I also went camping (or stayed in cabins in the mountains) with the girls. I stayed with the first year girls most of the time. We did a great hike to Lake Cachuma.
Camp was at Camp Rancho Alegre near Santa Barbara. All 12 girls from the ward had a really great time. One highlight for all young women was a faith walk planned by the sixth years. Each sixth year girl was positioned at a station in a circle on a path around a small pond. Each had a personal story to tell of a burden they had been carrying. All other campers were given a small backpack. In small groups, they rotated around the pond and listened to the sixth year girls tell their stories of burdens they carried. At the end of telling their story, the sixth year girls put a cup full of rocks in each young woman’s backpack to symbolize each young woman taking on some of their burdens. The young women were all deeply touched by stories of loss of a parent, mending relationships with a parent, self esteem, depression, health, etc and literally felt those burdens as their backpacks became very heavy by the end. After hearing all the stories, all young women hiked about a quarter of a mile up to the main cabin. Once there, each young woman in turn walked to the front and dumped out their bag of rocks and was given a picture of the Savior in return symbolizing the atonement and that Jesus Christ has taken upon himself our burdens. This activity strengthened each young woman’s testimony.
