Day 17: Being included

Today we were able to sleep in a little, which was uber nice. We then headed to Fort Casey where we were able to take a tour of the fort and learn about it. They're getting it ready for celebrating the centennial of Washington State Parks in 2013, so parts of it were pretty newly repainted and stuff. We got to see a couple of big cannons (they shot 10 inch projectiles). Fort Casey is pretty cool because from the water it just looks like a big hill. The top of the wall (where the guns are) is pretty much even with the hillside, so it's completely hidden. We had an awesome guide who showed us all over and explained what the numerous places & things were for. Then we headed over to the Admiralty Head Lighthouse. There we learned about the origins of lighthouses, how the lenses for the lights were made, and how they have evolved over time. One thing I thought was cool was that each lighthouse has a different light signal. They could have numerous sections in the lense with a 'bullseye' in the middle of each. So the number of "lights" could be different, the colors of the lenses could be different, and the speed of rotation could be different, giving each lighthouse a unique signal so ships could figure out where they were at.

After our tours, the girls were able to meet some of their pen pals. (our stake YW's president had relatives in the Mt. Vernon stake, so each girl was matched up with a girl in the other stake to write) After the initial meeting, we had some free time at the fort. Some people went back to the lighthouse, some explored the fort, some played on the beach, and some (including myself) flew kites. I had been lucky enough to be able to borrow my parents' stunt kite. So I had a lot of fun (and frustration!) re-learning how to fly it and doing some tricks with it.

After a few hours, we had dinner there with the other stake. We had hawaiian haystacks and s'mores. Mmm! Then we headed back to our campsite for our testimony meeting. Wow, was the Spirit strong there! It was such a spiritual experience and it was nice to be able to hear the girls' testimonies and have it be a safe place for them to share some experiences. It was really cool. I'm such a bawl baby that I brought a whole box of kleenexes especially for this night, and I'm glad I did. They got passed around the circle quite a few times so girls could wipe their eyes and their noses.

I am so grateful that I was able to go on this high adventure experience! I have learned so much and it has been such a great experience for me. Growing up, I sometimes felt like an outsider in my own ward/stake. I didn't really feel that accepted by many people. And it was especially hard once they split the ward and my friends weren't in there with me anymore. It was so cool because the girls this week just totally accepted me for who I was and they WANTED to hang out and be with me. It made such a huge impact on my life and I am so grateful for them and for their willingness to extend their love to me, whom most of them had never met before. It was great to be able to meet some other adults elsewhere in the stake that I had never met before either. They were such great examples of reaching out to others and making sure everyone was accounted for and was safe.