Girls Camp

 I had girls camp at the beginning of this week. I was called to be the camp director early this year, and it's been a big project. DeAnna and I were called to plan it together. Honestly, I feel like DeAnna did more of the work, even though I tried to do more. She was just way more on top of things and detail oriented, and I still had my kids at home full time and had less time to devote to girls camp. Plus, by the time I found myself getting around to working on something camp related, she'd already done a lot of the planning for that specific thing. It felt weird being the one that wasn't pulling her weight, because I feel like, traditionally, that's not really ever been me. It wasn't for lack of wanting to or being willing to; I just couldn't keep up with DeAnna in the planning. 

It made it hard at girls camp, too, because she was definitely more in the know for certain things; again, being more detail oriented. I really felt like she should have been director with me as assistant. I felt like I was getting credit where I shouldn't have, and I worried that the other leaders were disappointed in my leadership at camp. This is all my perception, of course. I don't really know what anyone else thought. 

Anyway. Putting aside my own insecurities, girls camp was really great! We met at the church early on Monday to drive up to camp. It was very windy that morning and had rain in the forecast. 🥴😳 When we started divvying the girls up to go in cars, a couple of cute girls asked me right off if they could ride with me. It made me feel so good that they wanted to come with me. 🥰 On the way up, my vision started getting white spots, and I thought, "oh no. I'm getting sick." My vision kept being weird for almost the whole drive, but not enough for me to have to pull over and have Stefanie Caswell drive (she rode up to camp with me). I tried not to freak out on the drive, but I could tell I was getting a migraine. I hardly ever get migraines. I started getting them when I was pregnant with Sawyer, and had them a number of times while I was pregnant with him. But since then, I get them, like maybe 3 times a year. And of course, one of those times JUST HAS to be the first day of girls camp. 

When we got there, my head started hurting, and gradually I had a hard time speaking, and then I started getting nauseous. I tried to help unpack and set up camp. But I had to stop at one point and lie down. I laid down in the front seat of the car, and tried not to throw up. I slept on and off for the first 4 hours of camp, while they set up and had orientation with the camp hosts and did tournament games. I was so sad and mad to have to miss so much. 

I started feeling better after I woke up, around lunchtime. I joined the rest of camp for lunch. My head was still swimming a little, but I tried to eat as much as I could. I ate super slowly... like, it took me hours to eat my lunch, and I didn't even finish it. But I started to feel a little better. 

It was raining by the time I rejoined the group, and it rained off and on for the rest of the day, in varying degrees of severity. We had some free time after lunch, and we mostly just played games together. Because of the rain, we had to adjust our schedule. We did the classes that didn't have to be outside (we could have them under the pavilion out of the rain) and saved our outside activities for the next day when the weather was supposed to be good. So we did painting/ journaling class and metal stamping/ keychain craft that day. DeAnna did painting class and I did metal stamping class, and we had other leaders do the other classes. I feel like rearranging the schedule worked out really well, and the classes went well. The girls enjoyed them. 

 After dinner, and during metal stamping class, the storm got really bad. It started thundering and lightning a ton, and seemed really close, almost going right over where we were. Our camp hosts came when it started storming and told us all to come to the center of the pavilion because of the lightning. The rain came down in torrents, and some of the girls were scared. But then, mid-storm, the sun came out a little bit and there was an amazing, super bright double rainbow. It was incredible. 

Basically, we played games, did devotional, cleaned up and got ready for bed the rest of that day. We were all freezing and had very little desire to stay up (I mean, I'm sure the girls stayed up talking until the wee hours of the morning). 

It was super cold that night, and rained for most of it. Sleeping was hard for everyone. And aside from my own tent that I shared with leaders (DeAnna, Clarissa Rich, and Tatum Norris), everyone else's tents got wet in the night. It was really rough. We pulled everyone's stuff out of their tents in the morning and left them in the sun to dry.

