Hallie Girl's Camp Year #2

 I'm still learning to be ok with my kids being gone from home for a chunk of time. This year when Hallie went it was a little easier but leading up there was a lot of discussion and uncertainty. When I first heard that for girls camp they would be running the river my initial response was absolutely not. I grew up running the river and I know the effort and knowledge it takes to make sure that everyone in the boat stays safe when the river can be quickly changing and unpredictable. I talked to the leaders and they were able to answer some of my questions but seemed like wait and see was also their answer to things I wanted to know. I kept asking and as it got closer I was really thinking Hallie wouldn't go or just would go and not run the river. Ultimately a couple days before camp I had been praying about what to do and how to handle the situation and I had the feeling that I needed to give Hallie the opportunity to make this decision so we did. She decided she wanted to go and each run she would make sure to pray and if she felt like she shouldn't go she would stay back at camp. And off she went.

Every year they have a "terrible" fashion show. Initially Hallie refused to participate but I guess when she got there she changed her mind. Because the other ward is so small they attend camp with our girls and Hallie found a partner in one of them. They were the runners up for the competition.

As you can see she ran the river! That's her in the front riding the raft like a bull. The communication was limited but she would occasionally get a message or a picture through telling me how much fun she was having. She said she felt good the entire time and I found out later that she ran the river every time they went. 

I hope that Hallie was able to build her testimony getting to be involved in camps like this and still having fun as well.