Sunday morning, a day to sleep in . . . well, maybe for a minute. We were scheduled to attend the Branson 1st Ward at 9:00 am and were on the program to sing for their ward conference. As we exited the bus, we saw several people trying to catch itty bitty snowflakes with their tongues. Yes, it was cold. The bishop had saved the front rows for the LIGHT entourage while the kids sat in the choir chairs. What an awesome sight to see these marvelous youth, dressed so smartly and so colorful (think jelly beans or maybe Good and Plenty). After the bishop got up to welcome everyone, in came the Spanish Fork kids who sat in the back. I think between our bus and their two buses, we more than doubled the normal congregation. Before the last speaker (stake president) addressed us, LIGHT sang "This is the Christ/I Believe in Christ" medley. That chapel was overflowing with such a heavenly sound. It really invited the spirit in preparation for the stake president's talk which, by the way, was so good and so helpful to anyone who had ever had hardships in life. His theme was "Life is more than fair" because of the atonement of Jesus Christ who compensates us in ways that, perhaps, we are undeserving of. Immediately after sacrament meeting, the bishop got up and announced that they had a problem. The building was not big enough to accommodate all the people. We advised him that both tours would be leaving. So he thanked us for coming, and leaving. It was kinda funny.
Back in our rooms we finished packing and loaded all of our gear and headed for Independence to see the visitors center there.
The sister missionaries there took us through and then we sang for them. Across the street we saw an interesting building. It was a temple with a tower that perhaps Salvador Dali (think melting clocks, and very unusual imagery) may have engineered. Apparently, they (The Community of Christ . . . formerly RLDS) believe that Christ will make His appearance at this spiral looking building.
We boarded the bus and then drove to Liberty and visited
the center there which is built over the the same spot as the original Liberty Jail that Joseph Smith and others were imprisoned. The church had replicated the jail, some of which, was made from the original stone. When the tour was over, we sang "This is the Christ" in the viewing chamber there. We then went to a room in the basement and held a testimony meeting where we enjoyed a few tears and a bit of laughter as several people shared with us their feelings and testimonies. It was a sweet time for all of us to finish our tour in this way.
While we were there, Dean, our driver, drove home and picked up his grandson Zack and brought him along for our ride to the airport. As we made that last leg of our bus trip, Dean wanted to express his feelings to us before he dropped us off. He did fine for about 10 seconds, and then he became too emotional to continue. He thrust the mic back to Tim who accurately answered for us all, "We get it". The spirit can convey what the mouth cannot say. This is not the first time that Dean has driven for LIGHT. He loves to do so because he loves the spirit that is on-board when LIGHT is traveling. Who wouldn't?
We were running behind and so we had to hurry quite a bit to get everything unloaded, and everyone through ticketing and security. It looked like a Chinese fire drill times ten.
Of course, no airport experience is complete without a guitar and some singing. LIGHT truly is an entertainment company. Our flight home seemed like but a dream as time escaped cognitive measurement and we arrived in Phoenix with eagerness to be reunited with family and loved ones (and I might add, our own beds). All in all, this has been an enLIGHTening trip for us all as we discovered there was more to give than what we had previously thought. Not just in performance, but in testimony and in truth and light.
