Youth gather to bond as friends, help others
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

TEAMWORK- Teens make a human ladder during an activity designed to strengthen their relationships. From left, Jose Aquilar, Spencer Voges, Kevin Barker and Nick Ustach hold boards for Brandon Bowers to walk on.

Everyone acquainted with David Armstrong knows he likes to surf. He just graduated from eighth grade and wants to spend his summer mostly at the beach.

Still, last weekend he joined 190 other teens from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during Youth Conference, when they began their summer vacation by doing random acts of kindness.

"All 191 of our young men and women came together to learn how to work together and to help others," Cindy Bair, Stake young women's president, said.

An "Army of One" was the conference theme, but it emphasized teamwork, not individual effort, Bair explained.

"We wanted them to find there is strength in numbers as they strengthened their friendships and developed their testimonies in Jesus Christ by doing service and hard work to make a difference in the lives of others," she said.

Together the teens went to places like the Cerebral Palsy home in Westlake Village and the Hospice Home in Moorpark.

"At the Hospice Home they picked fruit for the residents and spent time there visiting," Bair said.

They painted a new fence at the YMCA on Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks. In Simi Valley they helped a Presbyterian church put together kits for an upcoming Vacation Bible School. They cleaned homes for some people in need and did landscaping for others.

Volunteers went to supermarkets and helped customers load their groceries into the backs of cars. They went to gas stations and washed the windows of those at the pump.

The group also went to the beach during the three-day conference, where they played games and participated in activities designed to help them build relationships with each other, youth leader Tracy Bowers said.

"I enjoyed being in a group of people who shared the same values as I do," Armstrong said.

He didn't mean a love for sand and surf. He forgot about his board and the waves for a moment and was glad to be with people who wear modest clothing and do not smoke or swear, he said.

"It was a nice break," Armstrong said.