30 August 2026
VOLUME 14 – NUMBER 652
Quinn at Baskin Robbins on his birthday
Quinn
It was my birthday, and I was so happy! That day, London took me out for lunch at Cup Bop. After we ate, we played Connect 4, and then we went home.
When I went upstairs, Natalie came with some books. The Smith kids and I played cruise ship, and then we read for a while. A little bit later, the Smith kids had to go home.
Then Gloria, and I went outside into the backyard to fix my bike, but we couldn't because we needed the right tools. We went inside to get them, and Ashton was there when we came inside.
Children doing school
Ashton told me “Happy Birthday” and asked Mom if he could take me out for ice cream and get the cake that I wanted, which was cinnamon rolls. Ashton and I tried a different kind of ice cream that was amazing! We took a picture together, and then we went to get the cinnamon rolls.
The place we went to was out of cinnamon rolls, so we went to Smith's and got some cinnamon rolls and some cheese. We ate the cheese on the way home, and then Ashton dropped me off. Mom asked me what food I wanted for dinner, and I chose Costa Vida.
We also watched The Mandalorian and Grogu. Then Mom was on the phone with Monte, and I showed him my gifts. The next day, we had the cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and it was so good!
Isaac at priests quorum temple activity
Monte
Last week was my 66th week on my mission. “Execute Order 66...” Sorry, I just had to do it! This week was actually pretty awesome! We've been able to see so many miracles for sure.
We have a friend named Tailing, and she is preparing to be baptized. Well, this week she ended up coming to the ward activity on Friday. It was a family history-based activity, and she even participated! Then, on Sunday morning she showed up and stayed for both hours. On top of that, she really liked how she felt there and wants to go again!
And if you thought the miracles ended there, you'd be wrong. Today, we asked her how she was doing, and she answered with a flamboyant, "Honestly, really good!" We then asked her what made it so good, and she went on to explain that things seem to be a whole lot more calm and peaceful in her life.
Monte with Elder Delaney
We also had some more miracles with our friend Pedro. He is also preparing for baptism, and he came to the activity as well. But not only did he come, he brought his wife and daughter with him, and they all loved it.
They loved it to the point where his daughter, who was invited by the Young Women, asked to come to church on Sunday. Pedro and his wife, Maribel, couldn't because of work, but they said yes to their daughter.
Then Sunday rolls around, and Yomara, the daughter, pulls up, and she brought her sister, Yosabeth, with her! They both enjoyed church, and we will hopefully be able to put fechas with them on Tuesday when we visit them next!
Monte and Elder Delaney with friends
This week, we've got transfer news! Elder Delaney will be leaving Urbi, and ladies and gentlemen, I will be training a new missionary this transfer here in Urbi 2! I'm so excited because this will be a brand-new missionary from the MTC, and I haven't done that since I trained Elder Allred.
This week, we've been working hard like always, especially to finish out the transfer with a bang. We've been able to help people put fechas bautismales this week. We currently have seven people who are preparing to be baptized in the month of September.
This month, as a mission, we had a goal to baptize 125 people. Our slogan was "125 o más!" Well, this month we baptized not just 125 people, but 139! If you don't remember, the mission record in May was 111, so the work of the Lord is progressing! The field is white and ready to harvest.
I love my mission. I say it all the time, and I'll say it again: this has been the best decision of my entire life. It's been nothing but straight miracles left and right and pure joy in the work. Who knew that loving others would make you feel so good yourself? Love others as Jesus does, and remember that includes yourself.
Working at the Oakshade house
Joanna
After school one day, Mom told me to put on a tap suit she had bought for me. Then she played a YouTube video that taught me how to tap dance, and I started learning the steps. It felt really good because she was teaching everybody really well that day. She even taught Quinn how to play the piano, too.
That same day, she also finished teaching me how to ride a bike. She held on to my bike at first, and then she let go without me noticing. Then she put her hands right by my face because she was happy and wanted to show me that she wasn't holding on anymore.
Now I know how to ride my bike!
Joanna riding her bike for the first time
Kai
Recently, I got called to be the Priests Quorum first assistant. I was a little surprised when our bishop asked me. I really didn’t think it would be me because I’m brand new, I don’t know anyone, and now I’m supposed to lead them in a way. I just didn’t see it coming.
I still haven’t gotten to know many people, which is mostly my fault because I’m not really trying to make friends. However, we’ve got a crazy ball activity coming up, and hopefully I can connect with some people a little bit then. It’ll be in a setting that I’m comfortable and used to, and I’ll actually be in charge of it, so hopefully that will make it easier.
Gloria at work
Gloria
These past few weeks, I have been working so much. I got a full-time position working as an assistant to the activity manager, and I’m in charge of doing activities back in memory care. I absolutely love it because I get to participate in all the games we play.
There are some days, though, where it’s just a little bit tough. Most of the residents get distracted and very sleepy at times, but I always try my best to keep them focused on what we’re doing. It’s really important to me to have them engaged because it can help them have a fun time.
