Youth Conference - Kutztown University

6.20 - Podunk University Town, PA

Catherine and I were asked to serve as volunteers for a multi-stake / region youth conference a la style EFY, and how could we turn down an opportunity like that? Seriously? Well, if only we would've known what we were getting ourselves into. . . .

This is Ben. Smile, Ben! Hot dangit, Ben! What do you mean, you didn't bring slacks? You left your scriptures where?

Wednesday night was orientation night for the counselors and administrators. You know, time to talk about the location of all bathrooms and what would to happen to the counselors if any of the youth were abducted, beaten, or worse - attracted to members of the Kutztown University Basketball team. Catherine and I checked into our dorms, met our roommates, and made a sprint for the local social scene. I couldn't tell if the town had simply shut down at 9:30 or if it had been abandoned completely, but the Ahlmer's (dear friends) joined us for some late night Burger King about 10 miles up the road. Mmmmmmm, delicious forbidden trans fats at 10:30 P.M.. . . . . aghhhhh. Our dorm rooms locked down at midnight, and we weren't about to get kicked out of the conference before it started (we were, after all, the shining counselors).

6.21 How many are coming???

We received our kids this morning at 10:00. I had seven, Catherine had five, Preethee (co-counselor) had six, and Thatcher (other co-counselor) had five. All in all, 600 youth attended and were split up by teams and groups. Our team decided quickly that we needed an awesome name to impose our superiority, and, inspired by the color of our wristbands - not quite red, not quite orange, and not even close to blue.

Salmon. I knew it. The kids new it. It was like. . . . magic. But who names a team Salmon? Could there perhaps be some adjective that would suit a group of 23 rambunctious 16-18 year olds? We would become, "The Tenacious Salmon."

The Tenacious Salmon were great - outgoing, enthusiastic, spiritually mature. It's amazing how much stronger the testimonies of the youth are outside of Utah. A staggering number of the youth were the only members in their entire schools, and thus truly had to make a stand on the Lord's side. What an incredible group they turned out to be! The first day was a fun "getting to know you day": A barbecue, a devotional, and of course, a dance. Catherine and I had a lot of fun making complete fools out of ourselves on the dance floor, with little concern for persecution, remorse, or recourse. Brilliant!

6.22 Armor, anyone???

Today provided a variety of activities that strengthened the testimonies of our youth. We had an amazing devotional, followed by three blocks of optional classes related to gospel subjects. The feedback the kids gave on the power of these classes was very positive - Robert, the most mature of my boys, has been attending church for several months but is not allowed to join the church until he leaves the house. I couldn't help but be impressed about how important the gospel is to him and the perspective that it gives him. He keeps saying that he wants to join the Air Force, but I told him he should consider serving a mission instead. Robert and I had some great conversations about the gospel and he felt the Spirit so strongly on several different occasions. I hope he remembers what he felt.

We had a service project making wooden dolls and blocks for children in Africa, and Brother Dahlquist, General President of the Young Men, joined us for an amazing message on standing tall even when we're alone. And of course, how about another dance? We weren't going to go, but the notion of making fools of ourselves two nights in a row was too much to pass up.

6.23 - Close it up

Saturday was pretty simple - a devotional, testimony meetings, and checking out. Catherine and I were so honored to serve these incredible youth. They inspired us in different ways each day, and we felt grateful to serve and perhaps be a good example for them. We had a great time!!!