Once in a lifetime.....

The youth in our Stake have the awesome opportunity to participate in the Temple Cultural Celebration for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.  Our Stake is doing the 50's-we have some of our youth dancing and some singing in the choir.  I attend dance practice with the kids and tonight was incredible!!!  Our building is right next door to the temple-brings such a neat spirit as you glance at the beautiful Temple when you are walking into the church!!  Before they start their practice they have a prayer, a scripture, & the youth all sing a song-tonight it was "I Love To See the Temple" all with no piano-incredible to hear them!!!  It brought tears to my eyes.  Ok-I cried like a baby!!!  The dance practice is really a challenge for them to get but it was amazing to watch their progress tonight!  I didn't get the opportunity to serve a mission BUT I have heard how miraculous it is that missionaries can learn a language in such a short amount of time because of the Spirit.  I believe we are witnessing that with our youth-they are learning this HARD dance and dancing with eachother-boys with girls!!!  To see a gym full of youth 12-18 willingly working hard and doing their best is incredible but it really is coming together.  Miraculous!

They cut the practice short by 1/2 hour and announced we were going on a field trip.  David Archuletta's voice coach was at the other building with the choir and we got to go there to see him.  There was a TON of excitement and lots of screaming OF COURSE.  As we filed into the gym with the choir they just continued their practice-no David yet.  Their music was beautiful!

At the end of their practice the voice coach announced he was friends with David-that David was coming to share his testimony-but that he was lost.  He asked the kids to not scream or tackle him-to be respectful-and remember we are in a church.  He shared what an awesome missionary David Archuletta is-that there have been 20 baptisms because of him and 4 members of his band have received a Book of Mormon from him.  Not because he's David Archuletta but because he is an example-just like our theme this year-Be Thou An Example of the Believers!!!  As we waited the voice coach sat at the piano and played primary songs and everyone sang-seriously so cool!  I cried like a baby again.  These are TEENAGERS IN 2009-growing up in this ugly confused world!!  The Spirit was so strong as they sang Armies of Helaman, A Child's Prayer, & I Am A Child Of God...I just can't even put it all into words.  He didn't ask them to sing-he sat at the piano and played and they sang.  When David came the kids were SO excited of course but I think they did so good staying under control.  He listened to them sing and then shared his sweet testimony of music.  He told them how awesome it was to be a part of The Day of Celebration...I am sure that got them more excited about their own experience that is coming!!!  He wasn't allowed to sing because he's within a few miles & a few days of his concert but it was cool to hear him talk to them.  The Spirit was incredible.  I know they were all touched!!!  This is for sure the first of many great opportunities in the next few months!  What a cool thing to hear David Archuletta share his testimony in a church-totally casual-and to feel the Spirit as he spoke.  These kids and leaders :)  were so blessed!!!  Here are some pics:  k-dumb-they went to the top....I'm not so good at this!  haha