The Sisters Movie - The Errand of Angels

Varsity Theatre

2009-04-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

It is always nice to get updates from our friends out in Utah. This picture was emailed to me from Ian and Julie Stong (they are also executive producers for The Errand of Angels). The picture was taken by their niece, Taylor Richards, at the Varsity Theatre at BYU. I remember that theater, back in the day, when I went there on dates with my husband... ANYWAYS, thank you Taylor!!

General Conference Spring 2009

2009-04-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today I was able to listen to and enjoy conference. I really enjoyed the talks and found what the leaders of the church had to say very timely, for myself as well as for those I am close to. One talk in particular was full of lessons that I really need to focus and learn from.

This was the talk given by Dallin H. Oaks. He touched on so many different things, that I am going to have to go through and really study what he said and make some personal goals for improvement on.

The main message was about being service centered instead of self-centered. This is something that always seems to creep back into my life until I am unhappy and so aware of it because I’m thinking about myself so much that of course I’m aware of it. When I serve others is when I am truly happy and feel peace in my heart and balance in my life.

Another of the messages from his talk was to live by what the Gospel teaches and not by what the world accepts. This too is something that I find myself struggling with; even if the world is within the members of the Gospel. What I mean is that I still want acceptance from others, in or outside of the church, while my focus should be on my commitment to my Savior and His acceptance of my choices. This is not the first time that I have learned this lesson from Elder Oaks…See the following journal entry for a much more personal lesson from him.

Feb. 5th 2006

Dear Journal,

You’re never going to believe this – today we got to church on time – shocked already? It gets better. So I’m thinkin’ we’re all that, getting to church before the bell rings and all so we walk in and go up to the very front of the chapel, well the second row, but nobody was sitting right in front of us, so it felt very front row.

We get seated with our bags of goods, you know, slim jims, fruit snacks, granola bars, cereal bars, water bottles, paper dolls, books, magnets, find the item in the bag of bird seed, crayons, paper, etc. you know just the basics to get through 1 ½ hours of sacrament with my kids, nothing too excessive. Yikes, I’m embarrassed just reliving what I’ve been bringing to church for I don’t know how long – thank goodness I had enough sense to say no to the game boy, of course there still was the time Luke snuck in his talking Napoleon Dynamite keychain, anyways . . . I think you get the picture.

So back to “we get seated” and I look up and sitting there on the stand right in front of my reverent and spiritual little family is a guy who I am pretty sure is important. I looked at him then I looked at Mark like “Is that?” I looked at him then Mark “It is.” I looked at him then thought at Mark, “Curse you for sitting in the front row.” Then I tried to calm myself down, “No, Heidi, it’s not an apostle, it’s not probably Dallin H. Oaks. It’s probably somebody from the stake.” I blinked hard then opened my eyes and looked at him again. I knew that he was not someone from the stake. I could feel his authority and it testified that he was an apostle of God and I thought, “There’s no way that he is not probably Dallin H. Oaks, an apostle of the Lord facing me and my family just a few feet away for 1 ½ hours of sacrament.” Time for damage control. I’ve seen apostles before but never this close up, not where they could actually see me.

I leaned over to Kelsey and Luke and told them, “Today we need to be extra reverent. We’re not going to do snacks and water, just coloring and not till after the sacrament.” Now I tried to relay this message in the, “and Mom means it” voice but with a loving kind and gentle Disney princess expression on my face. I could tell already that they weren’t buying the voice without the expression. They rarely buy the combo.

The kids are good for maybe 2 minutes when Kelsey decides that she’s thirsty and pulls out the water bottle and I’m like, “I need you to wait till after the sacrament to get anything out and you will just have to wait till the break to get a drink.” Mean voice, Disney face, no go.

So Kelsey throws her pouting self over the back of the bench in front of us and I felt like shrinking in the presence of the representative of the Lord. What does this say about my state of preparation for the second coming of Christ? I was actually grateful when Baby Courtney started to fuss and I could shrink away into the foyer.

So next I’m sitting in the foyer when who comes wandering out but my 7 year old who I’m sure can go 1½ hour at school without a drink. I guess her Dad allowed her to leave during the passing of the sacrament to get a drink – men! She smiles smugly at me as she gets her drink and then goes into the bathroom. I’m not in the state of mind to take the sacrament so guess who is getting a little talking to in the nursing lounge.

