September 29, 2019

When a song comes on that you love and you haven’t heard it in awhile. Sadies rock climbing. Back to back hike days. Taking Sarah Roberts (BYU softball) on a hike. The view from scout falls. Cam's art.  Getting Cam a new shirt. Watching a good movie with Sadie after school - "A Dog's Journey" was a good flick. When K comes to visit. When K and T come over on Sunday.  Sadie in her NASA sweatshirt and pink shoes and cute backpack.  Costa Vida nachos. Jim Gaffigan foliage bit :). I can’t decide how I feel about fall - it’s really pretty but it means winter is coming.

September 23, 2019

From Mason's email:

This week was really busy. If I were to list off the things that made us busy, we drove a lot, had a leadership meeting, Elder Hunter had to go to court (oops), planning, teaching people, and finding new people to teach. The sisters also had a baptism so we had to help out with that too. 

That's basically my week. But I had a lot of spiritual experiences this week especially in the leadership meeting. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary and the many wonderful experiences I've had. #TheGospelIsTrue!

September 22, 2019

Beating Cam at song quiz one night and tying her another night - 2010s. Costa Vida with Kelly and Tami. Wednesday after temple out to eat with the fam. Seeing Sadie walking home from junior high. Watching Sadie rock climb. Hiking in some snow and clouds - beautiful but way wet. We laughed at how frozen we were. Bryce Canyon road trip with D where we pretty much hiked rim to rim to rim. It was a figure 8 hike - kinda cool. Peekaboo loop and Navajo loop combo was a fabulous hike.

September 21, 2019

Awesome road trip to Bryce Canyon with D. We saw my parents Friday night and then headed to BC Saturday morning. I have had my eye on the Peekaboo Loop trail as I have never hiked it before. We decided to add the Navajo Loop on to it for a bit of a figure eight. Fun, I know. I mean I don’t think I’ve ever hiked a figure eight before. The Peekaboo trail was awesome! The views were so great and it really got you walking amid the hoodoos. The clouds were cool in the morning and the sky was blue for some added beauty. We went left around the Peekaboo Loop and then right to go up the two bridges part of Navajo Loop. We ate lunch on the rim at Sunset Point. Then back down Navajo and back to Bryce Point. Fabulous! We pretty much called it Bryce Canyon’s version of rim to rim to rim. :). We hit the road again and headed home while listening to some Kenny Rogers radio. Dinner at Lisa’s Cafe in Nephi and home 27 hours after we left. Don’t forget Darren hiding and saying Peekaboo. :) Plus all the Asian grandparents that I’m wondering if they actually made it out of the hoodoos.

September 16, 2019

From Mason's email:

Hey yall! It's been a great week! There's not a whole lot to talk about because this week we focused on baptisms for the whole week.

So Carol's mom lives across the street from her and is very very very against the church. Like one week we went with a member to pick them up for church and she was yelling at us and was really angry so we had that to deal with.

But at the end of the day they were both baptized and confirmed and they loved it! The work is doing really well here in Searcy and we're glad we could end with a bang. I think it's crazy I only have a few weeks left, but I have loved being a missionary! 

In my studies this week I read a scripture in 1 Corinthians 2:9 which is my new favorite scripture. It says, 

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

I think that's so true. We can't even comprehend the things that God will give us, if we will just love him and follow him. I think of our potential and all the things he's offered us if we just follow him. It makes it sound a little easier to do with that perspective.

I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for the opportunity I have to share it with others.

(Elder Hunter and Mason)

(Mason warned us that it was an awkward baptism photo.  He was correct.  :))

September 15, 2019

Cam texting us her awesome math score. Sadie completing a V1 in rock climbing. Sadie telling me that it is palindrome week. 91019 (September 10, 2019) - 91119, etc. Blurry Face song - makes me think of Mason every time. Watching a good video when you weren’t expecting much - Men in Black International. Watching Fantastic Beasts 2 with Sadie. The swing in the backyard.  Seeing an Albert Pujols book at work and laughing and sending a pic to the fam - then Rylie shelved the same book - ha ha..