The weather the next day was beautiful! It was still pretty chilly; we were all wearing sweatshirts and layers for most of the day. 

It was a pretty good day. We did archery and yoga/ knife safety and whittling classes, and I played volleyball with a small group before lunch. During free time after lunch, DeAnna and I went to scout out a good hike for our faith walk. We walked a quarter of a mile up a hike and put long sticks in the ground to mark the stop for each woman that we were focusing on. 

 We went and played some outdoor games together (9 square, human Foosball, and a game I'd never heard of, gaga ball). It was so fun playing! After playing, we went immediately to the faith walk. 

I loved our faith walk. It was too sunny and hot; some of us got burned. But we focused on 7 women from the scriptures and church history, and had the leaders read out the scripts we wrote. The focus was Christ-like attributes that the women possessed. After each reading, there was a song associated with each woman and that attribute. And the girls walked from one woman to the next. It was so good. And even if the girls didn't love it, it was so good for me to do. 

The faith walk took about an hour and a half, and when we got back we had dinner with the bishopric and their wives, and then we had bishop's devotional and testimony meeting. It was a very nice evening. The spirit was so strong during testimonies. 

The bishop tried to send the testimony meeting a couple times; but when he did, people would jump in and ask if they could say something really quick. It was kind of funny. 

 I think everyone was tired after we were done with testimonies and dessert. Most girls went to bed. I stayed up to look at stars and watch the moon come up with a handful of girls + sister Allen. It was beautiful and huge and fun to be out with them. 

Sleeping that night was just as difficult. And it was colder than the night before, which made it harder to sleep. But even so, DeAnna and I got up before sunrise and woke up a handful of girls to come do the sunrise hike with us. We + the few girls + Stefanie Caswell + Toree Douglas did the sunrise hike, which took us up a hill, and we had a great view of the camp and the little farm town nearby. We were surrounded by mountains and the sun was slow in coming up. We were out hiking and standing and waiting for over an hour waiting for the sun to come over the mountains. We talked and sang songs and it was a really lovely time. 

 We walked back down and went to breakfast, and started packing up camp. We made really great time getting all packed up and putting lunches together. We left camp before 11am.

Our final camp activity was going to the provo aquatic center for a few hours. It was such a fun and relaxing way to end girls camp. We swam, chilled in the hot tub, went down the water slides, and went in the lazy river. 

All in all, girls camp was a success, and so much fun. All I've heard from people has been positive, and they are keeping DeAnna and me as camp directors together for next year... which feels like a good sign. We didn't mess it up so much that they had to release us! 😂😂😂

4 ways to show your love for God

BYU-I devotional talk

The first and great commandment is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). It’s a commandment that has been repeated in this last dispensation to Joseph Smith (Doctrine and Covenants 59:5) and was underscored by Elder Rasband as an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

“You, too, can make the commitment now to love the Lord, thy God,” he said.

4 Ways to Express Love for God

Joshua’s final counsel provides four ways each person can express love for God.

1. ‘Walk in all his ways’

One can walk in all His ways when they exercise humility, trust, faith, patience and courage like the Israelites who wandered for 40 years; care about things He cares about; and stay on the covenant path, Elder Rasband said.

When the Israelites were about to settle in the land promised to Abraham at the end of 40 years in the wilderness, they came to the river Jordan. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant, a representation of God, stepped into the water with faith. The river parted and the Israelites crossed on dry ground.

Each person will have to exercise faith and trust in the Lord as they face daunting obstacles and challenges, he said. “Remember, your love of God can call down miracles to bless you.”

Caring about what He cares about includes reaching out to those in need, valuing the words of God found in the scriptures, and acting on the counsel of apostles and prophets without murmuring.

Stay on the covenant path without taking short cuts or side streets, Elder Rasband counseled. “Placing covenants at the center of your lives will help you turn away from distraction, deceptions and even desensitization tugging at you, pulling you from God’s path and His loving arms.”

