Whether it's swimming in the ocean just off the small island of Tetaro in Tahiti or climbing Mt. McLoughlin near Oregon's Klamath Falls, LDS young women throughout the world are finding that nature lends itself to spiritual experiences as they participate in girls camp.
A part of the Young Women program for more than 60 years, girls camp is held by stakes and regions each year to increase spirituality through campcrafter skills, activities and testimony sharing, said Ardeth G. Kapp, Young Women general president."You can reach some young women at camp in ways that you can't reach them anywhere else," Sister Kapp said. "A camp setting away from the influences of the world, in association with spiritually strong leaders, provides a great classroom to teach spiritual things.
"I really believe that there is a spirit in nature that speaks to the inner soul and brings a feeling of peace and humility. We want our young women to appreciate God's creations, to realize that they are the greatest of all God's creations and that in nature they can feel very close to the Lord.
"Setting and reaching goals related to camp activities provides valuable skills, increases confidence and gives the young women a sense of accomplishment," Sister Kapp said.
In Canada, more than 1,250 girls and 700 leaders from 10 stakes participated in a week-long encampment at Beaver Mines Lake in Alberta, June 10-16.
Following the themes of "Obeone," or to become as one, and "HEROES" (Her Environment of Righteousness Overcomes Every Sin), girls participated in a variety of activities such as mountain biking, archery, orienteering and crafts. Also, each girl spent some time alone to meditate and find her own "sacred grove."
Stakes involved in the camp were from Cardston, Lethbridge, Raymond, Magrath, Taber and Fort Macleod in Alberta, as well as from Cranbrook and Vernon in British Columbia.
Each stake set up its own subcamp named after women heroes such as Esther, Ruth and the Daughters of Eve. Two members of the Young Women General Board, Janet Gough and Camille Fronk, visited the camp.
In Utah, more than 10,000 young women travel each summer to the Wasatch Plateau near Scofield in Carbon County to spend a week at Camp Mia Shalom, owned by stakes in Orem and Provo.
Nestled among pine and birch trees and flowering meadows, the camp provides a perfect getaway for campers. Small A-frame cabins border a lake just big enough for canoeing.
Young women from the Provo Utah Bonneville Stake spent Aug. 7-11 enjoying the outdoors at the camp. Focusing on the Young Women value of individual worth, the stake chose "To Find Your Own" as the theme.
Molly Westin, a camper from the Provo 15th Ward, came up with the idea of the theme because "each of us needs to find our testimony and place in life, and find out who we really are."
Girls participated in certification activities, crafts, canoeing, skits and a special program about the creation. The campers hiked to a meadow at dusk for the program, and each ward shared a quote or story interspersed with songs about the creation. Camp leaders spoke of individual worth and were alongside the young women as the stars came out.
"The number one thing we want them to feel is the Spirit," said Cathy Jackson, Bonneville stake camp director. "It may be the only opportunity they have. We want them to recognize the Spirit and feel it so later on in life, no matter what may happen, they will want that feeling again."
Camp leaders look forward to many special moments with the girls since more than half come from single-parent homes or semi-active families, said Beverly Carter, stake Young Women president.
During a girls camp in Tahiti, more than 100 girls and 18 leaders traveled by boat from Papeete to the small island of Tetaro, off Utora, Raiatea, in French Polynesia.
The young women cut bushes and pulled weeds, and then set up camp next to the reef and lagoon. They flew three flags - the flags of Tahiti and France and one representing the seven Young Women values: faith (white), divine nature (blue), individual worth (red), knowledge (green), choice and accountability (orange), good works (yellow) and integrity (purple).
In addition to first aid instruction, net fishing and swimming, young women learned Polynesian traditions and culture such as weaving and food preparation. Activities were geared toward building self-esteem and the importance of developing responsibility in life.
In the American Northwest, at Camp Esther Applegate - located between Klamath Falls and Medford, Ore. - young women from the Grants Pass Oregon Stake spent Aug. 1-4 among the tall evergreens on Lake of the Woods.
This year's camp theme, "Land of the Son," was based on the Book of Mormon. The daily schedule included a series of mini-classes presented on the Book of Mormon and girls lashed together with rope an 18-foot "Tower of Benjamin" to refine their camping skills. Even the skits depicted Book of Mormon stories.
Young women also participated in waterfront activities, crafts, sports and certification to learn such skills as rope lashing and fire building.
"If you have never experienced the outdoors with 80 young women, you have truly missed the experience of a lifetime," said Jan Santrizos, Beehive adviser in the Grants Pass 2nd Ward. "A bond of the strongest kind - love - was formed."
Young women in the Kalamazoo Michigan Stake made a video during their girls camp and wrote letters to send to pen pals in the Osaka Japan Stake. The Japanese young women sent 21 pen pal letters and a video to the girls in Michigan just before the Michigan young women left for camp Aug. 13-16.
Jayne Malan, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, summed up the feeling of girls camp. "Camp is a setting where people can lose the pressures of their everyday world and feel close to their Heavenly Father by being out in nature. The girls build relationships with other people in a setting that is not only non-threatening, but is conducive to sharing and expressing inner feelings."
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEnJ%2BuqpOdu6bD0meaqKVfZoZ6fI5xZmttX2eAc4KQbW1vZ5eev62%2FjJyYpqhdqL2qvsitZKyokaPAbrPLqJmeZw%3D%3D