"Don't Miss IT for the World"

I never would have imagined myself as a chaperone for Youth Conference in Kentucky. I'll just add this to my list of things I never thought I'd do.

Youth Conference 2007 held at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green Kentucky. The theme for this year's Youth Conference was "Don't Miss IT for the World" ("It" meaning the temple, or at least what the temple represents.) Above is a picture of all the youth and leaders at Youth Conference from the Franklin, Hopkinsville, and Paducah Stakes. What a great group of youth! It is good to know the church and the youth are the same everywhere. Bob and I are in the picture, but good luck finding us. Oh wait, Bob would be the only one with sunglasses on.

Bob took this wonderful picture of me while I was giving some instructions for a game we were about to play. Doesn't humidity do lovely things to hair?

We were given responsibility for 20 kids. Bob had 6 boys and I had 16 girls (how fair is that!). Only four of them were from our stake, so we had to get to know names and faces really fast! We were the "Blue" group which started out having 14 kids and by the end of the get to know you games there was 20. I don't have any idea how that happened, I just know I kept adding names to my list. At the end of the first day, we were able to recognize the kids in our group.

This picture was taken before the last 2 kids joined our group. They were a very "spirited" group (to say the least) but they were lots of fun to be with. Two of the girls in our group were non-members who came with some of their friends (all in other groups) thinking they could have a fun, free food weekend. Both ended up bearing their testimonies the last day of youth conference saying they felt much more, and wanted to investigate why they felt the way they did.

To get this many youth together, they combined stakes from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. Some of these kids are the only member in their high school, so it was really fun for them to be able to spend a weekend with so many other members.

I am still trying to figure out how the paths leading anywhere on campus from the dorms are uphill both ways. My feet could not walk another step by the end of the first day (which, by-the-way, ended at about 3 a.m. when my body finally slept for about a half an hour in between trains). At 2 a.m. I couldn't help but burst into laughter, so my roommate (who I knew was still awake) and I finally got up to look out the window to see how close it was because it sounded like it was right under our window. IT WAS! It was right across the street! Needless to say, it was a long night and we were glad to see the sun rise. It's a good thing they had amazing speakers lined up for the classes.

Here are a few highlights from the classes on Friday:

• We can tell how we are doing spiritually by the way we feel about sin.
• Two words that describe the secret to scripture study are: consistency, and intensity.
• Get out of the "check off the box mode" when it comes to scripture study.
• Learn to "juice" the scriptures.
• Keep a scripture journal.
• There's more to a picture of David and Goliath than a small guy, a big guy, and a rock.
• If you are a casual christian, someday you will be a christian casualty.
• Write down your general impressions and follow them.
• If we follow our general impressions, more detailed impressions will follow.
• Keep a small notebook and pencil with you.
• Tommy Babylony Figer is not the place to shop.
• You can always tell where something was made whether it be Zion or Babylon.
• So check your music, clothing, movies, books, etc. and see where they are made.
• We are in the middle of the most brutal custody battle ever waged.
• "Who's your daddy?"...you choose.

Great fun, free food, and so much more...