girls camp: Look Up

I got called as the second counselor in YW in February. It was just a six month calling for me until our whole presidency was released, but during that time I got to help organize a girls camp for just my group of girls. I am so grateful that I got to be part of that. I worked with an amazing group of women and men to carry out the camp, and the girls are truly a special group of people. My heart was bursting with peace and joy by the end of camp. I felt so much closer to my Heavenly Father, my Savior, and to this community of people I get to be a part of.

Our theme was "Look Up" and the scripture we focused on was D&C 6:36 "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."

Each day had a different focus. Day one was to "Look Up to Him for Direction and Answers". Day two was to "Look up to Him to know who I am." Then our last day was focused on "Look up to Him when life gets hard."

Our first day, we met at the church then we stayed local for the day. I gave an opening devotional with an overview of the theme. We had a scripture class to teach us too look in the scriptures for help and answers. We also had a class on first aid, went to the temple, worked on mats for the homeless, ate our meals, went to a rock climbing gym, had an evening devotional, and ended the night with a glow dance party. We packed so much into that first day! And then sent everyone home to sleep in their own beds.

We spent the next two nights at the cabin of one of our families in the ward. Our days were still full but not as packed as the first day. We did crafts, more devotionals, had a class about different personalities, hiked, and went to the lake to paddleboard. In between there was plenty of hair braiding, game playing, and a complete lack of sleep. 






The culmination of our experience was a friday night faith walk. I am amazed that we brought it all together! The concept was to walk along a path that represents different times in our lives. We would stop along the way and listen to different speakers.

Here is the outline I wrote:

Speaker 1:

Look to the Light of Others Around Us

-”Oh, how we need each other.” -Marjorie Hinkley

-we have people around us to support us–parents, family, leaders, class presidency, prophets/apostles 

-we are not alone

-there is so much good in this world

-examples of how other people have helped you/strengthened your testimony/brought you closer to the Savior

Walk along a well lit path lined with lanterns and twinkle lights etc.

Speaker 2:

Let Your Own Light Shine and Light the Way

-Once we know who we are, we walk confidently forward doing good.

-We can use our talents and time to bless others

-we find ourselves by losing ourselves in the service of others

-the worth of souls is great, how much joy in bringing even one soul closer to christ

-use our light to point others to christ

Give each girl a flashlight and let them use their own light to follow the path. Collect flashlights when they reach the next speaker.

Speaker 3:

Do the Things that Bring Light into Your Life

-Keep the commandments

-The Lord loves effort

-stay faithful when life gets hard

-The Lord is in the details, look for his light

-draw close to christ and invite the spirit into your daily life– pray, study scriptures, go to church, uplifting music/media, choose people who uplift

-recognize your blessings and the light

-discern between good and evil, look for the light

-Go back to what you know

Small lights dispersed with lots of space in between along the path. Each light is labeled with one thing that brings light (prayer, scripture study, etc).

Speaker 4:

Look to Him when Life Gets Hard

-trust in the Lord

-hand it over to Him when it is too much

-some trials in life feel very heavy and dark

-we may not see the light of others, or our light goes dim, or it’s hard to find the light so we must have hope in Christ

-cling to Christ

-faith in every footstep

Blindfold each girl. Follow a rope along the path to get to final destination.

Girls arrive, keep blindfolds on and escorted to seat. Music is playing. 

When all the girls arrive, Bishop asks the girls to take off their blindfold and Look Up.

There is a picture of Christ displayed.

Speaker 5:

Look up to Him and closing remarks then lead to testimony meeting

-“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”

-always look to Christ

Group hug after our testimony meeting!!!






These women are incredible. Each of us has a different personality, strengths and weaknesses, but it felt like magic how it all came together. Such synergy! The contribution and the role of each person was absolutely perfect. I kept thinking, "wow, I'm so grateful this person is here" and could name the reasons for each one of them. I felt such a strong sense of unity in working together for these girls. I've been a part of a lot of girls camps and this feeling doesn't always happen so I was incredibly grateful to be a part of this experience. I felt the hand of the Lord guiding the details of camp. It was His inspiration and guidance that made camp the great experience that it was.