Singing and Traveling

Last week I went on such an incredible trip. I just got home Monday night. I traveled with 35 incredible people from the Jenny Phillips choir, and with Jenny and her family. We went to Vermont and New York.

We started in Vermont and visited the birthplace of Joseph Smith. It was such a beautiful place, so peaceful. We performed a fireside there in the church. An incredibly exciting thing for me was that my aunt & uncle who live in Vermont were able to make it down to see me and watch our performance. It was great to see them!

We were on a tour bus and traveled over to New York after that. We performed another fireside in Seneca Lake at a girl's camp there. The girls were so adorable. We got to eat dinner with them and spread out among all the tables and got to know them a little. It was a blast. One fun thing- there was the thunderstorm that came in the middle of dinner. I was so excited to see and feel "real" rain. Oh, is was amazing! We don't get those kind of storms in Utah. I miss that!

Next, we headed over to Palmyra, NY. This was truly the highlight of the trip. Palmyra is really where it all started with our church. It is where Joseph lived when he received his vision from God the Father and Jesus Christ. The grove of trees is called the Sacred Grove. It truly is a sacred place. I cannot begin to explain the feelings I felt as I entered there. It is incredible. We also toured the farm where he grew up with his family. There are replicas built of the buildings. It is an amazing place.

In Palmyra we also toured the printing press where the first Books of Mormon were printed. We also got to visit the temple in Palmyra. It is so beautiful. There are stained glass windows all over depicting the Sacred Grove. And we went to the Hill Cumorah, and the pageant there as well. It was so great!

One fun thing that happened while we were walking around the temple after our session was that we saw Donny Osmond there with his wife and son. He heard that Jenny was there and wanted to meet her. We all gathered around and sang him a song. It brought them to tears. Kinda funny- I made Donny cry...

Plus, I can't forget seeing Jenny do the worm in the JFK airport. Priceless. I have a video, but I might get in trouble for posting it. :)

I would say that the best part, was the singing we got to do everywhere we went. Wehn people found out who we were they asked us to sing. We sang in a gas station, in the priting press, in the sacred grove, in several visitor's centers, in a pavillion behind the church, in a barn, by the temple, etc. It was really amazing. Each time we sang, it was so powerful for those people and brought nearly everyone to tears. Music is really a powerful language! I feel so incredibly blessed to have been a part of this tour!!!