Saturday, January 27th we finally held the Eagle Court of Honor for Samuel! He did his project in 2013. He finished the paperwork in June of 2016. Then they make us wait for 6 weeks, for the paperwork to be completed. I am not sure what happened after that, but time passed, and so finally now January 2018 we are finishing my part of his Eagle Project! Planning an outdoor activity in January is always a little risky, as the weather may or may not be decent! It was Beautiful with a capitol B! We had the ceremony at noon and then served lunch after! I thought it was going to be just a little ceremony with family and Grandpa and Grandma Harr. Oh, little did I know! One by one, Sam kept adding. We need a speaker. I need to invite... the list was long by the time we got done I made 70 invitations! They were darling cut out of the Flur de leif with the printing right on them. Then we included a photo of Samuel (one of three because we couldn't choose our favorite.)
Jed volunteered early to head out the flag ceremony. He wanted something perfect for Samuel! He did it! With a little help, he found twelve guns and gentlemen (or other scouts) to help him. They read the points of the Scout Law John Wayne style, and then fired a gun.
We thought that we would have the 12 points each presented by a friend of fellow scout of Samuel. In the end, it was super powerful, and included his current priesthood leader, his grandpa, some friends, and some past members of the scout camps he has served on. It was awesome! They each read their part, and then turned and fired a gun over the lake. As the shots went out, they would come back echoing from the rocks on the opposite shore. It was powerful. At the end, they all turned and fired one last shot.
I was impressed as each one took their turn, how well they fit the person reading that virtue! For instance, Grandpa Budd read Thrifty. He certainly is thrifty! It fit him perfectly! The photo here is of Cameron Sanders, he was cheerful. He is always happy! His Mom always has a smile on her face! He was super excited about firing the guns!What fun it was! Thanks Jed for making it happen! It was a trick to find 12 guns, 12 volunteers, and coordinate all that! It would have been much easier to do it himself, but it was super powerful for everyone, Moms included as we watched our young people participate in that ceremony and shoot their gun saying they believe these principals are important!
This is Bridger, a neighborhood friend of Sam. He was the final virtue - Reverent. That was particularly powerful from him. I hope he remembers and believes what he said about being reverent. His dad doesn't have guns, and so he was super excited when we said we would provide the gun for him to shoot, he just needed to show up. His brother was one of the earlier ones, I wish I had my camera out sooner to have captured all of them. We will just have to remember how powerful it was! It was awesome!
After the flag cereomy, our good scouting friend, Kendal Bundy spoke. He talked about Sam at the National Jamboree when he was his scout master, and lead his group on tour back east. It rained and rained and they lived in mud puddles for 10 days. He talked about how it could have been discouraging and hard, but Samuel didn't get tempermental. He stuck with it, and made the best of the situation. He talked about what it means to be an eagle, to really live all those values that had just talked about in the scout law. As he talked about this, a huge bird - from the other side of the lake someplace, came out and started flying over the lake behind Kendall. No one dared to say anything, in fact, after the ceremony, several people immediately asked if that really was an eagle? Yes, it was! It was amazing and a testimony that our Heavenly Father was watching and approving the ceremony!
The day Sam finished his project, we were driving home, and there was a big eagle just down the road in the tree too! We stopped and took photos, which never do it justice! I am so grateful for the heavenly touches in our lives that remind us that we are not in charge! God watches over us, and sends miracles in our path when we have the eyes to see them! Everyone there (which were not a few) witnessed that the Eagle in the sky was most spectacular! We will long remember the tender mercies of the Lord sharing His witness with us that day!
Chandler administered the Eagle Oath to Sam. There is not an official oath that is mandated by the BSA for the Eagle. Chandler found one, and then modified it to be so perfect for Samuel! It was perfect! I will attach a copy of the oath to this post for historical sake.
