YSA and Stake Conference - Hyderabad, India

We had the great experience of participating in an all India YSA (Young Single Adults) conference in Hyderabad from May 25 - 27. This group is for young single adults between the ages of 18 and 31. For this conference, singles up to ages 37 and 38 attended. On the same week-end, we also were privileged to be part of a conference for the church where the first Stake of the church in India was organized.

 

On Wednesday, May 23, we began our journey by having our picture taken with the two women who clean the apartment building and look after the plants. They are wonderful women who love to have us say hello to them. They don't speak English, but they are thrilled to associate with us. They make our days fun. Taking these pictures gave us something to do while we were waiting for the taxi to pick us up to go to the airport.

 

The hotel had two buildings: Green Park Hotel and the Marigold Hotel. This is the outside of the Marigold. All the meetings and activities for the conference were held in this building. Our hotel room was in the Green Park part. All foreigners had to stay in the Green Park.

All the missionary couples worked a long day on Thursday getting all the packets ready for the YSA. We had approximately 600 attend the conference. The missionaries here are [right front] Elder Zobell(Warner, AB), [left front and then going back] Elder and Sister Meyers (USA - serving in Sri Lanka), Elder Hatch (Cardston, AB), Sister Allison (Cochrane, AB), Elder Tiefenbach (Regina, SK).

 

We had computers working to get name tags, etc. ready for the registration packets.

 

 

Sister Wigg (from Calgary) was the official photographer. She was busy everyday documenting the conference. She had the wonderful experience of being with the General Authorities of the church throughout the week-end.

The young single adults arrived throughout Friday morning, beginning at about 4:30 a.m. We did not get up that early, but Sister Wigg and Elder and Sister Kellerstrass (from the USA and serving in Sri Lanka) were up early to meet the first train. They deserve a special thanks. Elder Kellerstrass and Sister Tiefenbach are talking with Rooben from Coimbatore.

The highlight of the YSA conference was the devotional on Friday morning when Elders Oaks (from the Quorum of Twelve), Hallstrom, and Perkins spoke. Their wives also spoke, and the wives spoke at a devotional on Saturday morning while Elders Oaks, Hallstrom, and Perkins were busy with the organization of the stake. This picture shows the YSA as they wait for the devotional to start. If you look way at the back, you will see Sister Tiefenbach (dressed in black and white). She is checking the sound quality/balance of the choir. Elder and Sister Allison from Cochrane, AB are seated in the front row.

The participants in the conference had time for some fun and games. Elder Tiefenbach and I were in charge of this part of the conference. This game is called "Return of the Ring." They formed two lines and had to pass the ring up and down the line. Which ever team finished first was the winner.

Here, they decided to play the same game while standing in a circle and holding hands. They had to pass the "ring" from person to person without breaking the hand clasp. Two rings were going around the circle in the opposite direction. The person who ended up with both rings had to step out of the circle, so no one wanted to be caught with both of them. They had a great time.







Elder Tiefenbach and Sister Tiefenbach had some helpers from an organization called Help International. They conducted the games under our direction. This is Brooke, from Utah, giving instructions for a "get to know you" game.












These are two YSA women from Coimbatore, Sister Beena and Sister Shaymala. They recently retured from missions in the Philippines.

The YSA loved the "Giants, Wizards, and Elves" game. Giants beat elves; wizards beat giants; elves beat wizards. Then the race begins to capture members of the "losing" category. They had a great time with this game.

 

Many of the participants took part in a family history workshop. We had many computers available, so everyone was able to have personal time as they began their family trees.

 After the dance on Saturday night, many of the young single adults grouped together for pictures. They had a great time posing for their pictures. The YSA especially enjoyed watching the couples dance. Sister Tiefenbach helped demonstrate a line dance.

This was the view outside our hotel room window. These men are constructing a new building. They have a unique way to build things here, and as you can see, safety measures are not the same as we experience in Canada.

After the YSA conference, we attended the Stake Conference where the first stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in India was created. The Stake Conference was held at the Novotel, which is a huge conference centre and hotel. The formation of a stake was a significant event for the members of the church in India. With a stake, the local members have more responsibility and authority. It also prepares them to have a temple in India. Presently, they have to travel to Hong Kong to attend the temple, which takes a considerable amount of time and money.

Sister Gibb and Elder and Sister Sharma are taking time out after the conference to talk about family history. Elder and Sister Sharma are from New Delhi, and are serving as family history missionaries in Hyderbad. Elder and Sister Gibb are from the USA and are serving as Area Family History Advisors for the Asia area. They are serving out of Hong Kong. (Elder Gibb is not in the picture, obviously.)

Elder and Sister Sharma have been wonderful to us. We first met them when we had our couples conference shortly after we arrived in India. She could tell that we were not used to the new culture, etc. and simply showed us a lot of love. They brighten our hearts whenever we see them. If we have time left on our visas when our mission is over, we plan to take an additional 7 or 8 days and go to visit them in Delhi so they can show us around that area.