girls camp

Well, I spent Wednesday - Saturday of last week at Girls Camp; something I swore I’d never do after my 4th year of camp as a 16 year old. Three of our four young women were going and no one from the ward was able to go up with them (their leaders all have babies) so I was tapped to go for the whole time and another gal, Andrea, joined us on Thursday night for the last two days. I’d only met our young women at 6:45 in the morning when we met to go down to Grand Central together, but once Andrea joined us we were a close knit fivesome.

One funny thing was that girls and leaders alike had a hard time believing that I was not 15. Now I am not one of those women who act like a girl when I am around them. I didn’t like it when leaders where that way when I was in Young Women’s and I feel the same way now; some girls respond to it and others don’t so I guess there needs to be both types of leaders for the youth. Anyway, I really spent most of my time reading and doing dishes with my tent-mate Lori, who is the Stake RS President. But until the end of the week I had girls reprimanding me for not being with my group during camp clean up time or scripture study. One leader in particular thought I was giving her lip when I told her I was not a third year, that I was married and a leader representing the Morningside Heights Ward; the best part about that was that I was in her ward in Inwood for six months! She felt a little awkward when I called her by name and reminded her of that.

Another funny thing was on the first day when we were waiting for a train transfer, a leader decided to teach all the girls in the parking lot a song that involved dancing around and “forming,” ‘greasing” and then “rocking” the mullet. The girls loved the song and wanted to sing it again and again. After a pause one girl shouted out “What’s a mullet?” followed by a chorus of “Yeah, what are we singing about?” Then one girl responded but saying, “Oh is it the one where it’s short in the front and mad long in the back.” Mad. Long. Now that’s a word I’d like to incorporate into my vocabulary in place of “really” and “very.”

The theme this year used the imagery of the subway system with “Get on Track, Stay on Track,” and was based on the Stake Young Men/Women’s scripture for the year, Mosiah 5:15 “Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.” Each day’s theme was related to a part of the verse as well as to a subway line to help us remember it.

We rode the F train for Faith, the R train for Remembering Him, the A train for Action and the 1 train for Being One with Him. I really liked taking the R train because it was the day we went on a hike and spent some time alone in nature. I brought The Infinite Atonement to read and I was struck by a passage that suggested that "the very act of remembering the Savior and reflecting upon his life is, in and of itself, a catalyst for goodness...Each time we pause to meditate upon the Savior, we take a spiritual step forward." At the end of the evening the LITes (Leaders in Training) hosted a “night hike” around the camp with stations where they bore their testimonies of Christ in various ways. I was asked to hold a flashlight and turn the pages for a LIT who was playing the violin for the song Jesus was no Ordinary Man while another girl showed pictures of Christ’s ministry.

Jesus Was No Ordinary Man
by Janice Kapp Perry

Jesus was no ordinary man.
But there were some who did not understand.
They saw him working miracles, but some were still deceived.
Why did they not believe?

When with few loaves and fishes the multitudes were fed;
When He showed them His pow'r to heal and even raised the dead;
When He walked upon the water and He calmed the raging sea,
Why did they not believe?

Jesus was no ordinary man.
But there were some who did not understand.
They saw him working miracles, but some were still deceived.
Why did they not believe?

When His faith filled the fishnets; gave sight unto the blind;
When they saw at His bidding even water turned to wine;
When He offered all He had to them if they would but receive,
Why did they not believe?

Jesus was no ordinary man.
The pow'r to bless and heal was in His hands.
They saw him cleanse the leper They saw him heal the lame;
They must have sensed divinity and known from whence He came,

But understanding not His cause,
They crucified the son of God,
And even then they did not understand
That Jesus was no ordinary man.

It was a special night for the girls who later talked about it as one of the highlights of camp. And it was a nice experience for me to be able to ponder on the truth of the words of the song and feel a renewed desire to take time for sacred things in my day to day life.

When all was said and done, I was glad I went, but I’m still not a fan of camping. I’ll go again when I’m needed and asked but I’m not sure I’ll be first in line to volunteer.