Helaman's Encampment July 2011

Our young men attended Helaman's Encampment from July 4-9 held at Camp Impeesa, located on the shores of Beaver Mines Lake.  We joined with 23 stakes from Alberta (including the Regina Stake from Saskatchewan) in celebrating 100 years of scouting in the province of Alberta.  The planning and day-to-day operations needed for such an event were incredible, and as participants, we greatly appreciated the chance to actively participate in the encampment.  We had exceptional weather throughout the week (somewhat miraculous considering all the rain and snow that had fallen in the mountains this spring) and each day brought engaging and often challenging hikes and activities.  After each day's activities, the evenings were spent eating, watching a quickly popular spontaneous stick fighting competition started by members of the Cardston 3rd Ward, relaxing, and finally enjoying a fireside speaker at the natural amphitheater after dinner.  The speakers were as follows:

Monday:  Elder Richard Melchin, member of the Fifth Quorum of Seventy.  Elder Melchin read a letter to us written by President Monson, the text of which was made available afterwards.

Tuesday: Edwin Moliki Mulitalo, starting left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, SuperBowl winner, drove up to Alberta the night before he spoke to us once he realized his passport had expired and he couldn't fly.

Wednesday: Elder Gifford Nielson, member of the Sixth Quorum of Seventy, All American Quarterback from BYU

Thursday:  Charles Dahlquist, former President of the Young Men's organization

Friday:  President David L. Beck, President of the Young Men's organization

Capturing all that transpired throughout the camp would be difficult to summarize, but it was a memorable experience for everyone who participated.  What follows are a host of pictures capturing some of the events.  If any of you have photos to share, please send them to fifthwardym@gmail.com. Thanks to the Bishopric, leaders, and all the young men who helped make this encampment a memorable experience!  And thanks to our mothers and fathers who got us all there!

Thanks to everyone who submitted pictures!

Mixing Youth with Gun Power?

Our young men were fortunate enough to have some brief firearms training combined with marksmanship with our recent skeet shooting activity.  Thanks to Bro. Mackenzie for letting us onto his father's land to have a blast shooting shot guns!  Bro. Mackenzie even brought out his special shot gun for a few of the young men to try.  We definitely have some surprisingly sharp shooting young men who easily outshot most of the leaders.  Well done everyone for a fun and safe activity where we were reminded that when necessary respect is shown for firearms, using them can be challenging and fun.

Archery Training

We were pleased to welcome Bro. Les Hegedus to our activity night this past week.  Years ago he competed in the Alberta Summer Games in archery and has won several medals.  We were all captivated by his stories, tips, and demonstrations using his various bows.  Afterwards, our young men were more than excited to try some long and compound bows provided by the Stake.  We are looking forward to hopefully doing more archery at the Bishop's cabin on the upcoming weekend.  Check out the evidence of budding marksmanship!

Survival Kits

Thanks to Bro. Spencer and Bro. Mackenzie for assembling some exceptional survival kits!  The young men who attended made extra kits which are in the YM closet at the church.  When planning any trip into the mountains or back country, taking one of these kits is essential to be prepared!

Swimming at the Ramada Pictures

Thanks to the Young Women and their leaders for organizing a great evening at the Ramada!

Smoke? Fire? No problem!

5th Ward YM at the FirehallOur visit to the Cardston County Firehall engaged our young men in ways we were not expecting.  Donning SCBA's to check out a smoke filled room, throwing on complete firemen's gear, and putting out a real diesel/gas fire with a fire-extinguisher were some of the highlights.  Ironically, the smoke alarm went off early in the evening due to the smoke from the smoke machine setting off the alarm.  (Who do you call when THAT happens?)  Our thanks to the dedicated firemen who were so willing to let us actually use equipment and experience first hand some of the challenges of fire fighting.  What was supposed to be a routine tour of the firehall became an introduction to firefighter training!  Enjoy the photo montage provided by Bro. Millward's iPhone.

Past Events and Helaman's Encampment

Over the last few weeks, the young men have been challenged in various new ways, from braiding 4 strand cord to make slings, to fire starting without matches, and to utilizing GPS units to locate markers at night.

Thanks to Bro. Jeff Mackenzie for his efforts in acquiring a unique design for a sling and teaching us how to braid 4 strand cord!  And thanks to Bro. Curtis Spencer for acquiring fire-starting materials for our future survival kits (based on Neldon Hatch's charred denim recipe) and for setting up a GPS course.       Many of our activities are purposely designed to prepare the young men and their leaders for Helaman's Encampment.

Reminder:  All young men who are committed to attending the encampment need to bring their $25.00 encampment fee to the young men leaders by Sunday, March 20.  This encampment is a once in a lifetime activity!  Besides challenging and engaging activities each day for scouts and ventures, the evening firesides involve prominent LDS athletes, Young Men's Presidency leaders , and a general authority on the Friday evening fireside. Speculation about the possibility of President Monson attending remains speculation, but a possibility nonetheless.  Assembling over 3,000 young men and their leaders will be an experience to remember.  Visit the website at www.helamansencampment.com to view video and learn more about the encampment.