I sat Kelsey down and tried to explain who our visitor was at church. I tried to remind her about General conference. Blank stare. I tried to remind her about the men that Jesus was always with when he was on the earth. Blank stare. So in one last attempt I explained that there was Heavenly Father and Jesus then the closest man to them was the Prophet and this guy was a couple of guys after the prophet. She understood that a little better.

I think one of the things that was so upsetting to me is that it wasn’t my children’s fault. It was my fault. They were just doing what they’d done every week. I was the one who had been bringing the backpack for I don’t know how long. I could see it now. Next General Conference there would be a talk about not having picnics during sacrament. It was no one’s fault but my own.

My girls and I walked back into the chapel and the kids were ok the rest of the time, there was one small argument about magnet paper doll girl and Kelsey did start sobbing at one point because I had made her feel bad about the whole drink fiasco which I’m sure got people wondering what form of torture I used on her in the nursing room, but all in all, with my constant monitoring of the situation, it went ok.

When sacrament closed Mark was so excited and eager to go up with the kids and shake hands with an apostle of the Lord. He asked me if I wanted to go up too. Thanks but no thanks, I’ve been working for 1½ hours at being invisible, why go and ruin that now? So I sat in my seat watching many members enjoying the presence of the apostle and I just sat there sheepishly and thought, “There are going to be some changes going on in the church bag and we will be having one of those overhaul Family Home Evenings tomorrow night.”

I watched the apostle shake hands with the members as he worked his way across the stage and started down the aisle. As he got to the row where I was sitting he came over to me and he shook my hand with a warm smile and an apologetic expression he asked me to please apologize to the Sunday school teacher for the delay that he had caused with the class and that he was sorry that he had to leave before the class.

As he shook my hand I was touched by his kind demeanor and by his loving eyes and right then I realized that I had missed the point. I thought of the story of Mary and Martha and how the one sister had spent the whole time that the Savior was at her home cleaning and fussing and not enjoying and learning from the Lord. I was guilty of this. I was so worried about how I looked that I didn’t even enjoy this amazing opportunity to be sitting so close to an apostle of the Lord.

So what did I learn, well, I learned that today is the day to prepare for the coming of the Lord, because I tell you what, those kids cannot be expected to change on the spot and we saw an ugly side of me trying to make them. Also that when I’ve done my best I need to let it go and allow the Lord to help me with the rest. I also need to keep my priorities straight and recognize that when I get caught up in appearances I miss the whole point of life and that is to feel the love and spirit of the Lord. This may be either when there is an apostle in the midst and I’m trying to control my family or when I spend a larger part of my life obsessing over my house, making sure I look ok or that my kids look just right rather than focusing on the light of Christ that can be found and enjoyed in so many ways. I am grateful for this eye opening experience and I pray that I will do much better from now on!

Well, I’m off to prepare a Family Home Evening lesson, about sacrament reverence and who the apostles are. Wish me luck.

Love,
Heidi

(Yes, I really do write Dear Journal and Love, Heidi…I’m thinking that this is kind of cheesy…but how else would I do it?)

2009-04-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

HOW CUTE IS THIS?!!

I got this pictures of the Lincoln Avenue Sisters in the mail from Farrell and Diane Smith, Director of the Oakland CA Temple Visitors' Center. (They also helped to executive produce Errand of Angels.)

I LOVE this picture and it made my heart swell to see it.

I know that the Lord wanted this movie for his daughters and it makes me so happy to see this!!!

Good luck on y0ur mission, Sisters! I hope you have an amazing experience!

Thank you for sending this to me, Farrell and Diane!

MEDIA WEEK...

2009-03-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

D&C Section 124 verse 1: VERILY, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant, I am well pleased with your offering and acknowledgments, which you have made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth.

…Through the weak things of the earth. As I have stated before…I know that this is why the Lord had me work on the film. I have no degree or training in filmmaking. I’m not a writer. I am a stay at home mom. By the Lord using me, it is made clear that the success of this endeavor was based on the Lord’s help and on the Lord’s wisdom. It is truly a testimony to me of my Heavenly Father and His guidance.

But…every once in a while I might start to take just a little too much credit. Yes, I might even say that the “P” word, “Pride” sets in. And as soon as I think it’s all me, it becomes all me and when it becomes all me I don’t do too well and when I don’t do too well I begin to lose my self-worth and I start to compare myself to others and I might even wish that I was somebody else. Maybe someone who is smarter than me, like my husband, or an amazing filmmaker like Christian Vuissa, or even a better cook like yourself…seriously…even without knowing you... Anyways, I start to focus on the strengths of others while forgetting my purpose for being here.

