You know, it'd be really great if these creativity surges would strike at a reasonable time, say like at 1:30 this afternoon when I decided to take a three hour nap rather than read the Aeneid (which is slightly better than the Iliad if anyone's wondering--but only slightly). Instead I find myself staying awake until all hours of the night because I really just love to write. I love making cohesion out of the chaos that exists inside my mind. It helps me understand that nothing is random, that God orchestrates every detail of our lives for a purpose. But He does it subtly, and if you don't take the time to quietly ponder you'll miss the everyday miracles He affords us. When I think about the miracles of my life, I want to share them. I firmly believe in sharing special, even sacred experiences with each other. It's utterly impossible to experience everything, no matter how badly we might wish to, but we can live vicariously through others. We can take their lessons and apply them to our own lives. That's why I'm choosing to share my story with you. And so, without further ado, here is the next installment of The Saga of Kiersten the Camp Counselor.
I absolutely adored my first week of girls. The truth is, I had no idea what I was doing. I informed them of that within the first hour of our knowing each other and they were pretty great about it. That week I had eight beautiful daughters of God: Aubrie (or "Wolf" as she liked to be called), Kaydee, Treasure, Emmie, Collette, Audrey, Ashley and Emma.
I wanted to be a counselor because I wanted to teach my girls about Jesus Christ. What I didn't count on was how much I would learn from them. I was humbled when Ashley bore her testimony Wednesday night--after saying next to nothing all week--and then telling us it was because we had talked about strengthening your testimony by sharing it. She understood that faith was a principle of action.
Emma was also incredible. She also didn't say much, but she readily offered to pray whenever I asked and always did it in Spanish. Though I knew she was homesick for most of the week, she never once complained about it, nor did she refrain from participating. She didn't make a close friend in our unit, yet she never seemed sad or disheartened. Emma was resilient and I admired that so much about her.
Emmie, Colette and Audrey were all cousins and they were adorable. They loved the games we played and they loved to be with each other. Emmie was a sweetheart and carried our fanny pack everywhere. She named it Fred and insisted that would be the name for the entire summer. I was happy to comply. Treasure was my treasure. (Ha, see what I did there?) She went out of her way to get to know each girl in our unit and to make them feel loved, and yet she was not without her own challenges. I don't know many girls that age who are able to so totally forget themselves. Aubrie was so excited and cheerful all the time. Everything she did, she did with contagious enthusiasm. She wants to be a
counselor when she's older and who am I to tell her she won't be? I did the same thing.
However, if there's one thing that I learned that week it is that Heavenly Father is very aware of each of us, the trials we go through and the people we will meet. Kaydee seemed to struggle with her testimony. Life had not been easy for her. I learned Wednesday night of her family situation, of how difficult it was to go to church without parental support. It's times like these that I'm grateful for the way I was raised, because I knew how she felt. I could talk with her, and empathize, and encourage her to live righteously even though it would be hard. It's so hard, and yet she is so strong and I never felt that she could see that. Kaydee was one of those girls that helped me to understand what I was doing at that camp in the first place. I may have thought I was there to strengthen my own testimony, to feel the Spirit and to teach my Beehives to feel it too. But I was wrong. I was there because I have had very specific experiences that Heavenly Father would be able to use to bless the lives of His daughters. I was there because Kaydee needed me to be, and if only for her than that entire summer was worth it. Because I loved her. I loved all of them, and that is the one thing I didn't count on this summer. It would have been impossible to anticipate the love that I could come to feel for nearly sixty girls that I'd only known a week, and yet I could tell you each of their names and some of their favorite things and what trials they'd struggled with and what specific testimonies they had. I could tell you all of that because this summer I learned to love with a Christlike love. I learned that I am nothing but an instrument in the hands of God, and I learned that by watching the way my girls interacted with one another. I wasn't there to teach them, merely to facilitate the Spirit. They were the true teachers.
My girls that week loved each other, and they loved me. They were all so very very different. They'd come from such different backgrounds, had so many different experiences and somehow that week they all came together and planted the seed of testimony in each others' hearts. It was miraculous.
