Even though I've had this calling since fall of 2019, this is my first Stake Girls Camp! One of my goals for stake camp this year was to pare down the meetings - SIMPLIFY. Camp can get pretty intense for some people and I want to streamline the stake year so that it is easy-peasy for the ward leaders. I also shortened the week by one day, which felt nice. It's funny how by Saturday when we were heading home, us leaders didn't really feel like the week was shortened at all! Ha! Also, like I mentioned, I started a Stake Year- Ward Year rotation. I have learned that while stake camp is great, it is also great to be able to do your own thing every-other-year on a ward level.
I have the best stake camp director, my dear friend Angela. She is one of those high energy- thinks of every little detail- and makes sure all the "T's" are crossed and "I's" dotted. Because she is so great, I really didn't mind our daily phone calls. I really wanted this stake camp to feel like a "Stake Camp" which put a lot on the stake leaders and YCL's, but everyone was just so excited to be going back to Mia Shalom, everyone did great.
Maybe because it had been a couple of years, I forget that many people drop off at the last minute for various reasons. Health, sudden family issues etc. I need to remember that and call an extra assistant or two next time. I don't love a leader-heavy camp, but when the assistant cook had to back out last minute because of back problems, I reached out to Kelly. She graciously agreed to hop in and help and I was so grateful! She said it was kinda nice that all the decisions had already been made and most of the prep done~ I'd say! It was really fun to have her up there with me all week. I told her she was a calming force for me.
Our Stake YCL's were so fantastic! They ran the show and did so great. They were teaching and leading groups all day long!
And my Stake ladies were workhorses AND fun. Perfect combo! The high councilman, Tristan was also our right arm the entire week. We kept him so busy driving all over the camp, hauling wood, collecting garbages, checking in with wards and keeping him belly-laughing. He said he had a blast all week, and because he was such a good time, I believe him! When we finished unloading the stake trailer at the church on Saturday afternoon, I told him to tell his wife that
he is the man!  |
| President Campbell, helper Kelly, Stake Cook Angela and Stake Nurse Jen serving up Strawberry Shortcake to the wards that came visiting. |
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| The three Angelas: Stake Camp Director, Stake Secretary, Stake Cook! |
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| Angela heard that Paisley loves Nutella so she's making her a Nutella shake :) |
The past few years hikes have pittered out. I really wanted all the girls to see Shalom from the top of the rim because it is so beautiful. Day #2 was the stake hike. I wondered how it would work out hiking with 150+ people, and it worked out great.
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| On top of the rim! |
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| The seventh grade group! This year we had the girls divided up by grade level instead of wards. We now have 9 wards in our stake, so having less groups was the way to go. The girls started their day with breakfast with their ward, then join their age group for rotations all day and a sack lunch. The Stake YCL's led and taught and did so great, I think we tired them out pretty good though. Then we all gathered for devotional, then everyone spent the evenings back in their wards for dinner. (This was my dream schedule when I was a ward leader.) |
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| There was a large family of newts in a corner of the lake, which many of the gals fell in love with. (They put them back right after) |
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| BIG 9th grade overnight hiker group! |
Jon and I drove up together on Wednesday because he was going on the 9th grade overnight hike- with Paisley's group! It was fun knowing he was up on the mountain that first night. He said he liked seeing all the hard work leading up to camp pay off and in action. He agrees, Mia Shalom is a beautiful and special place!
On Friday night, several stake YCL's told me they were dying to attend their wards testimony meetings. I grabbed our Stake President and suggested after dinner we have a quick wrap-up meeting with the stake girls and let them go for the night. I could tell he was giddy at the thought of leaving while it's still light! That night ended up being so fun. It was just us leaders at the stake pavillion and we were able to sit down and just talk and laugh and tell stories. It was a great ending to a wonderfully exhausting week.
