Seattle Youth Conference

My First Youth Conference Experience- Kate Suzanne Jerry

Our church hosted the youth conference last year, and watching the other youth having so much fun convinced me that I had to be there for the next one. I asked my parents, and before I knew it, the months had flown by, and we were on a plane to Seattle. After arriving at the campsite, we settled in and bonded with our roommates. The days were filled with devotion, laughter, good food, games, and beautiful songs. We got plenty of chances to roam around the campsite and play fun games like ping-pong and air hockey. We all joined together and lifted our voices in praise, with many youth from different churches leading us in worship. There were so many games and team-building activities that ended with all of us laughing. My favorite part of the entire conference was the testimonies; it was so inspiring to listen to everyone share stories about how God has changed their lives.

The main theme of this year's youth conference was Connected, based on Romans 12:4-5. Connected: Who are some people you are connected with? Well, your answer probably included a few of these: family, God, and friends. But how do we show this in the modern world? This was what we learned during the conference, with the three subtopics focusing on how to be connected with God, ourselves, and others.

• Connected with God: In our first session, Pushpa Samuel Aunty (the main speaker for this year’s conference) taught us that praying and reading the Bible are not the only ways to stay connected with God. We learned that everyone has a different calling in life. For some of us, it is to play an instrument, lift our voices in praise, or preach and spread the good news.
• Connected within Ourselves: In our second session, we learned about healthy and unhealthy coping strategies, and how to turn unhealthy habits into healthy ones so that we can be at our best.
• Connected with Others: In our last session, we learned about proselytization (forcing others to convert to a certain religion or belief), how to talk about our faith without proselytizing, and how to respect other religions.

I would highly encourage all youth to come to next year's conference, which will be held in Sacramento. It was an amazing first experience for me, and it is a great opportunity for everyone to make new friends, sing songs, praise God, and join together under one purpose. I left the campsite with new friends, good memories, and much more knowledge than when I first arrived.