A Little Break

Saturday morning nice and early Jen showed up with her mad painting skills. I was so grateful to have her help!  A little while later Kevin showed up and he got the nasty job of painting the stairwell above the basement stairs. He was a lifesaver! (He wanted to make sure I got a picture of him standing on one foot -- just for you, Gillian.)

We left home about 2:30 p.m. (leaving Jen behind to finish up, bless her heart) to go to SLC. Ammon had the privilege of singing with a 180 men's choir combining Salem Hills High School and Maple Mountain High School. Ammon went up with the boys on the bus, but because it was such a long day, we needed to go up so we could cath him. We arrived just at the end of the rehearsal.  After rehearsal, they were treated to a box dinner in a room under the Tabernacle and heard the 2nd counselor in the General YM's Presidency.

 A few months ago Ammon said, "Mom, one of my biggest wishes is to meet the prophet or one of the General Authorities. How can I do that?"  I thought about it for a while and then said, "Ammon, begin praying for it every single night. Some day Heavenly Father will answer your prayer." After the dinner, the boys had about an hour to hang out. Ammon and I walked around and took some pictures and visited with some of the boys. I was getting a little chilly so we went back into the Assembly Hall to wait for the beginning of the concert. There are no ramps or elevators to the stage in the Assembly Hall so the boys had to haul Ammon up a steep flight of stairs to get him on stage. Before it started, however, we were down on the main floor visiting with the Minsons. All of a sudden, Ammon pulled on my skirt and said, "Mom! You won't believe who's behind you!" I turned around and saw some people and one nice looking man who was greeting others. I said, "That guy?" Ammon replied, "Yes! That's David L. Beck. He's a member of the Seventy! He's a General Authority. Can I go meet him?" I was dumbfounded and wasn't sure I believed him but I said, "Yes, by all means, let's get you up there to meet him. Sure enough, it was Elder Beck. Ammon was beside himself as he introduced himself. I told Elder Beck that Ammon had been praying nightly that he would get to meet a General Authority. Elder Beck laughed and said, "Well, I'm sorry all he got was me." Later he came down to where were sitting and shook Ammon's hand again. This time Ammon said, "In the April 2012 Conference you spoke and the subject was "Your Sacred Duty to Minister." Ammon was right. Elder Beck's face showed disbelief. My mouth dropped open. It shouldn't have. Ammon watches Conference talks all the time. I just did not know he would meet the General Young Men's President on this night. All the way home Ammon kept saying, "Wow! I can't believe it. That was so awesome!" Elder Beck is the man in the picture above shaking hands with the two choir directors for the evening. Heavenly Father definitely heard the sincere prayers of a young man.

 This was just part of the choir. They were phenomenal!  It was such a treat to hear them perform. Elder Beck was the one that sponsored this concert series because he wanted to showcase what young men can do outside of sports. There were several soloists (french horn, two violinists and a pianist, all young men that were talented beyond belief).

It was a good break from the painting and mess.  One more room to paint. We got the kitchen/living room/hallways all done. Thanks again to Jen and Kevin.