Cost of thousands of mosquito bites....a case of bug repellent and lots of anti itch cream
Cost of sunburns and heat exhaustion....lots of bottled water and ointment
Cost of no running water and stinky outhouses.....lots of hand sanitizer, baby wipes and nose plugs
A few days of camp songs, water fights, hugs, laughter, beautiful scenery and testimony meetings....... PRICELESS!!
From the title of this blog you'd think I had an awful time at camp. The physical conditions were extremely tough and not just because I was separated from my nightly bubble baths. The inescapable 100 degree heat, the over achieving man eating mosquito's (average person had well over 50 bites despite applying repellent every 30 minutes) and hauling in water for 5o people all took it's toll. But we all came home safe and sound with tired smiles on our faces. The amazing thing is I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
These girls are wonderful, not once did they complain to go home, and just be done. They just kept a positive attitude and helped each other find the humor in hard times. At one time during the trip I had seven girls in my car driving into Arches National Park. They just all started singing primary songs and hymns. They even sang in parts and sounded like angels, for truly they are. At one point they noticed I had tears in my eyes from hearing them, and they gave each other high fives because they made me cry with their beautiful singing. During hard hikes or during the river rafting trip, the older girls stepped up to help the younger ones. For those few precious days, I was truly honored to be around them. Testimony meeting was incredible as usual. You can't fear for the future when you here these YW and their powerful testimonies. What a blessing it is to serve in the Young Women's program. I am not ready to head out camping anytime soon, but I will treasure each moment I have with these beautiful girls. (These pictures were taken by Matthew Kho, a father to one of my beehive girls, he was there all week and took some incredible pictures, so I wanted to thank him for sending me some for my blog.)
8 comments:
You can tell your YW that they made your sister cry when she read your blog. :) What a neat experience!
oh man it was great wasn't it? when i wasn't sitting, bawling in your car. thanks again for that. and for everything. i'm so glad you were there. i love you!
Oh, Val,
Wow. This makes my day.
That is one large group of young women - and is this just one ward? The scenery is breathtaking and the girls look beautiful!
I hear you are the 'Queen' for skipping out on hiking and having fun instead!! Thanks for all you do for these girls, Im so glad to have you in our lives. Love the pics.
Wanted to clarify....Dione, Yes this was all one ward! Can you believe it? And Delayne tell Lizzie that our quick run for icees was supposed to be a secret....:) For the record, all occupants in my car did complete all required hikes, (and they were so beautiful) just chose the comfort of a cool drink and an air conditioned car, instead of additional exploring during free time one day. :)
Thank you for sacrificing your comforts to help my girls have a wonderful experience. You're a real blessing in our lives. RaeAnn
That is amazing! What a great trip. What a great land. What a great group of women.
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