Let me tell you about "my girl." Shyanne is the oldest of my cousin Heather's kids. Their family has had a ROUGH few years and Shyanne's grown up in the middle of it all. She was born deaf, but has stayed at the top of her class all through school. This girl is SMART. When Shy was three, I started to learn sign language in order to talk to her. I'm NOT fluent, and I'm always out of practice, so Shyanne has to be super patient with me. But I've loved signing and I'm so grateful for the bond I've been able to build with Shyanne.
A few years ago, when she was in high school, I invited her to attend General Conference at Temple Square with me. Shyanne was baptized at nine-years-old, but her exposure to the Church had been fairly minimal and sporadic. She agreed to come, and we spent the first 30 minutes of the session RUNNING around Temple Square trying to find the ASL broadcast. We watched the interpreted session in the Joseph Smith Building, and I was sure Shyanne would be bored out of her MIND. Fast forward just a two years. Shyanne started attending church on her own with some friends. She was her Laurel class president. I still have the texts she sent me after her first experience in the Temple doing Baptisms for the Dead. This girl has been met with so many challenges, but continues to push through them. She knows who she is and works to be the person she knows her Heavenly Father wants her to become. I'm so proud of who she is and for her strength to follow what she knows to be right.
Now, remember that first experience watching conference in sign language?
This Saturday was the General Young Women Broadcast.
Watch for the cute interpreter with the glasses who interprets all the songs.
Great job, Shyanne.
Love you so much, girl!
Me and Shyanne together at Conference in April 2009.
Mulan... Gold star for me!
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