Sunday, July 24, 2011

1st Youth Conference in the DRCongo

"PIONEERS IN THE CONGO"
This was the theme for the 1st ever Youth Conference as it was held on July 23, 2011.
For they are truly the pioneers of the Restored Gospel here and many of the future generations will quote the stories of these youth.

The leaders worked very hard to make this all happen. This picture is of Sister Jackie, Relief Society Counselor in the Kinshasa Stake. The miracle here is that she fed 800 youth plus leaders for $550. That included: peanuts and crackers for snacks, sandwiches and sodas for lunch. How can anyone feed that many people for less than .70 each. Truly a miracle. The 3 Stakes, Ngaliema, Kinshasa, and Mont Ngafula, contri
buted in transportation to get the youth to the Kinshasa Stake Center.






These are some of the young women putting on their name tags after they signed up.





More youth signing up! Right when we would think that was all that was coming....here came more!




After signing up they went to the number they were assigned to on their name tags.








This is Pascal....he was our "Fearless Leader" He did a wonderful job. They have never done such a thing here and it was quite an undertaking for him to do.




Here they are waiting for instruction on where to go.




The Chapel is filling up.....we opened the doors to the overflow






The Stake Presidents told us that they would have 900 youth attend. Elder Hatch said that those numbers couldn't be real, so Pascal called them all back and asked for realistic numbers. Three days later they said, those numbers are realistic....




Elder Hatch said...."500 is a stretch, and I think that 300 would make us very happy!"





Would you believe that we had 800 youth come to the Youth Conference! (We kind of freaked out wondering how are we going to feed them and fit them into the classrooms?)












Here is one of the valiant Young Men showing off his name tag!






Look at the joy in this Young Woman's eyes!





Here's a bunch filing into class.
Kind of looks like BYU he he






One of the classes was a music class. They sang, As Zion's Youth in Latter Days, and Shall the Youth of Zion Falter, and Called to Serve!
They love to sing here...and we loved to hear them! Their voices rang for miles and miles.





These Young Men sang with vigor and might on photocopied hymns, there are not enough books to go around.





LUNCHTIME!







Brother and Sister Ngandu teaching the Eternal Marriage Class. These two were the first to skip the dote and go to the Johannesburg Temple. They were obedient to the counsel from the General Authorities. Most of the youth said this was their favorite class



Here they are for the closing activity.
We will try to include more of the class pictures next week. We have another Youth Conference next Saturday for the other 2 Stakes in Masina, and Kimbenseke....stay tuned

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7 comments:

Bluebird & Company said...

Wow! truly Amazing!

Marc said...

800!?!?!?!? that is insane!! wow
great job mom and dad!

ps. this is echo

USSBeltHam said...

Wow...what a blessing! We take so much for granted!

Daryl Olsen said...

What a thrilling sight to see all those young people together. I can only imagine the enthusiasm that they radiated. Talk about rubbing shoulders and feeling the Spirit!!!
Good Work!!!!

Anonymous said...

That is absolutely awesome. Tell about the front pew! That's so special. I can't believe how beautiful those girls are and how sharp the guys look-- all very thin but so happy and full of the Spirit. So glad you are there to be around them and to show them so much love.
I can just see their potential, all of them being taught so many Gospel truths. Where else would they ever get these powerful messages and feel the Spirit of God? I'm so glad you were able to put this on. 800 youth. Wow.

Sherilyn said...

There is so much hope!!! I am crying looking at this and realizing the magnitude of effort and promise from this one youth conference in this one VERY special place. Thank you for posting!!!

Shelly said...

Dear Sister Hatch!

In introduction, I'm "Umba Lumba"! Haha! Better known as Shelly:) Also, Natalie's mother-in-law. I've also met Echo! I was visiting in Hawaii and I'm even remembering taking pictures of her as she skateboarded for a video! Haha! Small world.

I couldn't help but click on the name that loves my crazy little sock creatures so much! And what an inspiring blog you've got here. What an exciting mission! The photos of 800 kids showing up for their first Youth Conference made me sob like a baby. You and your husband look like you're really making a difference in that area of the world!

Just wanted to say good luck on the contest:) I'd love for an Umba Lumba to go to someone like you....or your grandkids!