Up

 

A few friends have asked about a Young Women Conference our Stake held back in October. (Stake: Organized group of LDS congregations typically comprising 8-10 congregations called wards.)

Our theme , “Up! Look Up, Step Up, Cheer Up!” was taken from this talk given at our October 2011 General Conference.  Balloons symbolizing “Up” were the focal image for our conference decor, invites, program book and even food.

 

Traditionally, these conferences are for mothers and daughters, but this year we decided to mix it up a bit and made it a father/daughter event; and I am so glad we did. Seeing the girls interact with their dads (or another significant male in their life) was as sweet as it was fun.

We started off by having all 80 fathers and young women meet together for a keynote address from the wife of our Stake President. Following that incredible 20 minute talk, the girls attended 3 different workshops with their dads. Each workshop concentrated on a part of our theme:

1. Look Up (Look towards the higher things in life.)
2. Step Up (to be a light and example of what you believe.)
3. Cheer Up (Tools to help us cheer up when life gets tough.)

Each workshop lasted about 40 minutes and was given by 3 of the many extraordinary women from our stake.

Our grand finale was to be a massive helium balloon launch in the church parking lot. We would ask the girls to take one of the 100’s of balloons we inflated and think of just one way they can look up, step up or cheer up that very day or in the coming week. When they discovered what that one thing would be, they would then release the balloon “toward heaven” with a commitment to do it as a gift to our Heavenly Father.

But, it didn’t go quite like we planned.

Literally, 15 minutes before the balloon launch was to take place, one of the fathers attending that day informed me that it is against the law to intentionally release a large group of helium balloons in the state of New Hampshire.

Oy!

I had no idea that law existed – and now had 15 minutes to decide if I should a.) respectfully ignore the law and proceed as planned or b.) come up with an entirely new activity. (In 15 minutes? Right!…or so I thought.)

I confess, for a few minutes there, I was leaning toward choice a. After all, we put a lot into that final activity and had previously announced it to the girls who were really looking forward to it. Besides, I didn’t know about the law when the activity was originally planned, so I could technically plead innocence, right?

I offered a quick and, frankly, a bit of a desperate prayer. I wasn’t prepared for what happened next. An activity more amazing and wonderful than the launch came to my mind. Choice “a” wasn’t even on the table anymore.

We gathered the girls and their fathers in the foyer of the church. I explained to them about the balloon law in NH. From the expressions on their faces and the chorus of “Awwww!’s” echoing around the foyer, I knew they were a bit disappointed at that announcement. On their own accord, nearly all the girls and their fathers (including the Dad who informed me of the law just minutes earlier) quickly tried to put my previous “option a” back on the table. Surely, it would be alright they reasoned if we justified this one release because its ultimate purpose was good.

But one of our articles of faith is “We believe in…obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.”  We need to live what we say we believe. And they all agreed.

So, here’s where that more amazing and wonderful activity comes in.

Instead of asking the girls to think of some-thing and then release the balloon as gift to God, we asked the girls to think of some-one who needed cheering up and then take their selected balloon to that individual in the next few days.  From the expressions on their face and the chorus of “Ahhhh’s” echoing around the foyer, I knew they had that same “a-ha” moment about this new activity that I did.

A much better gift to our Heavenly Father than releasing a balloon into the atmosphere if you ask me. And total prep was way less than 15 minutes. (Love those quick answers to prayers!)

After all was said and done, the young women and their fathers gathered in our building’s cultural hall (shown above) for a delicious authentic Mexican lunch.

The balloons in this photo - which were our main centerpieces - were HUGE! 3 feet in diameter to be exact. The girls loved them. (btw: those are not the ones they took back to their special person. We used regular sized balloons for that.)

The entire cultural hall was decorated like a carnival. Bright vintage soda bottles, colorful gumballs in a small, clear plastic container and yummy homemade lemon cookies decorated with icing balloons donned the tables.

I had a great time with the girls, their dads and my dear adult women friends and leaders who worked tirelessly to organize this event. 

I left definitely feeling Uplifted.

Hugs!

Invite and photos by the amazing Amy Edwards of our stake yw presidency.