Maybe they did listen?

Well outside of work I don't tend to get a lot of emails. Sad I know, so when one does arrive which isn't a promise of being able to buy the latest medical marvel dirt cheap, the news that I've been pre approved for a loan, somebody in the middle of Africa who has several hundred million pounds and all they need are my bank details, or a email from a bank I don't bank with to say my non existance account has been accessed by somebody other then me it does tend to liven things up. Not by much I grant you, but with the state of my social life it doesn't require that much to lighten things up for me.

Well I've just recieved the first email of the year from the national YSA conference organisers. It seems this years website is about to go live, so after the hidiousily rushed mess of last year it seems, ( not I've said it seems, just in case it all goes pear shaped) they have decided to plan ahead in plenty of time. So it seems that when they said they wanted feedback they actually read it rather then filing it straight into the bin. Now the conference isn't until August, but unless a YSA Geekette happens to cross paths with me at point in the next week, I think you would be safe in placing a bet that I will be there this year, as single as ever and a object of curiosity to the younger YSA some of whom have probably never seen a YSA over 25 years old and would have be sure until that point that they were a myth. I can just imagine it now. " Look whats that over there" " Why it's either bigfoot or a YSA over 25, It's hard to tell which as I didn't think either existed"

Well it didn't only contain the news about the website going live soon. It also contained the YSA acts of service challenge card which apparently one of the speakers promised to share with us at the conference. Now I know what the idea is behind the card even if it sounds like something from a quiz show. There are 12 tick boxes, one for each month of this year strangly enough. You put a tick in each months box when you have performed a act of service. Seems simple enough, just like me. Two things do worry me though, are we going to have to take it with us to the conference like homework and we'll get marked on it? And secondly how do they expect us to get a tick for a act of service (from the list on the card) we perform for every month this year when they sent it out to us to start in February. Think about people !

In the centre of the card it advises us to do three things. Learn the duties associated with your calling, this is easy I push a cart full of books around and stamp them, Magnify your callings with dillegence and excellent must pratice with date stamp, Perform your home teaching responsibilities, d'oh! Well being able to do two out of three isn't bad. But I guess it does bring up that old argument Engineseer and I had. If you haven't been give a hometeaching list can you claim a 100%, as you've done exactly what you've been given. Nothing :-) (just kidding, I would never actually claim 100% without doing anything)

So the choices for acts of service in the order they wrote them on the card are;

• Attend the temple
• Write to a missionary
• Wash up at a ward social
• Participate in helping hands
• Keep a journal ( does blogging count? could this be my tick for january?)
• Visit a homebound person
• Spend time with your family
• Polish your flatmate's shoes (don't think Dad would be happy if I polished his trainers)
• Qualify for a temple recommend (shouldn't this be at the top of the list)
• Be an Usher
• Help keep the chapel clean
• Research your family history
• serve a mission
• Smile ( have trouble doing)
• Help a neighbour or friend. (can do)

Hmm, I wonder if I'm going to have to expand my resolutions list to fit some of these in as well? Who knows. Well I'll be interested to see what they have on tap for this years conference. Aslong as he ditches his buzz phrase, and those early morning scripture study sessions, I mean seriousily some YSA had problems getting up for the first activity at 9.30am let along 6.30am, things can only get better.

Use the YSA conference label to find my extensive posts about my experiences at the last two conferences.

later!