Bishops Weekend

This is the fourth year that Tony has been Bishop.  He and I both felt strongly that we wanted to provide an opportunity to develop relationships with the youth and to feel the spirit so we hosted a "Bishop's Weekend."  We started the weekend at the Dishpan Mica Hills with a scripture hike and scavenger hunt.  At the end of the hike all the kids gave us an analogy of how the hike is like life.  The analogies were incredibly insightful.  Some of my favorites included:  even if we get off the path, we can always get back on, 

After the hike we went t the water park.  We loved watching the kids build new friendships with each other.  Sadly, one of the new deacon's back packs was stolen out of the back of the boat.  Even after replacing all of his clothes at Walmart, it upset him so much he ended up going home.  I was sorry that happened and hope that Heavenly Father can make something good come of it.  We ate a yummy Cafe Rio dinner at the waterpark and then headed to the temple.  This was a highlight for Tony.  He said the spirit was strong and one young man shared how sacrificing to be at the temple resulted in  increased positive experience.  After the temple we set up camp at Liberty Lake.  We had a campfire and the kids were exhausted and asleep by 11:30.  We spent the next day doing very windy tube rides on the lake and playing on the docks.  Some kids had fun fishing and playing water games.  We were continually impressed with the gratitude and good attitudes the kids displayed.  Some of the kids who have a hard time connecting were on this trip and it seemed to improve our youth relationships.

It was a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice from adult leaders, and a significant cost.  In addition, our family had significant trauma.  Cooper decided not to go at the last minute, and work instead.  We got a phone call at 3:00 in the morning from Wilson.  He told us that he had been out drinking with friends and had taken and crashed Tony's car.  It put a real damper on the next day and required extra strength from Heavenly Father to stay happy.   Plus, I got a terrible cold and fever and was crabby and miserable.   Afterward I wondered why we had felt so impressed to put so much work, sacrifice and money into the event.  I remembered Eliza's definition of faith:  doing what you feel is right without knowing the ending.  The Bishop's weekend was a definite act of faith.