Second Missionary Lesson and Non-Coincidence at the Dance

Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018

Tonight Sam was extremely excited and jumpy and it was hard to get him into his seat to spell. The wonderful missionaries, including Elder Wallace who was on exchanges from the Encinitas Ward, didn't miss a beat. They sat in rolling office chairs and rolled their chairs to face Sam no matter where he was in the room. They were so comfortable talking to Sam and didn't act like this was a strange experience for them. It was incredibly cool that Elder Wallace knows the Sessions family. I was able to wrangle Sam into his seat to spell, and when he was spelling he was much calmer and much more accurate than he was last Saturday. It was very poignant for me to be part of my son being taught these principles that are so personal to his unique situation. I had prepared some answers to pre-assigned questions that the missionaries had given us, and he spelled those no problem. Then I was able to think of more questions to keep Sam in a rhythm and allow him to communicate with the missionaries within the parameters of known questions on the 3 boards. It was poignant and electrifying to talk with my 16-year-old son for the first time about these topics. What a tender experience to witness the missionaries teach Sam about the plan of salvation tonight, and how Jesus knows him individually. 

Missionaries: What does the Atonement of Jesus Christ allow us to overcome?

Sam: (answer that I told him to spell) DISABILITY, SORROW, SIN, PAIN, DEATH

Mom: Spell "disability".

Sam: DISABILITY

The following answers were total PK (Prior Knowledge). I didn't tell him how to spell them.

Mom: Sam, what is your disability?
Sam: AUTISM
Mom: What is your other disability that makes controlling movement difficult?
Sam: APRAXIA
Mom: What do you take medicine for?
Sam: EPILEPSY
Mom: What is another name for God?
Sam: HEAVENLY FATHER
Mom: Who is his son?
Sam: JESUS CHRIST
Mom: What's another name for Jesus?
Sam: SAVIOR
Mom: What's another name for the male missionaries?
Sam: ELDERS
Mom: What priesthood do they hold?
Sam: MELCHIZEDEK
Mom: What's the other priesthood?
Sam: AARONIC

Mom: Let's update the missionaries on what happened last week. Who did we meet with last Sunday?

Sam: BISHOP SMITH

Mom: Who is our Stake President who Bishop Smith mentioned?

Sam: PRESIDENT CLARK

Mom: Who else was in the office?

Sam: DAD

The spirit was so strong in this lesson. Even though Sam was very physically active, he spelled with surgical precision when he was sitting at the desk. It was a sacred honor to be part of it.

Then we got ready for the dance in Rancho Penasquitos. I wasn't super excited to drive to an unfamiliar place in the dark but it's such an easy place to take Sam to and he has so much fun at the dances. After we got there a man came up to us in the gymnasium and high-fived Sam and introduced himself. He said he was the dad of a 12-year-old autistic boy who speaks three words. Of course I evangelized to him as much as possible over the loud music about how far Sam had come and how spelling had changed his life. He was very impressed that Sam could tolerate all the sensory input at the dance, and I told him that was a process that had taken a long time. He said that his son needed to wear headphones and I said that Sam used to and there would be a kid coming to the dance in headphones. When Sterling and Spencer arrived I found the guy and introduced them. Turns out they knew each other many years ago when they were both teaching at the Missionary Training Center in Utah! They were able to spend a lot of time talking and Spencer invited him to observe his next spelling session on Monday. 

I told Sam that he had been instrumental in another kid finding his voice, simply because he had come to the dance and invited Sterling. And how the dad was probably tired and not super excited about spending hours chaperoning a dance, and his wife was probably not excited about being left home with the kids, but because he fulfilled his calling, he was blessed to meet someone who could help his son. You can't make this stuff up, folks. No coincidences.