This year's Upper Midwest Young Adults Leadership Conference was held on the shores of Lake Geneva , Wisconsin , over the Labor Day weekend (Sept. 2 to 5). The theme of the conference was "Learning Effective Leadership." Attendees enjoyed many physical blessings as well as spiritual nourishment. Gary Black conducted several Bible studies on the leadership lessons found in the book of Nehemiah. The young adults also had an opportunity to explore the ways in which secular society has impacted the respective roles of men and women in the Church, with Mike and Zelda Hanisko leading breakout sessions on these topics. Jim Servidio led a lively discussion on the importance of doctrine in today's pluralistic society, with suggestions on how to withstand challenges to it. One of the young adults, Andrew Lausted, gave the Sabbath sermonette about servant leadership, while Mr. Hanisko presented his sermon about discovering and properly using our individual spiritual gifts. Sunday, all learned the value of communication as we worked together in several team-building exercises. There were many opportunities for us to use our various gifts to serve the brethren, whether at the conference or those abroad. Every breakfast and lunch was overseen by Bob Fahey, pastor of the Chicago , Illinois , congregation, as several young adults would volunteer to help with the cooking and clean up afterwards. Sunday we participated in the service project, preparing Feast gift bags for children in Costa Rica , which generous members presented to them at the Feast in 2005. We also enjoyed the great outdoors during the weekend, taking walks around the lake and enjoying pontoon boat rides. Every night gave us the perfect opportunity to fellowship around the campfire, retiring afterward to the main house to play cards once "quiet time" had arrived. Sunday and Monday, many could be found engaged in lively games of volleyball. Overall, the weekend was the perfect way to transition out of summer and into the Fall Holy Day season, with great fellowship between old friends and new. The Third Annual Young Adults Leadership Conference is planned for the same location over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3-6, 2006.