Friday, August 14, 2009

Young Single Adult Conference



It was great to see 260 youth and leaders gather here from three Russian missions. Some came 36 hours on trains.

We stayed in dorm apartments formerly used for communist youth camps in a place just outside Yekaterinburg. Besides the excellent leaders and the beautiful forest, we loved being with these bright, talented youth as they worked on service projects, played games, attended workshops, ate, and danced.

Great talent show. A favorite skit: "If I weren't a Mormon, what would I be?" They answered in cute rhythm and rhyme. One might be a red flag-waving Lenin supporter. Another might be despondent enough to do himself in with his own necktie.

After that, they compared the "World's Way" of doing things with the "Mormon Way." For instance, to get one's paycheck the worldly group greedily pushed and fought to get to the window first. By contrast, their group waited patiently in line, inviting others to go ahead, and courteously thanking the clerk. Then, with check in hand they headed straight to the Branch President to pay their tithing. : )

This age group is the strength of the Church in the near future. They depend on each other, and they keep in touch after they leave. They're all on FB.

The dances all three nights were fun. Lots of costumes and fancy outfits the first two nights; more formal outfits on the last evening, calling for posed pictures.

The project was directed by Elder and Sister Nuzman (CO) and the local youth leaders. President and Sister Schwitzer, who formerly presided over this mission, came from Moscow EEA to speak.





3 comments:

Hermana Whitehead said...

Awesome experience for the youth. Thanks for sharing it.

R-Eight said...

Love to see a rising generation. That is what it is all about.

Christina said...

That is so awesome to see that they do that over there! I can only imagine how much they need it and how important it is to mingle amoungst others with the same beliefs! So cool!