The Truth About EFY

I have returned from the alternate universe of EFY and will now try and integrate myself back into the real world. I've decided the real world is over-rated though. Living in EFYland is so much better anyway. Where do I begin to say how incredibly awesome these past weeks were? Bah. Words are insufficient, but I'll try. Before this, I thought I'd worked enough jobs in my life to know what kind of work was "hard." Not so. Being a counselor tested me more than any other experience or job I've ever had. Having the responsibility to help these youth realize how amazing they are and how important the gospel is in their lives was a heavy burden. Some days I just wanted to lay in my bed and cry until I fell asleep because I was so exhausted and felt inadequate for the job. But the Lord truly does qualify those that He calls. It was not me who helped those kids feel the love of their Heavenly Father or made them see the truths of the gospel, it was the Lord and His Spirit. I just feel so blessed that I got to be there to watch and be a part of it in some small way. While there were days where I thought that I wasn't getting through and it was just plain hard, hearing them bear their testimonies, some for the first time, made every difficult moment worth it. This little...well okay it's not so little anymore, especially since EFY has expanded to Europe...but this program is literally changing people's lives, one teenager at a time. It not only makes a difference in their lives, but counselors as well. Watching all the counselors, bc's, coordinators, and session directors work together to acheive something bigger than all of us was awesome. I learned so much about myself and others along the way that it just doesn't seem fully accurate to call it Especially For Youth. It's especially for everyone. We all benefit from helping eachother along and lifting one another up I'm so so so glad that I got the chance to be a part of it. I just hope that I can hold on to the lessons I've learned and keep the focus of what's most important in life: the message this gospel has for every single person.