Youth Conference

This last week was my spring break. It didn't feel like much of a break because every day I was working on getting ready for youth conference. But I prefer being busy over doing nothing all week. Tuesday I gave a modesty presentation for New Beginnings for the Young Women. Thursday night Justin and I got all the last-minute things packed and Friday was the day! We got up early and put signs in the parking lot for wards to gather and get their youth up to Panhandle Lake. On the way we had misty rain which made me nervous. But we didn't have any rain, just cloudy skies. Thank goodness, because three of our four break-out sessions were outside with no cover!

Friday we had four breakout sessions for the youth that were a total hit. Following orientation and lunch, we put the youth into groups with adult couples we had called as "Ma's and Pa's." They rotated stations, alternating between a spiritual class and a fun activity. Our two classes were based on the theme: one was about "Press Forward" and the other was about "Having Steadfast Faith in Christ." They were also split by age, so we had four sets of teachers and they did an amazing job. We could only catch glimpses of each class as we oversaw all the activities, but we also heard great things from youth and Ma's and Pa's. The two fun activities were human foosball and creating a video based on one of the standards in the "For Strength of Youth." They had dinner and free time and then we had our fireside. Originally we planned to do it around an actual fire at the amphitheater, but we had the wonderful problem of having so many youth come that we couldn't fit so we had it inside. This whole time Justin edited all the videos and put them together for the kids to watch after. President Barker spoke - he brought a backpack full of miscellaneous objects and talked about how we have spiritual baggage we need to repent of. After that we served doughnuts and hot chocolate and watched the videos the kids made - they loved it!

That evening got slightly stressful with sleeping arrangements...getting boys and girls to their respective sleeping quarters and getting them to stay there...I discovered only a few girls sneaking into boys cabins. I do not like to play the bad guy but oh baby...when I need to, watch out. It helps that I have plenty of practice #teachermode

Saturday we originally were planning a huge game that was going to be epic but also was turning into a big headache so we changed things up and spent our entire morning on the service project. I figured the youth had plenty of time to play the day before, and we were going to focus on someone else instead of ourselves. The 4-H camp where we stayed had a boat house facility that we totally cleaned up. There is a path that goes around the perimeter of the lake that had tons of branches and debris that we cleared completely. And we ripped out their old nasty fire pit and installed a new one donated by our stake YM president with "Panhandle Lake" welded onto it. It was great! We gave kids time to pack and clean facilities, then had lunch. We organized a "Spirit Challenge/Faith Walk" that was to be the climax of the conference. This was something I did at BYU-Idaho as an I-Team leader. Ma's and Pa's gave their kids a mini devotional, then blindfolded them and led them to the path we had constructed during the service project. We put stakes in the ground with rope tied around them creating an "iron rod"-like path. Youth leaders were placed along the way and had the job of either trying to get kids to let go of the rope (satan) or encouraging them to "press forward." We had amazing youth leaders who were really good at getting kids to let go of the rope! At first I was getting so mad - what are they saying to get the kids to let go?!? But it was so cool to watch them try to get back to the rope once they figured out it was the wrong way. Wow it was really powerful to watch. We were all bawling like babies but trying to suck it up so we could execute it for everyone. The end of the path led to the amphitheater where we immediately had our testimony meeting. Kids bore really amazing testimonies of their faith and knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel.

Everyone went home after that and Justin and I gave each other a mighty high-five when it was all over. It was a very successful youth conference. We planned the whole thing, but when it came down to it, we had great teachers, Ma's and Pa's, and youth leaders that made the whole thing happen. I was so tired after it was all over. My feet and back were aching. Hello third trimester! I decided I would treat myself to a pedicure when we got home, and I somehow talked Justin into coming with me. I've seen husbands go with their wives before - no polish of course! But it was just what the doctor ordered with the massage chair working my back and the Asian ladies working my feet.

Now that it's over I'm plotting what our next project will be. The next big event is of course our baby! I think I will do some more painting in my house in the meantime. I have an electrician coming to see if we can get more lights installed in our living room.

Today was the first day of church with the boundary changes. With all the confusion, I ended up teaching the 12-16-years-old in Sunday School. That's 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 ... ha! Today is a beautiful 80 degree day and I am soaking it all in before I have to go back to school tomorrow #stillindenial.

I will post pictures and video once they all get uploaded to the cloud.