What is LTC??

This is a question that I was asked by many of my friends and family when I said I would be gone for an entire week at a place called LTC. I tried to describe it the best that I possibly could, but I simply couldn't do it justice. Hopefully this blog post will clear up any confusion:

{PS} If you have never been to LTC before and are planning on going DON't READ THIS BLOG because it will ruin it all for you. Your choice! "}

LTC: stands for Laurel Training Camp, also stands for Look To Christ
Girls that are going to be seniors in High school are considered the participants of the camp
Girls that recently graduated High School are considered leaders at the camp. Three are chosen to represent the youth presidency.
All the girls are separated into 7 groups: Faith, Divine Nature/Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice & Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue.  Each value group has a VGP, or Value Group Presidency. Here's my group: They're so cute :)

This is my Youth Presidency:

Each group has a Young Adult Group Leader, or YAGL. That's what I was! Being a YAGL is a calling, and you are set apart for it. I was called to be a YAGL last August. I was over the group Choice & Accountability. Best group ever in my opinion :)

These are all of the YAGLs with our leader, Sister Horsley:

Over the entire camp is the adult presidency. They are amazing, the camp ends in June, they take July off and then start planning everything again in August for the next year.

Three stakes in Logan are invited to attend. This camp is not worldwide, however the first presidency knows about it and approves. I wish more stakes did it because it is simply amazing.

All of the leadership, including the adults, YAGLs, and Seniors come up on Monday for a leadership day to prepare for the junior girls coming the next day. As the Junior girls arrive on Tuesday, they are welcomed and take their stuff to their tents.

All of the leaders got to sleep in the lodge:

Then we separated into our groups and I was in charge! It was kind of scary to me at first to be in charge of a group of 13 girls, but thankfully I had been an EFY counselor before so I knew what I  was doing.
The first activity we did was called the bulls eye experience. Every girl goes around and shares an experience that has changed her life. This might sound weird, since these girls don't really know each other super well, but in my opinion this is what sets the mood for the entire camp. This activity bonds the girls right off the back when they hear the struggles each other has gone through before. Lots of these girls know who each other are at school, but have never known each other at this level before. We are girls, so tears are shed. :)

These are pictures of some of the girls in my group: I didn't get a picture with all of them unfortunately:

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, each stake President of the three takes a turn and comes and gives a talk about Morality, Motherhood and the Preisthood, and Temples. These talks are amazing, because the girls are given the opportunity to write down questions before about things they want to know about those topics.

The girls that just graduated are considered leaders, and are given the opportunity throughout Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to teach lessons they have prepared, focusing on their value group. These lessons are taught outside which is really cool.

Tuesday night I gave my girls a lesson about the Tree of Life, from 1 Nephi 8. As we finished the lesson, there was an adult leader dressed in white who lead us to a lit up tree, representing the Tree of Life. the tree was lined with other leaders dressed in white.

Wednesday night, two Return Missionary YAGLs taught a lesson about the importance of missionary work. Then, the girls are blindfolded and led to a clearing, and sit down with their blindfolds on. They are told to, "follow the voices that will lead them home" then they hear voices singing. Unbeknownst to them, their parents are there, waiting to welcome them home. This was such an amazing experience to me. The girls had no idea what was going on, and they couldn't see a thing. All they knew was that they were supposed to follow the voices. When they started walking blindly towards the voices, their parents would embrace them and say, "welcome home." The girls would just melt into their parents arms. I may or may not have shed some tears.  The symbolism of this night is so great to me. We don't know exactly what we're doing in life, or where we're going, but we know which direction to go. And we know that if we do what we're supposed to do, we have a loving Heavenly Father who will welcome us home, along with all of our relatives that have gone on before.

Thursday night is the testimony meeting night, and all of the bishops and their wives and young women presidents come up to hear. This testimony meeting is absolutely amazing and makes everything worth it.  These girls testify of things they know to be true, they know that they are never alone because they have their Savior Jesus Christ, and He has experienced everything they're going through. They know that God loves them and that He has a plan for their life. My favorite was watching my own girls go up and share what they knew. It made me feel like their parent, and I was so happy that my children understood the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think I have a taste of how much our Father in Heaven loves us and truly cares about His children. 

I am so happy that I was able to share all of this with my sister:

This is a quote I was able to share, its one of my favorites ever:

We know that Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It's our faith that he experienced everything-- absolutely everything. Sometimes we don't think through the implications of that belief.
We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually.
That means he knows what it felt like when your mother died of cancer- how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student body election. He knows that moment when the brakes locked and the car started to skid. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virginia. He experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced napalm in Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism.

He's not waiting for us to be perfect. Perfect people don't need a Savior. He came to save his people in their imperfections. He is the Lord of the living, and the living make mistakes. He's not embarrassed by us, angry at us , or shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our unhappiness, in our guilt and our grief.

-Chieko Okazaki

Here is my group at our Orange table for Choice and Accountability:

Here are the YAGLs on Thursday for "Girl Talk" the girls put questions in a box about topics like college, what to major in, boys, etc. Its more of a fun thing and lots of laughing. I even made my Monkey noise, thanks to Hillary :)

This week was so great for me because of how strongly I was able to feel the spirit and feel of God's love for me. I had about three lessons prepared for the girls in my group and when it came time to teach them I was prompted to teach and share something completely different than I had planned. I know I was prompted to share what these girls needed to hear and I'm so thankful that I was able to be an instrument in His hands. 

These are some lines from some notes written to me that made it all worth it:

"This week you've made me realize that being strong and living and progressing is so possible"

"There are a handful of people so far in my life that have impacted me immensely and reminded me of my Savior, and you are one."

"You've made a huge impact in my life"

"I love you, I hope I can meet back up with you in the real world." LOVE That one :)

"I know I was supposed to be in your group for a reason"

"There were a lot of things I needed to hear I had prayed about and needed help with and you answered all my questions and said stuff that will stay with me forever. 

"You taught me so much about myself and others"

"This year at LTC was life changing and I'll never forget the things I have learned"

I know these girls were able to feel this way because of His spirit, He just used me to do it and I am so thankful for that! Oh how I love LTC!

“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” 

"He paid a debt He did not owe, 

because we owed a debt we could not pay"