Standing In Holy Places

 

Hey everyone!!

 Okay I'll get to things but I just need to say this has been one of the best weeks.

 Period.

 Now that I've said that, let me tell you why.

 - Starting off with my setting apart, everything felt right. I don't remember most of the blessing, but I felt a *physical* feeling of warmth after my stake president began.

- On Monday we started zoom classes. And ended them. For those who I haven't told, because of Christmas, the church can't send missionaries to the MTC next week. They ended up sending everyone a week early, and we only had one day of Home-MTC. Even though it was one day, and even though my companion, Elder Lederer, was not present during the first classes and so I met him after all the other companionships (he's awesome though, we've had great conversations and laughs the whole week), all the teachers and workshops were very powerful. Much of our district had a good time getting to know each other before meeting in person.

- After a lot of unpacking and greeting my district in person (10 Elders, 4 Sisters) we had two awesome devotionals each with incredible stories of conversion and the character of Christ.

- We had our first district council meeting on Thursday. For those who don't know, that's when we go over general topics the district needs to discuss, setting up any plans, and generally checking in on eachother. This meeting was for getting to know each other better, and one of the prompts was to tell why we each decided to serve a mission.

 

I cannot describe to you how much this changed the spirit and dynamic of our group. Everyone had something important to contribute and a powerful testimony. There were some who were very open about struggles they had, sins committed, doubts and concerns. We all just opened up. The best way I can describe what happened is this: We spent a day and a half together as a district--missionaries who were united in the common goal of bringing the true gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. In a matter of minutes, we went from that to a family. We eat together at almost every meal, we all are comfortable talking with one another, and I feel like I'm really friends with each of these people.

 

- Continuing, the spirit is EVERYWHERE on this campus. When you take grounds dedicated by an apostle, fill it with dedicated buildings, and then put thousands of people with powerful testimonies (even if they don't know it) on top, it is somewhere the Holy Ghost wants to be.

-My teachers are awesome. Not only are they fun and engaging with the class, but they are also very effective in helping us learn how to introduce and explain the gospel to those who may not understand or do not believe.

- Also, the chocolate milk is dope.

 I don't have time tonight for a spiritual thought, but I will normally put a spiritual thought in here at the end (credit to Jack Leonard for that)

 I love you all, so does God, and I'll talk to you all next week!

 

Elder Hymas

Cade's Christmas

We started off December with an early Christmas for Cade since he would be leaving on the 13th. Christmas is not all that exciting when you are leaving on a mission-all you get is mission stuff, but we tried to make it as exciting as we could. Here he is wearing or holding every gift he got: a Moroni tie, a Moroni tie pin, a mountain tie clip, snazzy heated gloves, a mission bag, Moroni socks and stripling warrior socks, a framed picture of his family, a mission cookbook with all his favorite recipes and tickets to see Gentri in concert a few days later. (It was an Awesome concert!)

A few days later the MTC sent him a Christmas present in the mail…

On the 10th, Cade was set apart as a missionary. 

As soon as the Stake President finished the blessing, Cade whipped out his name tag, which he’d had in his pocket, and put it on. 

That night he needed to run his suit coat over to a seamstress for a quick fix. He took his companion, Elder Hymas, with him….

On the 11th he began his one day of at home MTC. 

On the 13th, we got up nice and early and dropped this handsome, talented, faithful, stalwart young man off at the Boise airport for his flight to the real MTC in Provo.

He found five other missionaries getting on the same flight and they all bonded before take off. A few hours later, he landed in Salt Lake where Allie picked him up and took him to breakfast with Reagan before dropping him off at the MTC.

I sent Allie a text when we dropped him at the airport that said, “Package delivered” This is the picture/text she sent back when she picked him up: “Package received”

We talked to him on his P-day a few days later and he was LOVING the MTC. He loves his district, his companion, the spirit, all of it. I was so relieved! On Christmas Eve he sent us a picture of what he got for his Christmas Eve gift this year…

Don’t ask me what he’s doing, but his tie has snowflakes on it. 

Santa sent him his stocking and his Christmas cereal as well. Elder Cook came an spoke to the missionaries that day and Cade sent us a picture of who he got to sing with at one of the many concerts/devotionals he got to go to on Christmas.

