More than 300 young members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated in Tanzania’s first For the Strength of Youth conference last month in the Africa Central Area.
With the theme of “I can do all things in Christ” (Philippians 4:13), the young men and young women ages 14 to 18 attended the FSY conference June 26-30.
For five days, the youth and their friends attended devotionals, classes, workshops and activities, which helped them to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ and learn how to “hear Him,” reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.
The youth and their friends came from throughout Tanzania. The conference was at the Korogwe Teachers College, located in a picturesque area 280 km (174 miles) north of Dar es Salaam.
While this was first FSY conference ever held in Tanzania, it was also the first of the season for the area, with upcoming FSY conferences to be held in July in Likasi, Lubumbashi, Mbuji-Mayi, and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo; and Kigali, Rwanda.
Elder Thierry K. Mutombo, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Africa Central Area presidency, spoke to the youth in a devotional during the week. He urged them to use their divine potential to meet their challenges — which are increasing in intensity.
Elder Mutombo testified to the youth that Jesus Christ cares for them and will help them during difficult times.
Jean Claude Mabaya and Robert Ouko Opiyo from FamilySearch Africa gave a presentation on family history to the 305 youth — including 48 who are not members of the Church. They taught about temples and getting involved in family history work.
Mabaya and Opiyo helped the youth add names to their FamilySearch accounts. Each youth was given either a lapel pin of the Johannesburg temple or an illustration of a temple.
The youth — led by Elder Mutombo — also took part in a tree planting service project.
Conference participant Dunstan Julius Kwagilwa said, “It was a great blessing to be here. FSY has helped me grow spiritually. I’ve made new friends from around Tanzania. The FamilySearch activity was really fun and helped us set a goal to seal our families in the temple. And I enjoyed the food. Seriously, the food was really great.”
