Sara was good enough to let me take two days off from work to be a 'virtue' leader at our stake's youth conference this weekend. What an awesome experience! Brother Brad Wilcox (well-known church speaker, former mission president) spent Thursday through Saturday with the kids. He was outstanding and truly had an impact on our youth. I was most impressed with the genuine love he showed the youth, especially those who were not what you might call the most popular, outgoing, etc. He lifted up the heads that hung down. The two dances were so fun for the youth and what was so impressive is that everyone was dancing, the young men were asking the young women and no one was being left out.
Our (our YW president and I worked together) group was so much fun. 11 great kids, 6 young women and 5 young men. Matt, Noel, Alan, Chris, and Asante were a blast to be with. Such great young men. All planning on missions and already having read the Book of Mormon and gained testimonies. We had a ball together. 4 of them shared their testimonies at the end. Noel and Asante are both converts and such special kids. Coming from single parent homes and part-member families, yet making great choices due to their testimonies of the gospel.
One fun experience. Chris is from our ward and he's quite the outgoing kid, so when he told me on the way to the dance last night that he hadn't asked a girl out yet - he's 17 - I told him he could not get back in the car unless he asked a girl out at the dance. Well, he got all nervous and giddy but the rest of the guys stepped up and said they'd all get dates and go on a group date. Not more than 7-8 songs into the dance, he asked the girl he had mentioned in the car to dance and then I see him getting her number after the song with the fluorescent yellow marker I happened to have in the car. Needless to say, he was on cloud nine for the rest of the night and as I type, he is probably finishing up his first real date. I'm a proud 'father!"
So, lots of fun and an inspiring time. I learned many things that I need to be doing better and my testimony of Christ and His life changing gospel has been strengthened. I can't believe how blessed I've been to be born into a faithful family with the heritage I have.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Youth Conference
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2 comments:
Your youth conference sounds like it was amazing! I'm so glad you were able to attend. Those experiences are worth 100 YM/YW weekly activities. It's great to see the growth that comes in such a short amount of time, especially for the youth that really take it seriously.
Our youth are going on a trek to Martin's Cove this summer in July. The stake presidency has made it clear that they want the entire stake to feel like we're a part of the trek experience even if we're not going with them. They challenged us all at Stake Conference to begin walking/running every day to get in better shape. On June 16 the stake is sponsoring a 5K run/walk. We're excited about it! I think the kids will really enjoy it too.
Also, each ward has committed to run or walk 1300 miles before the trek. Our ward has a giant poster in the lobby of the church with 1300 footsteps on it. We are supposed to fill in a footstep each time we walk 1 mile. 1300 miles is the challenge because that's how far each pioneer walked to cross the plains. The challenge is for each ward to collectively walk as far as 1 pioneer walked. I think it's a fun activity! I love the idea of everyone doing something to be involved even if we're not all able to go on the actual trek.
I love the blog idea! Thanks - Lor
Lori, that is so cool! I love that idea! I'll be sure to bring that up in a couple of years when we do trek again! Thanks for commenting and keep us posted on how the Trek goes. Love you! matt
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