EFY

Especially For Youth 2008: Steady and Sure

This summer I was a counselor for the LDS summer camp EFY (Especially for Youth). It is a week-long program where youths aged 14-18 gather together and basically just escort each other around to classes, devotionals, service activities, and dances. It's a great opportunity for them to feel the Spirit, and at the same time to make zillions of friends and not ever be bored. And, to stay up unreasonably late even though "lights out" is at eleven and they wake up at the break of dawn every day. Did I mention they are aged 14-18?

So, as a counselor you are assigned a random group of boys (or girls if you are a girl) to look after and lead from the moment they arrive on Monday afternoon until they leave first thing Saturday morning. You are with them always. This has the potential for disaster, but for me it was always a great blessing and great fun. Your group of youth is matched up with another group of youth of the opposite gender (with an accompanying counselor) and this is called your company. Companies usually have really sweet, scripture-related names, like "In The House" or "The Last Days". Companies do everything together and by the end of the week, the kids are all great friends, or at least, that's the goal.

Various duties of the EFY counselor include: waking the childs up in the morning, leading them to breakfast, teaching them a gospel-centered lesson during morning gospel study with the company, teaching them a gospel-centered lesson during evening counselor devotionals, teaching them gospel-centered lessons at various times of the day throughout the entire week, helping them feel cool and included, getting the boys to ask girls to dance during slow songs, trying not to completely take over when the kids are making their skit/cheer for the games night competition even though you really want to beat all your fellow counselor friends and your kids are seriously making really lame cheers, and being super fun/nice/kind/helpful all day every day!

Another note-worthy perk of being an EFY counselor is that there are gaggles of other EFY counselors that are on the same page as you and have serious date-potential. But, don't get too excited, as my great friend Ryan Cain always says about EFY, "It's the best place to meet girls, and the worst place to date them."

Truth.