Girls Camp

I've been MIA on my blog, but this summer has been so busy and full of fun and new experiences, that its been better just to live life and not feel attached to the computer all the time. We have taken a TON of pictures, and do want to archive them here, but it will have to wait until life slows down a little bit.

I wanted to mention briefly my experiences of girl's camp, and as silly as it sounds, my TESTIMONY of girl's camp. The Lord knows me very well. I think He knew that I needed to be stretched. I love my Primary calling (most of the the time, let's be real here!), but it's not that much of a stretch for me. I think the Lord gives us certain callings to stretch us beyond where we think we can reach. Enter: Girl's Camp.

I struggled with receiving this calling. In our church, we believe that callings come through our local leader, the bishop, from our Heavenly Father through the Spirit. So, I knew that Heavenly Father had something in store for me, but I didn't know WHAT. I HATE camping, I hadn't been in ages. Combine that with a set of teenage girls, and I was a deer in the headlights. I was so nervous to spend four nights camping away from home, with a set of girls that I didn't know.

Hindsight is 20/20, right? As I attended girl's camp, I had fun, but I also had my times of "What am I DOING here?" It seemed like I was surrounded by strong leaders who knew what they were doing, loved what they were doing. As a leader, I felt like I should be doing the influencing, but instead, I felt like a little lost lamb, following our camp director around, waiting to be given something I actually knew how to do. I got along with the girls, but I knew that I wasn't considered super fun, or super cool, or whatever. And for me, that was really hard! I wanted to be liked--and needed--and feel like I was good at something--and struggled with feeling the opposite. See the stretching?

My testimony has grown so much since last week. I know the Lord knows me, and that he gave me a calling that would show me that He was in charge, not me. He gave me a calling that allowed me to feel hope for the future, and excited for these girls. He gave me a calling that helped me realize that these teenage girls are growing into women who will lead the Church, and create strong families and homes. He gave me a calling that gave me the opportunity to hear a talk about how the media can jam communications from Heavenly Father, a talk that helped me make a goal of being on the computer less, and having REAL conversations more (a difficult task that will take some effort on my part...I am so dependent!) This calling showed me that I can do things that are tough for me, that I can grow ESPECIALLY in my weaknesses, and that I need to continue to read my scriptures and pray for the Spirit to guide me in my decisions.

I KNOW this church is true. I am grateful for eternal families, for a prophet on this Earth, for the peace of temples. I know that Heavenly Father always has our best interests in mind, even when we feel like the situation is, well, ridiculous! I am so grateful I got to attend girl's camp this year :)