I had a woman email me and ask for ideas I had about a talk that she is giving to the YW at Girls camp this summer. She needed ideas, and of course I am full of them, so first I came up with an idea, and then as I thought about it more, I came up with some others. I thought since so many others will be looking for ideas for their Girls camp that I would post them for you. Please read on:
The YW Values are what make a Young Woman. Maybe you could draw a silhouette of a Young Woman in Black, and divide it up into sections that would represent each YW value. (Sort of like puzzle pieces) You could talk about a particular value and place it up on a board, or wall or some kind of background that you could find at camp.... maybe a poster board. By the time you have talked about the each of the values, each of the puzzle pieces would be in place and the girls would see what you were making with them. ( A YOUNG WOMAN) They would see that it is these Values that make a Young Woman, and maybe you could go into the Value of a Young woman, more precious than gold! Somehow you could tie it into the theme that they are having at Camp, or not, but as a little handout, you could maybe, get some pieces of chocolate gold coins and place in an organza bag with a draw string. Or talk about how much Heavenly Father loves his daughters and even so much that he stands in wait for them to open the door to Him, like the picture of Jesus at the door, with no door knob on his side.
That picture you could find at Deseret book and maybe that would be a better hand out. Another thought that just came into my mind is gold leafing, and perhaps you could do a gold leafed picture of Jesus. You get a transparency copy of Jesus made at Kinko’s, and then spray glue, then place bits of gold leaf on the glue side. You could make a lot of these if you did them in a tiny size like $ store tiny small frame. Or you could just copy these, and put in a tiny frame…
When I looked up the 2012 YW Theme, I realized all my additional thoughts and ideas centered around that theme of "Arise and Shine Forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations". So I thought of more ideas and they center around "Light" and the scripture that popped into my mind was found in Matthew 5:14-16
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
This scripture goes so well with the YW theme, and has so many applications. I can see you talking about the light that radiates from a virtuous young woman, one that shows in her countenance so much that others can see it. She is different from the world, and shines forth. (There are many stories that talk about the fact that LDS look different, something about them that makes them stand out)
You could put a glowstick on a piece of yarn or twine, with this scripture attached to it and hand them out for the girls to "light their way, or light the path, or remind them that their light shines so brightly it cannot be hid, and to use her light for good".
A song comes to mind also, that I remember years ago when my daughter went to camp. The words are based on the scripture I just mentioned from Matthew and it goes like this....
Vrs. 1
This little gospel light of mine, I'm going to let it shine
This little gospel light of mine, I'm going to let it shine
This little gospel light of mine, I'm going to let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Everywhere I go for sure I'm going to let it shine,
Everywhere I go for sure I'm going to let it shine,
Everywhere I go for sure I'm going to let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel, oh no, I'm going to let it shine,
Hide it under a bushel, oh no, I'm going to let it shine,
Hide it under a bushel, oh no, I'm going to let it shine,
Let it shine all the time, let it shine.
Jesus gave me the light for sure, I'm going to let it shine,
Jesus gave me the light for sure, I'm going to let it shine,
Jesus gave me the light for sure, I'm going to let it shine,
Let it shine all the time, let it shine.
Don't let Satan blow it out, I'm going to let it shine,
Don't let Satan blow it out, I'm going to let it shine,
Don't let Satan blow it out, I'm going to let it shine,
Let it shine, all the time, let it shine!
I have looked up the sheet music for this song, but they are all different from the tune that I have learned, so if you think you want to use it, you will have to call me and I can sing it to you. The melody for each verse is the very same and it is very catchy tune.
Another thing I was thinking was that if you are going to Camp in July, then "Fireworks" come to mind, because of the two different holidays... 4th of July and 24th for Pioneer day in Utah. I am sure that you could not do fireworks at camp but maybe a sparkler??? To tie it into the "Light" theme, you could use some quotes like...
"Fire works are a huge display contained in a very small package, but their beauty can't be put on display until a flicker or flame or spark would ignite them. Once they are lit, there is no stopping them and their beauty bursts forth and creates awe and joy! Like fireworks, we need to ignite our gospel light and keep it burning throughout our lives to become the glorious display that our Heavenly Father had intended us to be as His daughters and Young Women. Our example can "spark" interest in others as we go about living the Young women standards. We will have many opportunities throughout our lives to share that light we have within us and who knows when we will touch off a spark in someone elses life and get their light buring brighter through the Gospel of Jesus Christ".
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