EFY Session Directing

This year Rick and I were session directors for BYU 06B, which was the week of the Fourth of July. We had 738 youth in our session. We brought up Jaiden and Emily for their session, which was also at BYU the same week, only a different session 06A. They had 1500 youth in their session!! I really wanted the girls to be in our session, but Rick wanted Jaiden in a different session since she was in our session last year and he wanted her to have a different experience. We still ran into Jaiden and Emily a couple of times -- once at classes and once at the fireworks, but that is it!!

SUNDAY: Rick and I arrived in Provo with Jaiden and Emily around 7:00 p.m. We were going to leave earlier but the counselor fireside tonight didn't start until 8:00 p.m. and we had some things to do before we left. We left the girls had the hotel and headed to BYU. Rick taught the fireside and it was well received.  We grabbed some food and met up with the girls at the hotel.

MONDAY: Rick left early to attend the business meeting with the counselors and I stayed back to help the girls get ready for their session. The girls actually work up early and went and worked out in the exercise room at the hotel. So that was pretty impressive! We went and ate breakfast at the hotel and then I french braided Jaiden's hair. Rick came back to get us and we stopped at Dairy Queen for lunch and then went to get the girls checked in and dropped them off at their dorms!

Rick and I met at the JSB for Orientation at 3:00. The BC's introduced each other, only they used funny fake facts. It was funny, but I wasn't sure if I liked the idea because then we don't get to know them at all -- which is the whole purpose of introductions! Rick decided to follow the idea of "fake facts" by playing a joke on me. He said that he was going to introduce us by having me sign and he would interpret. So I started signing and he purposely interpreted everything wrong. So when I signed "we have seven children, we love our family..." he said "My name is Sister Jensen and I love to dance. I am really good at doing the "wave your flag" and can't wait to show you all my skills at the dance on Tuesday!!" I gave him a scowl and waved my hand at him as we walked off the stage.

Here are our field coordinators: Bekah and Daniel! 

We had dinner at the Wilkinson Center and then later met the youth back at the JSB for the family home evening lesson taught by Rick -- or I guess I should say "Brother Jensen." He gave a great lesson! Then we walked around to the the various groups who were playing FHE games and participated or listened in to their discussions.

TUESDAY: Brother Jensen taught the morningside and then we went to all of the classes. We even ran into Jaiden and Emily at the last class today! Brother Jensen had to evaluate all of the teachers and so while he was talking to one of the teachers I got smoothies for the girls at Jamba Juice!

We realized that the son of my friend and former missionary companion (Valerie Lewis Chandler) was in our session! We might not have even made the connection except that Rick ran into Valerie briefly during check out and so I checked our list and sure enough -- Trenton Chandler was there! We found him at the dance and introduced ourselves and got a picture!

Trenton came with his cousin, Aaron Soderquist. Aaron's dad was in our Stake growing up and was good friends with my brother Scott in High School. Brother Jensen and I had a fun time meeting the youth and stealing a few dances. We even tried some of the line dances even though our dancing ability seems to be getting worse with age! After the dance we each attended a Reflect and Review of one of the groups in the dorms.

WEDNESDAY: Today was the morningside and classes again. We enjoyed attending them! We had a meeting with the EFY Staff in charge of teachers to discuss what went well and what needed improvement. Jaiden and some of her company went bowling during free time.

Tonight we helped judge the banner and cheers in the big grassy area across the street from the MTC. We didn't see Jaiden but she sent me some pictures later.

It didn't take long to judge all of the cheers since they divided it up among a few of us. Rick and I didn't really need to be there for the next part and Rick looked over at the MTC and asked our field coordinators is they give tours. She said, "I think they do!" She said it would be fine if we went over to check it out. It must have been meant to be because we walked in just as the last tour of the night was heading in. They had a couple no-shows and they let us tag along even though we didn't have a reservation.

The young RM tour guide said that they only do tours on Wednesdays and Thursdays and they wouldn't be doing them tomorrow due to the Fourth of July and this was the last tour of the evening and so we really lucked out! The MTC was so beautiful! Back in 2010 we went on a tour of the old MTC with Janika and Madison before bringing them to EFY. But back then there was such tight security and they didn't let anyone in! It was Rick's persistence along with God's tender mercies that even allowed us to get in: MTC Miracle

But now everything is totally open. They showed us the old MTC buildings and the new building and outside courtyard. We saw the cafeteria and the gym with missionaries playing basketball and classrooms with missionaries studying and learning. One of the young ladies on the tour has her mission call to the Washington D.C. mission and will be in President Caplin's mission! Small world! She knew several people in the MTC and waved and briefly visited with them as we went along.

