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| The girls in Temple Square |
On Thursday morning we
visited the historic Temple Square, which is the headquarters of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Utah’s most popular tourist destination, and
joined a tour with Sister Pipe and Sister Ryan. Everyone
loved learning about the history of Temple Square but even more so loved the
view from the 26th floor in the Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. The view included the two mountain
ranges surrounding Salt Lake City, the airport, and the Utah State Capitol
Building. It was amazing!
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| The view from the office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
The GSLI girls and
chaperones then took off for the GSLI Opening Session where CEO Anna Maria
Chavez and National Board President Connie Lindsay led the 900 girls to the
Hall of Experiences. The exhibit hall was awesome but a little bit
overwhelming! So many options, so many vendors, so many people, no one knew
where to start!
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| Some of the girls with "Juliette Gordon Low" |
When we were finished
with the Hall of Experiences, we started to develop our Take Action Projects by
choosing from the 7 Issues: Hunger, Basic Needs, Education, Healthy
Relationships, Teen Violence, Self Image, Gender Equality, Diversity and
Inclusion. After everyone had chosen their issue, the topic of the
outdoors was brought up for discussion. It was almost unanimous that the
girls wanted to go back outdoors in Girl Scouting. As one girl said, we
need to put the “out” backing in Scouting!
After dinner the
Opening Ceremony began. Anna Maria and Connie were so excited to start off the
convention! Alison Levine spoke about her journey as she climbed the highest
mountains in the world. Several local groups preformed and we had a blast
singing and dancing! (So did GSWPA’s Board President Lois!)
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| Elizabeth Smart |
Friday morning
the Delegates headed over to the First National Council Session! The
meeting ended at 12:30 when the Delegate girls joined the GSLI girls
who had been busy all morning starting their Take Action Projects! The
GSLI program had arranged for speakers from all sorts of backgrounds to speak.
After the GSLI sessions we had a wonderful dinner speaker, Elizabeth Smart,
whose abduction was one of the most followed child abduction cases. She shared
her moving story about the abduction and her life since.
After the speaker at
dinner, the GSLI girls had reconvened again to work with their councils on
their Take Action Projects. After spending time working on our projects
we relaxed at the hotel to prepare for another busy day! So far we’re
having a blast!