I also went camping with London, Keaton, Isaac, and their neighbors, who are from Venezuela. They were a family of four—the parents, a son, and a daughter. The daughter was close to my age, but she was very shy.
It was fun seeing them put a tent together and make s’mores for the first time. It was very funny because it was their first time camping, and they had so many questions and even a few fears. It was also nice being able to practice my Spanish because, to be honest, it’s getting very rusty.
Keaton and London’s camping trip
At one point, when we were making s’mores, the son got some marshmallow stuck in his hair. We all just started laughing and wondering how he even managed to get it there. It was definitely one of those funny little moments that made the camping trip memorable.
I also have a friend in the ward named Ana, and we’ve been hanging out a lot more. She invited me to go to her back-to-school night since she’s in college, so we went to the college and played games, ate food, and watched a lot of performances that were going on. She also brought her friend Logan, so it was a really fun group to be around.
Then, the next day, we hung out again, but this time she brought some of her other friends. We watched La La Land, which I had never seen before, and it was actually really good and interesting.
Ana and Gloria playing laser tag
Troy
It was Quinn's and London's birthday on the 20th, and they were super happy! You could just tell. For Quinn’s birthday celebration, we watched the new Mandalorian and Grogu movie, and Quinn loved it! He also got a tool set, and a couple of Lego sets.
We also went to a reunion for Dad's side of the family up in Logan, where Dad's parents live. I like long drives, so I enjoyed the drive there, and when we arrived, it was a lot of fun. There was a river right next to the park, and we had Costco pizza and played football.
I had a great time at the reunion. We also took a lot of dogs with us to the park, and the kids loved petting them. It was a really fun day spending time with family, playing games, and enjoying the outdoors.
Troy with teachers quorum on temple trip
On Saturday, I went on a “Temple Crawl” with the young men in my quorum. We went to different temples, ate at a couple of places, and spent a big chunk of the day together. We started at 6:00am and finished around 2:30pm. We went to the Lindon Temple first, then the Provo City Temple, followed by the Mount Timpanogos Temple, and finally the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.
My favorite temple was the Lindon Temple because it was pretty big and also very beautiful. After we went to the Provo City Temple, we went to a place called The Kolache. It was my first time going there, and it was delicious. Kolaches are like rolls with a bunch of filling in the middle, and it was amazing.
After the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, we went to a place called Slackwater, and they mostly had pizza, which was great. I was actually surprised that I could eat a whole individual pizza! I am really grateful that I went on the trip. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed getting to spend the day with the young men in my quorum.
Troy with teachers quorum on temple trip
Veidi
I went to help Natalie tile some townhomes down in Murray. I like doing it because I’m learning a new skill, and it takes some work just going up and down the stairs. Some of the kitchens are on the second floor, while others are on the third floor, so there are a lot of flights of stairs. I’ve done it a couple of times now, and each time I learn something new.
It was also Quinn’s birthday, and we celebrated by having Costa Vida for dinner and watching the new Mandalorian and Grogu movie. It was a really funny movie, and we had a good time celebrating his birthday. It was a pretty simple way to celebrate, but it was still a lot of fun.
We also had a family reunion for Dad’s side of the family. We went to the park, had pizza, and played spikeball. We took some of the dogs with us so they could have an opportunity to socialize with other people and dogs.
Arnold and Arlene Hill family get-together
Then Mom, Dad, and I left a little early so Mom and Dad could go see Selvin, who has been detained in Cache County, while I stayed in the car and watched a show.
I also went to Lagoon for the first time with Isaac, and I was really nervous about going on some of the rides because I had no idea what to expect. The first ride we went on was Cannibal, and it was so scary because we went upside down, so I was terrified. After that, we went on Samurai and a bunch of other rides. Another ride I really liked, even though I thought I wouldn’t, was Nutcracker.
My favorite rides are probably Samurai first and then Nutcracker. I had a really fun time at Lagoon, and I can’t wait to do it again. Maybe Kai and Gloria will join us next time!
Arnold and Arlene Hill family get-together
Dad / Arkin
The river trip! Ancient history, right? That was over a month ago! Well, for me that was not true. It has continued…on and on! When we packed up for the river trip, we loaded everything up from the old Oakshade house, where we had intentionally left it when we moved.
When we returned from the river trip, we unloaded everything at the new house. In a way, I had tricked the family into moving all the river trip stuff from our garage for us! However, we had one major problem. We didn’t yet have a place to keep any of the river trip gear at the new house.
Family dinner
We thought we would need to build shelves on the garage ceiling again to hold the rafts, but we decided to build a shed in the back yard instead. We also had to install our old hanging garage shelves at the new house to make a place for all our river tubs.
So I have spend the last month working on those things. I also managed to paint numbers on our river tubs, since the old decals are coming off, and we had to build a standing raft rack in the shed to hold our rafts.
Finally, after putting away the last of the river trip supplies, I can say that the river trip is finished! Whew! When you count preparation, the three-day river trip actually took a couple months!
Completed river tub shelves