The new MTC building was gorgeous! It was open with lots of windows and natural light. I didn't get a lot of pictures but you can google it! There were huge murals with pictures from recent Bible movies which depicted Jesus and his followers in several scenes. They were beautiful! They also showed us this incredible chandelier reflecting the plan of salvation done by someone who is not a member of the church. They ended in a big conference room where they showed a video and then had two missionaries (who had only been in the MTC for two weeks) come in and answer questions. They did a great job! It was a neat experience and I was grateful that Rick felt the prompting to come! Here is a picture of Jared's brand new Mission President and his wife! (Illinois Chicago Mission -- President and Sister Shumway)

We weren't hungry and didn't attend Pizza Night, but here is a picture of Jaiden's company at Pizza Night:

Thursday 4: Happy Fourth of July!! This morning we had the Young Men and Young Women's devotionals. Unfortunately during lunch I had an allergic reaction to the gluten free sandwich I was eating. They have a separate food table for people with dietary restrictions. They had received my e-mail about being gluten free but not my second e-mail explaining that I was also allergic to flax seed and almonds and almond flour. I asked if the lady at the table if she knew the ingredients in the bread and she said she didn't know. I should have asked her to call and find out. Instead I took my lunch and ate two bites and waited. Sure enough I started feeling sick and ditched the rest of the bread and took two allergy pills. Sometimes I can nip it in the bud, but it didn't work this time.

I went back to the lady at the food table and had her call and get the ingredients. Sure enough there was flax in the bread. Rick had to take me back to the hotel and then came back for the variety show. I love the variety show and felt really bad missing it! But it was a good thing I stayed back. I felt worse and worse and was in so much pain! It was horrible! I kept praying for relief and trying to throw up. Finally after lots of prayers I was able to throw up. I had been sick for three hours. I was finally able to fall asleep for a bit. It still took some time but I gradually started to feel better after that. Rick came back and picked me up and we headed to dinner (ugh!) I ate very light -- just some fruit. It helped me to feel better though and I was fine the rest of the evening, thank goodness!!

After dinner we met for the musical program and Brother Jensen's fireside. They were both great! Then we split up for testimony meetings. Brother Jensen and I attended separate meetings and they were both amazing meetings. After the testimony meeting everyone changed their clothes and then headed to the big field to watch the fireworks! It was like a huge party! Music was playing and kids were playing games, passing footballs or Frisbees, socializing and just having a great time.

It took quite a while for the fireworks to start. Unfortunately Rick and I left at the wrong time and got totally stuck in traffic. It took us almost an hour to drive the normally 8 minute drive back to our hotel!

FRIDAY: This morning was the Morningside, Sharing the Gospel activity, Session Showcase, picture time, and the final dance!! Saturday Rick picked up the girls at their dorm at 7:00 a.m. They ate breakfast with us at the hotel and then we headed home!! All in all it was a fantastic week!!

EFY Jaiden 2019

I had so much fun at EFY this year!! I went with my friend Emily Williams. We went to the BYU Provo session, and our session had 1,500 people!! It was the biggest session of the summer! The theme for EFY this year was "Trust with all thine heart." I had such a great company and my counselors were named Mariyah and Grant. My companies name was "The dead rise" (1st Corinthians 15:29).

After we first checked in, we went to our dorms and met the girls in our company. They were super fun! And there was 2 other girls from Snow Canyon there! Our dorm was in the middle which means that our dorm is where we would always meet. After we got to know our counselor, we went up to meet the boys in our company. They are also way fun! When we were done playing some get to know you games, we went to the EFY orientation. We got to see our whole session and meet our session directors! Our session is HUGE!!!

After dinner, we met with our company for FHE. First our session directors gave us a lesson, and then we went to our company spot to play some games and do goal setting. Then we walked back to our dorms and had reflect and review. We lived in Helaman Halls, so we had to walk like 5 MILES to get everywhere. But I like staying in Helaman because you get your own bathrooms.

