Simply The Best Of Jess: Especially For Youth; Especially for me.

For most of the month of August, I spent 3 weeks being and EFY counselor. I must say it was the coolest, funnest, hardest job i've had. It was awesome because i got paid to work, have fun and play and be in an environment of inspiring lessons and the constant spirit present. EFY is one of the best weeks for these kids and the cool part is i get to help make that happen! I learned SOO much and am changed because of this job.
The thing is that i'm only a small part of their experience. Honestly they taught me so much. I have been beyond impressed by many of these 14, 15, 16, and 17 year olds. They can be so powerful, strong, and firm in the Gospel. They have so many insights on things and often times aren't scared to share them. So many have good habits and you can tell they live righteous lives as best as they can.
Not only did I have to have a solid testimony of the Gospel, since i was going to be preaching it to these kids, i had to maintain the habits i was encouraging them to do so that i wasn't a hypocrite. But most of all i learned personally the POWER OF PRAYER and the ENABLING POWER of the ATONEMENT. My testimony of this is immovable. I know that i am nothing without God. He gives me the air i need to breathe. There is no way that anything else is mine if i rely on him for AIR, the main necessity of life. The only thing that is mine is my agency. I used that agency to choose to allow the atonement to push me to be the best teacher i could be for these kids. I used that agency to pray to Heavenly Father to allow me to be humble enough and in tune with the spirit to work as an instrument in His hand. After all it is HIS glory i'm preaching, not my own. I am not naturally able to speak hours on end or make a powerful speech on demand. The blessing of tongues is not a natural talent for me. But the cool thing is that because i asked for His help and wanted these kids to know God, teaching them was smooth. I had words come to my mind and they made sense when you put them in sentences!! This week, me being a teacher or a facilitator of the Spirit, was a miracle. I know it happened because these kids deserved it, they had parents and friends praying for it, and i prayed for it.
I learned to see people as God sees them. Because God wants these kids to feel his love, he uses that love in us and quickly we are able to love all of these kids. Yes, 35 new kids each week. I LOVE THEM ALL! i believe it is because we are surrounded in that love of God but also because we share things dear to our hearts and become vulnerable to each other in confidence of no judgements made. This Spirit i feel here at EFY is made possible because of the many prayers said each day (up to 20ish each day) and the testimonies and devotion to this Gospel and God. EFY taught me first hand that God loves each of us. Because it was so easy for me to love these kids, i know it reflects just a small portion of His love. I got a taste of it. And i know he loves me because look what he allowed me to do! i was a counselor and that scared me but because i turned myself over to Him, it became one of the most enjoyable 3 weeks of my life.
Each week, each day, each hour i learned something inspiring and amazing from the Condies, the Youngs, and the Littles. They were such wonderful session directors. i learned from the other counselors during our meetings how to best reach out to the kids so that they can learn, and i also learned from the youth. I had to write it all down otherwise i would forget. So many precious doctrines are scribbled in my handbook. I may not remember details off the top of my head but i do know that they all confirm and support God and His omniscience and divinity. His love. Christ's Atonement. The plan of salvation. The book of Mormon. Modern Prophets. and the JOY THAT MAN CAN HAVE. All of "these things are TRUE; for the Lord God hath spoken it." I KNOW IT.
Mosiah 2:41

 41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the
blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of
God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal
and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are
received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a
state of never-ending happiness.  O remember, remember that these

things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.