Youth Conference

(Sorry in advance for being so mushy on this one)

Our Pods came on Wed., but we stayed until Saturday so that I could go to Youth Conference (thank you so much to Mike and the girls for sleeping in sleeping bags in an empty house and staying at neighbors so that I could go). Youth Conference theme this year was "Pioneers, Patriots and Pilgrims". We did the Temple the first day, Concord/Lexington and the Civil War sites the second day and Plymouth the last (sprinkled in with concerts, classes, dances, and Walden Pond).

The Boston Stake youth are very unique. The stake is extremely diverse. Much of the stake constitutes preppy Boston suburbs. But some parts of the stake includes urban and inner city areas. The youth of the stake are however extremely close. In spite of their diversities (and really because of them) they are strong and close. Since there are so few members of the church they really gravitate towards each other in a special bond.

Friday night was my last night of youth conference because we had to leave Saturday. At the end of the evening President Hopkin called me up to stand before the youth and announced that I was leaving in the morning and officially released me from my calling and asked all the youth to give me a vote of thanks. I was so touched to be released in a setting like that with the youth that I loved so much. I just love President and Marianne Hopkin. I love the way they put family first. He went on to say the kindest words. Afterwards he had all the youth sing "God be with you until we meet again". That was heart wrenching.

I will always love the youth of the Boston Stake. Words cannot express my gratitude for my calling. I been so blessed. And thank you Mike for always supporting me in my calling.

(beautiful Walden Pond. I will miss swimming there with the girls. Aside from the ocean, this was our favorite swimmong spot).