On Tuesday we had our morning devotional and then we went to breakfast. After that, we had our gospel study, and then went to our morning side. Then we had our first two morning classes. The first two classes are the same for every teacher. They were recognizing the spirit, and finding answers to questions. They were really good! After that we had lunch and then we headed off to our afternoon classes. The classes that my friends and I went to were called "A peak at the playbook: scouting Satan's game plan" and "3 ways you can lose your testimony and not know it." They were both super good classes! Then during free time, Emily and I had our variety show tryout. We were singing a song called "Super Friend" from the flash. It was really fun! We didn't make it in though because there was like 3 katrillion people who tried out. After that we had dinner and then did our cheer and banner prep for games night. Then, we went to the dance!!!! It was so much fun!! I literally love dances. I danced every single slow song!! After that, we got ready for bed and did R&R.

On Wednesday, we did our devotional, gospel study, and breakfast and then we went to the morningside. Then we went to our classes. The morning classes that I went to were, "Sharing your faith with testimony, tolerance, and love" and "Our individual influence." They were both super good classes!! Then after lunch we had our afternoon classes. Mine were "Safely anchored through faith in Christ" and "Your dreams vs. God's will." and these classes were also awesome!! After that we had free time and Me, Emily, and some of our friends went bowling. It was a party!! Then after dinner we had games night!! It was so fun! Then we had pizza night which was also a party! Our counselor kept taking funny bitmoji videos and sending them to the boys and it was hilarious. Then we did R&R and went to bed.

On Thursday we did the devotional, breakfast, and gospel study, and then we split up for the young mens and young womens activity. We learned about the book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. It was really cool! Then the young women went to the morningside which was also super good! After that, we had lunch and then the variety show!! It was really good!! Then we had free time, and then dinner. After that we had the musical program and the fireside. It was super good! Then we sang the EFY medley and went to our testimony meetings. It was good! Then, because it was the fourth of July, we got to watch FIREWORKS!!!! It was soooooo much fun!! They were like playing music and we were just all having a party! But then by the time we got to bed it was probably almost one in the morning! Because our dorms were closer to the fireworks they had to close them all off. And then once we got ready for bed, Emily and I had to plan our devotional.

On Friday, since we got to bed so late the night before, we skipped breakfast and slept in. It was great!! We met up with the boys for gospel study and then we went to the morningside. After that we did our sharing the gospel activity and learned how we can be better missionaries. Then we went to lunch. After that we had the session showcase and it was awesome!! We were all super pumped and we basically had a dance party!! After that we had free time and my friends and I went bowling again, and then we also went to this way cool art museum thing. After that we had dinner and then we took pictures with our company. Then we went to the dance!!!! It was soooooo fun!! I danced every slow dance again!! After that, we did our taking it home message and then we did our company taking it home and we reviewed our goals and stuff. When we were saying goodbye to our company I cried so much!! I miss them all!!

Then on Saturday, we just packed up and left. I miss everyone so much!! EFY is so fun and is a really cool experience. It really strengthened my testimony and helped me to become a better person.

Jaiden EFY (2018)

Right when Rick and I were checking in Jaiden and Gracie we got a text from Alicia saying that she and her girls were meeting their friends for lunch in one of the BYU buildings. Since we were also on campus we decided to run over and meet them for lunch! I guess it was Harry Potter week and so the whole place was decorated with Harry Potter decorations and characters!

EFY (written by Jaiden)
 
          Efy was so fun! I had such a good time and it was a great experience! I learned so much about how to choose and find joy, recognize the holy ghost, and so much more! I went with Gracie Newby. To start off, we met our counselor. My counselor's name was Ashley. She was super fun! The efy theme was "Choose Joy" and Dad was the session director. After we went over all the rules, we wet our company. Our company name was "Bound in Promise." I had a super fun company! After that we went to orientation to learn about everything. After orientation, we went to dinner with our company. Then, we went to the FHE lesson which was taught by dad. It was a really good lesson about the theme. Later we met with our company for Family home evening games. Then we set company goals and personal goals for the week. After that we went back to the dorms, had reflect and review, and got ready for bed.

         The next morning we had a devotional and then left to go meet our company for gospel study. Our gospel study spot was soooo far away. We had to walk for so long. After gospel study we went to breakfast and after that we had a morningside taught by dad. Then, we went to classes. There were a lot of different classes and so I got with a group of people from my company and we went to classes together. The first class that I went to was "Recognizing the Spirit" and it was taught by Jeff Mckenna. The second class that I went to was " Finding answers to questions" and that teacher was Brother Thorpe. After that, we had lunch and I had a musical program rehearsal. Then, I got back with my group and we went to the afternoon classes. The next class that went to was "Now and Later: Missionary Efforts." that class was taught by Brother Thorpe. (if we got lost, or classes were full, we ended up going to the same teachers. But at least the classes were different.) The last class that we went to was called, "Is it True?" and the teacher was Trevor Wright. Then we had free time, and I had a musical program rehearsal. After that, we had dinner. Since I was in the musical program, I got to dinner kind of late, but at least there were a couple of boys from my company still there. They waited for me and we walked to the place where we were meeting with our company for the dance. After that we went to the dance and it was super fun!!!! I danced 5 out of the 6 slow dances. After the dance we had reflect and review, showered, and went to bed.

