Steve Jobs said that we can't connect the dots
looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. And yet it is
still not easy for me to summarize everything we have experienced with this
first Supreme Virtual Ritual Competition.
I believe it all started with Supreme feeling
that the Centennial year should be different, and Brazil as a jurisdiction with
the largest number of active Daughters in the world could not be left aside
during the celebrations and competitions that would be happen at the 2020
Supreme Session. And the proof of this came at the 2019 CONABB in São Paulo
with the announcement by the Supreme Guardian Linda that we would have the
Ritual Competition in Portuguese at SS. The joy was immense, since several
Daughters are already preparing to attend this historical SS. Little did we
know that at that time Heavenly Father had other plans for the world and, like
Job, we would live times of trial in 2020.
Time passed, the pandemic came, and we found
ourselves physically separated. The uncertainty about the Centennial Supreme
Session became evident as Bethels around the world did what they could to stay
connected virtually. Amid all this, a Bethel stood out. Little Bethel #09 from
Winnipeg, Manitoba - CA, unique in his jurisdiction and with few Daughters,
decided to hold a great Online Friendship Ceremony, inviting Daughters from all
over the world to celebrate our connection, even in times of difficulty. And it
was at this moment that I started to be part of that history. I can say with certainty
that I had no idea of the proportion that all this would take, but I am
immensely grateful to Heavenly Father that, at the moment that Dad Keith posted
about the International Friendship Ceremony on the FJI Centenary Facebook
group, touched my heart to get in touch with him offering help to include
Brazilian Daughters in this Ceremony. The Bethel had members from Canada,
United States, Philippines and Brazil and therefore felt that this ceremony
would be appropriate. From then on, we made numerous calls at Zoom to prepare
the Ceremony and have everything translated and organized for the long awaited
May 14th, 2020! How great was the surprise and joy to have 378 participants
from all jurisdictions in which the FJI is present. Even greater is the joy of
seeing Brazil being enormously represented with the largest number of
participants. From that moment on, Brazilian JD Brazil showed its strength and
its desire to be included!
You must be wondering why I’m telling this
whole story, when this text is about the Supreme Session. I can tell you with
all certainty that what happened after this ceremony was decisive for the
development of the story as you know it. But as
I started saying ... we can only connect the dots at the end. Steve Jobs added
that “we have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You
have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.” And
that is exactly what happened, at the end of the Ceremony, Manitoba Bethel
presented the project of holding an Open Virtual Ritual Competition, because with
the number of Bethel #06 Daughters it would not be possible to hold a
Competition if there were no sisters from other jurisdictions. At this moment
Bethel showed that “we are not divided, all one body we”! And perhaps more than
that, that our greatest strength really comes from unity. In addition, at the
end of the Ceremony, the Job’s Daughters International Board of Trustees
announced that the in-person 2020 Supreme Session was canceled. I am sure that
everyone remembers this moment, because, although we feel that this was an
inevitable decision, we felt a strong sadness in knowing that we would not meet
in person to celebrate the Centenary. However, Heavenly Father's plans are
always bigger and better than we can understand, and time would show us that
our faith and perseverance would make incredible things happen!
More innumerable weekly meetings followed this
moment and from the beginning the Competition Committee was already sure that
the Brazilian Daughters would be included as equals with the other Daughters.
Several Adults and MM volunteered to be judges, so many others translating
activities and support in the competition's waiting room and, regardless of the
thousands of kilometers that separated us, our hearts and minds were united in
favor of a great goal: to make the first Job’s Daughters Bilingual Competition.
June 27th was then marked by the dedication of more than 155 Daughters and Bees
registered, 69 volunteer judges, 8 translators and all 5 JDI jurisdictions
represented! And in the end, we proved that it was possible to overcome any
language barrier when the purpose is to do something for our Daughters!
At the same time, the Supreme Council was considering
a way to include the Ritual Competition in the programming of virtual
activities that was being programmed for the centennial celebration. The
mission, although it seems difficult, was a little less complex after the
experience obtained with the competition in Manitoba. So, the Chairperson of the
Supreme Ritual Competition Committee, Dolly, asked the Manitoba Competition
Committee to meet with the Supreme Ritual Competition Committee weekly so that
a similar competition could be organized, but this time Supreme Session level!
The following weeks were marked by a mixture of
euphoria, marketing, a lot of organizational work, training and anxiety about
how everything was going to unfold. Adaptations were made so that the Ritual
Competition, so traditional in the Supreme Session, could be held virtually and
accommodate the more than 7 time zones of the places where the JDI are present
in the world. For the English-speaking countries, the competition was not new, there
were only questions about the changes to the virtual environment. But for
Brazil, everything was new! This was the first time that we would participate
effectively, with most of our jurisdictions represented and for that reason
several questions were arising. Amid the last-minute changes that were
necessary and the anxiety resulting from our little experience, we came
together as sisters and helping each other with explanations and support, after
all, this was OUR MOMENT! It is also worth mentioning the Committee's
dedication to ensuring that no Daughter who wished to participate in this virtual
competition would be deprived of this moment. In the face of the pandemic
moment that we were experiencing, a mission was clear in everyone's heart: to
guarantee the participation of all Daughters worldwide, as the online
competition would open doors for those who might never have the financial means
to attend a presential Supreme Session!
And then the 24th, 25th and 26th of July
arrived, dates set for the 1st Supreme Virtual Ritual Competition.
During these 3 days we had 302 Job Daughters competing in individual
categories, 19 Royalties, 89 messenger teams (between Daughters and MM teams),
84 judges/volunteers for English and 124 judges/volunteers for Portuguese.
Without all this “task force” made up of countless volunteers, it certainly
would not have been possible to accomplish something as grand as this
competition. In fact, the whole journey made us ready for that moment. Brazil
showed its strength in the Competition, whether in number of entries,
volunteers and participation.
Was beautiful, historic and exciting.
With each Bee, Daughter and MM that passed by
the waiting room our hearts were filled with joy and love. We knew the purpose
of our work and that moment would be forever marked in history. I couldn't say
how many people said how fantastic that experience was and how many Daughters
revealing that it was, by far, their best experience within the JDI. At the end
of Sunday afternoon we had a moment between the volunteers and Dolly and, even
with all of us already wearing fun hats - a joke proposed by Mom Danelle to
keep our spirits happy even after so many hours of work - it was not possible
to hold back the tears of emotion anymore. We talked about the importance of
this experience for Brazil and she told us that this was one of the highlights
of her journey in JDI.
I finish this text with a phrase that touched
my heart since the beginning of this journey: “They did not know it was
impossible, so they did it”! It may seem that we did the impossible in this
competition and I certainly cannot say that it was easy. However, I say with
all certainty that it was worth every minute of dedication for our Daughters!
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Com amor de Jó,