Girls Camp

This year I went up to girls camp for only one day. I am so glad I got to spend at least one day up with the girls, and am VERY glad I decided to go up on the day I did. Our camp leader kept a secret from everyone, a VERY SPECIAL visitor that came to our camp.... Sister Tanner. She was the Young Women's General President for President Hinckley, she told us right before she came up. Our camp director, Sis. Hazelet, had met her once before and she asked her to keep in touch about a few things, and when Sis. Hazelet wrote to tell her about the outcome of a few things, she told her she was camp director, and asked if she would come up to camp and talk to the girls, well she wrote back and said she would love too! It was an amazing experience. Our theme is about having courage this year, so she talked about some of the courageous women in the scriptures. She talked quite a bit about Mary, and all the courage she showed in her life. Then she talked about how they as young women can be and show courage in their life. She talked about the two P's, practice and prayer, both important in being courageous. She talked about being prepared for when you already find yourself in a situation when your courage to stand for the right will be tested, so it is important to practice before you get in a situation.

She also talked about avoidance. Avoiding those things and places that might be a downfall of your courage.

She gave the girls all situations of things people in her family have gone through, and how they made the courageous choice. It was kinda neat to hear her life is so much like the rest of ours. She brought up some homemade cookies, passed them around and told the girls to smell them, and then told them all we were pretending it was fast Sunday, and they only had a few hours left on their fast. She asked them how easy it would be to start making up reasons why it would be okay to break their fast early, or one little cookie would be okay because you did great all the other time, and you only had a little bit longer left, it wouldn't make a difference. She went on to tell the girls when you start having to look for reasons why something would be okay to do because of this or this, it usually is a big indicator that it isn't okay. (I hope that makes sense in my gibber jabber)

She finally let the girls have a cookie, and then agreed to let us ask questions. She was raised on a dairy farm, but has only milked a cow once and she HATES rats and cockroaches.

One of the girls asked her what was one thing or situation that stood out the most to her in her calling, she replied millions of things, but the most was how where ever she traveled in the world, everyone was the same, they all faced the same problems, same temptations, same trials, and all was a daughter of god, trying to be the best they could. She loved them all. It was very sweet and very sincere. She loves her children and grandchildren, she said they all moved back to Utah after her calling, which made her oh so happy to have them all somewhat close.

Some one asked her what her currant calling is, she said she doesn't really have one right now, she is just working on a special assignment for the First Presidency. We asked if she could tell us what it was, she told us no, but just that it was a writing assignment and her name will probably never be attached to it.

The girls also asked if she could talk about President Hinckley. She said she LOVES President Hinckley, and misses him terribly. She said when he called her in to give her her calling, she was crying so hard that he was basically talking to her husband the whole time. She said he told her husband that he better like Spaghetti O's because she wasn't going to be able to cook for him any more. She also mentioned how she had heard him pray for the youth a few times, and she has never heard anything so sweet and sincere, and how he truly cared for and loved the youth. She said he also had a funny side, he would make people laugh all the time, she said they were giving some non-members a tour through the church office buildings, and one asked something like, geesh, how many people work here? President Hinckley replied Oh, about half of them. :)

She also mentioned how educated he was. He loved libraries, and would read often. Every where they went in the world, President Hinckley would know of the land, the issues the people were going through, and all about the people and the cultures.

She truly is a wonderful women, you can feel her spirit by being near her, and she really deeply cares  for the youth. She went around the whole group and had each girl introduce herself and talk about themselves, and she really listened and even remembered the girl's names.

It was something I hope I wont ever forget.

Here is a picture of my young women with Sister Tanner, she is in the middle with the light blue shirt. I have really grown to love these girls!