E - F - Y!
Those three letters bring a lot of joy to my heart, along with thousands of memories. You may ask, what is EFY? Well, it's a program called Especially For Youth, and it's a week packed full of awesomeness! It's a 6 day program, filled with dances, classes, games, service, laughter, and friends. I attended four weeks of it as a youth during high school, and this summer (as mentioned in a earlier post) I worked on BYU campus as an EFY counselor.
Being a counselor was probably one of the best things I've done. Now, don't get me wrong, it was also the dang hardest, plus the pay kinda stinks. Waking up for 6:30 am meetings when your youth refuse to go to bed until 11:30 and when you're on your feet all day is not fun. But, I did it. I (mostly) refrained from yelling when I was upset when the youth were just ridiculously out of line. I managed to wake up on time, which is a huge feat for me. All my past and present roommates know I have issues getting up in the morning. Some days I was really stressed, frustrated, and just plain down. Some nights I wanted to cry because I felt like I wasn't doing my job right. But that's okay. There are so many other things that make the week worth it.
I loved Thursday nights during a week of EFY. Why's that? Two words: testimony meeting. This was a time where we got to hear the youth's true feelings about the gospel, what had really stuck with them through the week, and what they want to change. I heard so many teenage boys reaffirm their decision to go on a mission. I heard teenage girls proclaim with a strong voice, that they, no matter what the world things, are daughters of our Heavenly Father. Every Thursday my heart swelled with joy and the Spirit.
Thursday nights weren't the only enjoyable part by far. Dances were fun, games night was always a blast, pizza nights were amazing, and meals were amusing. Seeing the youth bond together and really become true friends was another amazing thing. If any of you have the chance to be a counselor, do it, even if it's just for one week. It's an amazing learning experience, for the youth and counselors, and such a testimony builder too.
Being a counselor was probably one of the best things I've done. Now, don't get me wrong, it was also the dang hardest, plus the pay kinda stinks. Waking up for 6:30 am meetings when your youth refuse to go to bed until 11:30 and when you're on your feet all day is not fun. But, I did it. I (mostly) refrained from yelling when I was upset when the youth were just ridiculously out of line. I managed to wake up on time, which is a huge feat for me. All my past and present roommates know I have issues getting up in the morning. Some days I was really stressed, frustrated, and just plain down. Some nights I wanted to cry because I felt like I wasn't doing my job right. But that's okay. There are so many other things that make the week worth it.
I loved Thursday nights during a week of EFY. Why's that? Two words: testimony meeting. This was a time where we got to hear the youth's true feelings about the gospel, what had really stuck with them through the week, and what they want to change. I heard so many teenage boys reaffirm their decision to go on a mission. I heard teenage girls proclaim with a strong voice, that they, no matter what the world things, are daughters of our Heavenly Father. Every Thursday my heart swelled with joy and the Spirit.
Thursday nights weren't the only enjoyable part by far. Dances were fun, games night was always a blast, pizza nights were amazing, and meals were amusing. Seeing the youth bond together and really become true friends was another amazing thing. If any of you have the chance to be a counselor, do it, even if it's just for one week. It's an amazing learning experience, for the youth and counselors, and such a testimony builder too.
No comments:
Post a Comment