Priest/Laurel Activity

In our church, the Young Men and Women that are 16 and 17 are called "Priests" and "Laurels." We had an activity yesterday where all the Priests and Laurels from 9 wards/congregations (Our Stake) met together for a FULL day of fun (8am-8pm!).

We were pleased that 32 kids came, about half of who COULD have come!!

The first activity of the day was painting fences at a Wildlife Preserve.

You might recognize my Trek "Son" Ammon, in the red sweatshirt.

These guys decided to pose as if they were part of a prison work crew.

These kids were having a bit more fun, probably because of this smart-alec leader, in the right corner.

He's my good friend's husband and teased everyone (especially me!). He cracked jokes and made the day more fun for the kids, inciting pranks and craziness all day.


My friend, Brenda (in the middle) was the only kid to come from the spanish congregation. I was really proud of her courage and enjoyed watching her make new friends and have a great time.


These cuties were inseparable, painting AND rafting together. . .

Look at those beautifully painted fences!! The gal in the middle was also part of my Trek Family. It was good to see her again, she's a wonderful girl.

I'm sure you remember Jamie, another of my Trek "Sons." He met a guy in the parking lot with an exotic bird named Jasmine. Jamie LOVED talking to Jasmine.

Jamie's twin brother, Josh, was groomed by Jasmine. She picked out all the paint in his hair!!

After the service project, the kids went for a 3 hour rafting trip. I chickened out, mostly because about 10 boys threatened to dump me in the river! I decided to spend a few hours with my good friend, Kirsten. I'm her counselor in the Stake YW Presidency. We sat and lounged/visited on the bank of the river . . . until one raft of our BOYS floated by and threatened to dunk us. We ran up the bank and they stole our chairs! We made important plans for our future: She is going to start blogging and I'm going to prepare for a half marathon with her, in October. We also dreamed about competing in a tri-athalon on Kona in 5 years . . . she'll bike, I'll swim and we'll find a die-hard runner (maybe my brother-in-law, Jared!)

When the kids returned from their fun on the river, many 'rested' until the barbeque . . . others played games and visited. The girl on the Left is Damian's secretary for the summer. She's a Doll, literally, her name is Jenny Doll. Kirsten's baby girl is on the right.

After dinner, we sang and then had a speaker talk to us about the importance of choosing good friends. Then, about 10 kids got up and bore powerful testimony of the blessings of the gospel in their lives. They testified of their Savior, Jesus Christ, and their love for their families, their friends and their love of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ. It was a powerful meeting and I was very proud of the Youth in our Stake.

It is so fun to serve in a Stake capacity, with the youth because then, I get to know all the youth from our whole valley. Today, I'm teaching Katrina's primary lesson in church and I'm looking forward to that opportunity! I'd better go prepare my lesson!