Savior of the World

These last few months have been crazy, busy and amazing.  The stake decided to put on the musical "Savior of the World", using the YW/YM program.  Salt Lake did it with adults and professionals and the church only recently released rights for stakes to put on the play.  I watched kids gripe about having to have song practice, try to sneak out, hide in the bathrooms, or just stay home when they knew that the youth program for the night would be SOTW practice.  Finally, this week, they met at the Kyle Performing Arts Center for practice on the actual stage, with props and everything.  I worked with the kids - mainly keeping the "angels" from getting into trouble while those with speaking parts were practicing.  It was hot, the kids were fussy, and the first few days of the week  were no fun.  Then the audience came to watch.  Those kids were wonderful.  I worked the first three performances and finally got to sit in the audience today - I used up many tissues.  I think the thing that touched me the most was watching the change that came over the youth.  They were so moved by what they were doing.  The first day of actual shows was hard, the second almost ran itself - those kids WERE angels, apostles, disciples, townspeople, Mary, Joseph etc.  Only for the moment, but they were so into the story they were telling, and the audience really felt it.  I'm pretty proud of my youth.  You would never have known that the little shepherd with the beautiful clear, high voice was a holy terror on Sundays in class.  And that Peter bar Johan was a junior in high school, and Mary Magdalen will be a sophomore next year. Only Christ was played by an adult.  Way to go kids!