Rise UP: YW day camp 2020

When the General YW leaders sent out a letter stating YW camp to be cancelled for the summer of 2020 because of Covid,  my heart was broken for my girls and the other YW.  Girls camp is an essential part of a girls life in building her testimony.   Luckily mid June the local area authorities approved monthly outdoor gatherings in groups less than 20.    I felt very inspired that these YW needed a day camp up in the mountains.  I'm blessed with outstanding leaders I serve along side who jumped right in and we got ideas from the YW class presidencies and decided to base the theme "Rise UP" loosely on the movie up.  We took the "best of/favorite part of camp from the class presidencies" and the day turned out perfect!!

We held the camp at "Tanner Flat campground" just a short 23 minute drive from my house up Little Cottonwood Canyon.  The girls parents dropped them off at 9 to Einsten Bagels and fruit.  We decided to cater all the food to keep everyone safer and we had a big budget this year that we haven't been able to use.    Erika gave a great morning devotional about rising up and finding your spiritual gifts.  The YW then played a few group games while we set up the supplies to tie dye shirts (idea from Madi the older groups president).  They then exchanged secret sister gifts that Ellie and Jane arranged and then it was sandwiches for lunch.  After lunch I led the afternoon devotional and had them each take a balloon and pop it and read the note attached about awaking and arising from the obscurities of the world.  Did you know obscurity also means uncertainty and darkness.  I gave them each a notebook and had them share their thoughts about what they can do to rise up in their time of obscurity that is in their world.  Camp wouldn't be camp without decorating notebooks so they each tool their notebook and decorated it.  We then took them on a short hike to a waterfall and enjoyed the cool water for a bit.  We came back and the camp director Nikki put together an activity where we blindfolding each girl and had them go into the woods and find something soft, rough, smooth and small and wait for further instructions.  She then had Erika start singing Come follow me until they realized that was their instructions.  She had everyone gather and talked about how we get caught up in finding seemingly important quests of life that we sometimes miss the most important instructions.   Afterward the girls  enjoyed some unstructured time to make bracelets and chat.   The Bishopric showed up with Cafe Rio for dinner and we enjoyed a short fireside and testimony meeting around a fire.    

I loved being with these girls and especially loved being able to testify in person of my love for them, this gospel and our Heavenly Father.   

Nature has a way of calming my nerves and reminding me in these times of obscurity that he who commands the water, plants and all living things is in charge of everything and will send blessings in his time!!!