We had district meeting as usual this past week but with both the zone leaders and President and Sister Thompson in attendance. I was asked by our district leader, Elder Hoopes, to give a presentation on setting goals which went well. Afterward President and Sister Thompson met with the young missionaries for an hour or so while we cleaned up from lunch. We would have liked to meet with them for a few minutes but they were in a big hurry to leave. We took the opportunity to do some more cleaning over at the chapel this week. The equipment room in the cultural hall was a mess so we got it all cleaned and organized and we got rid of some junk that had been accumulating there. We also straightened out the library again and Maurene did one of the hall cupboards that is shared by the Relief Society and the Young Womens. After finishing there, we took a short ride out to Adare, which is our favourite little village close to Limerick. We just walked around and did some window shopping and had supper at a sidewalk cafe. This week was the Dublin YSA Convention held at Glendalough. It is a very popular national park about one hour south of Dublin. The convention was held at the International Youth hostel there which was a good facility for an event like this. There were over 100 YSA in attendance which was a record for Ireland. They came from all over Ireland, Scotland, England and even Germany. We drove up on Friday afternoon and gave two of our YSA, Roi and Azariah, a ride up there with us. We saw some beautiful scenery as we got closer to Glendalough. We arrived a little early so we went for a walk and visited an old monastery close to the hostel. It was very interesting and had some very cool structures as well as a large cemetery. There was a good program for the weekend of the convention with a good mix of organized activities and some free time for them to mingle and get to know each other. The entire weekend was organized by the YSA committee in Dublin and they did a great job. They put a lot of work into it and it showed. We supported in any way we could which for the most part meant a lot of time helping prepare meals in the kitchen and cleaning up after the meals. There were three great activities held on Saturday. In the morning the YSA put together kits for refugees as a service project. In the afternoon there was horse back riding, kayaking and hikes. In the evening on Saturday there was a Hawaiian themed dance. Both Maurene and I went on hikes, different ones, and they were both long but beautiful. Things wrapped up on Sunday with our church meetings and lunch and then we went out to the green area behind the hostel for a group photo which was taken by the Stake President using his drone. While we were visiting afterward the group of YSA from Scotland sang Flower of Scotland together and then asked me to join them for a group photo. Then it was clean everything up, say our goodbyes and travel back to Limerick. Needless to say we were very tired but it was a very worthwhile activity. Oh, and on the way home we passed through Hollywood so took a photo of the Hollywood sign on the hill.
1 Comment
7/25/2016 11:02:39 am
We always love reading your blog. It sounds like you had a great YSA activity. We sure love your pictures. Super old and beautiful ruins. Thanks.
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AuthorThis is the blog of Elder Tom and Sister Maurene Wilson of our mission to the Scotland/Ireland Mission. Archives
October 2016
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