FSY counselors aren’t supposed to bear their testimony at testimony meeting. It’s not about us; it’s about the youth.
Well, that night, God had other plans.
I also wasn’t conducting that night.
Once again, God had other plans.
Testimony meeting was up. The time had passed. We needed to end on time.
You guessed it! God had other plans.
So, with my heart beating out of my chest, with my hands shaky and sweaty, with my mind racing a mile a minute, I stood up.
July 24th through July 28th (yes, the anniversary was a week ago, how fun is that?!) was my last week of FSY in 2023.
It was a good week! We had 11 girls and 12 boys in our company.
Miracles happened that week. God was there. Christ took tender care of our youth, and I am grateful.
We were at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.
Due to the rooms available for testimony meeting, our company was assigned to a room inside the stake center—all to ourselves.
Most times, you share a testimony room with 1-2 other companies. In fact, my companies from the previous two weeks were in testimony meeting rooms with other companies.
But this week, God had other plans.
We crowded into this small(ish) room. We had to get more chairs because there weren’t enough for the 23 youth and three counselors.
Soon, however, everyone had a seat.
Angels stood in the corners; I’m sure some even sat on the floor.
They did a good job getting the youth out of their chairs. Truly, I wonder if there were a couple angels pushing youth out of their seats. Sometimes it sure looked that way!
As the youth bore their testimonies—their beautiful and tender testimonies—they would give one another fist bumps to express their admiration, gratitude, and love.
I imagine the fist bumps said:
Way to go!
That was awesome!
I loved that!
Thank you for sharing.
I appreciate you and your vulnerability.
I didn’t give fist bumps, but I shared several smiles and maybe even a wink or two.
I was thrilled by the testimonies the youth were sharing. My cup was genuinely overflowing.
For the entire meeting, I sat there, wishing I could slow down time and soak in the moment for just a little bit longer.
I had absolutely no plans to bear my testimony. Not one thought, not even a passing one.
God had other plans.
As the time creeped closer to the end, minute by minute, my heart rate increased.
Bump bump. It said.
Bump bump bump bump BUMP! It exclaimed.
Oh no, I thought. I know what this means. Agh! This isn’t supposed to happen! This isn’t about me!
My co-counselor stood up, announced that someone was going to give the closing prayer, and then we would be on our way out.
Although I wasn’t conducting, the time was up and testimony meeting was over; I quickly said, “Stay seated for announcements.”
I wonder if anyone thought, “What announcements? Porter¹ already gave the announcements?!”
The prayer was said.
The entire time, my heart was doing this:
The prayer ended, and it started doing this:
Nervously but with conviction, I stood up.
I acknowledged that I understood testimony meeting was over and that I wasn’t supposed to be bearing my testimony.
And then, I spoke from my heart.
I don’t remember what I said. Genuinely, other than one story that I know I told, I don’t remember.
What I do remember is the two young men who began crying as I spoke.
Both of them, tears streaming down their faces, wracking with sobs as they took each breath.
Oh, I see, I said to God. Thou had other plans because Thou loves them.
Back then, hugs were allowed at FSY, and those two young men each squeezed me so tightly that I couldn’t breathe.
What tender and miraculous moments. Moments I’ll treasure forever. Moments I’ll never forget.
No, I’ll never forget that night. I’ll never forget the fist bumps and heartbeats.
¹This name is a pseudonym.