I was a little reluctant about going to Nauvoo. Even at
times a little rebellious, but it all started about 2 months ago…I was asked by
one of the drama kids from high school if I would be interested in running the
sound equipment for the Nauvoo Pageant. I was kind and said maybe I might (with
a thought in the back of my mind...there is no way!), so after we talked for a
little bit he said he would have Elder Camp call me. After a few weeks, I got a
call. He asked me a little bit about my background in the "Sound
Productions." He was very excited and said he felt strongly that I was the
one to come to Nauvoo, in the back of my mind, though, I was thinking that he
was mistaken…all that I’m feeling is hungry, with Mom’s cooking filling the
air! He told me to pray about it and, in the meantime, fill out an application.
(Note: you need to apply to be a part of
this program, and 100s of people apply. I did not know this little fact.) Well,
I put it on the back burner and forgot all about it for a couple of weeks, then
it popped back into my mind, and I came up with thousands of excuses of why I
should not go. And most of them were doggone good reasons, and by now a month
had gone by, and I thought that I was in the clear. It was on a Thursday…I was
just driving home after school…and I got a phone call. It was Elder Camp’s
wife! She said that I needed to fill out my application so they could issue my
call. I told her that I didn't think I would be able to go, and began telling
the thousands of excuses I had. She then said... "You know, any time the Lord
calls you on a mission, the Lord requires sacrifice."
I thought to myself, oh no you didn't! I used that on all of
my investigators, and I knew the counter response. I said, “Well I think the Spirit
is telling me I need to stay.” Then Sister Camp said, “Well, if that is the
case, then you definitely listen to the Spirit...” Although I think she could
tell I was bluffing. She then said she would take me off of the list. We then
said goodbye and I hung up the phone. Well as you could imagine, I felt guilty,
so I called her back and said, “OK, here’s the deal, I will go and pray about
it.” I went to the temple that Saturday
with this prayer in my heart, and as I was going through the temple the law of
consecration hit me hard. I thought, is
this my answer, that I am to give all that I am to the Church? As soon as
we had gotten to the end, I felt like it was my answer. So I prayed and prayed
and told the Lord, “If this is your plan for me, then I will do it. But if it
is not your plan for me, then please stop me.”
I left the temple that day on a
cloud. I felt that the Lord had answered my prayer, so I went home and began to
look for Sister Camp’s phone number. But
as I looked, it was nowhere to be found. I went to church the next day and saw
the Drama Kid and thought to myself, “Oh goodie, I will just get her number
from him!” Well, just as I said that he got up in the middle of sacrament
meeting and left. Oh, great! I
thought to myself, Maybe I am not
supposed to go. If I can’t get hold
of her then I definitely can’t go. As I sat thinking about this a high
school friend (who had nothing to do with drama) grabbed me and pulled me out
of sacrament meeting and said, "There is a meeting that you need to be in!"
I was totally confused but thought maybe it had something to do with my new
calling. So I went into the room where there were two Senior Missionaries. And
to my surprise they said, "We are with the Nauvoo Productions!" I
later found out that they have never traveled around to talk about the show
before, but this time they decided to meet with all the people in Cache Valley,
and they chose my building as a good location for everyone to meet. Talk about
the right place at the right time. It was then that I knew that I was called to
go to Nauvoo.
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