Well, I'm finally back from camp! It was so much fun. This was my first year as a YCL, and it has definitely been the best year ever by far! There was never a dull moment, and the spirit was so much stronger than I've ever felt it. I'm pretty much just gonna put what happened on each day, to make it easier, and less scatterbrained. There's only one picture on here, but the rest of them are going to be on my photo blog, so check them out! There are definitely a lot to look at!
Wednesday - We got to camp and had to steal mattresses from other cabins because there were no beds in the YCL cabin. We played games with the 1st years, and taught them about camp sanitation. They were so shy at first! It was really hard to get them talking, and when they would start talking, you could barely hear them! I'm so used to everyone being loud. It was a big change.
Thursday - We woke up and went with the 1st and 4th years on a nature walk. On the hike everyone was paired up with someone else they've never met, just so we all could get to know each other, and we would switch every 15 minutes or so. It was really fun. Then we came back and had certification (knots and fire regulation). The girls were very excited that they got to keep their rope from the knot-tying. Later in the day we had our super activity games. I went around with our YCL president since I'm the 2nd counselor, and just made sure everything was going okay. They were all water games, so everything was muddy. As you can see above, I got into a mud fight with Charlee and Kara. It was so much fun! Then that night we had our first dance party. I didn't participate in it though.
Friday - This was definitely my favorite day - or night, I should say. Later in the afternoon we had a devotional by Sister Wagner. She had this cute little talk having to do with shoes and what each shoe represents. She actually went before camp, and collected some shoes from the girls without them knowing it, and used them as examples. During the devotional the clouds started rolling in, and it got really windy and started to thunder. Of course, I get excited at even the slightest hint of rain. I was completely hyper the rest of the night. For bishops night, it was also kinda shoe-themed. They had gotten the shoes from all the bishops and you had to guess whose shoe belonged to who - We got them all right. Then, at testimony meeting, you could feel the spirit so strongly. Some of the personal experiences that were shared really touched me. I was crying so hard that I was almost hyperventillating - I couldn't calm down enough to get up and share my testimony. But just listening to all of those strong testimonies of our ward leaders and young women alike was a very neat experience. After testimony meeting, we went back to the cabin. That's when the real party started! Some of the priesthood leaders that were up there brought in the big sound system to the YCL cabin, and we started playing music, dancing, and having a good time. It was so fun to see so many people in there having a good time. We had people from every year, stake staff, and even the priesthood in there dancing with us. I had so much fun. I went down the aisle with Charlee, Lexi, and Kara a couple times. We looked pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.
Saturday - Today was slightly bittersweet. I really wasn't ready to leave camp. It is so nice to just get away from all the foul language, cell phones, tv, computer - all that stuff - and have some time with people who you can just have fun with. I was excited to get home and take a shower, read Breaking Dawn, and relax a little bit, but I really am going to miss how strong the spirit was up there, and all of the first years we got to work with.
