youth conference...

that's where we've been lately. for those who don't speak mormon, youth conference is something that happens each year, when all the 12-18-yr-olds in the region get together for activities and meetings meant to up their faith. i suppose the title is somewhat self-explanatory. anyway, nick and i were the lucky ones who got to plan a very large portion of this year's 3-day conference, most of it on about a day's notice. luckily, we speak really awesome thai, have lots of connections, and aren't busy or anything with building a house, so it was no big deal.

all right, so i jest. we were pretty worried that the entire weekend would be a total bust, but somehow everything came together quite well, and the kids seemed to really enjoy it.

among the highlights were riding water buffaloes, hiking a mountain (a first for most of them, made all the more exciting by an epidemic of the runs about 15 minutes into the woods... the troopers didn't complain once), and swimming (also a first for some, and you better believe we all wore t-shirts and shorts over our suits... thais are soooo modest).




these two pictures crack me up. above, witness the excitement of sassy ms. red shirt when we were still on pavement and not really going up yet. this was also pre-trots. little did she know that thailand doesn't believe in switchbacks; we literally just walked up the mountain. below, witness the shift in emotions towards the end...


but no matter, because we all made it in the end. ah, success! even despite the eeyore bag...


they also drew flags depicting aspects of the theme (joshua 1:9... be strong and of a good courage, etc.) in the stories of alma the younger and the sons of mosiah... my absolute favorite depicted the lamanites as japanese samurais and samoan punk rockers. oh, and a tall skinny kid with glasses and a book. again, for those who don't speak mormon, lamanites were a group of people in the americas, BC, who are traditionally depicted in mormon illustrations as 1850-era native americans for whatever reason. i suppose japanese samurais are just about as accurate.


on saturday night, nick and i introduced these kidlets to something we figured no "campout" (we stayed in pretty chic bungalows with a/c) would be complete without. despite our bonfire being in the center of a cement driveway, i think they got the concept well enough. s'mores were met with mixed reviews, but marshmallows never really disappoint.




all in all, a lovely weekend. if you think your youth are cooler or cuter than ours, i'm sorry, but you're just mistaken.