The Young Single Adults (YSA) Convention 2014

All in attendance!

Singapore YSA about to head off

Singapore YSA about to head off

Having fun at the dance

Will the group leaders plesse stand up

The Young Single Adults of Singapore and Malaysia convened in July for a few days. With “One Heart” from Moses 7:18 as the theme for the convention, the YSA studied, laughed, prayed, sang and had fun together. A few of the YSA share their thoughts…

Main report by Cornelius Selvan

This year’s YSA Convention theme was “One Heart”, perfectly suiting the three day passage that the Singaporean Young Single Adults embarked on for this years’ YSA Convention. Not only did the convention take place in Melaka, but the brothers and sisters were given the wonderful opportunity to share their journey with the home grown Mormons living there as well, a combined YSA Convention. It definitely took a lot of hard work and effort by the planning committees of both Singapore and Melaka for the Convention to be possible and well presented, hence, we cannot thank them enough for their dedication to this convention’s success.

On the morning of the first of the three days of the convention, the Young Single Adults of the Singapore Stake began their six hour journey, via bus, to Melaka - one of the smallest Malaysian states after Perlis and Penang, located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, nearby the Straits of Melaka.

During their stay, the members enjoyed the flora and fauna of the site where they were staying, the area fully cultured by the grandiose trees and striking flowers, beautifying the place naturally. The owners and workers of the camp were extremely nice and humble individuals, being very easy to chat with and friendly in nature, welcoming the Singaporean members as they headed into their respective sleeping spaces. Accompanied by the delicious food provided over the three days, the general atmosphere of the camp further brightened the prospects of all members during the convention.

Fun games were set up by the committee which kept the hyper-activity and acted as bonding time for all the Single Adults. To keep with the theme of the convention, all games and events held during the stay were focused on keeping the bonding spirit between the group members. Many activities required the YSAs to trust each other, using one another’s strengths to help them accomplish a set task or game, bonding the team even more. Church-related quizzes also helped to improve and refresh the knowledge of all the members in regards to the church and its history. It is fair to say that many of the individuals at the convention have now forged new long term friends and allies in the church, both from Singapore and Melaka.

The members also participated in educational sessions set up over the three days. These sessions ranged from joining a choir, to simple guidelines of dating and marriage all the way to using experiences as a Church member to obtain jobs or educating ourselves about mental health. The sessions gave the individuals a vaster and circular knowledge of the world by having them equipped with worldly information whilst keeping their spirit and heart close to Heavenly Father.

Another of the highlights was the Sunday meeting that all the conventioneers attended. Not only were they gifted with a performance by the choir set up by the YSA members the day before, but the testimonies share were such an inspiring section of the day. Many of these testimonies showcased the spirit and striving nature of the individuals attending the camp. Speakers shared their heart and soul through experiences and knowledge. Everyone in the congregation could relate and understand, allowing them to take their words in to strengthen their own testimony as well. It also made the Sunday more meaningful to the Singaporean members, as they listened to the testimonies of their brothers and sisters from Melaka as well. As the Malaccans shared their experiences and testimonies, it gave the Singaporeans insight as to how the Melaka Stake works, highlighting the cultural contrasts between the two stakes.

As this years’ YSA convention came to its end, the passionate faith and love for Christ was and will be left burning by the conventioneers. Amongst the new friendships formed and the wonderful fun times the members had, the members were able to learn how to work as a whole community of people with the same beliefs, all with one heart, and all with one mind.

Jeremy from Toa Payoh Ward

This year’s YSA conference was a different experience for me; not only because we joined with the Malaysia branch, but because the environment was different. My bus got a little lost in Malaysia getting to our destination, but we managed to find it eventually. From the moment you step into the place, you realise the chalet is in the middle of the jungle. Especially for the male rooms, everything is back to basics: there’s no TV or air conditioning, all you have are friends who you share stories and jokes with, which is a totally different experience from the last conference.

We had a lot of workshops this time round, but most of them were really interesting. This is also one of the best times for me to catch up with all my friends from the other wards and share our common values together. I'm so grateful that I was able to go this year. I feel my faith has been strengthened. I want to bear my testimony that I know the Lord loves us and the church is true, and He wants the best for us.

Aubrey from Choa Chu Kang Ward

I really looked forward to the workshops at YSA convention this year because - with workshops like dating and marriage and stress management - they were really applicable to my life. Just being at YSA convention surrounded with people of the same beliefs as me, doing the same activities together, and talking about things that we all understand was really uplifting for me, and really strengthened my spirit. Even though I had a lot of work to do, I'm glad I went to convention because my spirit was uplifted and I felt stronger. I also got to bond with the people from Kuala Lumpur ward, as well as old friends like Ern who I had not seen for a long time. I look forward to attending every YSA convention there is!

Nga Eng from Sitiawan Branch

I am glad that I attended the YSA convention this year! I learned a lot through the workshops. I enjoyed the choir and was glad to perform with friends although I’ve never really learned how to sing. By attending the “Understanding Mental Health” workshop, we got to know more about recognising symptoms that might lead to mental illness.

The interaction between all of us actually drew us closer to each other and made me feel like we’re from one BIG FAMILY! We share the same religion, we learned the same things, and we share the same goal! This was a great activity for Young Single Adults to meet more friends especially as we had participants from Malaysia and Singapore. It also reminded me that I’m not alone; that we are NOT alone. I know that our church is true; we’re all children of God.

Emily from Ipoh Branch

Hi there, my name is Emily and I am from Ipoh, Malaysia Branch. This is my first YSA convention I attended after my graduation from BYU-Hawaii. To my surprise, we had so many YSA from Malaysia and Singapore. This convention helped me realise that all the YSA I met are the future leaders of the church and that we are the rising stars that will help the church grow in Singapore and Malaysia. This YSA convention helped prepare us to be future leaders and also helped us realise the important role that we play in church and society. I met a lot of new friends at this convention. The convention truly helped all the YSA unite as One Heart and One Mind. Even though we are from two different countries we learned that we have things in common that brings us all together; that is our faith and testimony that we know Jesus Christ died for our sins, that Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, which is true scripture, and that we have a living prophet - President Thomas S. Monson. This strong faith that we have brings us together and with it we are strengthened and able to grow together.

“And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” Moses 7:18