10 April 2022
VOLUME 10 – NUMBER 447
Gloria and Dad pruning tree branches
Quinn
Dad was going to cut the branches off the tree's and cut them up. While they were doing it, me and Troy had a job. We would carry the heavy branches and take them to where Zeus was parked. And Troy and I were playing with the branches.
Troy grabbed more branches, and I was still in the broken branches and I got a scratch. London came, and I told them, and they gave me a band aid. I went back outside, and they were still working on cutting branches, so I went back inside.
Family pruning tree branches
Endia
With things slowly warming up this week, hiking is an option again! Cougar and I went up the canyon and hiked at Stewart Falls. Parts of the trail were still covered in snow, but it was a really nice day and not really cold, that is until we decided to walk under the waterfall! We walked back soaking wet, and when we got near the end, the trail went down and was covered in ice and slushy snow.
I kept slipping, so I eventually slid down the hill like it was a giant ice slide. I got to the bottom and the first step that I took, both of my feet flew out from under me, and I landed flat on my back. I couldn’t get up for a while because I was laughing so hard!
I also got to see Matteo this week at his blessing, and he is so adorable! It was so awesome to be there with everyone and have such a good time together. I also got to kidnap Veidi, and she came back with me to spend the next day with me. We finished a puzzle together, built a blanket fort to sleep in, went swimming, and played with a puppy together. It was so fun!
Endia and Veidi and their blanket fort
Kai
For our church activities, we played General Conference Jeopardy. It was fun, but my team got last place. I enjoyed learning about conference through fun activities.
Veidi
This week I went to Endia's house to sleep over. We did a Rapunzel puzzle and we finished it. Then Endia made some bakes and then we made a fort and watched the movie, 17 Miracles.
Then we went to the store and we both got new swimming suits because we both needed them. Then we went swimming. We also went to the puppy store, and we got to play with a German Shepherd/Healer. It was so cute!
Then we went to go and get Ashton. I really enjoyed it. I am so grateful that Endia had time to take me. I am so grateful for her and all that she does.
Endia and Veidi and their blanket fort
Caleb
This week was just steady diligence, not perfect, but a continuation of working and trying to find people that want the light and hope of Christ. It was a good week, but as far as finding people, there wasn't too much. Me and Elder Emery are pretty good friends, so that's a blessing. And really the power between companionships is real!
Santiago is in his late 70's. His wife has been a member much of her life. Recently, she had been inactive, mainly because of COVID. She's 82, and really kind. Her testimony is strong! A funny thing she said once was that she had to be baptized in the ocean because of all the sins she had.
But Santiago has had a hard heart against being baptized and becoming a member of the Church. Previously when I invited him to be baptized, he said "no" because he was baptized Catholic. That was maybe a little more than a month ago.
At another visit we had, we invited him to take a pamphlet of family history and fill it out, as a hobby that would bring him great joy. He said "no," but then his wife said a few things to him and then he accepted. And that's when we saw progress!
Caleb and Elder Emery
We have continued to visit them for a month or so, but after a month of not a lot of progress, we said to ourselves that we may have to stop spending so much time with them if we don't see progress in this visit. We have also had the focus to get Hermana Blanca, his wife, to start attending church again, because without her help we knew and know that it wouldn't and won't be possible to help Santiago.
Saturday afternoon we visited Santiago and Blanca. They started conversing about all the bad things going on in the world—drugs, murder, robbery, war in Ukraine, etc. Then I felt the prompting to take charge of the conversation and lead it to the hope of Christ, which is truly the only solution to all these problems! I finally felt prompted to ask Santiago, "How do you feel when we visit you guys and when we talk with you guys?"
Santiago said "Well, it doesn't do me bad. I feel good. It's good for me." Then I felt prompted to relate that to the scripture in Galatas 5:22. I related the fruits of the Holy Ghost—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. I also connected that we know because of the Bible that the Holy Ghost testifies of truth!
Max, Mable, and Misha
One thing led to another, and Elder Emery was sharing the first vision, and then we were bearing our testimonies, and when we closed our testimonies with the name of Jesus Christ, Santiago also said amen. And that stood out to me too.
