Thursday, September 2, 2010

Other Church Service

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandma (Mary) Carter and LeAnn started the first Junior Sunday School in the newly created Paisley Ward. Grandma was Junior Sunday School Coordinator and LeAnn was chorister. Junior Sunday School and Primary had always been Grandma's first love.

Grandpa (Wesley) Carter encouraged church dances which the ward began to hold every Saturday night. These dances were used as fund-raisers for the Building Missionary program. The Scottish people seemed to love dances and participated in everything from The Twist to Scottish dances and hoe downs. The ward members and the missionaries, who didn't have to observe all of the same rules as the proselyting missionaries, had a lot of fun.

Another thing Grandpa encouraged was the production of two plays which were the first to be put on by the Church in Scotland. They were a great success--lots of natural actors in the ward.

In November, when Billy turned eight, it was time for him to be baptized. I was able to take the train to Scotland to be there for the event. We went as a family to the old house the ward was using as a chapel and Grandpa baptized Billy in the baptismal font there. The water was ice-cold and Billy didn't like water much so we were all worried. After he was baptized, he shot up out of the water like a geiser and grabbed Grandpa's neck and wrapped his legs around Grandpa's waist. It was such a surprise to all of us that we couldn't help but chuckle.
Love,
Aunt Genni

2 comments:

SB Mitchell said...

Dear Aunt Genni,
I love learning about your family's mission. I was excited when you went and wondered what it would be like. This post particularly pricks my heart as "Grandma/Mary" was my primary teacher in Utah many years before. Fun to read about LeAnn being the Primary chorister. Would love to have witnessed Billy's baptism reaction. Isn't history precious?

Marilyn Cassidy said...

I'm glad to hear your reaction. Your family was always supportive of our mission. Thanks for that!