Girls Camp 2023!

In March of this year, the bishop called me into his office and asked if I liked camping. I laughed and told him I knew how to do it. He asked if I would be the Girl's Camp director. I said yes, and if I am being completely honest, I immediately felt overwhelmed and doubted all of my capabilities. 

I don't think I planned Girl's Camp the conventional way. Heavenly Father was so good, and he took any time I could give, and He would use it. I would find quotes, stories, ideas, lists, and I just compiled them. They didn't come all at once--it was literally a little bit every time I had a minute. It was pretty incredible watching them all come together! 

Girl's Camp was built off of many tears, conversations, late nights, inspiration and team work. The day before we left for Girl's Camp was crunch time! I was worried and doubting everything I had done, and I came out to find this hooked to the front of our refrigerator. This scripture was from Come Follow Me that week, but it's also a scripture from my patriarchal blessing. When I saw it, I immediately teared up and knew it was for me. I knew that I couldn't hide my light. Thanks, Macey.

For camp, we went to a camp owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. up by Fairview, UT. It was called Camp Haven, and it was completely amazing! 9 sets of senior missionary couples ran the camp and all the stations. 

The morning of Girl's Camp, all the girls met at our house with a bag lunch in hand! I had Macey write on my lunch for me, and she wrote "Lisa". She was SO embarrassed and asked that I not tell anyone it was her. She crossed it out and wrote Sister Bagley, instead.

We made it to our campsite, and all the girls worked together to set up our tents. We had 18 girls come (it was a Ward Girl's Camp) so we only needed 2 giant tents for the girls and 1 for the leaders.

(pictured: Brooke Carter, Claira Lloyd, Charlyann Carter, Lexi Duncan, Mckenza Starr, Kimber Moore)

We had to have a big camp training before we were allowed to participate in all the activities. One of the missionary couples came to give us the training, and Sister Riddle did a great job being our real life check mark!

After our tents were set up, and we ate our bag lunches, our first activity was zip lining! The girls were so excited (and I was so excited to try something new)! These girls were so amazing, and they cheered on every single girl who made the hike the tower (where they would jump off).

We have such amazing girls in our ward. We were told by more than one set of Senior Missionaries that these girls were so good, and there was something about a girl that was raised in a small town and knew how to work hard.

(Pictured: Charlotte Christopherson, Macey Bagley, Brookelin Anderson, Sara Winward)

(CharlyAnn Carter and Macey Bagley)

Macey getting ready to go up!

Snack break and playing games!

We took a sunset hike up to the top of the mountain! It was straight uphill the whole time, and it was a rough hike...i wasn't sure all the girls were going to make it...but we did! It was beautiful at the top!

Campfire, s'mores, starburst, and glow sticks!

The next morning, I woke up to find this! One of our priesthood leaders woke up early and started a fire for the girls. It was cold in the morning, and they appreciated it! Macey and her friend Maddy set up this sign for him.

Games in the morning!

Morning devotional!

The younger girls--on the way to archery! (Macey Bagley, McKenza Starr, Claira Lloyd, Madison Riddle, CharlyAnn Carter and Kimber Moore)

Archery was tricky--at least it seemed that way for me and everyone else! It was such a fun skill to learn, though!

We did a confidence course. The girls were all blindfolded, and a sister missionary walks the to the beginning of a ropes course and describes that the ropes course is similar to the ups and downs of life.

The girls met up and the end and talked about the course and how they navigated along the ropes course.

They had a climbing wall, and all the girls had to help all the YW get up and over the wall.

The last activity of the day was hatchet throwing!

We came back to camp for some down time, and the bishopric came and cooked dinner/dessert for the girls that night. It was really, really nice to have the bishopric hook-up! Scott slipped me some caffeine and chocolate contraband!

While the girls ate, I slipped away to the amphitheatre to set up our faith walk!

The faith walk was something I wrestled with from day 1. I wanted to give them the "faith walk" experience without giving them the "typical" faith walk. I wanted to use the theme. I wanted to use my Youth Leaders, and I wanted to give them the opportunity to lead out. 

I asked my 5 youth leaders to pick a name of Christ that meant something to them. They each picked one, and they were all incredible--Redeemer, Savior, Companion, God of Miracles and Counselor. I gave them each something they could talk about relating to the Savior...and some of them used what I gave, some didn't. One of the girls excels in theatre arts, so she dressed as a woman in the New Testament and shared "her" experience with the Savior. Another youth leader excels in playing the violin, so she picked a piece of music that went along with her name and performed at camp.

Each name of Jesus Christ was written on a rock, and then each girl was given a blank rock and paint pen to write something that they struggle with. (If they wanted to write it and then scribble it out, that was fine with me! I just wanted them to be able to write it down.) 

We talked about cairns--how they have been used for thousands of years to symbolize directions, sources of food, water and shelter. As each youth leader presented their name of Jesus Christ, they walked around and let each girl take a rock with their name for Jesus Christ on it. By the end, they had a bag with 5 names of Jesus Christ and a rock with their struggle. 

We took a minute to let each girl build a cairn--and they all did! They balanced their personal struggle with Jesus Christ, and he held them/the cairn up. 

The bishop message and testimony meeting took place after the faith walk. Each girl got a hammer, and the next morning they played the hammer and stump game with the bishop.

It was an exhausting 3 days. It was a growing/stretching few months leading up to camp. Everything worked out so perfectly. It wasn't perfect, but it worked out like it was supposed to. I prayed over tent assignments, and I saw multiple times how those girls were placed in the right tent for them. I saw girls step up and reach out to others. I saw their excitement for Secret Sisters and their desire for no one to be left behind. I saw that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father not only knew my needs and capabilities, He knew every single girl too.