Sunday, June 19, 2011

Third Week of EFY (Sandy 2 SAH)

It was a last minute sign on, but last week I grabbed a stay-at-home session in Sandy. Turns out, that was the session my brothers were going to as well... :) So my parents and I kept it a secret that they broke when they registered on Monday, it was pretty funny.


We met at the Sandy Institute building with about 250 kids. I knew I would love this place the moment I saw one of my all time favorite paintings hanging near the chapel. I remember seeing it for the first time on my mission in an Ensign/Liahona. I had just moved into a new city when I decided, I wanted to find that picture again so I could cut it out and save it. My companion and I looked through what felt like hundreds of church magazines before we found it again.


I also ran into my latin partner's cousin while I was there.

Okay, great story ready? There is this really awesome teacher at EFY, whom I have had the opportunity to hear twice, named Hank Smith. He tells this story about when he was a counselor and a participant asked him if he would help her find her retainer. To his disgust a cute counselor next to him said sure and made him tag along. The story is long and laborious but to make stories short (which I am so good at....) They search through bags of KFC in this room chalked full of them when the cute counselor says, "We should say a prayer." He grudgingly did so and in that next bag, he found the retainer. After giving it to the cute counselor she raised it high (Simba-like) and shouted, "It's a miracle." Well, we had the exact same thing happen to us. Only there were only 5 trash bags to go through (thank heavens) and we were super stoked to find it. I grabbed a group of boys and said who wants to go on an adventure little did they know what was in store for them :)


Found this sign. Made me giggle.

 
ME and My CO-CO Meagan
Our Team Cheer


Thursday was great as usual. It seemed like this session director focused more on respecting girls, living a chaste life, etc. So the boys did this each meal after that lesson. :) A-freaking-dorable




Me bein' all legit like with a megaphone.


My bro's at the Variety Show...precious :P


OH AND... one day I wake up and to my surprise we have a new puppy. His name is Jack as in Captain Jack Sparrow.


Our Company's service cheer



And the winner for company with the best counselors goes to ....


Me and my boys






The counselors after a very laborious week


Best session director so far. Actually...he paid me one of the nicest compliments ever. After I told him and his wife that I just loved them, how cute they were, their masterful skills with the scriptures...seriously sick! He mentioned that he had sat in on one of my lessons and asked if I had thought of being a seminary teacher. He proceeded to tell me that I had a talent for speaking with youth (which was exactly what my BC said to me this week as well). I told him that I had only just thought of being a seminary teacher after working EFY. His wife chimed in and said, what's it gonna hurt if you take REL 370, you need a religion credit anyways. :) that made the week so great.


ME and the Bros
One last comment for this week. I think each week I have a favorite kid. Or someone who really leaves an impression. This week it was a kid named Corbin. Oldest of five kids or so, the last of which was born during his stay at EFY (2 months premature). His attitude and maturity make me want to have a son first. I think there is just something solid about having the oldest be a boy :) but seriously. Corbin, like many of my other favorites, has got the looks and therefore the ladies, is athletic, likes to sing, and is super spiritual participates in lessons. Well, this last week I did something new. Since it was a stay at home session, I wanted to be able to really get to know the kids on a personal level. So I talked to the boys one at a time during their scripture study. It was great because they could ask me questions like, "How do I not mess up being a missionary". One of the boys was sharing with me just how much the Book of Mormon had changed his life when he just started balling. It. was. so. precious. So I'm talkin to the last kid, Corbin, and he's like, "I hope the Savior doesn't come before I go on my mission." I'm like "You really think he will?" Totally serious, he was like YA. His reason was so sincere too. First off you must know, he is only just turning 16 this week. He says to me, "I don't want to go out on my mission and have all the wicked burnt. I wanna try and convert them first." Okay so first off, it was just too funny; his logic for the whole thing. But it did make me think. Shoot. I need to change some habits of mine, get back to where I am fully prepared for the Second Coming no matter if it is tomorrow or years from now. 


I just want to let you know how AWESOME, sincerely AWESOME these youth are. It's no wonder raising them is getting harder with all the filth out there....they have GREAT potential that I only get to glimpse at while with them during EFY.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Second Week of EFY (Blue 3)

Busy counselors taken the the only break they could find
I really only can post once per week with EFY so I hope these limited posts suffice any addiction you may have to my blog :)

Door tags I make for my kids
Well my first week as an EFY counselor was just so dang awesome, I really feared any other week would turn out as good. I got in and met my roommate Sunday before dinner, awesome guy named Kyle. We went to dinner with all the other counselors and found out that the meal we were eating at that very moment at the Cannon Center... would be our last...this week we were in the Morris Center...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo

They told us we had a pretty small group coming in so we would be in Heritage, eating at the Morris Center and meeting at the Harmon building. In essence, they ostracized us from seeing any other participant (or counselor for that matter). We met our session directors, Bro and Sis Hess, at the devotional: super sweet couple who liked singing, acting and ballroom dancing....its like I was made for this session :)

The kids playin' that knot game.
Anyway, I get my list of guys that night, 12 boys! Doubled from last week and I was super stoked. Again this week, each boy had come by himself without friends or anything so I new we had a great week to look forward to. Monday at the meeting I was asked to sing the theme song for that evenings devotional so I was really excited again.

