This is Kirtland!

We are so blessed to be part of the Kirtland, Ohio stake. Every year, volunteers have put on a play called "This is Kirtland." We really wanted to try out this year, but our schedule and my health wouldn't have permitted it. But Seth's sister Angie Brimhall (Eliza R. Snow) and her husband Jeff (Parley P. Pratt) and kids, Hadley (Mary Elizabeth Rallins) and Hyrum (Parley P. Pratt Jr.) got to be in it, and also Seth's mom, Jeena (Rhoda Greene). We got to see the show twice and it was wonderful! It is such a testimony of the restoration of the gospel. Our family did so well, I can't even begin to express it! They were like professionals, and they worked so hard.

Hadley, Jeff and Angie even had lead roles with big speaking parts and solos, and they nailed them!

I video recorded the show, and it turned out pretty well! I learned how to use software that makes DVDs and I made over 50 DVDs of it because so many people wanted to have a copy!

Angie, Jeff, Jeena, me (Emily), Seth, and Hyrum and Hadley

(I made a bouquet for each of them, and Hadley choose the lily, When she was smelling it, she got pollen on her face, so they had to go wash it off. - That is why her dress was all wet. Seth kept telling me "That was a dirty trick, Emily." He was really teasing me, but I did genuinely feel bad that she got pollen on her face! Sorry Hadley!)
The first show we went to, we took Jazmine and Nathaniel Harges to see it. Jazmine is in my Primary class, and Nathaniel is the only young man in our ward (Seth's in the Young Men's Pres.). They had never been to a play, and they don't really get any opportunities to go out, so I'm really glad we could take them. Being in a ward with such a small youth program, and being a leader over children who have had such hard lives, and more great challenges ahead has helped me to realize a lot. Even if we only have one young man, or one child in our primary class, they need us to help and teach them. And even if almost all the odds are stacked against a child in life, one caring person can make a difference though it may not seem like it at the moment.

We took our wonderful neighbors, Fay and George Williams to the play the second time we went, and they LOVED it! It was wonderful to hear their reaction. George talked about how strong the spirit was, and Fay was so impressed by the reverence of the children in the cast. They were so glad they came, and I'm glad they were home from New York, where they often visit their daughter Tracy, so they could come. We love them so much, and they are like another set of grandparents to us. It will be so hard to leave them when we move in October.

A wonderful miracle also happened. Larry Andres, who played John P. Greene the play, was not a member of the church although his whole family has always been, and because of all the years of love and missionary work, and because of the fellowship and testimonies of the cast, he was baptized yesterday, right before their last performance. It was such a special day and it reminded me of my own Grandfather's baptism and conversion, and that those baptisms mean that our family and their family is one big step closer to becoming an eternal family.