Flashback Sunday - Youth Conference 2009

As we gear up for our Youth Conference this Saturday, here are some fun pictures from last year. We are looking forward to another great time together!

(Back) Brother Coe, Brad and Jordan M., Meagan B., Amy B., Sister M., Brother Christensen, Bastion L, Brother Thompson, Brady E, Amber E, Kynz P, Sister Bird, Jacob M, Keeley P., Brother Markham, Alaynah W, Jannelle A; (Front) Sister Markham, Kelsie B, Kalie W, Jayden C, Bailey L, Patch C, A, Pearl Q, Taylor M

Day 3 - Singing in the Trees & Sister Dibb Visit

Our stake leaders had planned our YW camp based on Sister Dibb's conference address, Hold On, quite a while ago. They took a chance in seeing if Sister Dibb would be able to actually come to our camp. With the help of a persistent Stake President, a letter arrived from our Area Authority telling us that indeed she would be able to come. The staff at the church office building couldn't stress enough how unusual it was to be able to get a general leader to come, especially for just one stake . . .but we would see that it was meant to be. After dinner, we were anxious for Sister Dibb to come and finally she made it through the traffic. There were so many people coming up for the night through security, that even she had a hard time getting through. Apparently there is not a VIP line for general authorities. We gathered in the amphitheater for an inspiring talk and then we were given a rare opportunity to ask questions about her father. . . our prophet, President Monson. We learned that he likes to see his kids home with things when they visit, that he loves traditional meals like meat and potatoes, and he doesn't always live in a suit. It was an incredible experience.

Our girls listening intently to Sister Dibb

Sister Ann M. Dibb

Sister Dibb was out of time, however, she said that she still hadn't used her object lesson. She decided to go ahead and do it . . . so someone offered her their coat and as it was starting to get a little dark, she likened taking on challenges to a stick. She asked for a member of the audience to help her . . . as you can imagine so many hands were raised. Our Maddy was picked by Sister Dibb to help her from the crowd. Sister Dibb would throw the stick to Maddy to catch and when she did so, Sister Dibb illustrated how you take the good with the bad; the consequences with the actions - all of the stick. She continued with her lesson and it wasn't until later in the cabin that we learned from Maddy what else had happened. Last year at Maddy's girls camp, her ward talked about making commitments and made bracelets that would stay on them until their commitment had been met. Maddy had always loved general authorities and really wanted to meet one - so she set a goal to meet a general authority. Maddy was so excited to see Sister Dibb and throughout the question and answer period, had her hand up for a question, but didn't get called on. Imagine the surprise when Sister Dibb decided to continue her talk and selected ONE person from the audience, and it was Maddy. At the end of her talk, Maddy went to Sister Dibb, told her about her commitment bracelet and now that she had met Sister Dibb, her commitment was complete, and she gave Sister Dibb the bracelet. Sister Dibb told her that the spirit told her to pick Maddy out of the crowd and that she planned to keep the bracelet. This was a witness to Maddy that Heavenly Father really knows who she is.
(If I got any of the details incorrect, let me know, but that is the gist of the story. . . isn't it cool)


When it got dark, we did one of our favorite activities, Singing in the Trees. Each ward was designated a place around camp. It was completely dark. When it was your ward's turn to sing, you turned on your flashlights and sang, then turned them off for the next ward. Our song was a classic young women's song, "Walk Tall You're a Daughter of God". The words are awesome and we need to remind ourselves of them often.

Right now I have a prayer deep within my heart
A prayer for each of you there is a special part
That you remember who you are and he who lives above
Please seek for him and live his way
You’ll feel his love.

Walk tall you’re a daughter, a child of God
Be strong please remember who you are
Try to understand, you’re part of his great plan
He’s closer than you know
Reach up, He’ll take your hand

2. Long before the time you can remember
Our Father held you in his arms so tender
Those loving arms released you as he sent you down to earth
He said, “My child, I love you
Don’t forget your great worth.”

3. This life on earth we knew would not be easy.
At times we lose our way; his path we may not see
But please remember always, please that you are not alone
He’ll take your hand, He loves you
He’ll guide you home.  

We closed the night with a cabin chat starting with Sister Jones who talked about testimony and reinforced what we had learned during the day at our "Get a Grip" session with Sister Evans. We talked about how we need to be WILLING to do the will of our Father. There is power in obedience. We need to take large leaps of faith and act, knowing it was the right thing to do, and press forward. There may not be immediate rewards, but it is worth it for everything God has. We talked about how a testimony is to be found in the bearing of it. Then, we were treated to a devotional by Jannelle and Natalie who shared their testimonies and love for our young women. It was awesome! Then we had special surprise letters from home to read. Those are something for you to always treasure . . . hang onto them!


I just have to give a kudos here to Sister Hein for the awesome pictures she took throughout the week. She is a really gifted photographer and it's fun to remember through the pictures the fun times we had together.

Day 3 - Legacy Lake

We had so much fun at the lake. After such a busy start to the week it was great to have an activity that was truly relaxing and so much fun. The girls got to share canoes and the leaders could choose to go in the paddle boats.

After a short hike, we came to the Lake and got ready to go.

Sister Bird, Sister Clark and Sister Black


Gorgeous views of the lake




It was amazing . . . everyone was able to position their boats into a train

Keeley, Allie, Sam and Caitlyn

Kierstin, a new friend, and Kaycee

Natalie, Kynz and Pearl

Paytene, Juliana and Jessica

Keeley, another new friend and Maddy

Keeley
Caitlin, Sam and Allie

Sister Black and Sister Clark

The whole crew . . . (Back) Sister Bird, Juliana, Keeley, Maddy, Allie, Caitlyn and Natalie; (Front) Sister Clark, Pearl, Kynz, Kierstin, Jayden, Sister Black, Sam, Jannelle, Jessica, Alaynah, Kaycee and Paytene

Always ready with a pose . . . Jayden, Jannelle, Keeley, Jessica, Sam with Alaynah front and center


On the way back to camp after a fantastic and fun morning.

Camp Life Photos

We had so much fun just hanging out with each other at camp.


Our fearless leader, Sister Black and her hubby . . . who tried hard to come up every day after work to help and support her.
Some of our beautiful Beehives - Sam, Juliana and Paytene. Not quite sure what the squinting is about, but one thing is for sure, these girls can have fun anytime and anywhere.

It was great to watch this tree outside of our cabins fill up with good things that we noticed about each other through the week.


Kynz and Pearl

So glad that Sister Marriott, Chandi and her friend, Mary, were able to come up for a night.

Sister Hein and our next little young woman . . . Baby Hein . . . due in just a few weeks.

Maddy, Jayden and Sister Jones

Sister Bird, Natalie and Jessica

Caitlyn and Allison

The Queen Bee . . . and don't you forget it. :) (Thanks Maddy and Caitlyn for the awesome crown . . . I may or may not still wear it around my house . . . the queen of my castle)

Our little friend who was right by the Priesthood tent. So grateful that we were in cabins with steel doors!