Girls Camp 2017

Caitlyn had her first year of girls camp last week!  It is crazy that she is old enough to go to camp.  Since I am in Young Women's I got to go with her.  I knew camp would be hard for me, but I knew I wanted to be there with Caitlyn and I knew I wanted to be there with the other girls as well.  I tried not to think about it and I didn't panic until the day before.  Keith couldn't take time off of work so Jonah took on a lot of responsibility and I had to ask people to help (which I hate to do), but it was so great knowing that my mom and Katie were there helping the kids.  It was so hard not being able to call home and make sure everything was okay.  I wasn't prepared for how homesick and anxious I would get.  The first day went so slow and I had to really calm myself down that night to prevent a panic attack.  It didn't help that I couldn't sleep that night.  Keith is such a calming presence in my life and it was so hard not to be able to talk to him, especially since I was totally out of my comfort zone.  The second day was also a little rough, I was still feeling anxious and time was still passing very slowly.  It was great to have Caitlyn there.  I made sure to give her space so she could enjoy camp without her mom hovering over her, but I think we were both glad that we had each other there. After the second day time started passing quickly and I felt much better.  The good at camp far out weighed the bad and I am so glad that I went.  It was definitely a growing experience for me. 

We met at the church on Tuesday and waited for the buses to take us up to camp.  It took almost two hours to get up there.  Caitlyn and Leata are the newest girls in Young Women's and they stayed together for the first day until they both started feeling more comfortable with the other girls.

The stake had sweatshirts for each ward.  Our value was Choice and Accountability so we had the color orange.  I told Caitlyn I wanted a picture of us on the first day before I was dirty and gross!  Caitlyn and I were in the same cabin.  She slept upstairs and I slept downstairs.  I wish I would have taken a picture of all of the girls downstairs, I had so much fun getting to know them better.

Caitlyn was upstairs with most of the beehives and one older girl.  They all had a lot of fun together.

It was gorgeous up there.  We planned for a cold camp and it was cold the first day and night, but then it was hot! I'm so glad we went in June, I think I would have died in July. 

Every morning and night the whole stake would gather for "celebration."  They would sing songs, have a short talk and have a flag ceremony. 

Caitlyn loved singing the songs. 

Every day they would break off into age groups and do their certification.  There were three first-year girls. 

Every day we had an hour of "FEAST" time.  We let the girls pick topics before camp and each day we would take time to study the topics together then we would break off for some time to study on our own and then discuss as a group again.  I was in charge of talking about why we have trials and how we can get through them.  I was so impressed with the thoughtful comments that the girls had.  Caitlyn always has something to add and she really puts thought into her responses.  A lot of the girls and leaders talked about how they admired Caitlyn for answering questions, especially in front of the whole stake at celebration.  Caitlyn gave a prayer at one of the celebrations and a counselor in the stake young women's presidency wrote her a note and told her that she felt the spirit so strong while she prayed.  She wanted to get to know Caitlyn after that and Caitlyn ate that right up.

Caitlyn loved the crafts!

Each ward got waterfront time.  The girls loved kayaking and canoeing.  I was hoping to go out with Caitlyn, but she was with Leata the whole time, so I went out with some other girls.

After waterfront we had a confidence course.  The first thing we did was the trust fall.  Caitlyn got a little nervous, but she did it.  I loved being down there to catch the girls.  I hope all of my young women know that I will always be there to support them!

I was always with Caitlyn when we split off for activities.  I loved being able to watch her experience everything.  The next day we planted trees as a service project.  I didn't have my camera, so I don't have those pictures.  We had to walk a mile to the lake and then carry two one-gallon jugs up a big hill to the spot where we would plant the trees.  Caitlyn and I were in a fun group, but we all got a little cranky at times.  It was so hot and we got really dirty from planting the trees.  The ground was really hard so it was tough to dig the holes.  The first tree took us a while, but then we got the hang of it.  After that we split off for hikes.  I went with Caitlyn on the first year hike.  It was a three mile hike.  It really wasn't bad except for a few big hills, but it was tough to do it right after planting trees.  We were all so hot, tired and dirty.  I was so hot and dirty when I got back to camp, my skin was crawling and I knew I wouldn't be able to relax until I changed and had a shower.  They had freezing cold showers and it felt so good!  When I came into my cabin all of the girls were trying to talk to me and I told them I couldn't talk until I had showered and jokingly said, "I hate you all."  Luckily they all knew me and my sarcasm by this point and they thought it was funny.  After I showered I told them I loved them all!  We couldn't wash our hair in the showers, so Caitlyn and I helped each other wash our hair in the spigot.  I felt like a new woman after that. 

