What I Learned in the Wilderness

Sisters, sisters. There were never such devoted sisters.
—Irving Berlin

On a Friday night late in September, a good percentage of our Relief Society sisters headed into the wilderness...sort of. It was the Heber Valley Camp. It's mostly a girl's camp, which explains why the camp site areas are named after amazing women (like Abish and Marjorie Pay Hinckley). It also explains the giant flags out front in the colors of the 8 Young Women values. Since girl's camp season is over, we were able to reserve a small campsite for an overnight retreat. And this is what I learned, in the wilderness, with my sisters.

• A coconut bra can also very effectively double as Monty Python style horse hoofs!
• Lemuel was a mama's boy.
• Laban may have been a pirate. Or maybe he had pink eye.
• Apparently we all gravitate toward the stories in 1 Nephi. Or maybe that's just the book we've all read most often!
• My new camera is awesome!
• In the absence of graham crackers, s'mores can be made out of chocolate chip cookies, or Oreos.
• We are all different; and we are all the same.
• Be neighborly. If, for instance, you loan your neighbor a battery powered air mattress pump one night, then the next morning, when you discover you forgot to bring syrup for the pancakes, you can pop over to the next camp and ask to borrow some of theirs.
• The missionary camp hosts might have salt and pepper to loan. And shovels. Never hurts to ask.
• The best way to camp is in a nice facility with cabins, fire pits, hot running water, trash service, propane stoves, and a refrigerator. If only my own bed had been there, it would have been perfect!
• The Book of Mormon is amazing, and powerful. Or rather, the spirit and power of God that are accessible as we come to Him through reading scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon, is amazing. And powerful.
• There is untapped talent--dutch oven talent, fire-making talent, acting talent, spiritual talent, kindness and compassion talent--among the UF9 NERS sisters. They are completely fantastic and inspiring.

Good times!!