The Lord is on my side

Stadium of Fire was epic. The Beach Grandpa's were great.
(In 50 years One Direction is going to come to Stadium of Fire and us old ladies will sing our hearts out at their concert, too. I'm sure of it. :))
It was such a fun date.

I swear this past week every prayer I've said has been answered.

I feel like it would be ungrateful not to share my gratitude towards the Savior for helping me out so very much this week.
I'll start at the very beginning:

In 2008 (The first year) Jessica was in it. 

2009 Jessica and Adam were in it.

2010 Was my first year. Adam was in it, too.
We even traveled to Vernal and put on the show there, too
Funnest thing ever!!!

2011 Adam and I were in it. Such a great cast.

2012 Adam, Aaron, and I were in it.

(No picture yet.)

It was one of the best experiences of my life.

I was really worried. The cast was so different. Over half of them were new.

It was really hard for me to adjust. I just missed the old cast too much.

 I didn't feel like the new people understood the message yet. 

I was praying and fasting that the show would turn out 

because I worried so much that it wouldn't.

Our first dress rehearsal/mini performance for Scott's ward was a train wreck.

I didn't even feel the spirit. And that is the reason I do the show.

You feel the spirit the whole time, 

and you get to touch the audience with that spirit.

It is the most amazing thing.

But it just wasn't happening this year.

I was really bummed about the whole thing.

I was fasting and praying my guts out for it to come together.

 The last dress rehearsal was amazing. Everything went rather smoothly.

In For The Glory the spirit hit me really hard.

I started crying.

I felt Him say to me:
"It's going to work out, Haily.

Don't worry.

The people may be different,

but the message is the same.

This is my show,

I will take care of it."

And He did.

The first show was a success.

We felt it.

The audience felt it.

There was that connection that I thrive off of.

I don't know how to explain the feeling.

But you spend over a month learning, 

or in my case, relearning, 

all these songs and lines and dances and blocking.

Just waiting for that week of performances.

And you don't think it'll come together.

But somehow through a lot of prayers it does.

And as you perform you know you're doing the right thing.

You walk out onstage. And recite these beautiful words.

America, we are thy sons and we shall keep thee free.
For in our veins there flows the blood of Washington and Lee.

No foreign flag upon thy sod shall we allow to stand.  
No iron shackles from abroad shall touch thy foot or hand.
They mock thy army, say ‘tis small, thy navy too they scorn.
Have they forgot the laurels won since freedom here was born?
They say thy untrained citizens will never soldiers be.  
Have they forgot those valiant men who fought in sixty-three?
America, thy sons are true, and if thou wilt but call,
Ten million men will give to thee, their homes, their lives, their all. 

For thou dost stand for what is right; for freedom of the seas;  
God grant Old Glory may always float forever in the breeze.

And you feel that connection with the heroes from days long past.

And you know you have a huge responsibility.

You are taking their place right now.

But you aren't doing it alone.

They're there backing you up, every step of the way.

And as you reenact these hero's lives you feel them there with you.

You feel their precense.

You get to hear their thoughts.

You feel their strength pushing you through.

You connect with those of the past,

And you learn more about yourself in the process.

You realize you would've rebelled like Joan of Arc.

You wonder if you would've been that brave.

And you realize the Lord would've provided you with the strength.

And you feel His strength backing you up 

as you try and show these people watching 

just how brave and strong these people were.

And they did it for you.

 As you perform you get to feel a little taste of what it's like to be a mother.

To have just lost everything.

To be thrown in a prison.

But then to put it all aside for your two little girls.

You put away all of that fear

and replace it with something much more powerful: 

hope.

The hope of a new life.

The hope of America.

And then you come to America.

And you see her.

The Statue of Liberty.

And you kiss the very ground you walk on.

The ground of opportunity.

The ground of America.

And you do it gladly.

Because you have made it to the Lord's land.

And you feel His overwhelming love and peace.

You've made it at last.

And then you walk back onstage and sing these powerful words.

