Youth Conference

This week was Youth Conference, and because of Kent’s and my church callings, it was a family affair. I was also the main planner person, so I was heavily invested in a successful week. Because of Covid-19 restrictions (groan), we stayed in Provo, all the youth slept at home, and we did local activities. In spite of that, however, I think it was a fun week. From reports I received on the days I had to work, and observation while I was in attendance, the kids had a good time which was the main idea. It has been so long since we’ve had the chance to be together as a large group and increase ward bonding, the goal was just to have fun, fun, fun. I worked all of that into the schedule. The theme was RAD, Righteous, Awesome, Determined, and we all got water bottles and mini backpacks.

Tuesday we started in late morning, just before lunch, ate together, then went to do some service at Bridle Up Hope, an organization founded by the Covey family after their daughter who was suffering from depression took her life. They provide horse training and riding lessons, life skills lessons, and the opportunity to serve. We broke into groups and did a variety of things, including mucking stables (Kent), cleaning baseboards (Blythe), mowing (Brandt), and weeding (Katherine). It was good work and everyone seemed happy to serve. It was so hot when we finished, we returned to Steve and Jeri Covey’s house for a swim. Some of the kids played 9-Square and basketball, while others chatted amongst themselves. We had dinner and then did karaoke. I wasn’t sure that any of the kids would be willing to get up and sing, but the adult leaders started off singing “Sweet Caroline,” and that seemed to get things going. And then they wouldn’t stop. Big groups, small groups, even just Blythe and Lizzie Jensen sang a duo. It was all very popular and very funny, especially some of the song choices.

Blythe got a game of charades going while we waited to leave.

Ellie and Elizabeth are being a fireplace.

Jeri and Stephen's dog Shadow died last year and his ashes were on their kitchen island.

Jeri said they have wanted to bury the ashes by the pool house, but just hadn't gotten around to it.

Some enthusiastic youth took it upon themselves to bury Shadow.

Leaders wanted to have some missionary focus during the week, so on Wednesday, the youth participated in what I called “traveling workshops.” We have talented, smart, dynamic people in the ward, and I asked four of them to present 30-minute workshops on missionary-related themes. Hilary Davis talked about cleaning, then had the kids clean stuff. David Jensen shared an easy to prepare meal and had the kids make meatballs. Mikayla talked about taking good pictures and then had the kids practice. And finally, the youth leaders did fun missionary relays, like three-legged races with a “companion,” getting dressed in shirt and tie or shirt and skirt, scripture memorization, and PB&J making. The final workshop was a group reading in the Book of Mormon. Mikayla reported that most of the kids seemed to have a good time, and others leaders/presenters said it was fun.

That is Hilary's serious cleaning face.

Everyone went home for a bit, for a rest and to gather up outdoor movie night gear, then returned to the Covey’s house for dinner. We then returned home for a Zoom fireside given by Garrett Batty, the writer and director of The Saratov Approach, a movie about two missionaries who were kidnapped in Russia. He told us about how he got into the film industry, his interest in the story, and how they were able to make the movie for next to nothing but had it show across the country. It was very inspiring and super interesting. We then regathered at the Covey’s and watched The Saratov Approach. Some of the older kids were much more interested in flirting and talking with each other, but most of the youth enjoyed the movie. They also enjoyed the popcorn, candy, soda, and nachos.

Thursday was hiking day. After pancake breakfast, everyone packed a lunch and headed to Sundance to hike to Stewart Falls. Hiking is always beautiful, and everyone seemed to have a good time together, especially when they actually got to the falls. Brandt stood underneath the water, slipped and fell, and ended up soaking wet. It was hot enough that he dried off quickly. If they wanted, the kids were able to swim after the hike, and we met again in the evening for dinner, games, and more karaoke. It was very popular, the karaoke. The leaders wrapped up the evening with a rousing sing-along of “YMCA.”

Friday we went canoeing because canoeing is my favorite summer activity, and as the person planning, I could do what I wanted. We went to Tibble Fork up American Fork Canyon because apparently, Payson Lake is super low. But there was plenty enough water at Tibble Fork and we had plenty of watercraft. I rented nine canoes, plus we brought up ten kayaks of differing sizes. Although we told everyone they had to wear a lifejacket if they were going to be on the water, I had to yell (literally) at several people to put them on so we didn’t have to fish anyone out of the drink. You can tell which youth are giving their parents grief because they tend to be the same ones giving leaders grief. It was a super beautiful day, the water was lovely, and I was super happy to be there. I had a great day, even if no one else did. But I’m confident in saying that everyone had as great a time as I. As a side note here, there are no pictures of Blythe because she chose not to come.

Brandt was trying very hard to get Emma into his canoe after she bailed out of hers.

She wasn't able to get in, so he just pulled her back to shore.

We were going to go back to the Covey’s for dinner and a concluding something, but everyone was exhausted from all the fun we’d been having, and we called it a youth conference when we dropped everyone off after canoeing. I felt the goal—giving the youth an opportunity to reconnect after a lengthy period of non-gathering—was realized and that we could be happy with the outcome. Hoorah for youth activities, summer, and being RAD!