Summit Point Youth Campout at Lake Roosevelt

Sarah had invited me to participate in the Summit Point Ward Youth Campout in the middle of July. It took a lot of preparation and I didn't know what to expect, seeing as how this was going to be a week long campout. In the days leading up to the campout, I helped Sarah by going out with her to buy the little gifts that the YW leaders were going to give the girls throughout the week. However, Sarah had already done a lot of that shopping previously. We were re-shopping because she had just found out that 2 more girls were coming that weren't on the list. Part of the things that she bought for the girls were lip balm, manicure set, nail polish, clappers, etc., all from the dollar store, but the crowning jewel was literally a beautiful necklace that she bought off of Amazon that had a tree on it.

Other things that Sarah and I did before we set off for camp was watch a show called "Love on the Spectrum" which was about young autistic individuals and their quest to find love. We got introduced to it because we noticed that the Rutkowski's had been watching it on their TV, and we decided to try it out. It was super interesting, cringe-y in some moments, but rather cute and exciting to behold all the relationships that were formed and some that failed. There is a United States version and there is a British/Australian version. We liked the British version more, but there were still lovely attachments formed in the U. S. version. I'll put some pictures of those people we thought were cute and hilarious and the relationships we liked. Anyways, we binged watched All? the episodes in three seasons right before we went on the campout, literally to the night before.

The campout was a large and grand endeavor undertaken by the many individual leaders that went, and me. I was the only non-leader of the youth that went. I was, as they say, an invitee. Sarah and I were given the responsibility to come up with meals and feed the leaders, while also gathering all the food that the youth would cook on their own. On different occasions throughout the campout, there was inner conflict and tension at having to feed 10+ adults and the load of getting the youth's ingredients. Fortunately, everyone was very nice and willing to work with me, especially Sarah. Brother Rob Miller and I went into town the first two days to gather the food at the Walmart in Miami/Globe. The last two days, Sarah came with me to obtain the food from a market a little north of the Lake (because that is where we had headed on a field trip with the youth that day) and at Walmart. Every single day we spent upwards of $500/day on the ingredients to the meals, not to mention the times that a class of young women or a quorum of Aaronic Priesthood won the bid for a meal from an actual restaurant. The craziest time we had with this was the Older Class of Young Women won the bid of Subway footlong sandwiches. We got each member the same sandwich; where it got difficult was when the Bishop (who was paying for all this) asked Brother Miller and I to get customized orders for each of the 10+ adults as well. So all in all, a total of around 16ish sandwiches, 10 of which were different. All that to say, people who stood behind us in line were not too happy with the wait. And we kept the Subway staff on their toes that day. We also got gas for the whole camp each day, and faltered on getting enough ice each day. So much so that there were nights where we had to throw some of the food out because we weren't keeping it cool enough. I really felt bad then. BUT, everything that had to do with the food worked out, and everybody was happy. I was extremely happy when we delegated some of the cooking responsibilities to the available adults, including Brother Perez, Adair, and Stender. They lifted a weight off my shoulders those meals. 

So, as you can see, we this was a large undertaking. We had about 30-40 youth come to the campout. They were divided up by class and quorum, because Bishop wanted to emphasize the structure of the church. There was a Deacon's Quorum, Teacher's Quorum, and Priest Quorum, as well as "Older Class" and "Younger Class" of Young Women. Each day went as follows:

1. Breakfast and Flag Ceremony

2. Polar Bear challenge.

3. Classes taught by youth in individual classes and quorums, as well as class taught by adults based on the For the Strength of the Youth Standards.

4. Lunch

5. Play, in camp. And Play at the Lake.

6. Dinner

7. Fireside (with no fire)

8. Class and Quorum fireside

9. Leader Wrap Up

10. Sleep

There were multiple things I liked. The Evening fireside was always on point. Each night we got a Stake YM or YW representative to come and share a message: Sister Katie Crowder, Brother Russell Beal, and President Callergos. There were different shows and skits and songs that were performed by everyone, including a magic show by the adults one night.

I loved the Quorum fireside that I was able to participate in. The last night I hung out with the Priest Quorum and experienced their teaching of a FSY standard and share their testimonies. Then we looked at the moon in the dark and Brother Mow told us that this was special being out there.

Going to the Lake was always very fun, except when I didn't have my water shoes on. It was just nice to get away from the heat of the day and be out on the water with all the youth. It was also fun to be out there with my beautiful wife. On the last lake day I was able to ride a Jet Ski and that was a thrill in and of itself. I then towed two kids in back of me. And then let Ronnie Adair try for his first time, WITH the two kids. If I had thought about it, I would have asked the two kids to leave, and he try it on his own, for the thrill. We also did what we called "Navy Seal Training with Brother Mow." This is where he was driving the boat and would have 4 or 5 kids jump out on the side of the boat while it was moving. Many kids really enjoyed doing that.

But, overall, the most exciting thing about being out on this campout was being out there with the kids and the relationships we made. Getting to know the Grimes sisters were super nice. I also got to know the Gibson girls really well, and they made great strides throughout the campout. Ethan Ormiston is a stalwart young man, along with his fellow Priest quorum members that were there. Serene Beal is also very sweet.

There were two unplanned events that really tested those kids. As Brother Miller and I were returning from getting food for camp, we received a phone call saying that while the older kids were at the Lake, the wind had picked up and all the canopies we had set out were blowing away and bending out of proportion. By the time we had gotten there, the camp was in shambles. But everybody did their best to put it back together again. The younger classes had done so well in keeping the camp as put together as they could.

The second event was a rain storm during dinner time that passed through the camp. All youth and their leaders did their best to gather in the 3 RVs that were available for shelter. Sarah and I had saved the food for the leaders, but the youth were not as lucky. We were in Bishop's camper. The camp made due with what we had left over for food. And it all worked out.

It was a beautiful campout. And we all grew closer to one another and in unity as a church/youth group.