 Go out and tell our story
To your daughters and your sons
Make them hear you
Make them hear you

And tell them in our struggles
We were not the only ones
Make them hear you
Make them hear you

And say to those who blame us
For the way we chose to fight
That sometimes there are battles
Which are more than black or white
And I could not put down my sword
When justice was my right
Make them hear you

Go out and tell our story
Let it echo far and wide
Make them hear you
Make them hear you

Wherever freedom’s threatened
You’ve the pow’r to turn the tide
Make them hear you
Make them hear you

Your sword can be a sermon
Or the power of the pen
Teach every child to raise his voice
And then, my brothers, then

Will justice be demanded
By ten million righteous men
Make them hear you
When they hear you
We’ll be near you, Again!

And you look them right in the eyes.

Right in the soul.

The spirit burns within you.

And they feel it too.

And there's that connection much bigger than us.

A connection between us, and our Father in Heaven.

A connection between those here in America, and those who died so we could be free.

And you look into the hearts of these people and you know they felt it.

And you see the tears.

You see the touched hearts,

And you know you've done your part.

And it all becomes worth it.

All those rehearsals of "wasted time" were worth every second

To be apart of His work.

 And that is the miracle of Cries of Freedom. Three shows a day, four days straight. 

It's been the highlight of my summer for the past 3 years.

This year was especially amazing. I miss it so very much already.

I miss performing.

But mostly I miss the people.

The Cast of Cries of Freedom is unlike anything else.

There's a reason it's my favorite show I've ever done.

The cast is a huge contributing factor to that.

It's full of some of the most incredible people I know.

I love them all so dearly.

To them I just want to say thank you.

Because each of them have taught me so much in their own little way.

I feel blessed to have been able to share that time with them.

It truly was life changing and wonderful as always.

- - -

Some more blessings:
We found a parking spot for Stadium of Fire, and we got there just in time.

We stayed for the dance, and after awhile 

I just had this feeling that we should leave.

As we started going no one was quite sure how to get back. 

I said a prayer and led the way.

The Spirit helped me remember where we parked 

and led me right to the car.

Would we have found it without a prayer? 

Maybe, but I doubt it. 

I know He was helping us.

When we got to the car there was traffic EVERYWHERE.

We got in the car, and for some reason 

I felt like we should pull a U-ey and go the other way.

The street was loaded with cars, 

but a kind driver made way for us to get through.

We turned around and went down another road. 

There was no one there.

We cruised down this road and I kinda started to worry.

I am terrible with directions. 

(My Dad's the pro.) 

I had no clue where we were.

But I stayed confident because I knew He was helping us.

We kept going and I saw we were on the road to Timpview, 

and I knew just where we were. 

I led us down some other roads.

We had to wait in what seemed like traffic for two minutes, 

and then the Holy Ghost told me when/where to turn, and we got right out.

We dodged ALL the traffic!!

If that isn't a blessing, I don't know what is!!!

Prayers. Are. Answered.

---

One of the biggest blessings:

All week we had perfect weather for our outdoor performances, 

and perfect weather for Stadium of Fire.

July 5th, after all that was over, 

we had a huge rain storm to answer our prayers 

and to fight all those fires in the mountains. 

Coincidence? I know not! Prayers. Are. Answered. :)

Yesterday was kinda gloomy.

I felt grateful for the rain, and that was beautiful, but I was having a hard time.

I really missed Cries of Freedom. A lot.

I was just having a hard time.

And then I got an email about the LDS International Youth Art Competition.

I found out that my piece didn't even make it past the first round.

That was really discouraging.

I was really hurt and I prayed to understand.

A little bit later I got a text from Megan Moss. 

She invited me to go to the temple with her that afternoon.

I felt a lot better.

I was excited to go again.

I needed an answer.

I needed to feel his peace again.

Why was life getting hard suddenly?

The last time I went to the temple it was super busy, and it was an amazing experience.

I hoped that it would be busy again.

I wanted to soak up all the time I could spend in the temple.

When we got to the Timpanogos Temple it was super busy.

We got to stay in there for such a long time, and it was a beautiful experience.

While we were waiting for some people I decided to go outside on the temple grounds.

It was raining.

It was beautiful.

And I got my answer.

It's been a good journey.

I've done well,

But it's time for a new phase in my life.

One that will push me to new places, 

and take me through new doors.

Doors I won't want to go through.

But I'll be so much better because of them.

It's time to move on to the next level.

And I'm excited.

Whatever comes it'll be good.

I know the Lord is on my side.

I know He does hear and answer our prayers, 

and He will give us strength to do things we don't think are possible.

I know this without a doubt.

I hope you have an incredible day.

.Haily.