For the past several months, the Church has temporally closed its physical operation. The members are missing the Sunday gathering and other related activities. It is not just for the youth and the adults, but for little children as well. A dear child said, 'I miss Primary; when will we meet again in church for Primary?'. I am glad that they have started to enjoy the Gospel at a young age.
Every summer, the children had lots of fun at the summer camp in Church; this tradition is in place for several years, and we do not want the pandemic to take it away. After fervent prayerful meetings, we, the primary presidency, had planned for 'Primary Summer Camp 2021'. The children were excited, and we wanted to meet their expectations. We had a five-day activity that focused on the New Children and Youth program, which subdivides into four main categories: Spiritual, Temporal, Intellectual and Physical.
Each day was a special one for us and the children. The presidency planned the activities so that they will help the children feel the love of God. The children were able to discover and explore the talents that our Heavenly Father has blessed them. The parents posted the pictures and videos of the daily activities in the primary what's-app group, and the children loved to see the images and videos of their friends. The main objective of the activity was to help children know their local leaders, the happiness of serving others, and learn about the importance of Temple and its ordinances.
Planting a sapling at home was an exciting experience for the children; it was constructive learning about Faith, as Faith is planted in our hearts and how it can be nourished at home. In Few months, when their sapling grows to a bigger one, they will be able to understand better the importance of Faith and how it can be nourished. Jesus Christ is the rock on which we should build our Faith upon, and learning this principle in the early stages of one's life is vital.
The crowing event of the Primary summer camp was the graduation day held as the concluding activity. All who had participated, which included all active primary children of our branch, were crowned with their graduation caps by our Branch president virtually. The radiant, happy smiles of the children when they wore the hats with the help of their parents was magnificent, and it will stay close to our hearts. As sister Cheryl A. Esplin said, 'Teaching our children to understand is more than just imparting information. It's helping our children get the doctrine into their hearts'. 1 We are ever grateful to God for the opportunity to help children receive the doctrine in their hearts. Wherever our meetings happen, either in the meeting houses or at home, 'Heavenly Father and Jesus love them, that they are not forgotten, and that Primary has not gone away' .2
Notes:
1 Sister Cheryl. A. Esplin, 'Teaching our Children To understand', April 2012 General conference.
2 Sister Joy. D. Jones, 'Primary general presidency amid COVID-19', Church News Dec 2020.