The Nolden Family

I was called to be the Stake Young Women Camp Director over a year ago.

**NOTE for those of you not familiar with that** Every year each local church group puts on a one week summer camp for the girls ages 12 to 18 in our geographic area. We take the girls up into the mountains or as far away from “society” as we can. They leave their cell phones and iPods at home and we try to get them out into nature where they can “feel the spirit” and concentrate on spiritual things as well as having a lot of fun for just a little while. They also certify in things like First Aid and other camp related items similar to what boy scouts might do***

I have to admit I wasn’t so sure about the calling at first. I’m not much of a camper and my mom had a good laugh when she found out what my new calling would be because of that.

But I worked on it for a whole year (who knew it took that long to put together! with a group of amazing people that had been going to camp for many years…and over that period of time I really came to appreciate the Girls’ Camp Program and the effect it can have on the girls (and the leaders). Liz, Megan and Mikayla all went to camp and had a great time.

Unfortunately for me, camp was the week before we moved in July! Camp ended on Saturday and our movers showed up the next Monday. So, I had to leave midweek and come home to get everything ready…I was extremely sad to leave because I missed some of the best “stuff” going on at camp! I had gone up on Saturday to help set up over the weekend before the girls showed up…so I had already been there 5 days when I left.

Our camp was in Southwestern Utah near Zion National Park (close to Kolob Lake). Our theme was “Anchored to Christ.” We had 6 “wards” there plus a group of YCL. YCLs are Youth Camp Leaders – the 16 and 17 year old girls who have already gone for 4 years and now serve as leaders at camp. We had 97 girls and about 50 leaders. Each group had their own ship name (e.g. LDSS Cheerfulness) and they decorated their camps accordingly. The stake camp was the “Stake Coast Guard,” the YCLs were the “LDSS Love Boat,” the men were the “Priesthood Pirates of Love,” etc. It was a lot of fun. Everything we did had a nautical bent to it.

Oh, yeah, and then there were those darn cooks : “The Black Galley – The Crooked Cooks.” They were a lot of fun and kept things interesting. Somehow our palm tree disappeared one day and reappeared hanging from the top of their cooking area. We had to keep our eyes on them the whole time . At least we got them back (a couple of times). It wouldn’t have been the same without them. We didn’t have to do any cooking. They prepared 3 awesome meals a day for us plus some great treats.

The girls got to go on a full-day hike to Zion National Park and do part of “The Narrows” hike. That was the day I went home, so I missed out on that…but I heard they had a lot of fun. They also got to do rapelling, shooting guns, a zipline, lots of crafts, plus good entertainment at night. We also did a Nighthike out in the forest with no flashlights (except for one group leader had one) where they went to 5 stations where there were scriptural characters (in costume) who talked to them about staying steady and true. It was really cool. I also missed the skit night.

So, as you can tell it had a great effect on me. I am bummed that I didn’t get more pictures. But I was always busy doing something, so there wasn’t much time. But I did get a few good ones. Check them out below:

Above: This was the Stake Camp. The white building to the furthest right was a showerhouse. That was the best part – a hot shower every day and flushing toilets. It could’ve been a totally different experience without that .

Above: Two of the awesome ladies I had the privilege to work with (Janine & Marrae). Everyone on the Camp Committee was so dedicated and hardworking. I was inspired by them all. We had complete leadership support.

Above: That’s me doing the zipline (before the girls arrived). That was the first time I had done that. It was scary stepping off the tower…ok, so I sat down and scooted off the first time
. There was a little bit of screaming involved…but it was actually a lot of fun!

Above: Woohoooo…I survived!!!

Above: The YCLS at the Amphitheater and President Jarvis conducting one of our first meetings as a group.

Above: The girls in the background in the yellow T-Shirts were our ward (Desert Sage). If you look close you can see Liz (center), Megan and Mikayla.

Above: Beverly Glen had the largest group of girls…they are in the Orange.

Above: Beverly Glen again (I never got a photo like this of our ward where my girls were). This is where we ate all our meals. You can see the line in the background getting their food.

Above: Girls enjoying camp (and getting ready to eat). The two on the left are YCLs (that’s Mary W. getting squeezed). Mikayla is in the middle, then there’s Elizabeth L. and Megan. If you notice their T-shirts…I got to design the Logo for the Camp, which is on the front of their shirts. I love doing stuff like that.

Above: The Lunch Line. The cooks did such an awesome job of feeding us all. Some of them have been coming up for years and years to do this for the Stake (Stake camp is every other year and the wards do their own camp on the off-year). They work really hard.

Above: The Brooks and Sis. Neel.

Above: Bishop Neel (troublemaker #1 , Bro Millette (accomplice #1) & Bro Justice (accomplice #2).

Above: So, when something got into the “Lost and Found” – you had to sing to get it back. SOMEHOW…it’s still a mystery ….Bishop Neels Boots and Hat went missing….hmmmm…..He got a little help from his friends. Yeah…I had to sing once too…

Above: Some Desert Sage Campers: Arielle, Alicia P., Jackie P., and Veronica.

Above: The Priesthood Posse. They took care of the camp via their quads. I regretted not bringing one of ours along with me…I was completely jealous .

Above: Carolee catching a ride.