Now isn’t this an interesting pattern? Satan uses Pride that eventually leads to feelings of inadequacy. The Lord teaches us humility which leads to feelings of self worth and to an understanding of what our individual calling is. This is one of the main lessons of my mission and in the film as well as a reoccurring theme of my life. Pride leads to feelings of inadequacy which, when I turn to the Lord, humble me. Then He is able to teach me which leads to feelings of self worth as long as I keep Him in my life. The Nephite Cycle. Let me share a story to illustrate my point…no need to scour lds.org to find one…I have plenty of my own. Let’s call this one Humility 101: Media Week…

A few weeks before the opening of Errand of Angels, our distributor, Excel, told me that I would be on several TV and radio shows in the week of the premiere along with Erin Chambers, the main actress…Wow! I was told that I would be asked questions and that I would have less than a minute in some of the interviews to give all of my answers. This is difficult because I often need a life experience to occur after a question in order to get the answer, and a one minute interview does not provide the time for this. One of the trickier questions to answer was, “What is so special about your mission that you thought it should be made into a movie?” Of course I didn’t know the answer to this question and that really bothered me. Why did I think that I was so special?

So I guess that I started out humble. I was very nervous to be on television and I prayed and prayed for help in this endeavor. At 5am on Monday, Excel picked me and Erin up. I’d been up since 3:30am (nursing my 2 month old, Matthew, and getting ready) and had only gone to sleep at 11:30pm. Erin and I were both pretty anxious because neither of us had ever done this before.

So we get to the first interview. Now keep in mind that Excel keeps saying, “This is the number one radio program…they have the most listeners,” or “This is the number one TV program…they have the most viewers.” This isn’t helping me. We get into the room, put on our earphones and sit up to the mikes. It goes ok. I’m sort of a nerd, but who in the world is up this early anyways?

Next we are off to the first LIVE television appointment at fox news, “the most watched morning news.” Well, you know how you watch the news and there is the big desk with the anchor people? Yeah, me and Erin, behind the desk with the anchor people…LIVE…yikes…But then it happens – I’m on fire! I’m charismatic, I’m excited, and I am amazing. I’m also pretty sure that the anchor woman is shooting daggers at me with her eyes because she knows that I could be replacing her in no time. What a high!

I am energized – we go to our next appointment, the number one country radio station – I mess up a little but no biggy because it’s prerecorded and edited to make us all sound brilliant. What a day! I go home and have the best phone interview for a magazine and it is allllll good…I cannot even get over myself! My friends had all said that I was going to be famous…well here we go. Do you see where this is going?

The next morning at 4:50am (yes, 11:30-3:30 sleep schedule again) Excel comes by to pick me and then Erin up. I feel cute in my caramel skirt, new blouse and favorite shoes I’ve got my game face on and I am ready to rumble. As we go up to Salt Lake City to go on the next interview of the next number 1 news Excel says to me, “Heidi, we reviewed the Fox News TV interview from yesterday and the President of Excel says that you look nervous and are not smiling.” And now I have a problem because I was not nervous AT ALL, I had it going on and I was soooo smiling.

Then I think back to when I got my driver’s license picture a few years ago and was so surprised to see that the expression I made that felt so much like a slight smile was not a smile at all. I told my mom and she said that she has the same problem, it seems that it runs in the family. Even with my son, Luke. In his school picture, when I asked him why it looks like he’s gone to the dark side of the force, he said that he was smiling when they clicked the camera; he then smiled for me...not a smile. I then ask, “Do I normally smile?” The answer, “Not really.” And then again I flash back 2 months earlier when my youngest girl, Courtney, age three, comes into my room, looks at me excitedly and says, “Mom, you’re smiling!”

…I don’t smile? I don’t smile!? Maybe I’m just tired so it seems worse than it is, but it is a huge revelation to find out at age 35 that I’m not smiling when I know that I am and to make things worse, now I’m expected to force a smile while being interviewed, also trying not to look nervous now that I am nervous and apparently already look nervous when completely comfortable. Then Excel adds a few more things not to forget to say. How am I supposed to do all of this? I am a person who can’t multi-task…at all, proof being that I can’t even breathe and smile at the same time.