2. ‘Keep his commandments’

When the walls of Jericho fell, Joshua told his people to put all the precious items into the treasury of the house of the Lord. The soldiers were not to loot or take anything for their personal gain. However, a man named Achan took a beautiful Babylonian robe, 200 shekels of silver, and gold and buried them in his tent.

When the Israelites moved on to the city of Ai, an easy mark for their next conquest, their assault failed. Once they rooted out the disobedience, “the Lord was with them, and their next overture to overpower Ai was successful,” Elder Rasband said.

He quoted President Russell M. Nelson, who said in his 2019 BYU devotional address, “God’s laws are motivated entirely by His infinite love for us and His desire for us to become all we can become.”

3. ‘Cleave unto him’

One of the meanings of the word “cleave” means to stay very close to something. “So when you cleave unto God, you stay close to Him, you hear Him, and you hear revelation just for you,” Elder Rasband said. “Hearkening to His words, you are prepared to face whatever comes.”

Elder Rasband said that he hears the Lord most strongly when he reads the scriptures and draws close to the Lord and His promises. He even keeps a section titled “My Scripture Revelations” in his Gospel Library App.

Brothers and sisters, as we look to Jesus Christ, what’s not to love?

When his grandson Paxton was born with a rare genetic disorder, Elder Rasband and his family “knew Heavenly Father was blessing our family, my daughter and son-in-law in particular, with a divine opportunity. As his father and I put our fingers on his tiny head in the first of many priesthood blessings, the words came into my mind from the ninth chapter of John: ‘that the works of God should be made manifest in him’” (John 9:3).

Paxton lived only three years, spending a third of his life in the hospital undergoing 34 surgeries. And yet he embraced life and was full of light. The Rasband family learned from him “greater patience, humility, gratitude and resilience. We learned to trust the Lord and His ways,” Elder Rasband said.

“From Paxton we learned to cleave unto the Lord and accept His will.”

4. ‘Serve him with all your heart and with all your soul’

In the book of Matthew is found the account of a rich, young ruler who asked Jesus what else he should do to inherit eternal life after keeping all the commandments since his youth. Jesus told him to sell all his possessions, give to the poor and follow Him. The young ruler turned away because he had many possessions and didn’t want to give them up.

“He had an opportunity to serve Jesus Christ, to stand by Him, to learn from Him, to feel His strength and spirit, and he turned away,” Elder Rasband said.

He then asked the audience of BYU–Idaho students and faculty if they, like the young ruler, would go away, or if they would stand firm, stalwart and brave.

“When you encounter tough issues or when you have questions, do you seek your answers from the Lord and His servants? Or do you go to the internet? When criticism increases about the Church, its past and its doctrines at odds with today’s norms, where do you stand? Will you be of service to the Lord or will you waver? … If possessions and questions are not enough of a distraction, how about turmoil, trauma and the tensions in today’s world? How do you serve when all around you is in seeming commotion?”

The answer is to serve others. Accept callings and fulfill them with devotion to God. Consecrate one’s time, becoming less possessed by worldly pursuits by giving them up. Ponder sacred things in one’s heart, the things of the soul, and hold fast to them.

 Elder Rasband said: “I am convinced, as I look back on my life, that service particularly to my family and to the Church has been one of the greatest blessings in shaping me. Without the gratitude, humility and perspective that service has provided to my very soul, the tug of the world and its treasures could have drawn me off. But in serving others, I was renewed by the great truth expressed by Joshua when he said, ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’” (Joshua 24:15).

Loving God with all one’s heart, soul, mind and strength is life’s curriculum in becoming a true disciple, he said. “When your love of God consumes your service, interests, priorities and affections, you are blessed and joy attends those blessings.”

Elder Rasband left an apostolic blessing that the audience’s hearts would swell with love for the Savior and fill them with a desire to be true disciples. “I bless you that you will choose to walk in His ways, to follow His commandments, to cleave unto Him and to serve Him,” he said.

