This was such a fun night! I saw the idea online, just in time for our combined YW/YM activity. Here's what we did, what we learned and tips to help it go smooth.
We had 5 presenters who served missions in 5 different countries from around the world. I asked them to share the culture and the food, allowing the mission experience to intertwine naturally. I didn't want the youth to think this was another "you need to go on a mission" activity. Knowing that when it was done, it would inspire many to want to serve. I wanted both male and female presenters. It would be equally cool if you have a senior couple who had served together someplace.
*TIP* have your class presidency each find a presenter. We gave them a few suggestions, but it was good for them to be involved in the process. Also - we avoided using YW or YM leaders. They already do enough each week.
We had 50 youth show up. After opening exercises, they divided themselves into 5 groups and were given a rotation guide for the night - a paper that showed all the flags in the order their group needed to go. To the side of each door was a larger flag with the country name and presenter's name. I figured the youth could find their way, but we ended up with 2 leaders in each group. That was helpful.
*TIP* Have a long table for the presenter's displays AND a small classroom table for the food.
Each rotation had 10 minutes before moving to the next. Our presenters talked about the culture, where that country is in the world, what language/s are spoken there, some experiences they had AND they brought an authentic dish to share. It was just a sampling, so nothing overly intensive (except one sister brought 3 dishes - all amazing).
*TIP* Buy sample size cups like Costco uses. This kept the portions small. We also had small plates, napkins, spoons and forks.
This is the food we were able to sample:
Philippines - Lumpia
Portugal - Arroz Doce, As Facoflas, Sopa de espinafre
Kazakhstan- Kazakh Plov
Hungary - Goulash
Cote D'ivoire - Alloco, des oeufs and suace pimente
*TIP* have one of the leaders in each group help dish the food while the presenter is talking. Also suggest that the food is given at the beginning so the kids can eat while they listen. AND - have them keep their spoons if you have a big group. They just took them from one room to the next. We didn't find them terribly distracting.
The Bishop asked to have everyone meet back in the RS room (where we started) and he spoke for a few minutes about what the youth learned and about serving a mission. He challenged them to pray about going on a mission themselves.
*TIP* ask your class members (for me the older YW) to empty the garbage in each of the rooms used and replace the sacks. I want my class to know there are some responsibilities when we are in charge of an activity.
Here's a sample of the text I sent to all the presenters.
I spent the activity walking around and timing each rotation. I would pop in and listen for a minute here and there, and then give each presenter a 1-minute warning (just held up my finger so not to interrupt).
*TIP* don't start the 10 minutes until everyone has moved rooms. It takes a minute or two for them to get where they needed to be.
I'm big on invitations - if you haven't noticed. I feel like the right invite gets people excited and lets them know a lot of time and effort has gone into an event. This invitation is a free canva template. You do need a canva.com account, but it's free, too. Click below to use this template.
I'm also including a free template for the flags and rotation guides. Simply copy and paste the flags onto the slide. You'll then want to drag the flag into the space indicated on the design. There is a brief video demonstration at the beginning.
Click below to use this template.
To finish the night, I gave each presenter a Crumbl cookie with a little note of gratitude from the YW and my biggest THANKS! You can find it below.
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