The Light” One by one ward and stake camp leaders stood at different lines to join in the song until all of us were standing and singing at the chorus. It was beautiful and impactful. Annie was truly inspired to have chosen this song and the way to introduce it to the young women.
I believe there's a light that shines in ev'ryone;
I believe it's the light of the world.
I believe there's a voice that whispers there's a choice;
And our joy will come from choosing what is right
And always seeking His light
That shines in one and all,
And lifts us when we fall,
And answers when we call.Celebrating the Light that shines in ev'ryone
Celebrating the Light of the world.
And we all can rejoice when our heart makes the choice
To reflect the joy and keep it shining bright
By Celebrating the Light
Through the activity and through my testimony, even though I was emotional, I wasn’t sure how it was impacting the girls… After the whole devotional was over girls starting coming up to us and hugging us and crying and sharing how they felt in their part of the field. It really worked better than we could have asked for. Ward leaders were telling us that it must have been successful because they had a group of girls crying back at the campsite. Annie and I had a hard time not getting emotional several times that evening as we talked over the lessons we had learned individually from the nights’ activities. I hope all the girls were able to get something out of it but it definitely meant something to me.
Already being emotionally on the edge I wandered past the Heidelberg campsite late that night and heard the Beehive girls in their tent helping Nadia, a non member girl who has been coming to our ward yw activities, recite and explain the Young Women theme. I again broke down. So many great little memories of a fabulous first day.
TUESDAY was our first full day. I remember waking up to “Girls just wanna have fun” full blast by the Stake Camp Table. The girls and leaders in each ward started breakfast and met us for Devotional and Scripture Reading at Campfire. After that the girls went straight to First Aid Certification while the leaders had a meeting. I grabbed two girls and went around to choose a ward for the cleanest campsite award and then wandered around the certification tables to talk to the girls and leaders. After lunch the 4th years left for an afternoon at the Ropes Course and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years broke into two groups – one heading up to the Workshop (Speaker talking about Self Esteem) and the other heading to the craft tent.
At 3:30 we had free time. That’s when I pulled out my stuff for our group service project…. making parachute cord bracelets for the Wounded Warriors. Apparently those suffering from injuries from the war who were transferred back to the big hospital in Landstuhl loved receiving them. Our goal was 100 – (since this is the 100th year of Girls Camp!). I ordered 10 different colors of parachute cord and then taught groups of girls how to attach the cord to the buckles and how to tie them. The girls loved it… but we were pretty slow – especially the getting the buckles tied and ready to go since I had to do most of that. By the third day though I had a group of leaders just helping get them ready to knot and the girls did the rest. We ended up meeting our goal –except for a few buckles that broke.
Morning certification…
Girls doing their compass certification out in the fields…
After dinner we had a campfire put on by the YCL’s and then each girl made her lantern for our ‘Singing to the Stars event the next night’.
Back at the Heidelberg Ward Campsite our girls were learning the art of roasting Starbursts and adding whip cream. Oh my, yummy! It really was the best thing we roasted!
Lissie trying out the ‘creamsicle’ version with an orange starburst plus whip cream. Hanna, Emily N, Yvonne and Brittany there too…
Heidelberg gals…
Brittany and Leah…
Wednesday we got up, had breakfast, did morning devotional and scripture study, practiced our girls camp theme song, had a leader’s meeting and then took off on our day’s hike. I decided not to bring my camera so no pictures. I really should have taken so many more pictures. We hiked for a couple of hours, ate a picnic lunch and continued hiking. It was a lot of fun. Megan G came up for the day and she and Emily N. were my hiking buddies on the way back. Good times… but we were HOT once we got back to camp. Straight over to Service project to work on bracelets for Free Time.
Then dinner. For each and every dinner the Stake Leaders were separated and sent to eat with different wards. It was SOOO much fun. I really got to know each of the girls and leaders so much better by hanging out with their wards individually. I got to see their campsites, their flags, cute ideas their leaders were using for jobs and secret sisters and devotionals. Fabulous leaders. Fabulous youth. It was just inspiring. Seriously, there’s just nothing like girls camp! After visiting each ward I left them with a short devotional… which was this… and then my testimony.
“In the summertime here in Germany I get to pass a huge field of sunflowers on the way out of my village. I love my field of sunflowers – big bright happy-looking flowers all facing the same direction…. Towards the sun.
The sunflower is named for its ability to follow the sun in the course of a day. Sunflowers that are not yet full grown, exhibit solar tracking (called Heliotropism) and will track the sun across the sky from east (sunrise) to west (sunset). During the night, when the sun is not visible, the flowers may assume a random orientation, while at dawn they turn again towards the east where the sun rises.