“I bless you to be forever grateful for the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and may you realize His great love for you. Brothers and sisters, as we look to Jesus Christ, what’s not to love?”

Soul Shine

In her remarks, Sister Rasband shared a story from one of the missionaries who served in the New York New York North Mission while Elder Rasband presided over it.

Elder Powell had always wanted to get his shoes shined at one of the many shoe shining stations he’d spotted in subways and on street corners. Toward the end of his mission while in the Bronx, he heard someone calling, “Shoeshine, shoeshine. Anyone want your shoes shined?”

 Not having gotten his shoes shined yet, Elder Powell asked the man how much it would cost. “As much as you’re willing to pay,” was the reply.

To Elder Powell’s surprise, the man did not have a chair for him to sit. Instead, the shoe shiner knelt at his feet, took out a baby food jar with the polish and applied the black liquid with his fingers. He buffed Elder Powell’s shoes with one of the few clean spots on his own shirt and when that wasn’t enough, finished the job with his forearms, the polish leaving stains on his skin.

“As Elder Powell watched this selfless work being carried out, he thought of another who had descended below us all and took upon Him the stains of mankind that we in turn could walk away clean and unspotted from the stains of mortality and sin,” Sister Rasband said. “With such a scene before us, would we not turn to think of our risen Lord, once mocked and beaten, even bleeding from every pore in giving the ultimate and complete sacrifice to pay justice’s price for sin and eternal life?”

His shoe shine complete and his heart changed, Elder Powell reached into his pocket and gave the shoe shiner all the money that he had. “And then he reached into his companion’s pockets for all that he had,” Sister Rasband added.

“The Lord calls to us, ‘Soul shine, soul shine. Anyone want your soul shined?’ In our limited mortal selfishness, we quickly, all too quickly, ask without full knowledge of what we’re asking, ‘How much does it cost?’ Our Savior, meekly answers. ‘As much as you are willing to pay. For I have ransomed the rest.’”

The Savior performed His divine Atonement with an infinite and heavenly eternal quality of love, Sister Rasband said.

 We got sick again this week. We've been sick a lot, it feels like. Monday was memorial day, and our only plans were David and Wendy's family coming for lunch (our picnic plans got rained out), which was so fun. We also did movies that afternoon during Sawyer's nap -- the kids watched Winnie the pooh upstairs, and Daniel and I watched the 2nd Spider-Man down in the basement. It was kinda fun! And everyone was happy. 

Sawyer was the first man to fall. He got sick on Tuesday, and all he wanted to do was be snuggled and held. We watched a lot of TV this day too. 

Then Jack and I went down on Wednesday, and more TV. It was a baaaaad one. I could not do a thing but lay on the couch. My head ached so badly, and anytime I tried to get up and do something, I got dizzy and lightheaded and my head throbbed violently. I was a bit better on Thursday, but not much. 

Camille and Brooke joined us for very brief mild sicknesses at some point after that. Camille went very early to bed on Friday. And overall we watched so much TV we're all sick of it. The kids brains just turned straight to mush, and everyone was really grumpy.

I felt really good on Friday and spent the day cleaning the whole house. It was quite something after several days of sitting around doing nothing. But I felt so good being able to do something. 

Then yesterday, I worked out in the morning, cleaned myself up, and then went shopping for groceries and girls camp stuff. And while I was there, I started feeling really bad again: dizzy, lightheaded, slightly nauseous, and super low on energy. It seems I overdid it 2 days in a row, and after I got home, all I wanted to do was lie down. 

Today hasn't been much better, and we all stayed home from church. I'm hoping I won't feel so low energy and dizzy tomorrow. I'm ready to start summer! Plus, I have girls camp to get ready for. 1 week and counting! 

We went to the temple grounds tonight for our Sunday lesson and family scripture study. It was so beautiful out tonight, the perfect day to go walk around the temple.