Audrey and Emily had a fun time at the Olivia Rodrigo concert in Salt Lake City! I tried to get tickets for Audrey for her birthday, but I couldn't get them. Emily had been able to get the tickets, so I paid for those and that was my gift to both of them. I told her about that way back in October of last year, so they've been waiting a while for the concert and I'm so glad they had fun!
Papa flew in on Thursday and he and Andrew went to Octane Raceway. Andrew loves that place!
Dinner at Osaka
Emily arrived for a quick trip
Another nice family dinner
Getting ready for church
We were so grateful to everyone for coming to listen to Andrew's farewell talk! Emily played a beautiful arrangement of "We'll Bring the World His Truth (Army of Helaman)"!
Andrew is now set apart! We loved meeting with President Cardon. He set Andrew apart and invited him to share his testimony.
Andrew has loved working in the warehouse at Wisdom! He will miss it so much. They had a little going-away party for him and we were all very grateful!
I am so glad I was able to go to Ward FSY with Daniel and Jonny, but boy, was it hot! We were there from July 10-13, Wednesday to Saturday.
So much planning and effort went into our ward FSY and
everyone was blessed because of it. Bishop Naylor wanted the youth to grow
closer to Christ and grow closer to one another and those goals were definitely
met. The youth and adults all had a wonderful time. It was hot for quite a bit of
the time, but the discomfort was easily worth it.
On Tuesday evening from 5 PM to 7 PM, everyone was invited to bring their
bedding and luggage to the Pearce home to be put in the trailers.
Everyone met at the
church on Wednesday morning at 5 AM.
Shauna Pearce and Stephanie Farnsworth handed out cases of water for all
of the drivers to put in their cars and distributed money for everyone to use
to get into Slide Rock. It took a while to get everyone organized. We got a
nice group picture, then everyone loaded into the cars and we left the church
around 5:30 AM. Everyone started arriving at Slide Rock a few minutes before 8
AM. There was already a good-sized line of cars at the entrance and we had to
wait in it for quite a while, but everyone thankfully got in. Everyone got out
of their cars and headed over to the swimming area. It was a little stressful
trying to keep track of all of the youth because it was already so crowded that
early in the morning. The drivers and their adult passengers of each car had
been asked to keep an eye on the youth that were in their car on the way up.
Some of the kids went downstream and did some cliff jumping. It took us a little
while to find them but everyone was fine. Daniel somehow landed on his back
when he was jumping in and he was hurt pretty badly. Brother Dan Finney had him
take some Advil and muscle relaxers and get some rest. He was pretty sore most
of the day.
By 11 AM, we started gathering all the kids and by about 11:30 AM we all
met in the Ramada to eat our lunch. Bishop talked to all the youth and some of
the adults gave instructions and the kids enjoyed their lunch. Then everybody
got into their cars to head to the Orme School. It was just over an hour drive
to get there.
Once we got to the Orme School, everyone gathered to receive their lanyards and
room assignments, find their things and take them to their rooms, and get a
little bit settled in.
We had planned to go on a hike, but everyone was very hot and tired. Bishop
decided that we would skip the hike and give everyone a chance to swim. The
kids had fun cooling off in the pool. The leaders set up a fun hoedown for
everyone in the gym. The youth and adults all got dressed up in their hoedown
outfits and headed to dinner. The dining staff was very nice and all the youth
used good manners and generally did a great job cleaning up after themselves
throughout FSY. After dinner, everyone gathered in the pavilion with their camp
chairs for devotional. The pavilion area ended up being a great gathering
place and we went there often. Some opted to sit in their chairs and others to
sit on the grass. Brother Finney gave us a nice devotional that evening. He
taught us about repentance, and he talked about how sometimes our sins are seen
by others and sometimes they're not and how we should be loving to others in
times of difficulty. Then it was time to head over to the gym for the hoedown.
There was swing dancing and country music and laughing and singing. Sister Pearce
showed off some moves to the kids. Brother Chad Neuberger was in charge of the
photo booth and everyone had fun posing with the props.
Sister Caruso worked hard to provide great snacks for everyone
throughout FSY. At the hoedown, she had a table set up with some popcorn and
root beer for the kids to enjoy. After the hoedown, it was time to go back to
our rooms and get ready for bed.
On Thursday morning, some of the youth and leaders went to use the workout room
in the gym.
We had breakfast at 7:30 AM and then went to the pavilion area for a
morning devotional. Matthew McAleavy gave us a wonderful devotional about how
we can overcome the impossible with prayer. We had everyone wear their Share
the Light T-shirts that were handed out at registration and got a great group
picture at the pavilion on the stage.
Then it was time for the first horseback riding group to head up for their
horseback riding session. There was a bus that took the groups up there, which
was very helpful because it was quite far. Each time, the bus would take them
up there and then go back and pick them up when it was over. As they started
horseback riding, it was time for everyone else to do the service projects. One
group got picked up when the bus came back and taken into the pasture near the
horseback riding to scoop up manure from the field and haul it. That was a lot
of hard work! Another group went to the garden. They were able to do some
weeding and learn some facts about the gardening that they do at the school.
The third group went to the gym and sorted and inventoried some of the gym
clothing and equipment. They finished early and had a little time to play
basketball and other games. The second horseback riding group had their turn.
Everyone else enjoyed free time in either the gym, game room, or pickleball
court.
