Seen at church....

     I have seen some great things at church lately.  We have a newly baptized family in our ward--a mom and dad and 3 children.  Our ward split on the Sunday they were confirmed.  The following week I saw the husband proudly hand his tithing check to the Bishop.  You could tell that he was giving his tithing with real sincerity and I got a lump in my throat as I watched this humble man hand the envelope to the bishop.  A couple of weeks later this good brother had the opportunity of receiving the priesthood and blessing the sacrament.  What a wonderful thing to witness.
     Another awesome thing that has happened since our ward split is our new ward organist.  When the dust settled after the split we found out that we didn't have an organist.  We also have very few pianists.  So a good brother in the ward who played a little piano was called to be the organist and he has been practicing and learning each week.  The first week, he did the best he could, but it was pretty rough.  I admire brother Chavez.  He's got guts.  Each week he does better and I'm sure that before long he will feel more comfortable playing.
      Last week Hannah was called as the Sacrament Meeting Chorister.  I don't remember ever being in a ward where a fifteen-year-old was the chorister in Sacrament Meeting.  She was confident in her abilities and she did a great job.  This past Sunday was her first week to lead the music.  She got up there and led the opening song.  It was a song that nobody knew very well.  I sure didn't.  And it was difficult for brother Chavez. And people weren't singing very loud.  It was awkward and a little painful.  But Hannah did a wonderful job.  She didn't miss a beat, literally.  She just kept leading and keeping the tempo and Brother Chavez stayed with her.  I was really proud of her!
     Yesterday I subbed in primary.  A cute little boy was in the class.  He was the son of the newly baptized family.  When we were walking to class we heard someone in the chapel saying the opening prayer.  He stopped and said "That's Elder ________.  He comes to my house a lot and I know his voice when he says a prayer."  It was sweet.