Some fun moments from the week:
Once upon a time I proceeded to light a fire in a dutch oven tower right next to a pile of dead pine needles. The pile ignited into a wonderful blazing bonfire just as Boots, my buddy unit counselor, launched into her favorite "Common Sense" speech. The only problem? The fire wasn't actually in the firepit. Luckily we had used our common sense to bring along a couple gallons of water, which we used to douse the blaze. The fire safety lesson that day came handily packaged with a neat "Do Not Try This At Home" label.
I used to hate hiking. This lake did make it well worth the effort though. At least, I thought so. My girls, not so much.
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| "Who's your counselor?" --Brooke (our sister missionary) literally every time someone took a picture of me with my girls because she didn't see me. |
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| This hat could have come in handy. |
I wanted to be a counselor because I wanted to teach my girls about Jesus Christ. What I didn't count on was how much I would learn from them. I was humbled when Ashley bore her testimony Wednesday night--after saying next to nothing all week--and then telling us it was because we had talked about strengthening your testimony by sharing it. She understood that faith was a principle of action.
Emma was also incredible. She also didn't say much, but she readily offered to pray whenever I asked and always did it in Spanish. Though I knew she was homesick for most of the week, she never once complained about it, nor did she refrain from participating. She didn't make a close friend in our unit, yet she never seemed sad or disheartened. Emma was resilient and I admired that so much about her.
Emmie, Colette and Audrey were all cousins and they were adorable. They loved the games we played and they loved to be with each other. Emmie was a sweetheart and carried our fanny pack everywhere. She named it Fred and insisted that would be the name for the entire summer. I was happy to comply. Treasure was my treasure. (Ha, see what I did there?) She went out of her way to get to know each girl in our unit and to make them feel loved, and yet she was not without her own challenges. I don't know many girls that age who are able to so totally forget themselves. Aubrie was so excited and cheerful all the time. Everything she did, she did with contagious enthusiasm. She wants to be a
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| Back Row (Left to Right): Kaydee, Aubrie. Middle Row: Ashley, Collette, Treasure. Front Row: Emma, Emmie, Audrey. |
However, if there's one thing that I learned that week it is that Heavenly Father is very aware of each of us, the trials we go through and the people we will meet. Kaydee seemed to struggle with her testimony. Life had not been easy for her. I learned Wednesday night of her family situation, of how difficult it was to go to church without parental support. It's times like these that I'm grateful for the way I was raised, because I knew how she felt. I could talk with her, and empathize, and encourage her to live righteously even though it would be hard. It's so hard, and yet she is so strong and I never felt that she could see that. Kaydee was one of those girls that helped me to understand what I was doing at that camp in the first place. I may have thought I was there to strengthen my own testimony, to feel the Spirit and to teach my Beehives to feel it too. But I was wrong. I was there because I have had very specific experiences that Heavenly Father would be able to use to bless the lives of His daughters. I was there because Kaydee needed me to be, and if only for her than that entire summer was worth it. Because I loved her. I loved all of them, and that is the one thing I didn't count on this summer. It would have been impossible to anticipate the love that I could come to feel for nearly sixty girls that I'd only known a week, and yet I could tell you each of their names and some of their favorite things and what trials they'd struggled with and what specific testimonies they had. I could tell you all of that because this summer I learned to love with a Christlike love. I learned that I am nothing but an instrument in the hands of God, and I learned that by watching the way my girls interacted with one another. I wasn't there to teach them, merely to facilitate the Spirit. They were the true teachers.
My girls that week loved each other, and they loved me. They were all so very very different. They'd come from such different backgrounds, had so many different experiences and somehow that week they all came together and planted the seed of testimony in each others' hearts. It was miraculous.
Some fun moments from the week:
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| One of the themes of the summer was teaching our girls how to be AWARE of things. Fire safety being one of them. |
I used to hate hiking. This lake did make it well worth the effort though. At least, I thought so. My girls, not so much.
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