guns, cows, bowling, & temple pageants

well, it's summer. time for every Mormon teenager to attend Youth Conference. this year, I went to Japan and hiked Mt. Fuji. it took 12 hours. it was super hard. but it was worth it.
Jusssssssssst kidding. that was last year.
this year, as all of you should know by now, I am not in Japan anymore. I went on my first real Youth Conference with my ward in Provo, the ward I've been attending for about 10 years. I knew everyone, some people better than others. It was really nice, because I got to know some people a lot better, and I became better friends with everyone. Some people, I knew their name and what they looked like, and that was pretty much it. but after this youth conference, I feel closer to everyone and it's great!

first, we drove up to the Utah County shooting range and shot guns.

before Thursday, I had never shot a gun in my life, and I obviously needed tons of help. Bishop Tirrell had to give me instructions about 10 times before I was ready to shoot it. The shotgun has a kick to it, and I guess I held it wrong because my shoulder was really hurting. Today at tennis, I found 2 bruises from when I was holding the gun, and it just felt really awkward to hold the racket. it also felt awkward to hold a shotgun. we shot at clay pigeons (not real birds), and I missed every single time. so I guess I need more practice before I start shooting real things! we also shot at targets, and I missed everytime as well. and there was this really big gun (please do NOT make fun of me, I am a girl who has never shot a gun in my life and I have no idea what the name of this gun is) that was really loud and big, and I really wanted to shoot it. so, I get one of the teachers (14-16 year old boys, not real "teachers" in case you are confused) to load it for me. and I pull the trigger, and it doesn't go "boom" like it was supposed to. so like every single boy and leader crowds around me to see what was wrong. turns out, the bullet got stuck! and of course, that could only happen when Miriam Castle is shooting a gun. but we were able to get it out, and I was able to shoot it. it was really awesome. I actually had a great time, even though I don't think I hit anything!

we then drove up to a teeny little town in Sanpete County called Spring City. the whole place, like any small town in Utah, had the wonderful fragrance of cows. we ate lunch at a chapel there, played some games, and had workshops. first, a patriarch spoke to us and explained the significance of patriarchal blessings. it is truly an amazing thing. I haven't gotten mine yet, and honestly I want to wait until I am much older, but I really like the idea of them, finding out exactly what your purpose in life is, and what Heavenly Father wants you to do.
but driving around all day and shooting guns can make me pretty tired, so at some point, I fell asleep. I felt really bad about that. but in between that, we had a little break and I was able to wake up.
the next workshop talked about self worth. the quote I remember from that was this (and I'm probably messing this up)
it doesn't matter what size of the audience you perform for.
basically that means that your perception of yourself shouldn't be affected by how many friends you have. even though I enjoy having a lot of friends. it's interesting to think about it.

our theme was "in his holy name." or something like that. in the next work, Melanie, the bishop's daughter, explained the significance of our names. they represent who we are. they can give people a reputation, good or bad. for example, if someone heard that I was the daughter of Dr. Steve Castle, they might think that because my dad is a chemistry professor and was valedictorian of his high school, that I, Miriam Elaina Castle, am really smart and into chemistry and science. this is not true at all. (except I get pretty good grades so I guess I'm smart?) one of the things that I really liked that she said was how on missionary name tags, there are 2 names in big letters. the first, is elder or sister (your last name). the second one is Jesus Christ. the reason for this is that the missionaries are representing Jesus Christ himself. and when you think about it, that's a lot to live up to. but it's an amazing thing to know that these missionaries were sent to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they do their best to be like him everyday.

finally, my favorite workshop was by the bishop's nephew, Jake. he was a really good speaker, and talked about obedience and how important it is to obey the Lord. he shared really amazing stories, quotes, and examples. one of my favorite examples was in being an athlete. he talked about basketball, but I'm going to use tennis as my example. It took me a long time to learn how to serve. I had to practice really hard everyday. but once I learned how to do it, I could've thought, I can serve. I can hit the ball in the court. I'm good at it. I don't have to practice. but even though I'm pretty good at it now, I still find room for improvement, and I still practice my serve everyday. the same thing applies to gaining a testimony. after you have a testimony, you can't just think I have a testimony. I don't have to do anything else. I don't have to keep working for it. you have to keep strengthening it. you either gain a stronger testimony, or you start to lose it. you can't just stay the same.

after the workshops, we drove to Sterling, a little town just outside of Manti and set up our camp. we camped at a nice grassy park with a playground, real bathrooms, and even a tennis court. I should've brought 2 of my rackets and a can of balls! I was so mad. but then again, we wouldn't have had any time to play tennis. but I really wanted to. but the playground was actually really fun, and I enjoyed going on the teeter totter. my friend Sabrina said, "oh look at Miriam, squealing and having the time of her life!" yeah. I was about as happy as a 2 year old. kinda embarrassing. but yeah, I loved it.

next, we had the famous Manti Pageant. this picture has no filter at all, believe it or not. although you would think it might, because Haley and I are actually freezing our butts off. and the temple is really that beautiful. and the Bishop somehow found his way into the picture. everything about the pageant was amazing: the story, the lighting, the costumes, and the Spirit. I loved every minute of it.

the next day, we did a service project, went bowling in Ephraim (another small town in Sanpete county that smells like cows), played kickball at a church in Mt. Pleasant (this town not only reeks of cows, but horses as well), ate dinner, had testimony meeting, and went home. it was a great experience, I loved all the workshops, and felt the Spirit really strongly. sorry for the long post, but really, it was so amazing. much easier than hiking Mt. Fuji. but then again, bowling is pretty hard. no matter how hard I roll it or where I stand, my balls roll into the gutter every single time. (Haley Spackman can testify to that!) of our little bowling team of 5 people, Mer Bear lost with a score of 36. Hays got somewhere higher than that. and the rest of our team (her older brother Josh and 2 priesthood leaders) got into the hundreds. you could say i was defeated. also, I can't shoot a gun to save my life either. (Bishop Tirrell and all the other Priesthood leaders can testify to that.) and I can't kick a kickball to save my life. (my whole ward can testify to that!) so, there were some challenges. but it still doesn't add up to the difficulty of hiking Fuji.