I started attending Especially For Youth before I was 10, as LARGE groups of adults and kids from our stake would wake early and caravan from Southern California to Provo Utah. My mom would take all three of girls on these trips no matter our age. We would drop off the ones who were participating in the week and then she and I would spend the week peeking in on all the activities, strolling around campus as the participants covered the halls and filled the class rooms. We would sneak in to watch the dances and feel of the energy we call EFY.
I remember the way I felt watching the week progress...it was a mixture of pure excited as I anticipated years to come and overwhelming sadness that I was not yet allowed to attend.
I LOVED EFY from the moment I saw my first orientation and that love grew into something I cannot even put into words.
Going to EFY each summer from the time I was 14 until I was 18 was the GREATEST experience I had growing up. EFY was where I gained my testimony, learned to really recognize the spirit and felt closer to my Heavenly Father than anywhere else.
It was a time to meet LIFE-long friends. Make the best memories and experience something that youth do not experience in any other capacity.
OH HOW I LOVE EFY!
This week my heart was overflowing as I dropped these two off for their first time at Especially For Youth. I think I was way more excited than they were...but I know they will know and understand my love and passion for this program after this week is through.
They both thought their dorm room was "awesome".
Gavin even made a point to tell me how he "slept like a baby" in his "way comfortable bed".
Here is a picture a snapped as Savanna and I poked our heads into orientation the first day. I cried a little and had chills the entire time...wishing I was 14 again.
I was able to talk to Gavin early in the week and I could tell be his voice that he was loving his week so far. He informed me that he had been dancing with 18 year old girls and that the food was "all you can eat". Perfect for Gavin.
I am so excited to hear all about the rest of the week.
Unfortunately he will be picked up by his dad tomorrow and taken straight to SLC for three weeks.
I hope as he spends the next few weeks in a home where God and our Savior do not exist, where standards and values are different from our home...I hope and pray he will take the feelings he had this week with him. I hope his testimony will be strengthened still and that he will continue to seek the spirit.
Have I mentioned how much I HATE the summer.
My heart already feels empty, the house too clean and quiet.
Am I going to make it through??
NOTHING compares to the love I have for these two and our little family of four...not even EFY!
2 comments:
I am so glad that EFY was so good for those kids! It was a beautiful week too! I enjoyed your photos from your run that first morning. I went down to eat lunch with Dee at Brick Oven that day. I wish we could have seen you but of course you were busy with your kids. I'll keep them in my thoughts and prayers during the next three weeks. I am sure they will be watched over and blessed. You have taught them well.
Our kids just got back from a great week at EFY. Its such a great experience for them! I'm so glad Gavin loved it! I know he will take that spirit with him where ever he goes. He's a good young man with a good heart and strong testimony.
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