Baltic Missionary Memories: Big Kid Games: Baltic YSA Conf. Day 3

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Sister Davis realized that getting up by 8:00 AM for Institute was a bit of a stretch for some of the YSA's so the second day she made the announcement that Institute would start on Wednesday at 8:30 and that breakfast would only last 1/2 hour (plenty of time to eat breakfast). It was a very popular announcement.

After breakfast we started workshops....Dimitrijs was leading the Lego "team building" workshop and Elder & Sister Flake were teaching a "Having a Plan" workshop.

The Flakes started their workshop needing a volunteer...someone strong. Zane (the shortest girl in the conference) volunteered and ended up with her arm out stretched with a huge rock on it. How long could she hold that rock up? Less than two minutes.

Then Sister Flake says if you have a plan you can accomplish great things and that by the end of the class, Zane will do the exercise again but with a goal she will be able to hold the rock up much longer. And then, Sister Flake shows her goal for the class.....to make a batch of Rice Krispie cookies...and she has a plan to accomplish that goal.

She has a pan and a plan (ie recipe).

While she goes into the kitchen with a couple of helpers, Elder Flake then takes over the class....

And afterwards, out come the Rice Krispie treats with something extra....

A little chocolate spread over the top never hurt....right?

At the end of the workshop, Zane was then asked to try holding the rock up with her arm outstretched but this time she needed a goal of how long she wanted to hold it. Her goal was to hold it up longer than 2 minutes....and she was able to do that.

Meanwhile, back in the dining hall....the Lego bunch have been building houses; or at least trying to. The "ideal house" is downstairs and only the architect can go down and look at it. The architect then comes upstairs and describes what it looks like for the builders who try and copy the "ideal house".

The team who gets the closest to the ideal house is the winner. It requires a lot of teamwork and it was interesting to see how the teams worked on this problem.

This team looks mighty happy with their house....

This house was built much slower....with the architect counting bricks on the ideal house to make sure the windows were in the right place. And was the door a step up from the base or right on the base? There were a lot of details that had to be worked out.

The two houses with the ideal house in the middle.

Antti and Skaiste are the judges.....

The slower built house won!

The "fruit" groups then rotated workshops and Elder & Sister Flake made another batch of Rice Krispie cookies while giving their workshop on making goals. Eva and Dainis seem to be enjoying the class...Oh, wait a minute! They are engaged. They enjoy everything as long as they are with each other. They definitely get the "Cutest Couple" award at YSA conference.

After lunch we had two activities.... the ropes course and a nature hike.

Elder & Sister Davis were taking the nature hike to show that a scripture in Moses 6:63 is true....that all things do testify of the Savior Jesus Christ.

Moses 6:63- "And behold, all things have their likeness and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me."

As we walked into the beautiful, green forest, lush with ferns, wild flowers and mushrooms, we talked about how nature around us "testifies" of Jesus Christ. Each morning we greet the sun rising in the East; the scriptures tell us that when Christ comes again, he will come from the East. We are to look for the "Son" in the East.

We talked about how people have a need to sleep each night which is a similitude of death and when we wake up it's symbolic of the resurrection of Christ and the start of a new day.

The stars, flowers, rocks, trees, water, etc. all testify in some way of the Savior. Sister Davis wanted input from the YSA's and kept asking for their ideas....one girl noticed a pine cone and thought about how it testifies of God's plan because it's seeds can't grow until they fall to the ground just like Adam couldn't have posterity until he "fell" from the grace of God. Good thinking!

We were having an interesting conversation as we walked until we came to these pretty red mushrooms. Sister Davis quickly admitted she knew next-to-nothing about mushrooms.

And Latvia has some pretty interesting and BIG mushrooms growing in their forests.

The YSA's weren't sure how they testify of Christ either and Sister Davis encouraged them to research more about how mushrooms grow and live. The YSA's were able to point out which mushrooms were edible and which ones were not. It seems this knowledge is passed down from generation to generation because every family goes into the forest to pick mushrooms and berries each year. They are free for the taking on all public lands.

Oliver and Dimitrijs picking wild blueberries.

And some little red berry that Sister Davis can't pronounce.

Meanwhile, back at the Ropes Course.....

Qi: "You want me to walk across this? What more will I have to do to join this church?"

Dimitrijs: "I'll just dive right in, head first!"

"Spiderman, who's he?"

"One more time Renars, you weren't smiling."

The audience: "You'll never catch us up there trying those stunts!"

Renars: "It's not that hard....just try it!"

Vitali: "This is too easy....give me something harder."

Marta: "My knees hurt but I can smile through my pain."

"Grunt, groan, oh no! What was I thinking to get on this wall?"

Aivars, the Riga I Branch Mission Leader is always confident in what he does, even the ropes course.
"It's all a matter of balance."

Aliona just off her mission to Russia the day we left for YSA conference. She was having a super good time....

"Ta da! This is an easy one".....

"This one is harder than it looks."

"And this one is down right impossible!"

Anton: "There are girls watching....I must not fall!"

Brigita: "If I just keep smiling...no one will know how scared I am!"

Darja: "That was easy....next?"

Juris: "Will anyone notice I am cheating by holding the top of the wall?"

Elder Bonner: "Did I ever tell you, I was a lumberjack before I was a missionary?"

Dainis: "Is there any way to keep this log still?"

Olga: "Wheee, this is fun!"

Qi: "Before I get started, maybe I should tell you....not ALL Chinese are acrobats! "

Romans: "Stop shaking this crate!"

Brigita: "I know I can do this....steady girl, steady."

Marina: "I've had enough. Isn't it time for our snack?

Each day we had an afternoon snack.....

And then it was free time.....

"My name is Bond, James Bond"- 007.

Viktoija and Rihard

Elder Davis: "Do what?"

Olga: "YSA conference is the BEST!"

"We have a dance tonight....is it too early to get ready?"

Skaiste, Anya and Valerija.

Elder Davis: "Anyone want to play Frisbee?"

Estonia is in charge of campfire ....

Who knows the words to "Are you sleeping?"

It seems everyone does!

And in 5 different languages, they all sang beautifully together.

After our campfire program (we never actually had a lit campfire the whole conference!) the Latvian District President spoke. He brought up our special guests from Riga, Elder & Sister Adams who were teaching two classes the next morning. Since they work in the Mission office, the Adams could only come up for the last two days and we needed their help for a surprise workshop we had planned.

After President Kovalevskys spoke, Antti had planned a "romantic" dance. He and Skaiste decorated the dining hall, turned the lights down low and turned the music on.

Dimitrijs dances with Evelin....