Time of My Life

I guess now is as good a time as any.

I haven't written about the rest of EFY yet. Mostly because I've been really busy. I should have been really busy today too (SO much planned and so many errands to run!), but my car decided not to start again. So instead of doing all the things I had planned, and because I don't so much feel like being out in 90 degree weather, I'm stuck in my apartment. At least my apartment is mostly cleaned and organized. Just about ready for Kayla to come and for Cory to come home to. Maybe my car not starting is a blessing in disguise... so I can get a few other things done and relax a little before a truly crazy week. And by "other things" I mean studying for my bio final I need to take before I get married so I can start my math class...

I still need to finish week 1 of EFY also. Yeah, about that...

Can I just say that working EFY has been one of the most rewarding jobs of my life? Well, that is up to this point. I'm sure motherhood will be just as exhausting and probably a little more rewarding. Especially since they'll be my own children.

Random pause: my new neighbors apparently have no consideration for others since their music has been on full blast all night and all morning. Ugh... I can't stand the sound of bass blasting like that. It could just be that their TV is right against the wall and they have some kind of sound system that they've turned the bass up on. Either way... annoying. Really detracts from the Spirit when you're trying to read your scriptures...

Anyway. EFY. Awesome. I love working with the youth of the Church. Even if I don't get any sleep and my co-counselor acts like a 5-year old more than half the time.

June 5-11: Red Team - 14 & 15 year olds
Last year I loved the 14 & 15 year age group. Loved them! They were so innocent and excited to be at EFY. It seemed like there were little to no modesty issues and they tried as hard as they could to be obedient and feel the Spirit. What happened in just 1 year? Don't get me wrong. I loved my girls. Even the ones I struggled with a little more.

This year I decided to just give them their agency instead of trying to control every little thing. I have a bit of a control issue... so being relaxed was not easy. I wasn't relaxed about the rules. Rules are rules after all. But I didn't try to keep such a tight leash. It worked really well with the 16 & 17 year old girls the previous week.

I also have to say I had great cos again. Derek and Krista were awesome and their kids loved them. It took me a while to figure them out, and they seemed to click a lot more than I did. But that's how it usually goes with me. I'm usually the odd man out. By the end of the week though, we really got it. I didn't feel left out at all. (This year I also tried really hard to keep the mindset that this whole thing is not about me in the least.)

Pretty early in the week, one of my girls approached me saying she really didn't know if the Church was true, but that she really wanted to gain her own testimony. First off, I was impressed that she had that much desire at her age. Second, I felt very blessed that she and the Lord would trust me enough to help. So we talked for a while and we talked about how to find answers, prayer, faith, etc. Really just the basics. The next morning she told me she started reading her scriptures and praying intently. You could immediately see a change in her countenance. She was excited and happy. It was awesome! Friday night after devotional, she waited for all the rest of the girls to get to their rooms so she could talk to me alone. She told me that this week she realized that she really did have a testimony. She didn't think she did before and if she did, it didn't matter. But now she knew. I told her to call her parents that night to tell them about the experience. (What parent wouldn't want to hear about their child discovering their testimony? And on top of that, families don't talk to each other about spiritual things anymore...) You could tell that she was excited to talk to them about it. This experience (along with a few other small experiences) really made the whole week worth while.

We also had a few girls that were... reckless. They had no sense of propriety and no consideration for others. I hope that they learned something. I really, really hope, because it sure didn't seem like it when they left. It all started with this boy with a duck tail. Just a little bit of hair at the neck that curls up and looks like a duck tail. I'll tell you, I like it MUCH better than the ugly Jedi braid boys are growing behind the ear. But at EFY, boys are expected to maintain the dress and grooming standards, including hairstyles. That means to get into EFY, they have to cut it off. And this boy cut off enough of his duck tail to get him into EFY, though some of it remained.

He was teased a lot about it by these girls, but he was obedient in cutting off the required amount. So Friday morning (of course it was the last day) during the morning devotional, these girls plotted together, sat behind this boy, and decided to take it upon themselves to cut the rest of the duck tail for him. Okay, in order to understand the full gravity of this seemingly small and stupid act, you have to know that this boy lived in New Zealand for a while where the duck tail was a style and was how he identified himself with that country. He's also a football player and it stuck out of the back of his helmet so people could identify him. No matter my personal feelings on the duck tail, it was something that was important to him. There are also 5 rules at EFY that if you break them, you WILL get sent home. One of which is causing anyone physical, spiritual, or emotional harm. While boys don't like to think of themselves capable of emotional harm... this sure did it. That boy was about ready to hurt someone. And we didn't want that either.

The boy got over it. Not really, but enough to not want to beat someone. The girls felt bad when it came to the boy being upset. Once he calmed down, they seemed fine. The problem is, when you do something at EFY, pretty much everyone and their dog has to get involved. Even after taking these girls aside and speaking to them, informing them of the severity of their actions, they seemed to have little to no remorse for doing something wrong. Fortunately, they weren't sent home. I almost wish they were so they could understand that you cannot take it upon yourself to take away the agency of another. Frustrating. It was dumb. Just so dumb. I wish we didn't have to leave EFY on that note.

For our Friday night company devotional, we also only had 20 minutes. We usually get at least 40. I spent my 5 - 7 minutes talking about proper choices, getting to the temple, and eternal families. I called them out too. Not by name. But I told them that I was concerned that some of them weren't getting it. That they didn't realize that the Gospel applies to them too. They are not immune. And they are not excluded. I sure hope they figure it out. And fast. Before they make really stupid mistakes that they can't take back.

And I really hope that one of my other boys, suffering from what seemed like a neurological problem, is okay. He's such a good kid and I hope his dad's pride doesn't prevent him from taking care of himself and growing the way he needs to.

Uh... would you be offended if I wrote about last week a little later. Mike is coming over to help with my car. Hopefully we can get it towed to a shop and figure out what's wrong with it... :)