Then it was time for lunch. After lunch, everyone went to their afternoon
classes. Brother Richards taught a great class on teambuilding and
communication in the library. He had a cool web set up with a game where the
kids had to walk through the web of strings without touching the strings. They
learned to work together to help each other through the small openings, much
like we need to work together and help others in life. They also played a fun
game where they joined hands at random and then they had to work together
to untangle themselves. Noah Finney taught a class called Survivor: Facing Fears
and Anxiety. That was in the Adobe room. We talked a lot about the fears that
we have and how the Gospel can help us, and how our faith can drive away fear.
Sister Genet taught a class called spiritual fruits in a room in the library.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the classes. They changed the schedule a little bit
and started the luau early. They had wonderful music by Brother Jablonski, who
had also been the DJ at the hoedown, and they set up a shaved ice machine and
everyone enjoyed the shaved ice and swimming.
Some of the youth also started playing cornhole in the pavilion. It was
group three's turn for horseback riding and the others enjoyed their free time
at cornhole and in the game room. They also had some races in the pool.
Then it was time for dinner. After dinner, Sister Lee gave a wonderful
devotional and talked about using the tools we have been given by the Church,
like the For Strength of Youth guide and the Youth Guidebook for setting goals
in the areas of spiritual, social, emotional, and physical growth. We ended the
evening with a cornhole tournament and fun and games in the game room. Everyone
enjoyed their Otter Pops and all the other snacks that were available. We were
grateful to see all the youth bonding within their age groups and wanting to
hang out and talk late into the night.
Friday morning began with breakfast at 7:15 AM, followed by a morning
devotional given by Grace Weir who did a wonderful job. While the fourth group
went horseback riding, there were multiple options for free time. We had to
forgo the service project because there wasn't one available and the kids
enjoyed their time playing cornhole, painting, and playing ping-pong and other
games in the game room. Then the fifth group did their horseback riding.
Another fun activity was a big rope jumping competition. The leaders had
discussed the night before trying to change the schedule for today so that the
kids could do the classes in the morning when it was a little bit cooler, but
there was no way to work it out and still allow everyone their turn for the
horseback riding so we stuck with the same schedule and the kids ended up with
a little extra free time but there were plenty of planned options for them,
like painting and cornhole. After lunch, we had another round of classes.
Brother Cundiff and Sister Wengert taught the kids some great life skills in
the room off the library. Brother Cundiff talked about budgeting and being wise
with savings and making sure to pay our tithing first. He taught them an
envelope system for keeping track of their money by using cash instead of
digital currency, like Apple Pay or credit cards. Sister Wengert showed
everyone the very practical skill of sewing on a button and everyone had a
chance to do it. Sister Case and Sister Farnsworth gave a great lesson titled
Frenemies, Defining Your Relationship Through God's Eyes. They practiced a lot
of friendship-building activities. The youth played telephone and worked
on secret friend handshakes and they demonstrated them for everybody. Their
class met in the classroom in the dining hall. Brother McAleavy taught a class called
Growing in Revelation and Missionary Work. His class was in the library. He had
the kids play snowball, where they would partner up and tell each other a
little bit about themselves and ask questions, then the pairs would switch and
get to know each new person. He counseled the kids to make sure that when they
see each other again at church, they don't act like strangers and they say
hello and treat each other like friends. After the classes, everyone got ready
for the lip-sync contest. The last horseback riding group took their turn and
when they got back everyone performed their lip sync. They were a huge hit!
Everyone did a great job and obviously put some time and thought into their routines. All the
classes did a fantastic job, and even the female leaders and male leaders each
did their own performance.
Because of the heat, the leaders made a decision to not require the kids
to get dressed up in their Sunday clothes. It would've been nice to have the
kids all dressed up in the chapel, but it just wasn't practical. Everyone
went to dinner, but the Priests and Class 1 had a separate lesson led by
Kathleen Jablonski in the classroom in the dining hall. She taught them about
etiquette and dating. When the younger youth were done eating, the leaders took
them outside on the lawn to do some fun activities while we waited for the
older youth. The storm clouds seemed to be moving in. We started to head over
to the pavilion for our testimony meeting, but it started to rain so we headed
to the chapel instead. Bishop Naylor started by talking to the kids about the
purposes of FSY and told them that the goal was to help them come closer to
Christ and shine their light, and also to grow closer as youth. He spoke
about an abundance mindset, and how we shouldn’t limit how many friends we have
and there is always room at the table to pull up another chair and include
everyone. He shared the story of the birth of their son Brock, and how it was a
scary time where both Brock and Sister Shellee Naylor’s health were in grave
danger. He said that they were blessed by a miracle from God as well as an
outpouring of love from members of our ward. President McClure spoke next and
about “Sharing our Light” and gave an object lesson on how mirrors can reflect
light for miles and showed us an example. Annie Barzee and Brenna Christianson
gave a beautiful musical number. Then they opened up the meeting for
testimonies and many of the youth bore their testimonies. The Spirit was strong
and we could tell how much the youth had grown spiritually and in their
friendships. They probably would've stayed up all night if we had let them, but
we sent everyone to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour.
On Saturday morning, we got up, went to breakfast,
packed up and filled the trailers and cars, and headed back. Almost everyone
was at the church by noon. We were exhausted but exhilarated from our wonderful
experience.
Our boys said this was their favorite part:
Daniel-staying up late and playing mafia was his favorite,
along with horseback riding and Brother Richard's class with the spider web
Jonny-making new friends was his favorite (Will, Jace,
Seth, Tommy, Annie, Brynne, Colby, Ruby, Olivia, Brenna), and he enjoyed Bro
McAleavy's class
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