          On Wednesday, we had a devotional and went to gospel study, breakfast, and the morningside. Dad had me sing a song called "There Is One" for his lesson. Later on we went to the classes. First we went to "The Winning Team" and that was taught by Brother Mckenna. The next class I went to was taught by Brother Roe and the class was called "Successfully Navigating Life's Challenges."Then we had lunch and I had a musical program rehearsal. The next classes that we went to were "Spiritual Goal Setting" by Sister Tanner and "The Perfect You" by Brother Hales. After those classes I had another rehearsal and then dinner. Then, we met with our company to plan our cheer and banner. After that we went to games night and it was a party! Our cheer was like a wedding kind of, it was really funny. After games night we went to the dorms for pizza night, reflect and review, and went to bed.
   
        On Thursday, we had to wear church clothes. We had a devotional and then went to gospel study and breakfast. Then the young women and young men split up. The young women went to an activity and then to the morningside. It was opposite for the guys. The young women lesson was super good! We talked about the importance of women and the Family Proclamation. We also talked about divine identity and destiny. Then I had lunch and a rehearsal. After that we went to the variety show. It was really good! Later, I had a musical program dress rehearsal, and then dinner. After that, we had the musical program (I had a solo in "One Voice") and a fireside. Then we sang the EFY Medley and wrote our testimony. Then we went to our testimony meetings. After the testimony meeting we went to the dorms, had reflect and review, and went to bed.

       On Friday, Gracie and I had to do the devotional. After that we had gospel study and goal setting review. Then we went to breakfast and the morning side. Then we did a sharing the gospel activity. We played a game and related it to missionary work and then we discussed different scenarios and how we would share the gospel. After that we went to lunch and got ready for the session showcase. It was kind of like the week in review. If was really fun! After that, we watched the slideshow of all the things we did during the week. It was awesome! Then we had free time and I went to the creamery with Mom and Dad. After that we had dinner and we took pictures. Then, we went to the dance. It was a party! I danced all of the slow dances! It was super fun! Later we went to the last lesson. It was the taking it home message. Then we went to our company spot and had a little lesson/testimony meeting. Then we went through a couple more goals. After that we all hugged each other and said goodbye.
   
      The next morning we got ready and left EFY. It was a super fun week and I am so glad that I went!

Fourth of July!!

Friday 4:  Happy Fourth of July!  It was a bit strange (and kind of sad) to be gone from our family during the Fourth of July and not doing all of the traditional things that we normal do.  The EFY participants were really hyped up in the morning.  I announced the birthdays (like I did each morning) and everyone was hollering and shouting.  The birthdays came up and then I asked “Is there any other birthdays?”  Someone shouted, “America!”  Oh, of course – America!  So I said, “Happy Birthday America!” and everyone was hooping and hollering.  It was pretty crazy! 

Rick taught the morning-side and luckily the kids quieted right down for it.  Then the kids did the “Preach My Gospel” activity.  Rick and I went to lunch and then it was the Variety Show, which is always a lot of fun.  There was some great talent in the group!  Rick and I left after that to go fill up our car before turning it in tomorrow.  We also took a quick little nap and then met the Field Coordinators during dinner to review the week and what went well and what could be improved upon.  I have to say that one of the best things about this session is the food!  This cafeteria is way better than BYU’s! There was several different choices at every meal – and so I was always able to find something that was gluten free.  One of the choices was always some kind of meat – chicken, turkey, beef, etc. and some kind of potatoes and vegetables. 

Since Rick and I were out of town, Allison Williams and I had arranged for my kids to go to their house for the Fourth of July Festivities tonight. They had a BBQ and snacks and homemade ice-cream. They played with clay and lit fireworks and had a movie party. They were pretty excited about it and had a great time. Jase and Jared went to friends’ houses and Janika ended up home alone since her work shift was cancelled and Mitch was out of town and her friends already had plans.  She said she didn’t mind it though!