Seminary Super Saturday

We have been working for about the past six weeks on a “Mid-Year Convention” for our Seminary and Institute teachers and a “Seminary Super Saturday” for the Johannesburg stake Seminary program. The last few weeks have been especially busy with preparation. The events were planned for the same day, which worked really well for transportation (which is always a major issue here) and for the combined lunch and for a lot of reasons, but it gave us two, big separate events to plan at the same time for the same day.

We did all that we could, asked for support from the stake presidency and others and, of course, prayed for assistance. The result was more than we could have hoped for. Almost all of our teachers came along with a representative from their bishopric. The stake president and his counselor who we work closely with gave excellent talks and the other training that we planned went well also. The combined lunch was wild and crazy with more than 100 people picking up the box lunches we had prepared (also a lot of work) and eating outside picnic style.

We had almost as many students for Super Saturday as we have students—I think even the ones who don’t always make it to seminary thought the day sounded fun enough to make the effort to be there. The event started with a game and then the students heard counsel from their stake president. Following that, each of the seminary classes presented a short skit they had prepared based on a Book of Mormon account, but adapted for a modern day application. They were told that they could use music, props or humor as long as it was respectful and they did a great job. You would have had to be there to appreciate how funny and yet meaningful each skit was.

After the skits, we gave the students some beautiful bookmarks that our daughter Amie had created for them, based on the first half of the scriptures that they should be learning during this course of study. They were also given a set for the second half, but those were uncolored and unfinished, which we explained, would will give them a chance to create their own bookmarks while trying to memorize the accompanying scripture. A set of inexpensive colored pencils was also given to them. Our coordinator, who is a newly called Area Seventy then spoke to them briefly and all went home fed, taught and happy. We went home unfed, tired but still happy that everything went so well.