Girls Camp 2010

Well, where do I start?

This week was girls camp for the young women in our ward.  We had 21 girls go this year.  Thursday night was Bishopric night.  This give the Bishop and us counselors a chance to play games and have a good time at the camp.  Last year was my first time going and I had a wonderful time.  I was looking forward to this year as I had a better understanding of what goes on.

The plan was for me to meet up with Bishop Milne at his office in Portland.  There we would ride together to the camp in Washougal, Washington.  As I arrived at Bishop’s office, he let me know that two of our ward members had passed away and that he would need to stay here and visit with those families.  So, I took his car and headed to Girls camp on my own.

I arrived just in time for all the festivities.  We played a lot of games and most of them involve water.  I think the whole goal is to get the bishopric as wet as possible.  Luckily I brought a change of clothes.

Here the girls were throwing cups full of water and I was to catch it in the red bucket.  We were competing against Woodhaven ward to see who could collect the most water.  However, some of the girls wouldn’t throw the water in a way that I could catch it, they would just throw it right at me!!  I was pretty wet right after the first event. 

Gotta love the old hula hoop relay game.  Good times!

This was a fun game of tag. 

This picture was taken right before I fell down.  I couldn’t stop myself and my shoes provided little traction and down I went.

Our ward dominated in the tug of war.  Nice how they wanted the Bishopric up front in an attempt to drag us into the water.

This relay involved the pictured garbage can with a lot of holes drilled in it.  Half of our girls worked to plug the holes with their fingers and the other used the buckets to try and fill it up.  Madeline sat in the can to try and plug some of the holes.  We won this race easily!

Then the water fight happened.  I took notes and made sure I got even with some of the girls that enjoyed getting me wet.  All in all it was a lot of fun.

The cease fire was called and it was time for dinner.  It should be noted that the food was amazing!!  Let’s just say that it isn’t the same as the food at scout camp!

Each ward introduces their Bishopric at campfire.  They do this in creative and embarrassing ways.  This year the girls bedazzled hard hats and tool belts for the Bishopric to wear while they sang a song to the tune of Bob the Builder with the lyrics “Bob the Bishop”.  They did a great job with the song.

At campfire, the girls created a game called Bishop’s Feud. (Similar to Family Feud)  They surveyed all the girls in the camp and asked them questions like:  What is your favorite color? Who is your favorite music artist?  Who if the best looking celebrity?  What brand of shoes do you buy? etc.

Then it was our challenge to try and guess the answers.  It was a lot of fun and we all learned that we really don’t know enough teenage girl pop culture. 

To determine who would be in the speed round, they wanted us to do a dance off.  They started playing some dance music and wanted us to all dance and the best dancers would be selected for the final speed round.  I can do a lot of things, but dancing is not one of them.  I was standing there thinking I am NOT going on stage.  Bishop Dixon, who dances very well, was up on stage tearing it up.  Then, some girls from our ward show up at my side and they were telling me that I had to get on that stage.  I politely let them know that Brother Anderson doesn’t dance!  They didn’t care.  They pushed me on the stage.  So, I “danced” and luckily two other Bishops came on stage to give it a try.  I was not selected for the final round, but when I went back to sit with the girls in our ward, they were all giving me high fives and told me good job.  They were being way too nice.  Then one of them says, “You were a little stiff up there.!”  Gotta love honesty!! 

After campfire, I was able to meet with our girls and share a spiritual thought.  I also brought ice cream with me and they loved that.

I must say that this was such a fun time for me.  We have such amazing young women in our ward!  It is comforting to see girls this age making great choices.  I see so many bright futures in all of them.  It is amazing to think of the great impact they will have on the lives of so many!

Thanks for a great time!