It was a beautiful day, perfect in every way! We needed perfect weather, perfect conditions for everyone to be outside in January, that is asking a lot! I loved seeing this young man raise his arm to the square and promise to do his best to live up to all he has been taught, to honor his Priesthood, and to do his duty. Indeed, I am so blessed to be Samuel's Mom! Thanks Sam for being so outstanding that even Eagles want to attend to see you succeed! We love you!
I couldn't get the sun quite right in my photos, but the memory of seeing his eyes and hearing his voice with his arm to the square will never be forgotten!
Jed volunteered early to head out the flag ceremony. He wanted something perfect for Samuel! He did it! With a little help, he found twelve guns and gentlemen (or other scouts) to help him. They read the points of the Scout Law John Wayne style, and then fired a gun.We thought that we would have the 12 points each presented by a friend of fellow scout of Samuel. In the end, it was super powerful, and included his current priesthood leader, his grandpa, some friends, and some past members of the scout camps he has served on. It was awesome! They each read their part, and then turned and fired a gun over the lake. As the shots went out, they would come back echoing from the rocks on the opposite shore. It was powerful. At the end, they all turned and fired one last shot.
I was impressed as each one took their turn, how well they fit the person reading that virtue! For instance, Grandpa Budd read Thrifty. He certainly is thrifty! It fit him perfectly! The photo here is of Cameron Sanders, he was cheerful. He is always happy! His Mom always has a smile on her face! He was super excited about firing the guns!What fun it was! Thanks Jed for making it happen! It was a trick to find 12 guns, 12 volunteers, and coordinate all that! It would have been much easier to do it himself, but it was super powerful for everyone, Moms included as we watched our young people participate in that ceremony and shoot their gun saying they believe these principals are important!
This is Bridger, a neighborhood friend of Sam. He was the final virtue - Reverent. That was particularly powerful from him. I hope he remembers and believes what he said about being reverent. His dad doesn't have guns, and so he was super excited when we said we would provide the gun for him to shoot, he just needed to show up. His brother was one of the earlier ones, I wish I had my camera out sooner to have captured all of them. We will just have to remember how powerful it was! It was awesome!
After the flag cereomy, our good scouting friend, Kendal Bundy spoke. He talked about Sam at the National Jamboree when he was his scout master, and lead his group on tour back east. It rained and rained and they lived in mud puddles for 10 days. He talked about how it could have been discouraging and hard, but Samuel didn't get tempermental. He stuck with it, and made the best of the situation. He talked about what it means to be an eagle, to really live all those values that had just talked about in the scout law. As he talked about this, a huge bird - from the other side of the lake someplace, came out and started flying over the lake behind Kendall. No one dared to say anything, in fact, after the ceremony, several people immediately asked if that really was an eagle? Yes, it was! It was amazing and a testimony that our Heavenly Father was watching and approving the ceremony!
The day Sam finished his project, we were driving home, and there was a big eagle just down the road in the tree too! We stopped and took photos, which never do it justice! I am so grateful for the heavenly touches in our lives that remind us that we are not in charge! God watches over us, and sends miracles in our path when we have the eyes to see them! Everyone there (which were not a few) witnessed that the Eagle in the sky was most spectacular! We will long remember the tender mercies of the Lord sharing His witness with us that day!Chandler administered the Eagle Oath to Sam. There is not an official oath that is mandated by the BSA for the Eagle. Chandler found one, and then modified it to be so perfect for Samuel! It was perfect! I will attach a copy of the oath to this post for historical sake.
It was a beautiful day, perfect in every way! We needed perfect weather, perfect conditions for everyone to be outside in January, that is asking a lot! I loved seeing this young man raise his arm to the square and promise to do his best to live up to all he has been taught, to honor his Priesthood, and to do his duty. Indeed, I am so blessed to be Samuel's Mom! Thanks Sam for being so outstanding that even Eagles want to attend to see you succeed! We love you!
I couldn't get the sun quite right in my photos, but the memory of seeing his eyes and hearing his voice with his arm to the square will never be forgotten!
Two good men - Kendall Bundy and Jed Harr!