That’s Dallyn Vail Bayles for those who don’t know. He’s an amazing tenor who was on Broadway and in our ward in New Jersey. Here’s a video of one of my favorites that he sings:

We get to Zoom with Cade every week and that is really nice, I gotta say. His aunt took pity on him and made him some of her Christmas truffles, sent them home to Utah with Allie in a cooler, and then Allie found a company that delivers daily to the MTC, so he got a little late Christmas joy from home. He has had an amazing experience at the MTC and will fly out to Colorado on Friday, Jan. 5th. That’s when the rubber really meets the road. Can’t wait to see what awaits him in the mission field!

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Fall Happenings

 We finally got around to camping the last weekend before school started.

Amazing Boise foothills thunderstorm

 First day of Junior year.  Yikes!

 First Day of Sophomore year

First day of 6th grade/middle school

 First day of 4th grade.  Only one left in elementary school :-(

 Day 2 Outift "I'm proud to be an Americorn" It's all about unicorns now days/again.

Levi joined the cross country team.  Turns out, he is super fast!

 After his first race in almost 100 degrees.

So far Levi loves 6th grade.

He rides to school in a pack of about 10 boys, he ran for student council, losing gracefully, and just got his first customer in his raking business.

Big First! 

Reagan's first dance. This is how he asked her:

hoco=homecoming, marigolds=her favorite flower

And this is how she answered him:

Homecoming 2019

Liberty tried something besides dance this year!  

 Conference Bingo, always a big part of the fall around our house.

 Cade got into the audition choir at school and this was his first concert and first time in a tux!

Cade told me before the concert that he would be using one of his "talents" in the concert. I thought it might be his Elmo impersonation or the piano.  Boy, was I wrong.  His choir sang "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor" and at the very end, right on cue, my son, BURPED-as loudly as he possibly could.  He did not need a mic, we heard him in the very back of the auditorium. I was so shocked I just sat there with my mouth hanging open while the audience erupted with laughter.  I was torn between horror and humor, but he was pretty proud of himself, so in the end humor won out. 

And little Miss decided to be the only one of my children to take after her father....and get glasses.  She is over the moon about them!  She thinks it's the greatest thing in the world.  Thank goodness!

Oregon Coast Part 3

Our first stop on Day 3 was Devil's Punch Bowl.  

 This punch bowl like cavern fills up with water like a punch bowl when the tide is in.  We got to see it at both low tide and high tide this day.  Here's low tide.

We went over to the Inn at Otter Crest and went down to Otter Crest Beach to be able to get inside the punch bowl.  It was SO cool!  Alli and I had never done it before!

 Inside!

 

 

 We found several caves in and around the punch bowl.  Alli and Levi were in HEAVEN.

 We love Otter Crest Beach!

This cave was totally filled in with water at high tide later that day.

Lots of Lighthouses!

Next up was another childhood memory, the Sea Lion Caves.

I loved it as a kid and so did my kids!

 The sea lions are hard to see down below on the rock cliff, but they are there-about a hundred of them.

 While watching sea lions we also got to see some whales!  Closer and better than I've ever seen them in my life! Levi was so excited he didn't know which to look at. Below is a video of the whales.

Cool/beautiful example of rock erosion out along the coast.

Below is me (on the right), Dad, Alli and Derek on the same statue 30 years ago when I was almost the same age as Liberty!

 We rode the elevator down into the caves and watched the sea lions in the cave for almost an hour probably.  It was took dark to take any pictures but Levi loved it!  It is fascinating to watch the sea lions fighting and playing and eating and sleeping.

This picture of the same lighthouse is taken from a lookout inside the cave.

Some gnarly trees on the way to another beach.

 

Devil's Punch Bowl at sunset and high tide.

 One of the caves from earlier and the whole Otter Crest beach under water.

Then it was back to the hotel.  We were totally wiped out but we'd had a great day and an amazing trip. 

 We took this picture of Liberty at the hotel, which happened to be named the Liberty Inn, on our way out of town. She will remember this hotel because of its name.  I will remember it for different reasons.

We drove all the way home in one day.  Thank you, Alli for going with us and making it a much more fun trip than it would have been.  We should do it again in 30 years!