We dropped our things off at the Pratt’s and left Rachel to play with Erin. She was instantly impressed by Erin’s Frozen bedding, shirts, notebooks, calendars, etc. They were destined to be friends! Paul, Alice, and I met up with the rest of the group at the church just down the road, and we hit the ground running! We all went over music, talked about a few logistics, and then got to work on the scenes. I was amazed at how things came together! I was pretty worried since we didn’t have a director, and we were extremely short-staffed. We usually have two times as many people involved… I was also worried about playing the piano and singing a few extra bits that I’ve never done before. Big shoes to fill! It was truly remarkable to watch the pieces fall into place.
The Maces and the Beasleys organized the food for all of us, and it was delicious! So nice to not have to worry about finding something to eat. I still lost three pounds over the weekend from stress, but it wasn’t from a lack of good food! They also provided Alice duty. Ben McKee singlehandedly rocked her to sleep a few times, Bev held her while I ate, and I think Carol changed all her nappies. I know I sure didn’t. Ben Pratt had Rachel at home, bless him, and took great care of her! She hardly even noticed we were gone. I felt bad not being there for my girls, but I knew they were in good hands.
We had a surprise cake and cream for Paul’s birthday, and several sweet souls brought presents for him! Not too much time for a party though--we did a run thru in the evening, and we let everyone go home at a decent hour to greet their host families. I felt like I could have kept everyone all night to work things, but I reminded myself that the process is just as important as the product. A flawless performance on Sunday night would be tainted if we put off the people we were performing for!
Rachel and Alice didn’t sleep very well, but we survived the night and made it to church. We managed an improvised music number for the closing hymn. I figured out how to transpose “Praise to the Man” and work in a key change, but it stressed me out. AH! Sunday school was great, sitting by and learning from all of our friends. Relief Society was interrupted by Rachel who suddenly decided she didn’t want to go to nursery anymore. I took her back and sat with her for the last 30 minutes, and I am SO glad I did! One little girl said the closing prayer and then the nursery leaders asked Rachel if she wanted to say one as well. She immediately launched into the first prayer I’ve ever heard her offer all by herself! She said something like “Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for nursery. Thank you for greoin fdpgojasdgpoin… Thank you…………. Amen.” It was so cute! I was so proud of her! Later that night, Paul asked if she would say the prayer before bed. She said “Thank you for Bev. Thank you for Alan. Thank you for all the cars. Amen.” My heart!
It took a minute to rally the troops after church, but we clarified a few things, ate a yummy dinner, and ran through about 2/3 of the presentation. At this point it was time to quickly change clothes and meet the mayor! We gathered briefly for a cast meeting, met the mayor, and went out to greet the audience. The cultural hall was packed, and there was a nice, friendly atmosphere. The Bishop introduced us and away we went. It was pretty surreal to be performing after such a short amount of rehearsal but none of that mattered. All that we could do now was to love that audience and try to connect with them. Those feelings and connections were incredible! I felt so much love from the audience, and they were anxious to applaud every song and scene. They were visibly moved to tears several times during the Prodigal Son sequence as well as Pilgrim Song. By the end, we truly felt like brothers and sisters who had experienced this journey together. Everyone stayed and chatted afterwards. Many people had questions and were eager to share their experiences with us. I felt so blessed to be a part of such a beautiful moment. It was as if time stood still, and we got to peek into heaven to see how it feels there.
Carol held Rachel through the entire performance, and she reported that Rachel sang along to “Journey of No End”, “Color Purple”, and “I Am A Child of God”. (that was our “encore”) Ben McKee held Alice the whole time and rocked her to sleep. He was so sweet with her all weekend! He’ll be a great dad someday! :)
Roger volunteered time and money to do sound and lights. Charlotte jumped in on the piano for several difficult pieces with virtually no rehearsal time. (and she was a champ to put up with all of my switching around and crazy demands) Rachael Pratt organized all the logistics and set up the stage. Jonathan Mace and the YSA put the books and scripts together. Charly did the whole thing without vomiting! (She’s pregnant! Yay!) Many ward members hosted the cast members overnight. And so many more people volunteered time, talents, and money to make it all possible. It was a combined labor of love!
That night, we watched “Meet the Mormons” at the Pratts, and Ben made us some AMAZING banana bread with custard. We really enjoyed the film. The narrator was distracting at times, but the stories were lovely. The kids all serenaded us on the piano and guitars, and it was so nice to relax with good friends.
The next day, the Pratts, Beasleys, Cartwrights, Nathan and Logan drove to Liverpool to explore the docks! It was a GORGEOUS day, and we had so much fun seeing the monument to the pioneers and contemplating their journey. We met some nice old ladies and told them a bit about the church!
Rachael convinced us to imitate a million statues.
We explored a cool museum with information about the Titanic, slavery, and immigration. I loved Liverpool. The docks are very fun--we could have spent several days shopping around and going to all of the museums.
After making the journey home, I had arranged for a babysitter so that Paul and I could have a little birthday celebration, but we were sooo tired. Paul said all he wanted was to stay home and watch a movie with his family. So we ordered Papa Johns (his favorite over here!) and watched Big Hero 6. Not the best movie ever, but it had some funny moments and cute characters. I just love family time!! Such a great weekend. I’ll never forget it.
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