So this is our first standing up interview, LIVE TV and rushed. The man doing the interview arrives; I paste on the smile, my legs feel weak from nerves and feel like I might fall over. But I’m still smiling. Then my face begins to quiver…bad. Have you ever had that problem when trying to smile as you get your picture taken? My face is really beginning to shake (on LIVE TV) – it’s like I’m doing a wall sit with my face…all of the quivering by the un-toned muscles. I stopped smiling for a couple of seconds because I needed to take a rest and start over again, like you do when you’re getting pictures taken, but the camera here keeps rolling. Then the interviewer asked me, “Is it harder to be a sister missionary than to be an Elder?” I answered, “Um…I…don’t…really…know.” It was so articulate…meanwhile, with every show, Erin is getting prettier, thinner, whiter teeth more poised and eloquent…you get the picture.

So onto the next LIVE TV show, Good Things Utah, you know…the highest rated number one program. It is one of those chatty women shows with the beautiful, yet relatable women sitting around a table with their mugs (coffee; not faces). We sit on the risers with the audience waiting for our turn. As we wait, Excel encourages me to sit up straighter. The problem with this is that I have scoliosis pretty bad which makes me hunched over on one side. I tell myself, “OK, Quasimodo, sit up straight and don’t forget to smile.” It’s finally our turn and they have us sit on these chairs, not behind the table. I sit down and think, “Back straight, smile on, say the memorized information.” I get ‘er done. I know it’s nothing special and that it’s a bit forced…but I do it and I’m glad to have been able to do everything I was asked to do.

As we leave the studio, the PR assistant asks, “So is this the last television show that we have?” The answer was no, and I think, “Great, what did I do now?” They proceed to tell me that it is a good idea to have my legs crossed while wearing a skirt on TV… “WHAT? You are kidding me! I was on LIVE TV, in a skirt, without my legs crossed?” I could have died. They reassured me that no one saw anything and that the cameras were to the side and people probably didn’t even notice. Well, I’m pacified…sort of…but decide to call my husband just to make sure. He answers, I say nothing about the catastrophe at hand, but ask, “So how did I do?” He says, “You did great!” And then I ask to talk to my daughter, Kelsey, “How did I do?” She answers and this is an exact quote, “Mom, why do you even care? It’s only like 30 seconds. Oh, and if your hand hadn’t been on your lap, you would have flashed all of Utah.” Good Things Utah…may I never show my mug there again.

So now we are in the car getting ready to do a phone interview and I am absolutely traumatized by how terribly wrong it is all going and we still have a whole day of press ahead of us. I know that I am ruining everything. I know that if the president of Excel doesn’t like me not smiling, he’s not gonna like me not crossing my legs on LIVE TV. They are probably regretting letting an inexperienced embarrassment like me on the television, representing them. I am letting everyone down and feel like I can’t do this anymore. I get on the phone for my part of the interview and I am so mad at myself. The woman on the other end of the line asks the reoccurring question, “What made you want to do this?” my tone says, “I DO NOT KNOW!” I finish the interview and honestly cannot remember what I said. I pass the phone to Erin.

I just can’t take it anymore. The tears are welling up, I don’t want to sob in front these ladies, so I quietly open the car door and step out – it was parked. And then it begins – the crying with the tears that I cannot stop. The women from Excel come out to ask me if they are happy tears. Not so much. Erin comes out and asks me if it was something she said. I want to say, yes, everything…it’s all so perfect and poised and pretty, please stop that. The PR assistant says that it just seems worse because I’m so tired. And although there was a lot of truth to that, all I could think was, “I am so humiliated. And, like the revelation of the not smiling, how often am I not crossing my legs and not realizing it?” Now the sobbing in front of these sweet ladies is awkward and humiliating as well…more tears.

The next item on the schedule was to meet the President of Excel, whom I had not yet met. I still can’t stop crying…I’ve got the tears, the runny nose, the lack of Kleenex and a swollen red face. I’m pretty sure that I won’t be attending that lunch. I tell the ladies that I am not going. I am going back to the office to pray and to pump and to cry. I go back to the office where I want no one to see me because the question, “What’s wrong?” will result in more sobbing. Finally, I’m alone in the office, sitting at a desk hooked up to a breast pump, with a swollen red face and tears streaming down and all I could think was, “I don’t feel very famous.”

I then put my things away and went over to the window to touch up my make up for the next appointment, a puffy eyed photo shoot for the Salt Lake Tribune. I then glance out the window, below onto the side-walk and see homeless people from the shelter and I think, “I can’t believe that you think that this is a real problem, Heidi. These people don’t even have homes and you’re crying because you got to be part of this cool experience but did something slightly embarrassing on TV.” Of course this makes me cry my make-up off again because I’ve been such an ingrate. I was just so worried about how much I had messed up and what a goober I was.

