The. Best.
In 2015 we played with the general mutual theme (Embark in the name of the Lord) and used the expertise that we have in the ward to go run the Snake River in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We have two families in our ward that own the equipment and have the knowledge to make this happen. They held classes for the leaders who would be needed as boat captains, and they made sure to single me out.
I was told that the young women needed to see their leader doing something hard. They needed to know that they could also do hard things.
And I agreed, though it terrified me.
I remember on my turn captaining down the river, we hit the Snake River Monster, and my little raft was cruising, and I was pulling on my oar with all my might. It took full body pressure to push that oar and steer that boat. The last thing I wanted was to slam against the large rock wall and have our raft pinned, or even flipped there.
And I pulled and I steered and suddenly... we were out of it.
And Chris, who had been teaching me to captain and has been doing rafting his whole life, and who had gone before me, stood up in his boat and yelled, "and that's how you do it!" I could tell, even from across the river, that he was so proud of me, and that meant the world to me.
I was proud of me too.
We did two runs on two days for a total of four runs. We gave devotionals before, after, and even on the river.
And every night around the fire we would ask the youth to apply the lessons of the river from that day, to their real life.
It was incredible.
On our way through Star Valley we stopped to see the construction site of the new Star Valley Temple. We were each able to take a dedicated rock from the site, and participated from a presentation from the site missionaries.
This was also the year that we became obsessed with the game Signs, and played it endlessly.
As in, two years later I still know everyone's signs.