Scripture Study
The week went more or less how I expected it to. I had a boy who was a little more talkative than the rest, shy girls, outgoing guys, just a normal mix of everything. It was my co-counselor's first week so I ended up taking over most of the lessons. The big story for the week (that honestly made this week just the bomb diggity) happened Thursday night.


For those of you reading who do not know, EFY is a wonderful opportunity for LDS (and non LDS) kids to get together and have good, clean fun with other kids who have similar standards. MTW are all days full of classes with sick-awesome teachers who really get the kids involved, dances, games, cheer-offs, etc. Thursday we take it to church. Really. Everyone dresses in their Sunday best, we take the fun and cheering down a notch in order to really have an atmosphere of revelation. It is on this day, after getting to know your kids previously, that you really start to see them blossom spiritually.

This week in my lessons I referred to an interview I read, given by one of the apostles, on testimonies. It related testimonies to mountains; how some people have spiritual-volcanic-eruption-experiences which create a mountain of a testimony. I remember being in the MTC when some of the Anziani would confide in me some really amazing spiritual experiences, the likes of which I had never experienced. The apostle went on in the interview to explain that for many others, mountainous testimonies come after sedimentary deposit upon sedimentary deposit of spiritual experiences are recognized over time. I remember while reading this, it spoke to me like scripture. I had experienced small spiritual things over time and after looking around me, I could see how high my mountain had grown.

Needless to say, I kept referring to this principle throughout the week in the various lessons that we give. Thursday, we have the opportunity to go into separate rooms with our companies (or groups of youth) and have a testimony meeting. We were lucky enough to get our own room, just our company - which meant the youth would be more able to bear their testimonies. One by one each of them got up to bear their testimony. They had taken what we had told them to heart and for the most part did not give travel logs, reveal past sins or tell long stories....they just said what they knew, or believed.

I noticed one girl had not born her testimony yet, we had something like 15 min still to use and after waiting for much of that time, I got up and bore my testimony...making slight nods and winks to the girl who had not born her's. She smiled and after my co-counselor got up, she went to bear her testimony. After singing a closing hymn we closed the meeting and walked the kids back to the dorms.

I then noticed, that my Co wasn't with me. I asked the group if they knew where Raquel was. They did not, so we waited as a group singing hymns until she came out of the building with one of the boys. My heart sank. First of all, I hadn't noticed one of my boys was missing and secondly, he hadn't born his testimony. I had the group go forward as I told him how sorry I was, how bad I felt that he hadn't had the opportunity to bear his testimony. He told me it was fine, but tears were still dripping down his face. I asked him if he wanted to bear his testimony that night to the group, he didn't feel like it. Or to the guys (maybe he was just nervous in front of the girls) didn't feel like it. Nor bearing his testimony the next day. We continued to walk back to the dorms and all I could think about is how bad I felt. It just ripped me to pieces.

I watched him the whole way back as he tried to hide his emotions. When we got back to the dorms, I quietly asked him if I could talk with him in my room. After the door was shut, I told him again how sorry I was that I had forgotten him. He said it was fine...and at about this time I realized their was something more.

I asked him what was wrong and as tears came down his face, he told me he didn't know if he had a testimony, he had never born a testimony before and at that moment the best I could think of was to give him a hug. It was one of those older brother hugs that lingered until the sniffling subsided a bit. I asked him if he would join me in a word of prayer and after I wrote a note to my roommate to not come in when he got back, I started to pray with my boy.

It took me a good minute to start....and may I just relate this to you. After my mission, I could count the times I had cried on one hand, remember where I was for every one of them. Now after doing EFY...I'm a freakin blubber butt. So here I was on my knees...I could not even start to pray. My heart was so full for this kid. I asked for a blessing that he might recognize the love God had for him, the Spirit that was there in the room and in the testimony meeting. We shared a good man hug afterwords. He said thanks, and I asked him if he felt like praying. He mumbled out a no, that he wanted to do it privately and to be honest, after we men cry for a substantial period of time, we like to be in private for a bit.

I saw him out of my room and went to my bed to pray again. Oh my freaking heck am I a blubber butt. I cried my freaking head off. It was the closest I had ever felt to the scriptures in the bible referring to the ten virgins. How I pleaded for Him to give some of my testimony to this boy. I had enough and I could just build it back up again...but that's just not how it works. My roommate came home and I asked his help with my situation. He was dealing with a similar thing in his group so we brainstormed for guidance on the devotional we were about to give. The Book of Mormon.

We both ended up using the Mormon Message with Elder Holland and his witness of the Book of Mormon. I went out into the lobby with my 12 boys and popped the computer open. As they watched I continued to plead Heavenly Father for that kid to feel something. The rest of the lesson just witnessed to me how much of a freaking cry baby I am. I couldn't stop thinking about this boy and how much I wanted him to gain a testimony. We read Moroni's promise and as we read it I started to think about my mission and how much I wanted those investigators to get a testimony....it just wasn't a pretty picture.