And then this thought comes to my mind; an answer to my prayers as well as an answer to the question, “What is so special about your mission that you thought it should be made into a movie?” The thought was, “Heidi, if you weren’t this way there would be no movie. This is who you are – you are awkward and clueless at times and that is ok. This is what made your mission so special. You can’t have it both ways – you can’t be the dork that got into uncomfortable situations that people could learn from and be the poised, perfect person in an interview. So which one do you prefer?” And right then I realized that this is my mission, this is who I am and this is who I want to be, but that I only want to be it with the Lord at my side.

During that trip to Utah I felt compelled to read Sheri Dew’s book, No One Can Take Your Place. In it she reconfirms just that. She says:

No one can take your place in your family or with your friends. No one can take your place in your ward or your extended family, in your neighborhood or at the company where you work. No one can have the influence you have been prepared to have on all who come within your sphere of influence. Without question, no one can fulfill your foreordained mission. No one can do what you were sent here to do. No one.

The rest of that media day I was told that I did a great job, of course what else could they say at this point? But I do feel that it went better. When I got back to my family that night they all asked me about my exciting day with the press and I told them what had happened. Then they insisted that I watch my part on Good Things Utah. So, I sat down, probably didn’t cross my legs and then watched the program. I didn’t look like the other women, with their legs to the side, crossed daintily. Let’s face it, I looked pretty uncomfortable up there, but I also looked like what I am, a stay-home-mom trying something new, making mistakes along the way, but learning from them. And I was ok with that.

The next day, I saw my friend Danetta after the premier. I had gone to her house the Sunday before media week to borrow her breast pump and we had joked about what I would do to embarrass myself on TV. So I walked up to her and we hugged. Then she smiled and said, “So I saw you on TV.” I replied, “You did, huh?” And she said, “Yep, and I thought, ‘Heidi looks nervous…and she needs to cross her legs.’” We both laughed and hugged again. She appreciated me for not letting her down.

I would like to share another quote from Sheri Dew’s book. It is by President George Q. Cannon:

God has chosen us out of the world and has given us a great mission. I do not entertain a doubt myself but that we were selected and fore-ordained for the mission before the world was; that we had our parts allotted to us in this mortal state of existence as our Savior had His assigned to Him” (“Topics of the Times,” 140).

You have a mission here on Earth. You have been fore-ordained to do things that only you can do. The Lord knows you; He knows what you are going through and what time of life you’re in. But are you aware of Him? Do you notice the tender mercies of the Lord on a daily basis? Pay attention to this. Every day look for His hand in your life and you will find it. By acknowledging this, it enables you to realize His personal love for you, that you are special and that you do have a mission. This knowledge will increase your desire to be obedient and reach your potential with His help.

I have a testimony that to successfully complete what we are fore-ordained to do we must remember that we need the Lord’s help in all things. Just as Sister Taylor learns in The Errand of Angels, just as I learned on my own mission and in working on the film and as I was again reminded on Media week. I must allow the Lord to help me in my life and then I need to acknowledge His help all along the way. Again Christ shows us a perfect example of this when He says in John 8:28, “…I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me…”

Alma states similarly in Alma 29:9: “I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God…” I remember one day really thinking about the phrase, “…to be an instrument or a Tool in the Lord’s hands. Just as we need different tools to perform certain functions, the Lord selects different tools to perform His work as well. Sometimes He needs a hammer, sometimes a pair of pliers. I think that I must be a screwdriver because part of my mission is to screw things up, learn something from them and pass it on. I am happy to be a screwdriver. I don’t even want to be a hammer anymore.

We are all unique people, with unique gifts and work to do. When we do our part to keep ourselves as instruments in the hands of the Lord then we are able to feel the hand of the Lord in our lives. The Lord is mindful of each of His children throughout the world and throughout time. He is able to remember millions of us. We are only asked to remember the One, yet we struggle. I pray that I will remember the Lord in my life. I have a testimony of these things and I leave them with you in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Movie Review from Mormoncast.org

2008-08-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

My husband found this review online. I had originally intended for this movie to appeal to the sisters but it's really nice to see that the men are being touched as well.

Click here to view

Movie Billboards

2008-07-27T21:04:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Cami and the Alfords for sending me these pictures…the movie is being advertised in Utah, but I live in Virginia, so these are priceless to me:)!

