Young Women's Camp!!!

The theme for camp this year was "Sisters in Zion". The goal was to help them come closer to our Savior and closer to one another. It's funny how the Lord knows what needs to happen in order for us to reach our goals. But I'll leave that for a little later. We had a wonderful time and the girls were very well behaved and did not complain. I was there as the camp cook (I have cooked for the past three years and imagine that I will be for the next 14 since I have so many girls). Anyway I loved it. This was the first year that I actually utilized the help that was offered me and it made it so much easier to handle cooking for 50 people. I also learned that you don't have to make the most exotic meals for these girls they just want to eat.Alecia took this picture of the sign while the sun was setting. I think it is very pretty.Alecia was making a lattern from a tin can. She really had a great time!There was no running water so if the girls wanted to bathe they had to do it in the lake. As you can see that didn't stop them! We did have porta potties brought in. It was a wonderful growing experience for them all. Alecia, Tori, Lauren and two other girls from camp strike a pose. Tori, Alecia's cousin, is in the green stripes. Lauren, an honorary cousin is in the pink stripes. They all had a wonderful time at camp.

Lauren took this beautiful sunset picture!

Alecia took this one. The Lord gave them such wonderful things to look at while there.

This is a picture of all the girls at camp.

Okay so back to the story. It rained, well actually stormed all three days that we were there. Thankfully the storms came during the afternoon and we were able to get the girls to safety inside the trailer until they passed. The first day, the leaders were outside in the storm saving an army sized pavillion that was borrowed for the girls. It kept trying to fly away and we had not tied it down. So as about 6 of us held it down (believe me this was not easy) the men there to make sure we were safe tied it to trees. We finally got it tied and then went in with the girls. It lasted about 30 minutes and through it all the girls kept asking when they could go swimming! After we got out we looked around and there was some damage control that needed to be done so off the girls went happily to take care of what needed to be done.

The second day the storm came again, only this time it was worse. It came with hail. Sis Funderburk was starting to get really worried. She knew that hail sometimes means circular wind movement not something you want when you have a trailer full of girls. The girls started to sing "As sisters in Zion". As soon as they started to sing the storm started to dissipate. It was such a wonderful experience to know that our Heavenly Father was watching out for these precious young women! Once again the girls went out and this time there was a lot of damage to the camp. We lost seven tents. The big pavilion was blown away even with the tie downs. One of the big metal posts was snapped in half! Our ten man tent was destroyed. One pole was snapped in two and another was bent backwards. This type of problems was seen all over the camp Except for on the patio. Everything that was left of the patio was still there. It was like our Father in Heaven reached down with His Loving Hands and covered us with a protective "bubble" as the girls were calling it. What a wonderful thing to witness! What did the girls do? You would expect complaints and a desire to go home but not our girls. They went out and said things like "Look at that" and "Cool". Then they went out took care of there stuff, which was soaked by the way. When they did all they could for their tents they went looking for things they could do to help others. They were bonding and learning to have joy in adversity. It was so wonderful. After a little while Sis. Funderburk asked the girls who was going to stay with her and they all raised their hands. Then we all knelt in the mud and thanked our Father in Heaven for protecting us through the storm. All the bedding was wet so Mom took it to town and dried it all in the laundry mat. Thank heavens for modern innovations! The girls continued on in strength for the rest of the camping experience.

The third and last day. We woke up and put everything away into cars and tore down camp. Once again a storm came the wind blew and the girls were safe inside. I know that a loving Heavenly Father knew what needed to be done to bring the girls closer to Him and to each other and that the storms were a blessing. They even cooled down the temps so that at night we were not sleeping in excessive heat. I loved the opportunity to cook for these sweet young sisters and I am looking forward to the years to come as I watch more of my girls learn and come closer to Christ. I love my Savior and know that He did all He could for us to return to Him and our Father in Heaven.