After struggling through that lesson.....gah.... I went into my room spiritually drained and ready for Friday. I seriously could not get this kid out of my head. I wanted so badly to give him the gift of a testimony, to him and for his parents...

As the day continued on, I decided to write this kid my testimony a little more in depth. I continued to explain some of the things we talked about in devotionals and just...ya know sappy stuff. Well, I could not leave this week without talking to him again. So after everyone said their goodbye's we were back in the dorms, I said the last prayer for the group and off they went to bed/party. I grabbed my boy and brought him in my room so I could give him the letter I had written. I asked him how the week went and after telling me some nice things about being his counselor, etc etc. he said, "Oh I forgot to tell you. After the devotional Thursday night I realized that I did have a testimony. I wast just expecting a volcanic eruption but even without that, I know I have a testimony starting." It was funny because everything he was telling me, I had already written to him in the letter.

So after that really long story I must say. Successful week. The youth are so great. And I didn't even tell you about the kid whose prayers make me feel like I should pray more often - get better at it. Or the kid from St. Louis who bore a bit of a testimony as he shared with the group his "testimony scripture" something I challenge my boys to do. Romans 1:16. He started to get emotional as he briefly mentioned how hard it is to be LDS when your friends are all making fun of you. But that this scripture really helped him. Seriously, I could write something about every one of my boys...but this is long enough.

I love the youth of the church...they are special. Even in the few years that separate us, so much has happened to make their youth a bit more difficult then when I was their age. Nonetheless, the church is true, the book is blue and I love you (my EFY kids).


Sir Charles

Sunday, June 5, 2011

First Week of EFY (Blue 2)


Evolution of the Ninja - Company Banner

Well I just got done with my first as a counselor at EFY Provo. It took a long time to get the paper work and things worked out but I am so glad that I did it. 


I had to go to a relatively long training last Saturday morning from 10am to 4pm .... ick. But it was worth it. It was really nice to be able to just take a breath and realize what was about to come. I checked in to my dorm (Heritage Halls) later that day and just kinda dodged getting to know people. Whenever I am in a new group, or surroundings where I am not confident, or low-totem-pole, I tend to build a nice wall around me. 

Well I spent most of my Sunday making some last minute preparations on my lessons. After a bit, my new roommate walked in and after a bit we became really good friends. He invited me to meet up with a friend of his who was equally awesome and accepting. So that Sunday night I really felt awesome and accepted and that was just the best start to seriously a FREAKIN' AWESOME WEEK!


Monday morning was filled with nervous excitement as we waited for our kids. Seriously, it was probably the closest to Mission/Christmas jitters I had felt in a long time. 

(Here there would be a sick awesome vid of our company cheer and a keytar player....yest thats right, in that session there was a really talented keytar player.)

We made a few errands when I get a call that all my kids were being switched up with my roommates kids, so we swapped 15/16 year-olds so I got all the 16 year-olds (6) and my roommate got the 15 year-olds (12). I was a bit jealous but after having just my 6 boys, I realized what a blessing it was so have a smaller group. 


I got set up with some veteran counselors that were just the shiz!!!! Man it was crazy!

Alright so this is the best thing ever, slush with ice cream and some strawberries...heaven!!
I have so many fond memories of this week. Each day my roommate and I would just (humbly) brag to each other about how awesome our job was, our kids and just the experience. For instance (long story short) one of his kids went to catch a Frisbee and fell down some 25 feet no exaggeration and seriously it could have been farther....and not a broken bone in his body, just a little scratch on his arm and some shin splint-like pains....seriously people, these kids are being watched by not only counselors but ... extra hands. 


My kids were just a bunch of dorks like us counselors. There was a great vibe from them, not really any clicks, it was just a great bunch of kids. We counselors were pretty awesome as well, some of the BC's (our leaders) called us the perfect storm - and that we were. 

The Larsons, our Session Director and his wife
By Thursday, we had a pretty tight nit group. I expect I could call myself a success with the young women in the group when they started setting me up with the counselors they saw at lunch and at the dances. So here we were Thursday, spiritual day, all the kids dressed in their Sunday best and it was time for Testimony meeting. It's no wonder they call this Payday! I could almost (almost) do this for free because of this last week. Those kids grew so much, it was so great to here testimonies of recent converts, kids from Mexico, Korea and Venezuela, and awesome kid on his way to Tallahassee Florida for his mission, kids that looked just like Justin B, kids that didn't want to be there, just a nice group and the best part was....THEY ALL BORE THEIR TESTIMONIES...I felt something like a proud father at that moment. It was unreal. 

Alright this is sick awesome, a toothpick, balancing on a toothpick, with intertwined forks suspended above it all...seriously sick
Two anyone?
Friday was awesome...mostly because we had the whole company cryin' by the end. The guys in their gangster hats with their heads down as tears came and went. I got a bit emotional as I bore that last testimony to the kids.... little bit emotional.


I cannot wait till this next week starts.