September 8, 2019

All things cedar city, especially - archery and tubing and ski lift and trampoline and rock climbing and zip line. Kids swimming in a hotel pool. Lunch at Hamburger Patty’s in Parowan. (I like me some English chips.) When a song comes on that Cam knows and she breaks into singing with a few dance moves. Watching Ry and Cam back at soccer. Serendipitous hike to almost Clayton peak with Sariah and Lorien - new trail with some amazing views. Chinese place in Richfield for dinner with my parents and sisters. Cam coming on the drive to Richfield with me. Chubbys. Nickelcade with C S K T (especially Ms Pac-Man and Raman Rabid game and guitar Hero. Photo booth. Rylie cutting the watermelon because I don’t like to (and it’s delicious). Darren and Sadie almost through the Harry Potter movies.  Making captions with Kenz for this picture:

September 2, 2019

From Mason's email:

Hey yall! Week 1 in Searcy is done and boy was it a success! We saw so many miracles this week and Elder Hunter and I are trying to make this transfer the best one Searcy has ever seen. And we're on the right track. Let me just get into the week and you'll see what I mean.

So I wanna tell yall about Carol. She has been taught for a couple weeks, but was pretty against the church and the Book of Mormon. So I get here and we go by and she received an answer to her prayers that the Book of Mormon is true. We taught her about what that means and how that means the church really is led by Jesus Christ. We invited her to be baptized and she said no. She said she had already been baptized and that she didn't want to be "Mormon." We tried resolving it, but she just couldn't grasp the fact that we're the only people with the priesthood. So we told her to pray about if baptism is for her and she said she would. We went back a couple days later and she just said "God wants me to go forward with this, I feel like I need to be baptized." So we talked to her about it and set a date with her for September 14th! God really does answer prayers!

We ended up having a similar situation with another lady named LaTasha as well who received an answer she needs to be baptized, so if all goes as planned, we'll have 2 baptisms on the 14th! So we're praying that'll happen!

 

(With Elder Horman in Olive Branch)

 

 

 

September 2, 2019

We just had a great time running away to Cedar City and playing in Brianhead.  It was short but way fun!

Highlights:

• Swimming in the hotel pool.
• Ski lift.  Cool view that the ski lift took us to.
• Trampolines.
• Rock climbing wall.  Wearing the awkward harness for rock climbing.  :)
• Zip line - even though it was "mini".
• Archery.  "We may not win the Hunger Games but we might have a shot at a hamburger eating contest." - Kenzie
• Tubing.  "At least I didn’t have to have the shovel." - Kenzie (Have the shovel guy push you on the tubes.) "At least I didn’t have to have the arm guard (at archery)." - me responding to Kenzie.  :)
• The discussion that shower farts smell way worse than normal farts.

I think our favorite was - surprisingly - archery.  Fun, I know.

September 1, 2019

Mason being on his last transfer. Small world with the seventy Elder Martino teaching a leadership meeting in masons mission and he was the stake president in an area where Darren served as a missionary in Texas. Fresh peaches. Sadie rock climbing. Cam telling me about seminary and interior design. Seeing goats and a fox and a sheep that acted like a goat on a hard hike to emerald lake. Sadie telling me about pineapple plants. Getting a drink at maverick and thinking about Camrie and her tiny straw last week. 20 mile hiking week. Glow in the dark cosmic mini golf with D C S.  Meeting up with some of my BYU softball girls from 25ish years ago.  Cam selfies on my phone - they never get old.  Two good Elder Draper pictures taken by a member at transfers.

(Mount Timpanogos Trail)

Almost Emerald Lake

(Packard Lake - Uintas)

Sarah (Saheem) Roberts Scoresby, Renee Ward Hall, me, 

Kat Andrus Fuller, and Julie (Rizo) Risdon Hess

(Wyman Lake - Uintas)