Adpenture

It’s been 2 years since the For The Strength of Youth (FSY) Conference – Palawan Session 2021 happened and the memories of that wonderful event still remain in our hearts. From the hardships that we faced to the illuminating activities that strengthened our testimonies and faith…our FSY 2021 experience was truly a memorable experience we will never forget.

WARNING: Long post ahead.

Challenges May Come Our Way

As members knew from that time, the first-ever FSY conference-Palawan was supposed to happen in 2020 but since the pandemic happened, everything was postponed and preparations halted.

There were only a few weeks left for preparation and the YSAs had been training for the past few months and getting things ready for the much-awaited Palawan-wide youth activity. But when we were hit with the news that the world had to lock down due to COVID-19, everyone had to sit back and focus on facing the outright challenges brought by the pandemic.

The training, however, was not put to waste as those preparation periods brought the young single adults from all over Palawan together. New friendships were formed and stronger connections were built between stakes and districts, as the members checked each other out for any help they could give to one another…even if it was just good greetings over the phone or chat on Facebook.

A Hybrid FSY + Pandemic

When 2021 came, we were finally surprised by the wonderful news of the FSY conference happening that year. It was a very unique setup as the mandatory health restrictions were still in place and most of the units outside of Puerto Princesa were isolated.

But this is the Lord’s work and no unhallowed hand can stop it. So with strict observance of social distancing and wearing of face masks at all times, the FSY staff were back on track.

With the hybrid setup, Gerson and I were called into our respective callings: me, as Virtual Counselor and Gerson as Face-to-Face Counselor. I was assigned to lead the young women from Coron, Palawan who will be meeting me and the rest of the participants virtually. While Gerson was assigned to the 16-17 years old young men participants from the Stake as his counselor group.

Miracles We’ve Witnessed

Despite the storms of trials and hardships that we experienced in preparing for this conference, we were confounded with a lot of miracles that transcended beyond our beliefs.

The Spirit touched our hearts. I remember our Session Directing Couple telling us how they were humbled by how the Spirit dwelt in the virtual setup. They were worried at first that the virtual participants would not enjoy this FSY because it would be very different for them. But we have witnessed a miracle. The Spirit was very strong from the very first day until the last. No dead air was ever felt and they were very attentive in the lessons and meetings we’ve had, even if everything is virtual.

Testimonies grew. A lot of our participants were less active members and during our devotional on Day 5, we heard every one of them share their testimonies of the gospel and Jesus Christ. There were tears of happiness and we felt our love with one another. Now, I have seen how these youths grew into beautiful and strong young men and young women.

Desire to go on a Mission. Lastly, we have witnessed youth who do not have any plans to go on a mission finally deciding to send their applications and are now on the mission field doing the Lord’s work. One of them is Elder Calixtro whom Gerson has observed to grow so much since the FSY. He started working with the missionaries, became very active in the Church, and finally, had the desire to serve a mission. He is now on the mission field, along with his fellow counselor group members (all of Gerson’s anak) who also applied for their mission after FSY:

Where Love Bloomed

Another miracle we’ve witnessed and also the main reason why FSY occupies a huge place in our hearts is how the FSY Conference brought us together.

Although we knew each other for years since we are from the same Stake, our love story only began when we attended our training with other FSY counselors. We started dating a month before the pandemic hit and when the Area Office announced that the FSY conference will again take place in 2021, we both decided to continue with the training. Though it tested both our faith and our willingness to magnify our callings, it prepared us to face the much harder challenges that we experienced in our relationship, finally leading to where we are now. We started with this activity and are now writing the next chapter of our story. And as we look back, we realized how our fates crossed because of a simple but important event. As Gerson said, “Who would have thought participating in FSY will bring me to my future eternal companion?”

Another FSY Opportunity

Being called to serve as Counselors for the 2021 FSY Sessions is one of the greatest blessings we’ve ever received in our life and we are eternally grateful for the opportunity to be part of it.

Now, as another session had been announced for 2023, we are happy to again be part of the FSY Palawan Session as a member of the Logistics. It will be different but we are just as excited about the face-to-face setup that the youth will finally experience.

We know this is the Lord’s work. The experiences we will bring from this conference will help build our faith and relationship with Christ. And we know this would be the same with you. As you participate in activities like the For The Strength of Youth (FSY) Conference, you will receive so many blessings that will bring you closer to our Heavenly Father and make the right decisions for the future to come.