My First Ever Blog Post

2008-07-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

When I wrote the original script I wanted it to be really funny, like Lucille Ball funny. With a lot of help it evolved into much more than that. Throughout this blog, I will compare the final movie with the original script, but I wanted to start by answering the question, “How did you do it?” Here goes…

When people ask me how I was able to turn my mission story into a movie I have a hard time answering. It's hard to know where to begin. I’ll start by saying that Heavenly Father provided me with the experiences I needed to write about, He guided me to the right people and He fixed all the mistakes that I made along the way. This project was something that the Lord wanted to have happen; with or without me. I feel very blessed to have been a part of it.

After I had my third child, early 2005, I felt it was time to do something I’d wanted to do for a while; write a story about my mission to Austria from my journals. In April of that year I felt I should write what would become an LDS movie. I have always really enjoyed LDS movies and it was time for one about sister missionaries.

That month we went to Utah to have our baby blessed. I stayed up late the first night talking with my dad about writing of my mission to Austria for a movie. I remember him asking, “How are you going to do it?” I told him that I didn't know yet, but that I would. That morning, my father-in-law, Terry Johnson, a former mission president, wanted to show us the movie, Baptists at our BBQ, given to him by "Elder Vuissa." We started the movie and the name Christian Vuissa appeared on the screen. I asked, “Now who is this guy again?” Terry answered, “He was one of my missionaries. He directed this movie. He is Austrian.” I knew this was no coincidence.

I returned to Virginia determined to write my story before the kids had their summer vacation. I worked very hard and prayed a lot to finish by June. When I finished my mom and sister-in-law edited it for me, I made the changes and then called Terry and asked him to contact Christian Vuissa. I was headed out to Utah over the summer and Christian invited us to meet with him where they were filming a movie. I gave him a copy of the story. He was extremely welcoming and introduced me to many people who had worked on the LDS movies that I love. It was an amazing day to me.

Eventually Christian read the story and I asked him to help improve it. He was able to strengthen the script by adding some of his own experiences and by changing some details of my experiences in order to help the flow and storyline. He consistantly asked for input and wanted to know my opinion as well as my husband’s, my mom’s, my sister-in-law’s, etc. Christian believes that feedback is essential in getting a superior product. It is refreshing to work with someone who truly values the opinions of others.

The process was not as smooth as it might sound. One of the struggles was self doubt. I knew this project was something I was supposed to do, but negative thoughts would still creep in, “You can’t do this. You are crazy. What are you thinking?” Reflecting on the miracles that I’d seen along the way helped remind me that the Lord was behind this project. I remember thinking that Satan has helped people to make hundreds of movies that have been “successful,” at least in the world’s eyes. If Satan can make a movie the Lord can too and it will be amazing!

One Sunday morning I was called to the Bishop's office before church and asked to be the new Young Women’s president. I felt overwhelmed and thought that maybe this movie didn’t need to be made and that I should focus on my kids and calling. Then I went to sacrament meeting, surprised to learn that the mission president and his wife would be speaking. The mission president spoke lovingly about the sister missionaries. Next the sister missionaries sang a beautiful song. I was touched and felt the Lord was telling me that this movie was a gift for the sisters. It was a gift for His daughters and I knew it needed to happen.

After many blessings the movie was finally filmed. Christian emailed me a 3 minute clip of the footage from Austria and I was floored. I remember saying that if I ever doubted there was a God I could no longer doubt because I'd seen a miracle. I also remember thinking how amazing it was that Christian was able to capture my mission so well even through all of the changes in the story. Then I had a thought come to my mind, “This movie is not just for you, Heidi. It is for all the missionaries. They will watch it and feel the way that you do now.” It was then that it was made very clear that it wasn’t about me; it was about something much greater.

My sister-in-law said that it was a miracle that a stay-at-home mom, without any training, was able to do this movie. Later I thought about the Lord calling Joseph Smith, an uneducated 14 year-old boy, to do what he did. I had heard time and again that the Lord calls the weak to do his work. Then I went to read the next scripture in my personal study; D&C 124. I was touched that the Lord was speaking to me:

1 VERILY, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Heidi Johnson (Joseph Smith), I am well pleased with your offering and acknowledgments, which you have made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth.

I feel so blessed to have been a part of this project and to have had the opportunity to work with so many talented people. The Lord has really picked the best to make the best and I’m grateful to have worked with them. I hope that this movie strengthens your faith as it has mine.