YW Camp 2018

I was asked to go to YW Camp this year as a counselor, or "nest leader." Joe agreed to hold down the fort with boys and I was excited to be up there with the girls. I was nervous, too. I hadn't been to camp since I was a teenager and I didn't know the traditions of this stake and what would be expected of me. I got the list of girls in our group and met my fellow leader, Danielle. She was great and experienced and I felt more confident after that. The girls found out their groups and Elizabeth had the same leader as last year, who is amazing. Natalie had a friend she knew in her group and was so excited for the chance to go to YW Camp even though she's not 12 yet. She got in since she was going into 7th grade. As Camp approached, I have to admit I was kind of dreading it. Looking back, I'm not sure why and I'm so glad I decided to go. It ended up being an amazing experience for all of us.

We left Monday morning. Natalie and I were in the same van, driven by my co-leader. Here was our transport group:

We'd been warned that it was smoky up by camp from the fires near Yosemite. They weren't close but the smoke was still an issue. We got arrived safely and then took group pictures in our camp shirts:

My group of first and second year beehives:

Elizabeth's group:

Sadly, I don't have one of Natalie's group since I think they were missing someone and never were able to take a picture.

We had a great week full of archery, camp songs, games, oasis time (spiritual study), BB gun shooting, hikes, etc.

On Thursday, the Beehives had their hike at Pinecrest Lake:


We hiked around the whole lake and then had time to swim. The girls did really well, despite the smoke. They loved playing on these anchored huge logs.

As we were driving back into camp, we passed a huge new fire just off the freeway. Lots of cars were stopped to look at it. On our way into camp, we passed a big group of hotshot firefighters and asked them about it. They were confident that the fire wouldn't go near us at Liahona Camp but we were still worried. When we got back to camp, we told everyone there about the new fire. There had been ash coming down on them but they didn't realize there was a new fire closeby. The leaders discussed things and prayed about it and felt strongly that we needed to pack up and go home just in case. We didn't want to be caught having to evacuate in the middle of the night or in a more dangerous situation. 

They informed everyone at dinner that we had to pack up and leave after we finished eating. The girls were all sad but had great attitudes and worked hard together to finish getting everything packed up. It only took about an hour. I was so impressed by the YW--seeing them take charge of loading the trailers and all working together to do so. By the time we'd finished, word came that there was an evacuation recommendation in place. Later, it was upgraded to a mandatory evacuation. We all felt so grateful for our inspired leaders that listened to the spirit. As we drove out of camp, we could see the fire burning and we were sad but grateful for the Lord's protection. 

We later found out our stake president had left camp to get wifi for a leadership training and he was racing back to camp when he saw the fire. He was so grateful that we'd already evacuated.
He took this picture:

That was only a few miles from camp.

 We hit some construction traffic and so it took us a bit longer to get home--we made it to Fremont at about 11:30pm. Parents were there to meet us all and it was great to see Joe again and the boys in the morning. I think that was the longest we've gone with no communication at all--it was kind of weird.
The next day, we continued camp at the stake center. The girls had their bishops activities building towers:

We finished up Oasis and ate dinner. Then we had our testimony meeting in the chapel. Although we missed the campfire, that was a very powerful meeting. Of course, there were lots of testimonies about the fire and the miracles that took place but there were lots more about individual struggles and challenges girls have and how they felt God's love at camp. Elizabeth and Natalie bore their testimonies too and I loved that I got to be there to hear them. Our stake president told his side of the story and showed us all the picture above. Then he had the leaders get up and sing God Be With You Til We Meet Again and Edelweiss to the YW. I guess they have a tradition and walking around and singing the girls to sleep with those songs the last night of camp. Holy cow was that emotional for me! I definitely felt the sacredness of the responsibility to watch over these beautiful young women and to teach them. The whole experience was such a spiritual boost for me and I'm so glad that I went. The girls both had a wonderful time, too, even though it was cut short.

We followed the fire after we got home, hoping that the camp wouldn't be damaged. We were amazed to see that although it came very close, and burned two small structures, most of the camp was protected. Here's a picture of how close the fire came to the chapel:

What a miracle! We were so grateful for the hard work of the firefighters and that the camp was protected.