Girls camp

Preparing for girls camp was a major part of my summer activities for 17 years. Camp Mia Shalom is a girls camp owned by many of the stakes in the area. It is an hour and a half bus ride from here and it is located in a beautiful canyon. The first year I attended, I was 7 months pregnant with Dave. Thereafter, they didn't allow pregnant women to attend camp, so the year I was expecting Andy I could only attend the testimony meeting at the end of the week. I pretty much went to girls camp every year since 1984 and I learned many skills and camping abilities. I served in just about every ward and stake calling possible during those years and I loved my association with the adult leaders and with the young women. Every now and then I'll run into a YW in a store around town and she will say that she remembers "thus and such" from girls camp. We shared some great experiences and some wonderful adventures. We went for five days on our assigned week, which began the first week in June and went through the summer until late August, with four stakes attending each week. We went in all kinds of weather and learned how to cope in the outdoors in unheated cabins, with cold water and no electricity. The luxury was that we had flush toilets. I got to attend all six years that my girls were involved and we shared some great experiences backpacking and fine tuning our camping skills. Rick went on more than one occasion to help me and provide some brute strength when needed.
During almost all of those years, I got to serve with a wonderful friend named Kathleen. We became close friends and we have remained close through the years after serving together. We decided to go back to girls camp after about 10 years of not attending and see what is going on there. We packed a lunch and drove up for the day a couple of weeks ago. We enjoyed reminiscing and chatting about the many experiences and people we knew from those years. We found that it is pretty much the same. A tree beetle has eaten away many of the pines, but the spirit of camaraderie can be felt and it was good to visit. YW camp had a major impact on my life and hopefully we did some good and influenced some girls for the better. Maybe in the future I'll tell more about some of the things we did there, but for now, I'll close just remembering those good times share in the mountains building our faith. The goals of YW camp were:

• Draw closer to Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ
• Feel the influence of the Spirit.
• Serve others.
• Build friendships and unity
• Learn skills.
• Appreciate God's creations.
• Have fun!