The truth about Girls Camp, and a brief history in pictures.

Vocabulary for my non-Mo Mo friends

Ward - a single congregation determined by geographical boundaries

Stake - multiple congregations determined by geographical boundaries

YW - young women, girls ages from 12 to high school graduate

GC - girls camp

YCL - youth camp leader

I always end up at GC. Every Ward I've lived in, I've been involved in one way or another. I don't mind, I love it! It had a powerful impact in my life as a youth it is an experience that is near and dear to my heart. I loved it so much, I worked at one the first two summers I was in college. The summer after High School, I worked at a Boy Scout camp and I discovered it wasn't my cup of tea. Boy are GA-ROOSS!! Girls at least clean themselves up every once in a while.

So with that said, I've got a lot of work ahead of me this week. I am in charge of GC this year and I'm really behind on my preparations. Usually I am on the ball and getting ready isn't stressful, but..... there is a reason why this year.

Truthfully, I wasn't excited to go. AT ALL!!! And, here is why.

Last summer I was asked to work on the Stake level. I was initially excited, but it turned out to be a terrible experience. It actually soured me on the whole camp experience. So this year when I was asked to help on the Ward level, I hesitated, but since I knew I would be serving in a completely different capacity, I was willing. 

Well, we have new Stake YW leadership and they made some changes this year with the YCLs and I'm not happy about them at all. I've had phone conversations, sent email back and forth and talked in person to one Stake lady or another. They wouldn't COMPROMISE!!!  I was really frustrated. They had made up their minds and I felt, as a result, I was impotent, as a Ward leader. What was the point of me being there if they weren't going to let me fulfill my role? The primary responsibility of the adult leader is to foster an environment where the girls can feel the spirit. Anyone can come up to camp to feed the girls and play games, but GC is so much MORE than that. It isn't just a fun week, it is meant to be a powerful spiritual experience. (I don't want to take the time to get into that in this post.)

Oh well, I finally let that go, and am now ready to focus on my primary responsibility as the leader of my little group of girls. (I've dragged my feet this year because it felt like I was going into a year like the last.) We've had a few camp meetings and I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know the YW. We had a Pre-camp Campout at my house the first weekend of June and I REALLY got to know them better. We laughed A LOT and we stayed up late. I know we are going to have a really good time together. I'm excited! Below are some pictures from the campout.

Arriving with a heavy bag.

Sweet Baby Alice came to play, I think.

We roasted marshmallows.

Here is one reason why I love the YW in my ward. Rayzel ran to meet O and swung her in a circle. Aw, they love my girl and I love them for it.

Della and S'mores

We did fun things like paint our new table.

I have no clue what they are doing here.

I'm looking forward to being in a low-key role this year at camp. 2 years ago, I was in charge of my Ward and I worked with the 4th year YCLs. I pranked the lady in charge of the Stake YW, and she took me down, literally took me down, once she found out it was a prank.  A decent amount of people found out about it so she had us settle it with a sumo match during an evening meeting. Ugh, it was in front of everyone. (Hey look, I had enough hair then to have a topknot.)

Epic Sumo Match, 2012

Last year, since I was in the Stake I sat with them during our group meetings. At one such meeting, at the beginning of the week, I was sassing Katie, the Stake Camp Director and she challenged me to a dance off. Um.... I don't dance, so I declined. The girls started chanting, but Katie said we had to do other things. Hooray, I was off the hook. Unfortunately, the girls remembered and at the end of the week, at a group meeting, they started chanting again. UGH... Katie consented, and it was on. Verity, of course, caught it all on video. I'm posting it here simply because I think it is so funny. You only need to watch the first minute or two.

THIS year, I will sit quietly with my girls. I've learned my lesson. I am happy to be back on the Ward level and out of the spotlight. 

A brief history of my GC experiences.

The photos are mostly in order.

Handicraft Director at Camp Little Lemhi near Palisades Dam.

 I'm not in the picture, but here are some of the guys I worked with.
(This isn't GC, but it's still a camp.)

Here I am as a youth.We are all gross and dirty because it 

was the last day. My cousin J opted to rough it and only 

"bathe" in the lake. Nope, no showering for her. ha ha ha

Oakcrest, Years 1 and 2

We did "fun" things,
every week, with a new set of girls.

Once a week we got dressed up for a devotional when the 

Stake leaders arrived.

 VICTIMS OF THE DOT GAME!!!!
Who knew washable markers could be so much fun?

I can't remember which camper did my hair in this picture,
but it was always a mess at camp.

We took our girls on an overnight hike.

 I made mine carry heavy and awkward things like our dutch oven,
the food basket and twine, while they were wearing their backpacks.
 Trudy got creative with the twine. She was a really fun camper.

We wore dirty clothes for the overnighter and made 

fruit loop bracelets. (Actually, I didn't, that one was made for me.
In fact, I'm pretty sure it was a one time "craft".)
And, Michelle picked her nose.

Her hat is awesome!

I got to work with fun people like these ladies. We are still in touch. 

Working at Oakcrest forges a strong bond among the counselors.

Ya..... I got in trouble for that one.

Once again, hair styled by a camper. 

We got to play with sharp pointy things.

We learned all about safety, the wrong way.

Oops! For the record, no one was hurt.

We got to decorate our cabin.

For no reason what-so-ever.

We got to catch mice in our cabins.

Here is a picture of the Sunday night mouse hunt in my room.

I was NOT a fan of mice in my room. 

Fortunately, I only ever had one.

We got to celebrate Christmas in August.

The campers did this to me. Not bad!

We had ash fights after our Tuesday morning cookout.

Why anyone would pulverize charcoal
and use it as face paint is beyond me.

We did it, every week, it was fun, and it was smelly.

Utah, ?

This was my first year as a Ward Camp Director. 

It was rough, because I didn't know what I was doing yet.

Midvale 200?

I don't remember the topic of the skit.

Texas, 2008 and 2009

This is Cassies version of "camping."

Lunch was a challenging time. 

We weren't allowed to leave the building, 

even if we needed to go to the bathroom. 

Maryland, 2011 

Here are some of my 1st year campers.

Maryland, 2012

We are returning from the canoes.

Last year, 2013
Here is our group of leaders and YCLs at our High Adventure campout.
I had such a great time at that ropes course, I took LT for our anniversary.

Here is our entire group. I didn't spend a lot of time with
these guys because I was in charge of the YLCs for the Stake.
But we had everyone in our ward gather for a picture on the last day.
I'm pretty impressed we look so nice after 5 days in the "wilderness."