I love the idea of those flowers being so eager to follow the sun. It’s like they are looking forward to dawn so they can follow the sun for another day. We too need to be eager to follow the Son… the Son of God… our Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Nephi 31:13 urges us to “…follow the Son with full purpose of heart…”
When we wake up in the morning and say our morning prayers we align ourselves to the Savior, when we attend seminary, when we serve others, when we read our scriptures, when we attend our meetings, when we quietly or boldly choose the right we are following the Son throughout each day with full purpose of heart.
Every time you see a field of sunflowers or a single sunflower remember that they set a good example for us. They Follow the Sun.
When I gave the devotional to my Heidelberg ward I gave them all plastic sunflowers – which I had already purchased when I was ward camp leader.
Katie with the sunflowers…
Wednesday Night’s campfire was the skits. Each ward received a skit bag earlier in the week and had to come up with a skit using everything in the bag. The skits were awesome… especially Heidelberg’s. They did the whole thing like Kid History with girls acting like little toddlers on a blanket saying stuff that the others acted out and mouthed. It was really funny. Earlier in the afternoon Annie gathered Yvonne and I and said, “Let’s write a little song to perform tonight.” We came up with some cute lyrics and actions and did our little song first. It was really fun.
to the tune of ‘Mr. Sandman’
- Little Campers, we are the Stake
- Ain’t got no duties, our dinner you make.
- We all sleep in till seven thirty,
- We like hot showers and don’t want to get dirty.
- Little Campers, we like to cry.
- We’re all here having a spiritual high
- So please no talking when it’s late!
- Little Campers, we think you’re great!
Annie (1st counselor), Lisa (2nd counselor) and Yvonne (President)…
Love these ladies! (oh, there’s my yellow parachute cord bracelet I made and wore the whole week as an example)
Once it got dark we called all the girls to the lower fields for ‘Singing to the Stars’. Each girl had their lantern with a battery operated candle inside. The whole stake stood around in one large circle and each ward turned on their lanterns and sang a spiritual ‘light centered song, then turned their lanterns off and the next ward went – all the way around the circle. It was really neat. A lot of the girls mentioned what a great experience that was.
Amanda and Katie with their lanterns…
Thursday was another full day. Breakfast, Devotional and scripture reading, more certification (which was amazingly prepared into an X-factor game for the best at each certification) Leaders meeting, lunch, more workshops (by Bishop Adams – now President Adams) and more crafts. At free time we managed to finish all the 100 paracord bracelets. Yeah!!! At 5:00 the Bishops of all the wards came. Bishop Tillet and his wife, Mindy, came to eat with Heidelberg.
Before heading to the Stake Testimony Meeting Nadia, our wonderful non-member friend (4th from the left) had a request… We as a stake encouraged each girl to think of something they could do at camp 100 times to commemorate the 100th year of Girls Camp. Some girls gave 100 hugs, 100 compliments, 100 acts of service performed by their whole ward etc. Nadia decided she would memorize the YW theme by reciting it 100 times. All throughout the week I could see her taking a minute here or there to pull it out, read it and make a tally mark adding up her total. For her request she asked the ward girls to say it with her for her 100th time. Boy, was that powerful. What a great girl. She went on to win ‘Camper of the Year’ from all the girls in her year – picked by the YCL’s. What a sweetheart.
Nadia reciting the YW theme for the 100th time…
The Campfire Testimony meeting was just amazing. Strong girls who have been through some hard things who feel spiritually energized by camp. It was quite emotional for me. What a privilege to be there. So many girls wanted to bear their testimonies that we eventually had to cut it off and send the ward back to continue bearing their testimonies.
Friday morning was breakfast, devotional and scripture study, certificates and awards, the last ‘Announcements’ song, the last Squirrely box song (for lost things), the secret sister reveal and then breaking camp. What a great week.
Nadia, Amanda, Katie, Madeline, and Emily…
One with Sister Peterson too…
SOOO much fun camping with this girl…
Katie with her nametag and ‘SHINE FORTH’ pins. Each day at devotional or campfire Kirsten would read off names of people who were caught ‘Shining Forth’ during that day. Friends or leaders would write about someone they saw who was doing something great that day and put it in the SHINING FORTH can. The girls all had a handful of them and just loved it.
Loved camping with these girls too! All of us so excited to go back home to our families and take a nice hot bath…
3 comments:
Great inspiration Lisa! I just love your blog. What great ideas. Your enthusiasm and love for the gospel is contagious. Thanks as always for sharing.
Wow!!!! Great to have that all recorded. I especially love the pictures of Katie in from of the field of flowers. Looks like a wonderful and memorable camp. Hope you get to do tons more!
Wow - what an amazing camp! What a blessing for your stake to have you there! What talent and way to let your light shine! So cool!
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