Finally, we ended and a I was shaking hands with Santiago. I invited him to read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true and I promised if he would do it, he would receive an answer just like me and my companion have.
He nodded and thanked me, and said that he could tell that me and my companion were a good companionship, and we had something special (Holy Ghost) that he didn't really see in many other misioneros that had come to visit him throughout his long life. I said we were grateful to be an instrument to help him feel these things.
Family eating dinner after conference
It was also amazing that while I was talking to Santiago, Elder Emery talked to Hermana Blanca and explained that we needed her example! Perfect teamwork! In the end it was pretty great!
Later, my companion said he had never shared the first vision with so much power and felt it so strong! A pretty amazing miracle. If you could pray for Santiago that would be amazing.
Also, later that night I gave a pamphlet to a dog in the hope it would give it to its owners. The dog was super nice and smart…ha ha! I'm not sure if it was the best idea, but the owners didn't answer when we tried to visit them.
Christian surfing
Christian
On Saturday, we went surfing. It will probably be the last time that I surf, because next weekend we will all be at the youth conference, and then after youth conference is over, I’ll be heading home a few days later.
This time it was really fun, and the waves were really big and fast. When we first paddled out to the surf spot there were constant big waves that kept coming. I’m excited to go home soon, but I will miss being able to go surfing.
From Ginger: On Saturday, Christian and I went surfing at Launiupoko! There was supposed to be a south side swell, so I was hoping for better waves. Sure enough, the waves were great! I was so happy to try out my new board on great waves! When Christian and I were out there, we even saw a turtle pop up its cute head.
Christian, Max, and Ginger
Vanessa
This week Brooke and I got our nails done and they were very pretty. Usually, we go to Brooke’s parents’ house for dinner or to just hang out and play Mario Cart. Recently I have gotten better at Mario Cart I like being the white shy guy because he is just the best and so cute. We usually play Mario Cart with Brooke’s family, and Corbin and Jon are really good.
The Rush family make really good food and always have rice that is so good and goes with everything. Two of my favorite meals are Brooke’s noodles, and there was a meal that we had that had rice, chicken, lettuce, and green sauce. That was really good! Kailey and Corbin have a little girl and she is so cute. I like putting her in a little stroller and she looks so gushy.
Isaac and Vanessa at family cabin
Gloria
I am so close to being done with school for the year. I just need one class, and that is math. I am also trying to bring my grades up in my other classes that I am done with. We also worked a lot of Jazz games and one Real Salt Lake game this week. For one of the Jazz games, Dad came to work with us.
At Falcon Ridge, we are going to get a new night supervisor. On Sunday we went to Mateo's baby blessing in Lehi. After the blessing, we went to lunch in an academy in the lunchroom.
On break while working at Jazz game
Dad / Arkin
Several weeks ago, I wrote about being switched to a new team at work. While I saw future potential, it was a little stressful. I realized that there was an expectation for me to step up, and take on more leadership. At first, I felt like that was hard to do, especially when my new job title was a couple steps down from my old title on my previous teams.
However, just as I suggested in my last article, sometimes a step back is really a step forward, especially with God’s help. After a tough first week, I had a breakthrough in the past couple of weeks as a fellow team member named Hailey and I have started working on a new process that could help dramatically improve the disorganization of our department.
While it’s a significant challenge, I feel like this is the break I need¬—a chance to step up and show leadership, and a chance to make a meaningful impact. I think this type of project management and process creation align very well with things that I feel like I am good at. Even after just a few weeks, I feel God’s hand, ever guiding and helping me to get to exactly where I need to go!
Jenny supervising work crew at Jazz game
Alex
On Friday evening, Dad went to work at the Jazz game. Mom asked him to work because they were really short on people. He left straight from work and went over to Vivint Arena, so he didn’t even come home.
Me, Kai, Veidi, Troy and the Littles stayed home. We watched shows and played video games. We played Minecraft and we built our own Minecraft kingdom. I made the palace, Kai and Troy made the walls or the walls of defense. Then Veidi made the village. One more thing that I made was a bridge that was supposed to be the entrance of the kingdom!
Alex making grapefruit juice