EMMA ATTENTED THE TEMPLE CULTURAL CELEBRATION!!

Say what?! The last week was crazy - some things transpired and we ended up getting contacted on Saturday via email and phone calls to Jared with tickets being made available to me and the kids to attend the TCC.

Sister Jensen,

I still want to visit with you and your family. Today is crazy and I think your husband is helping it as well. I just wanted to tell you we have been given some tickets to tonight's performance to be in the live audience at discovery park. I wanted to offer them to you and your family. I don't know if that would make it harder on Emma or not. Just let me know and I will get them over to you.

 
We were shocked and excited! I called the dance studio and had them get Emma out of class and call me and I asked her, "Emma, we just got offered tickets to the celebration tonight to go watch it in person. Do you want to go or do you want to stay home and we can still watch it together on tv?" Without hesitating she replied, "I want to go!" I had to make sure she knew what she was picking so I said, "are you sure you are going to be ok going and not being able to participate?" She said, "It will make me a little bit sad, but I would rather be there then not get to go at all!" So with that, we called them back and got our tickets!

I didn't think the boys would be able to handle sitting there all night (good choice on my part seeing how it was pouring) so we asked Stephanie, Dabrielle and Nana to join us. We dropped the boys off at Jen and Alyza's house and headed over to the TCC. I never believed it would actually rain during the program - I truly believed it would be perfect weather for this perfect event. I was wrong. Although, the sun was shining down on all the youth while the clouds parted perfectly so the youth could dance at 3pm and get it video taped and stay dry long enough to get soaked to the bone that evening.

As we got settled into our seats it started to rain a little bit and we put on our ponchos and pulled out the umbrellas. We sat there trying not to move at all because the more you moved the wetter you got. (please trust me when I talk about how wet we got, I am not complaining at all - I can only imagine what the youth and the leaders felt - so no complaining - just explaining!) It was finally getting closer to 7pm - we see 6 dark sedans driving up slowly on the hillside - The Prophet himself was rolling in. The crowd went CRAZY!!! The youth stood up, waved their arms in the air and even chanted "Prophet, Prophet!" The spirit that was felt at that moment was awe inspiring! To be there and to feel that was indescribable - I will admit - my heart broke a little bit knowing my girl was sitting next to me on the hillside and not being able to be down there with all her peers - I was sad for her. I looked back at her and she was sad too, but joined me in a few loud shouts of excitement! President Eyring even stood up and waved his arms at the crowd to get them to cheer even more - when the Prophet stood before the youth the rain stopped for a few minutes.


There was some talking going on, but we couldn't make out the words that were being said from where we were sitting and Nana suggested I be a good mom and go and take Emma down there as close as I could. I asked Emma if she wanted to brave the rain and go with me and she sure did! We walked down the hill together and got as close to the crowd as we could. Emma wanted to cross that rope so bad. I told her if she took off her jacket she would blend in with everyone and she could walk right through and no one would stop her. She thought about it, but really had no idea where to go to find Jared or RJ (who was doing security).  She begged me to call Jared because we knew he would escort her, but I didn't have my phone and it was about to start and it would never had worked out - wish we would have thought of it sooner. Then Emma wanted to go see President Monson. All I could do was point to the tent where he was sitting. We stared at the tent and smiled. The show began to start so we headed back up to our seats.

We sat there in the pouring rain watching it. 12,000 youth dancing as if the sun was shining on them. They were moving, smiling and full of energy - you couldn't help but be so happy for them. Emma loved it. The part came with the dance Emma auditioned to - that was brutal. She knew the song, she knew the dance, she wanted to be down there. She was crushed. She pointed out the girls falling out of their turns, I had to remind her that she would have too if she had been dancing because the stage was so wet and slippery - her dad and Denise told me to tell her to be glad she didn't dance that part because the costumes were see through and that made her giggle.

We left right after our stake was done performing. We loved it. After I got my car stuck from the muddy mud pit parking lot - thanks to some awesome strangers - we went and got some In-N-Out dinner and went home and watched it on tv right where we left off.

We were so grateful to be able to attend it and be in the same place as everyone. It was amazing. My daughter and I have learned a lot from this experience and have grown a lot.  She is my shining star. Yesterday she was interviewed to turn 12 and got her temple recommend because she has requested that the day she turns 12 that she gets to go to the Gilbert Temple (her temple as she calls it) and go and do baptisms for the dead! Jared and I can't wait to take her there and get to experience that with her!

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Jared's thoughts:

The whole Cultural Event boils down to how incredible the youth are.  There was a lot of complaining during the weeks and weeks of practicing but when the day came to perform for President Monson and Eyring and other General Authorities, even in the pouring rain, the youth turned it up and gave an awesome performance.  By the time the celebration ended (we had been there for almost 12 hours), the youth were completely soaked, shivering, and standing in 2-3 inches of muddy water; yet they were holding up their banners with their testimonies written on them and cheering with all the energy they could muster.  I'll never forget seeing the mass of youth holding up white banners with clouds of steam rising from them with Pres Monson blowing kisses at them repeatedly and Pres Eyring cheering them on.  It was pretty incredible!