Zach & Kristen: Girls Camp 2013 - Stand In Holy Places

I was called to be the ward camp director back in February.. It was a little daunting, especially since I am often mistaken for one of the young women and I cannot possibly be old enough to be in charge. We got a new stake camp director a little late in the year, so planning started a little late in the year. My wonderful camp assistant and I began planning in full gear the beginning of May. Luckily, the location and dates were already picked, and the stake was in charge of the food! That was already a lot off my back. We came up with the theme of "Wizard of Oz.. Follow the Yellow Brick Road" and our YCL's (youth camp leaders, the 16 & 17 year old girls) approved. We used the temple as the "Emerald City." Planning camp was a lot of work, a lot of sign ups going around, a lot of meetings.. but I'm grateful our ward just came together and helped us out!

We decided to have girls camp be a little chill, since our ward got back from Trek just 9 days before we went to camp. We planned a few crafts, a little nature walk/scavenger hunt, and a lot of free time to do braids in hair and boondoggle! The week started out a little rough for me, I had to make an emergency visit to the Dr Monday morning before we met at noon, for a UTI. Luckily I got in and got the medicine I needed with plenty of time to spare. It rained on us a bit while setting up camp on Monday, but UT rain never lasts very long. The 4th year girls went up on Monday. That night there were a couple of men who came to teach the girls about the stars and constellations, and brought their ginormous telescopes. While we were listening to the devotional, the sky was really cloudy and we weren't so sure there were going to be stars to even see. Slowly but surely, the sky began to clear up and stars began to shine brightly! I realized during that moment that our Heavenly Father, the creator of all things, knows and cares about each one of us individually. He made that happen that night so that the men could share their talents and insights with our young women.

Our week overall was wonderful! There is so much I need to learn for next year, but isn't that what callings are all about? To allow us to learn, grow and rely on Heavenly Father. I tend to be too hard on myself, but I do know that we aren't supposed to know everything going into a calling, we need to be humbled and rely on our Heavenly Father. I learned a lot this last week, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with wonderful young women leaders and to be around such awesome young women! Here are some pictures from my week! And folks, this was real camping.. no shower for 5 whole days, tents, bugs, the whole shebang. I really had a fun week!