Latter-day Saints celebrate Girls’ Camp in Georgia

The young ladies from the Fort Walton Beach Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled to Camp Kolomoki in Blakely, Georgia, this year where they experienced their varied activities and testimony meetings. The theme for this year was More Fit for His Kingdom.

This is an opportunity for them to get to know the young women from the other 10 congregations in the area.

To help with the teaching and monitoring, the older girls, called Laurels, go early and receive training to prepare them to do the duties assigned to them. Also, before their adventure, the guidelines as to dress and behavior are sent to all and talked about in their classes.

Some of the classes offered were yoga by Ashley Liufau and Katie Bingham and also lessons on healthy eating and following the Church’s Word of Wisdom, which cautions against drugs and tobacco and other addictive substances.

Some activities they enjoyed were decorating sunglasses, writing in their journals and drawing scenes on canvas. The Laurels were assigned to supervise classes in water safety, fire and avoiding poisonous plants. There was a lake in which they could kayak and paddle board and also use slides.

Some service projects were arranging flowers for the dining hall, cleaning the trails and relabeling the trees and changing the wood on the benches. All the girls agreed these projects gave them a special feeling of satisfaction.

The lip-sync routines are always a favorite. “ I Don’t Dance” was presented with bats for a baseball routine by one of the groups. Another crowd-pleaser was “ Make a Man of You,” a group line dance; and “ “Living On a Prayer,” complete with 80’s costumes. After the lip-sync routines, they did a glow stick dance.

Zoe Racz felt that the event was a real testimony builder and she appreciated the chance to get closer to the girls in her ward. Her sister, Mia, went for the first time and she expressed how spiritual and fun it was, how much she enjoyed the crafts and how much like a big family it seemed to her.

Karen Jones is the Young Women president for the stake; Lori Stotts, along with assistance, was the director for this camp experience; Ashley Liufau and Merama Divine were the youth leaders; and Emmy Stockman was the kitchen manager.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Latter-day Saints celebrate Girls’ Camp in Georgia