EFY Scandinavia

[Maya]

So this year EFY in scandinavia will be in... Norway. Cool! My sons REALLY love the EFY. It is a great program for youth and I can see how it strengthens them. Usually they are like from an other world a few months, before they get back to the usual mode again.

One bad thing is, that we have the EFY ONLY every second year. I notice that it really IS needed every year to keep up the spirituality. I also like it, that it is not been done by local but american leaders. This gives it a really fresh feeling with a lot of new ways of doing things.

I really wish, that those, singing on EFY CD would visit the happening. THAT would be really great if they did. Youth need idols ... GOOD idols.

My youngest really likes that it is partly in English... or was it all in English... he loves the challenge. This will be his last EFY. Hopefully he is on his mission the next time there is an EFY. :)

[harpgirl]

So the leaders are American?

[Maya]

At least last time they were... they are changing a lot so the locals take the lead, dont know this years EFY for sure.

[harpgirl]

Do they speak English at EFY?

[Maya]

I was just last week feeding the leaders of next EFY and as there will be people from 4 nationalities, they spoke English together (Norwegean, Dannish, Swedish, and Isceland). I am sure they will speak a lot English in EFY, but maybe some groups speak more their own language. People in Iceland speak quite differently than Norwegean and Swedish sometimes dont understand Norwegean accent and ... at least I have difficulties with Dannish accent . So I think English will be their common language there even though the leaders are from all of those countries, one even from Grønland. Possible there comes someone who observes from USA or Germany. They had an older misionary couple from Germany in the leaders conferance, who was observing and only 2-3 older Norwegean leaders, everyone else were under 30 but over and about 21. There was guite a few of them and they were sooo nice. We even had Sunday meetings while they were there and the sacrament meeting was next door and they were sooo quiet.. at least til they got food after the first speaces I suppose.

There will be 500 youth between 14-18 in the EFY this year! I will go to help with food there too:). We had 3 sweet girls from Danmark over for two nights. :)

Many youth here are good in English, especially those from Church. Some can not English that well especially the refugies, so I recorn there will be tolking from English. Finland used to be with these nations, but they changed it so they have their own with Estonians as the languages are almost the same. The problem was that they did nto know English.... which I personally disagree, but I know many would not use it unless they really were forced to. I am not sure but probably Russians are also with the Finnish Efy so I think that getting the Russians in Efy was rather the reason than Finnish kids language skills. There too the common laguage is English. And no russian is nothing like Finnish ... as a matter of fact it is colser to English than Finnish, as Turkish and Hungarian again are closer to Finnish. I think that in Latvia they also speak a language closer to Finnish but Litauen not. I may be wrong though...