Every day we would get a new secret sister and we had to learn about them and say something about them around the camp fire that night.  One of the girls in my cabin had me that night and said, "I learned that when sister Loosli is dirty she says things she doesn't mean."  We all had a good laugh about that one.  The girls in my cabin also thought it was hilarious to sing "I see your true colors" while I changed every day.  They gave out awards at the end of camp and mine was "Angry when she is dirty and true colors award." 

Nadia is my next door neighbor, but I really didn't know her well before camp.  We hit it off and had a great time joking around together.  It is so fun to see a different side of the girls at camp.  I loved seeing their sense of humor.  I'm excited that Nadia is in our trek family.

They have some pretty cool traditions at Mia Shalom.  One of them is called, Singing in the Trees.  One night after it was dark we all went down to a forest area.  They put each ward in a different spot, but we were all pretty close to each other.  We all sang some songs together and then each ward took a turn singing a song.  When it was our turn to sing we turned on our flashlights and pointed them straight up while we sang, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." At the end we all sang "The Spirit of God" and when we started singing the Priesthood brethren that were up there started a huge fire that we could all see in the middle of us.  It was amazing, this was probably one of my favorite things.  The Spirit was so strong! 

Another tradition that I loved was they read the whole Book of Mormon during camp.  They have a table set up under a canopy with a nice big Book of Mormon on it.  When the girls have free time they are supposed to go over and read and then sign their name where they leave off and the next person picks up from that spot.  If there was more than one of us we would take turns reading out loud.  Every year they finish the Book of Mormon and then give it to the Stake President.  It was so cool to read the scriptures while you were overlooking beautiful trees and enjoying nature. 

On Friday the girls planned their skit.  Ours was amazing!  They did a musical to a "Beauty and the Beast" song.  It was so good!  I need to get a copy of the video. 

The bishopric came up on Friday.  Bro. Schultz got all the girls playing mafia and they loved it.  It is now Caitlyn's favorite game.

Nadia and Caitlyn in front of our cabin.  Nadia said that she was my brown daughter and Caitlyn was my white daughter!

Lily was one of the girls that was with me in the cabin.  Lily and Caroline are very quiet, but we pulled them out of their shell.  I spent a few afternoons in the cabin visiting with Nadia, Carrie and Rachel and I was so happy that Caroline and Lily wanted to join us and that they would laugh and join in the conversations.  I loved that time with the girls.

Here we all are with the bishopric and their wives and a couple of the stake leaders. 

It sure was a fun group. 

Each night at celebration one of the Stake Young Women leaders would speak to us.  They all gave amazing talks.  They focused on our theme this year, which is James 1:5-6, ask of God.  One night we focused on getting to know our Heavenly Father and really understanding his nature.  Sister Celaya went through the beatitudes and pointed out that they were all characteristics of God and that if we really understand our Heavenly Father we wouldn't let fears keep us from reaching out to Him.  It was a great talk!  On Friday the Stake President and his wife spoke to us and answered some questions that the girls had submitted.  It broke my heart to hear that so many girls are looking for help with depression and hopelessness.  He did a great job reaching out to the girls.

After that we split off for testimony meetings, my favorite part of camp.  The bishop talked to the girls first and did a great job.  Almost everyone bore their testimonies, they were all so touching, and then the bishop said he felt inspired to give a bishops blessing to everyone there.  The first thing he did was ask a blessing on the husbands and the children of those who were at camp and bless them for their sacrifice.  I was so happy to hear that, it was so hard to know that by me going to camp Keith and the kids had to sacrifice so much.  Keith never once complained and still says it wasn't a sacrifice, but it was.  He is so busy and stressed at work and the fact that he is so willing to come home and take everything on after his long day is amazing to me.  Wyatt had a hard time and cried a few times because he missed me and Jonah said he was so glad when I got home because he missed me and he didn't want to be in charge anymore!  I know Hallee missed me, but I think she missed Caitlyn more.  I am so grateful for everyone that sacrificed to make it possible for me to go to camp.  Like I said in my testimony, it put me out of my comfort zone and made me really rely on my Heavenly Father and my Savoir.  I love my Savior and that is why I do the things I do, that is why I push myself out of my comfort zone and make sacrifices and do things that I don't want to do sometimes.   I know I was blessed while I was up at camp and so was my family and I'm so grateful for that.