1 Timothy 4:12
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
Each year at Girl’s Camp the Young Women in our stake participate in a service project. This year at an overnight activity that the girls attended in March they choose 3 service projects that were a little different from the traditional and then made some preliminary plans as to how they would accomplish these projects. The projects of their choosing were: Reverence Bags for those chapels and wards with high numbers of young children, Missionary Care Packages with items collected from the members in our stake, and then a YCL Pie Toss to help raise money for the mailing of our Care Packages. In addition to these projects the girls also knew that they would participate in the traditional service of doing something to improve or maintain the physical integrity of Camp Foster.
The Reverence Bags were filled with books, crayons, and file folder games for children to sit and quietly play while in Sacrament Meeting. The file folder games are quiet games that children can easily play during Sacrament Meeting that support gospel principles through matching, organizing, and placing various pieces in categories. The girls spent many hours coloring these games and cutting out the pieces. Unfortunately, we were not able to finish this project due to the weather. The paper, markers, and glue required did not mix well with high humidity and rain. This will be something that we will finish sometime this fall and then the YW will give them to the Bishops within our stake that perceive a need and would like to have these Reverence Bags to share with ward members in their specific chapels.
The project that we did for Camp Foster this year to developed out of need during camp. The Sunday just prior to camp there was a great deal of rain which made the trails very wet and in places muddy. That alone was not a big deal but on Wednesday—all day long—it rained and rained and as a result the paths and trails throughout camp were muddy and needed our attention. Thursday is the traditional day of service and the girls laid many bales of hay and rocks along the paths throughout camp to help with the mud. President Foster, President Miller, and Brother May helped us with this so that the girls were successful in this physical work that they learn so little of in our world of conveniences. The last part—probably the silly fun part as well—was the stomping down of the hay into the mud… In rows of 4 we walked up and down the hill along the main path until it was much more passable.
The Missionary Care Package Service Project was a GREAT success and true joy to participate in. In each ward building within our stake we placed a small box to assist the Young Women in the collection of donations for the missionaries that have left our stake and are currently serving in other places throughout the world. We collected simple items that would be helpful or perhaps just nice for our missionaries. A flyer was sent to each of the Relief Society Presidents within the stake and then the YW were also supposed to be our ‘spoke persons’ for this project. The collection time was approximately 2 months and then the girls were told to bring what was donated to camp. I am unable to adequately express the way I felt as the bags kept appearing during that first day of camp. I wish that I had counted the number of tubes of toothpaste, disposable razors, deodorant, and bags of candy that were given. We put together 7 boxes for missionaries that are either already serving or will be leaving this Fall. A couple of our Young Women have brothers that were missionaries and it was such a joy to listen to them as they chose items that they felt their brothers would like most or select a particular tie that they thought their brother would need or look best in. In addition to the items within the boxes the girls also wrote letters to each of the missionaries. Some of the letters were funny and meant to lift their spirits while others were full of very thoughtful sincere wishes for their well being. The generosity of the Saints in our stake made this a project of joy and giving—and caused the YW to stop, appreciate, think of the missionary they were giving to , and be grateful for the kindness of others.
The girls also planned a YCL (Youth Camp Leader) Pie Toss. The idea behind this was to help raise money to mail the Missionary Care Packages. The girls charge .25 to .50 cents per ticket and then drew names from a box of those that could throw a whip cream pie in a face of the YCL who raised the most money. The pies were tossed and smeared into the faces of a half dozen YCLs. This was a messy affair that brought about much laughing and silliness. It raised $68.00 but that is mostly due to the kindness of Bishops that came up on Wednesday night and upon hearing about our pie toss they generously donated to the cause in the hopes that their YCLs would be ‘creamed’.
I am unable to adequately express the success of what was accomplished in regards to these projects this year. As a leader it is always a blessing to work with those that you serve. BUT this year I feel a particularly fortunate to have been a part of the inspiration of the Young Women and their desire to serve the Lord and to do so with the enthusiasm of youth. The success of these projects was due to the love they have for those they served—what choice youth we have in our stake!!!
With love,
Diane Nilsen
The Reverence Bags were filled with books, crayons, and file folder games for children to sit and quietly play while in Sacrament Meeting. The file folder games are quiet games that children can easily play during Sacrament Meeting that support gospel principles through matching, organizing, and placing various pieces in categories. The girls spent many hours coloring these games and cutting out the pieces. Unfortunately, we were not able to finish this project due to the weather. The paper, markers, and glue required did not mix well with high humidity and rain. This will be something that we will finish sometime this fall and then the YW will give them to the Bishops within our stake that perceive a need and would like to have these Reverence Bags to share with ward members in their specific chapels.
The project that we did for Camp Foster this year to developed out of need during camp. The Sunday just prior to camp there was a great deal of rain which made the trails very wet and in places muddy. That alone was not a big deal but on Wednesday—all day long—it rained and rained and as a result the paths and trails throughout camp were muddy and needed our attention. Thursday is the traditional day of service and the girls laid many bales of hay and rocks along the paths throughout camp to help with the mud. President Foster, President Miller, and Brother May helped us with this so that the girls were successful in this physical work that they learn so little of in our world of conveniences. The last part—probably the silly fun part as well—was the stomping down of the hay into the mud… In rows of 4 we walked up and down the hill along the main path until it was much more passable.
The Missionary Care Package Service Project was a GREAT success and true joy to participate in. In each ward building within our stake we placed a small box to assist the Young Women in the collection of donations for the missionaries that have left our stake and are currently serving in other places throughout the world. We collected simple items that would be helpful or perhaps just nice for our missionaries. A flyer was sent to each of the Relief Society Presidents within the stake and then the YW were also supposed to be our ‘spoke persons’ for this project. The collection time was approximately 2 months and then the girls were told to bring what was donated to camp. I am unable to adequately express the way I felt as the bags kept appearing during that first day of camp. I wish that I had counted the number of tubes of toothpaste, disposable razors, deodorant, and bags of candy that were given. We put together 7 boxes for missionaries that are either already serving or will be leaving this Fall. A couple of our Young Women have brothers that were missionaries and it was such a joy to listen to them as they chose items that they felt their brothers would like most or select a particular tie that they thought their brother would need or look best in. In addition to the items within the boxes the girls also wrote letters to each of the missionaries. Some of the letters were funny and meant to lift their spirits while others were full of very thoughtful sincere wishes for their well being. The generosity of the Saints in our stake made this a project of joy and giving—and caused the YW to stop, appreciate, think of the missionary they were giving to , and be grateful for the kindness of others.
The girls also planned a YCL (Youth Camp Leader) Pie Toss. The idea behind this was to help raise money to mail the Missionary Care Packages. The girls charge .25 to .50 cents per ticket and then drew names from a box of those that could throw a whip cream pie in a face of the YCL who raised the most money. The pies were tossed and smeared into the faces of a half dozen YCLs. This was a messy affair that brought about much laughing and silliness. It raised $68.00 but that is mostly due to the kindness of Bishops that came up on Wednesday night and upon hearing about our pie toss they generously donated to the cause in the hopes that their YCLs would be ‘creamed’.
I am unable to adequately express the success of what was accomplished in regards to these projects this year. As a leader it is always a blessing to work with those that you serve. BUT this year I feel a particularly fortunate to have been a part of the inspiration of the Young Women and their desire to serve the Lord and to do so with the enthusiasm of youth. The success of these projects was due to the love they have for those they served—what choice youth we have in our stake!!!
With love,
Diane Nilsen
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