A Journey with Jesus

Youth Conference 2025: A Journey with Jesus. We just got back. It was so amazing and so exhausting at the same time! This will be a long post so prepare yourself. We went to a camp in Park City that could fit our entire stake. 180 kids + leaders. Great camp with one big flaw. The .75 mile walk UPHILL to eat our meals! And it was hot! But we did it. We averaged about 16,000 steps a day. But it was all for a good cause. Each day we had 4 different 'experiences' that we got to go to: Woman taken in adultery, Feed my sheep, Hear Him, Last Supper, Peter walking on water, help thou mine unbelief, Christ in Americas and 1st vision. Each experience was completely different than the other. Some were discussions, some were activities and some were listening to peoples stories. At the end of each day we had a big event. The first night was the nativity acted out in shadows, the 2nd night was a dance, and the 3rd night was the sensory experience where we listened to Christ's life with blindfolds and were given objects to hold, followed by a testimony mtg. It was so great and something I won't forget. So blessed to be a part of it. Our ward was the biggest ward up there but we had the best time together. Our ward's color was orange so Toby and I wore matching shirts everyday (yes we have enough shirts to match!). We also took our yellow smiley flags up to help keep our group together. We made camp fun by having lots of fun games, treats and twinkly orange lights at night.

We started off at the church where Max's group sang a song. Then we moved to the parking lot where the kids were able to put together 20 beds for kids in our area that don't have one.

We made it up to camp, set up in the blazing sun, and then started painting these squares that were paint by number. We didn't know why we were painting and what we were painting - that was for another day.

Toby (unplanned) led Simon Says for all 180 kids. (Notice our matching shirts for the day, we forgot a pic)

The 4 finalists

The nativity

Breakfast!

Then it was onto experiences. We got to go to Peter Walks on Water where Grandpa was teaching. I had heard all day from people that it was amazing and life changing. And it did not disappoint. Grandpa did a great job with his discussion. They blindfolded the kids and walked them around through a dark tent that had fans and sprinklers blowing on them to feel like a storm. Then they told them they were going off a big step and would 'walk on water'. It was really interesting to watch the kids hesitate and then have to trust their leaders.

Matching shirts day #2

Bishop took a deep nap. The kids were impressed

We played so many random games to keep them entertained. This was rubber chicken dodgeball.

Solo time

The dance - so fun!

9th ward was always in the front row!

Mercy River and Callee Reed are all up there with the boys in our ward. Proud of our boys, they helped make the dance fun instead of being grumpy teenagers about it.

Sam got to dance with his good friend's mom - every boy's dream!

A wild horse showed up every evening around 9. It was awesome

Our ward was sponsored by Spike Ball. So. Many. Games.

We also dominated in Gaga Ball. If there were other wards there, they eventually left because we would dominate and have a good time doing it! But notice the dust. The kids would come back with black dust around their noses and mouths.

Matching shirts #3

The kids were getting so tired of walking up the hill that we would all pile onto any car/truck that had room.

Even on the sides

Day 2 experiences. Using mirrors to shine the light on Christ

Megan came up to help! She was in the Christ visits Americas. She was amazing. I love seeing her in missionary action.

Family pic with the orange tarp as a filter. Fitting for our family

The boys were so embarrassed their dad would unzip his pants like this. Bishop didn't care. It was hot!

Creating their kintsugi tiles. This was a favorite for many. Showing them how broken things can be made whole and better by Christ.

All of our ward's tiles

Devotionals

This one was one of my favorites. The Last Supper. This tent was the same tent that just yesterday had sprinklers and fans going to make a storm and was now the Upper Room where the last supper happened. So amazing. The 3 apostles talked about what had happened in that room and how it was amazing but they weren't really sure if they understood all of it. Then they passed out naan bread and grape juice in small olive wood cups that the kids could keep. The women 'passed' the sacrament (we didn't really do the sacrament don't worry) but I lost it watching them pass.

Then we got to the main event. The sensory experience. Each couple helped with a row of kids. We each had a box with nails, crown of thorns, a beam, and a fan to create wind. And at certain times during the reading (done by Patriarch Spjute) we would give the kids an object to hold. Or sometimes it was having them stand up or sit down. I experienced this last stake youth conference and it was amazing. But actually doing it to the youth was a completely different level. I was trying not to cray all over them.

When we told them to take off their blindfolds - it was dark by then, and the only light on was lighting up this painting of Christ that they had made! This was all the squares the kids had done the paint by number on and put together created this painting. So cool. Then the entire stake walked back to their camps in silence. No one told us to be quiet, it was just that special. Then we had a great testimony mtg.

The kids were troopers and after we pulled up we had to clean all the tents because it had rained right before we left. Ugh. But we got it done. Toby and I didn't sit down until we went to bed at 9:30 that night. Exhausted but happy to be a part of it.