Thursday, November 13, 2008

I made it and You are Never Going to Believe This!

Last Night was Young Women in Excellence for our ward. Caroline, our 1st Counselor was in charge of the evening and she chose the theme:
D.O.T.S
Depend on the Savior

We decorated the gym with polka dots and flowers that had the Saviors picture in the center.

This is a picture of our awards table. Behind the medallions you can see white signs. Those were for all the girls that had earned anything in their personal progress and behind those signs are large boxes of Dots. How cool is that?

These flowers and flower pot were made for L and the statue of the Savior was made for C.



This was our dessert table. We all made cupcakes and they were frosted with white dots! Seriously, could it get any cuter?



This is C with her partents accepting her Young Woman Medallion. What an AMAZING girl. She is smart, gorgeous, talented and a dream Laurel President.



This is L! The night was extra special because of her. L was in a car accident when she was 10 years old. She is bound to her wheel chair and cannot speak and is handicapped.
Last August, it was made very clear that she wanted to earn her medallion. So, we gathered the Young Women together and had them earn Laura's medallion for her by proxy in 10 weeks. The entire journey was an amazing experience and so many wonderful experiences happened.
Well, President Longhurst liked our idea so well, he contacted the New Era and the Church news to document the event. Hence I was up since 3:30 in the mornig, so nervous for the magazines coming to document all of this. Little did I know what else or shall I say who else would come.

As I am welcoming guests last night, a woman walks through the door with a badge on. She introduces herself from the General Young Womens Board.
Me: (Gasp) Welcome!
I introduce her to the Stake Presidency and now I track down Sister Longhurst on the order of recognizing someone from the General Board. Who is first, Stake Presidency or the General Board? (BTW: For those who want to know the answer to that, it is the Stake Presidency first because they are the presiding Priesthood).
As I am talking to her, I am told that another woman from the General Young Womens Board has come to see the event.
Ok, hold it together, not a problem. So we recognize all of our guests.
After the program had started, President Macbeth leans over to me and says that Sister Ann Dibb has showed up and that we needed to recognize her.
Ann Dibb! Wow, Wow Wow!
Now we have 2 women from the General Young Women Board and the 2nd Counselor from the General Young Women Presidency (not to mention that she is President Monson's daughter). I think I could have fainted then. They all came to hear about the Young Women earning Laura's medallion. It was just unbelievable!


Sister Ann M Dibb speaking to the Young Women and the audience.





This is all of the Young Women receiving their Dots!


We set a goal to earn our Medallions as the leaders. The entire Young Women Presidency earned their medallions with C and L!



Here is a shot of the new medallions. I love it! I am wearing it every day now! It is silver and it is gorgeous!



I end with what a night! I came home and was bewildered and exhausted! I thank all of the leaders and the Young Women and everyone that was involved with an unforgettable event.
Wow! Wow! Wow!









18 comments:

Ann Marie said...

Wow! Wow! Wow!
I knew you were doing this, but when I even saw your sweet girl sitting there in her chair, I just sat here and bawled.

What lesson can be better taught to a young women group than serving her with that Christlike love. You guys are AWESOME!
My heart will be happy today after reading this..
Thanks for sharing this with us!

The Dorsey's said...

When mom told me what was going on yesterday I was completely in tears. As I read your post this morning, I am crying again.

What an amazing experience and wonderful example of a great leader, service, love and so many other things (can't see the screen anymore because of tears).

Suzanne, I have been very proud of you several times during my life. But this one tops them all.

<3 Janet

Lacey said...

Suzie, that is awesome! What an amazing night. You guys must me pretty good leaders to have such wonderful young women. Next thing you know you'll be meeting the prophet. ;)

Jenice Henrie said...

I cried when I told Janet this story too. I can just imagine the smile on the little girl. I know how hard everyone work on this project and I know how much of your heart you gave as well and your time and effort.

What an awesome experience. This will be one to tell your grandchildren.

P.S. Do we need to run a DNA test to be sure that we are related?

Amber Burt said...

Our ward does have a great group of YW, and a great presidency! You guys did a great job. What a neat experience for the girls to do that for L, I can just see her smile now!

Mom of three ♥ said...

Suzanne, that is so awesome and whata special night for all the girls.. I am glad that it turned out well for you.. Great job!!

Haley said...

It turned out awesome. It was a good thing you didn't know what was going to happen before. I can tell how much you love the girls just reading the post. You have got to be feeling a huge sense of relief and elation at the same time. Way to go!

Carrie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Carrie said...

Oh Suz! My kids just came in the room and asked what was wrong since I am bawling! What an awesome night. What a cute idea too. I am sure we will hear about you and your wonderful YW next spring in conference!

I met Sister Dibbs last spring at a fireside - she is awesome. It was cool to hear her talk about our prophet like we would talk about our own dads.

You have my dream calling btw - I have always wanted to be in YW and they always put me in nursery. Hmmmmm. What am I not getting out of nursery that I should be?

Melissa said...

What an AWESOME experience. I talked with Eva today and she was still crying. I know that this act meant so much to her and her family! I think that the service that the girls did for Laura will mean so much more to them then actually getting their own medallions. This will be a YW experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives. You and your presidency are awesome. Oh, and congrats on earning your medallion as well. I know that a lot of work goes into that! It is so great to hear something positive in such a negative world! Great job!

Anonymous said...

I am so impressed with the LOVE that these young women show each other. They are a wonderful example of Matthew 25 (read the whole chapter). Verse 40 reads "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." You all impress me with your love and your faith. Great Job!!

JENNIFRO said...

Oh my gosh...there are so many amazing points in this post...the unbelievable service to the sweet girl, the board members showing up, the New Era covering it, and the most DARLING theme! What an awesome experience all the way around! I am so amazed that you all got your medallions--that's a TON of work! You are an amazing leader. Take a rest now. ; )

Me said...

What a touching experience. I'm glad that the night turned out so well for all of you. The story about everyone helping for one girl to earn her award had me in tears (course that is easy to do).

What a night for you and all the women. You are an awesome leader and I know that there are lots of people who look up to you. You are such a good example. Thank you for sharing this night with all of us.

P.S. I love the new medallion too!

Lisel said...

What a neat experience! It sounds like you have a great presidency and a great bunch of girls! Congrats to all of you!

The Petersen Twins said...

What a great experience for you and those girls. You're a truly inspired YW leader. I still remember my leaders and they were great women who gave me nothing but love and acceptance.

Plus, those cupcakes did look really cute. Great! now I'm hungry...

Natalie said...

So awesome, Suzanne. Words have failed me. I don't know what to say. Job well done.

Miss Megan said...

I love anything and everything polka dots - it turned out very cute. I can tell that you and your leaders went to sooo much work on this one. Kudos to you my friend for pulling off a fabulous YW night! Now do this with me - breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. *relax*

Unknown said...

wow!
good for you!
sounds like a remarkable experience!
i am very touched by your yw earning the medallion by proxy with her fellow sisters.
they will remember that for the rest of their lives.
great job1

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails