I'm back!

Tuesday, July 6, 2021
10:43 pm

How have three weeks passed since I last wrote?? Going to Missouri for the Woodward family reunion contributed, as did a change in the little kids' bedtime routine. So tonight a quick recap of the last several weeks.

Our vacation to Missouri was nice. We stayed in a nice Air B&B home and took day trips to a couple different places. The zoo was fun; we got there early-afternoon and stayed until they closed. We got there and muddled through the ticket process and got everyone in the zoo. I almost immediately did a head count and realized Camilla was missing. After four or five minutes of searching I went back outside the main gate to see if she was still out there, and there she was, talking to some zoo staff. She was so good – when she realized she was lost, she stayed in the same place and was calm. She also held tightly to someone's hand for most of the next hour. I'm really grateful everything turned out okay.

On Sunday we went to Adam-Ondi-Ahman after church and had a picnic lunch. That was my first time there in 25 years, and it was almost exactly as I remember it from last time. But I felt an unmistakable spirit there that I can't describe. It's just a special place. I'm glad I saw it again.

Another afternoon we visited the Liberty Jail.  What a terrible yet sacred place. We also visited Diana's family and had dinner while the kids played in a waterslide bounce house, jumped on the tramp, rode a zip line, and enjoyed themselves.

There was a pond on the property that we spent a little time at. Neil and Isaac especially loved going out in kayaks. They did surprisingly well. We intended to go back another day, but we had several Midwest thunderstorms that made getting on the water a bad idea. Isaac was really disappointed that we couldn't go back.

When it was time to come home, everyone had mixed emotions – looking forward to being home, but not ready to leave yet. I think that probably means we stayed just the right amount of time.

We decided trying to get two hotel rooms for our large family was a really bad idea, so we made the drive in one day both ways. We were making really good time on the drive home until I-70 was closed in western Colorado due to a mudslide that covered the freeway. Siri rerouted us to Highway 40. It really was a beautiful drive, but not one I want to make again. It added a couple hours to our drive, and we got home a little after midnight. It was a long day, but really good. The kids were great travelers.

Work is going well. I am working on several projects simultaneously. Our financial numbers continue to look very good. I've got some staffing and culture initiatives that I really need to focus on.

Church is nice. I feel good about the focus of our sacrament meetings; every meeting centers on Jesus Christ. I've had some good visits with ward members. There are so many challenges in the world faced by many good people. It's not easy to counsel members in their needs, but I feel the direction of the Holy Ghost helping me.

Last week I attended one evening of Girls' Camp. During testimony meeting I shared the thought from Alma 32 that even a desire to believe is a good start to a testimony, and we shouldn't let the fact that we don't KNOW something make us feel like we have no testimony at all. I recognize that we can know enough – Jesus Christ is the Savior, Joseph Smith was a prophet, the Book of Mormon is true, and the priesthood is on the earth today – to live faithfully, even if there are aspects of the gospel that we don't understand.

I could go on, but it's late. More later…

Just one photo tonight of yesterday's jam-making party.