girls camp

Last week I went to girl’s camp with the Manhattan stake young women. I went up a day late with a couple of the girls that were on vacation. We met at Grand Central and we were off to Pawling, NY. Now already it was feeling a little weird, I'd schlepped my duffle bag and camp gear all through the subways of New York and now I was taking a train to girl’s camp? Definitely not what I was use to.

After a two hour train ride we finally arrived and already it was starting to feel like home. Camp Liahona was amazing, or at least compared to the camps I use to go to. It had a lake, a mess hall and SHOWERS ... honestly who showers at camp? We arrived just in time to see the girls hit the lake, canoes and slip and slide. They had so many fun things going on I didn't know what to do. That night I got settled in, met my tent mates and enjoyed a nice night around the fire. I love camp fires and have missed them since moving to the city.

The next morning we were up bright and early for the flag ceremony and then it was on to certifications and service projects. Now I know I will continue saying this but it was such an adventure camping with these city girls, it was amazing to me that almost all of them would rather sleep with city rats then spiders. After finishing our certifications I introduced the girls to my favorite girls camp game ... Phase 10, and I'm happy to report that they all loved it! Now usually a service project of pulling weeds isn't that exciting, but to 5 girls who have never dug up dirt with a shovel, it was. It was so funny teaching the girls to dig under the weeds with the shovel so they could break the roots and pull out the weeds with ease. I felt like I was teaching a little kid to ride a bike for the first time.

After getting our hands dirty with the service project we were ready for free time. After seeing the slip and slide the day before I couldn't wait to show the girls what I was made of. There was a big hill with a tarp that we would soap up and then drench with water before each girl took a ride, and believe me, a little soap can go along ways. I had my fun at the slip and slide and showed off a little but I was definitely paying for it the next morning. I can honestly say that my body is not what it use to be and I don't think I will ever throw it down a hill again ... I literally ached from head to toe.

Actually before the fun of the slip and slide another leader and I took a few girls on a little adventure to find a haunted house the lifeguard told us about. So we thought we knew where we were going and decided to go off the trail ... bad idea, never go off the trail they are there to protect you. So we go wandering through the woods and we see a beehive, so we decide to go around it, well little did we know there were several more to come. I suddenly felt stinging and looked down to see that I was covered in bees. So me, being the responsible leader that I am, started freaking out!! I started swatting and all I could feel was more stinging. I didn't know what to do so I immediately had a flash back of "My girl" and started frantically asking the girls if they were allergic. Fortunately, none of them were but then they all started to get stung so all I could think to do was yell run!!! We finally made it to safety and after examining our bodies I discovered I had been stung 10 times, the others were luckily only stung 3 or 4 times and none of us were allergic. The funniest part is, I was the only one freaking out and I got stung the most, so if you're caught in a beehive ... just stay calm!

To wash our wounds away we decided to go for a little dip in the lake and checkout the lifeguard. This poor kid was the only boy at camp and every girl was obsessed with him and I don't think it bothered him one bit.

After all the excitement of the day it was time for dinner and testimony meeting, my favorite part of camp. We had a wonderful meeting and the girls were all so amazing. The one thing that I loved about my camp experience was how diverse all the girls were. We had girls from all ethnic groups and it was so fun to get to know all of them, they each had such sweet spirits and did so much to make everyone feel included. In our stake we have a Spanish branch and two of the girls didn't speak English so the prayers and songs were in both Spanish and English, making it so touching to listen as both were shared.

After testimonies each ward broke off for the bishopric devotional and I have to say we definitely have one of the neatest bishops. He brought his cute little family up to camp out with the girls and he and his wife shared the sweetest devotional with our girls, making each feel so special.

The next day we had breakfast, packed our bags and got back on the train ... back to civilization, as some girls called it. I always loved going to girls camp each year and was excited to go again but I didn't know quite what to expect. I'm so glad that I was able to go and meet the girls of our church here in New York, they truly are Daughters of God.