Back in the Field

Drew is out of the office and back in the field! He is really excited to be able to end his mission by proselyting again. He loved being in the office, but after more than 7 months, he was ready to get back to teaching.

I get to speak with him in a couple of days! Yay! I can't wait. The anxiety is killing me. He sent a CD full of videos from the last 6-8 months. It was so much fun to see him and listen to his voice. I miss him so much.

I wish I was more like others that I know; they are able to type their thoughts and make eloquent and interesting statements on their blogs. Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with the gift of gab. So instead, you are stuck with my brief, nutshell version of the last month.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Holy Moly

The other day Drew had the opportunity to reunite with a group of Elders that arrived to the mission the same time he did. It was fun for him to be able to talk with them and share their stories.

He spent all of last week touring the mission with President Solis. He absolutely loves the tours, and learning from President. They visited a woman whose husband was a counselor in the stake where he served a while back. Her husband had recently been killed in a freak moto accident. When the missionaries arrived to her home, he said he was amazed at how peaceful the wife was about her husband's passing. He said she was so strong because of her knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. Drew was able to lay his hands on her head and listen as President Solis gave her a blessing. In his own words, "holy moly it was a big time experience, way cool, and I learned a lot".

How wonderful the gospel is! I am overwhelmed by the opportunities these young men have while serving a mission. I can think of no better way to guide them and help them prepare to be a husband and father. I'm so grateful for the gospel, and for the wisdom of our Heavenly Father.

Mark is Home!

Elder Walker is home safe and sound! One of Drew's best friends, Elder Mark Walker, returned from his mission in Mexico on Tuesday evening. I was so happy to see him! He is a 2nd son to me, and I am so proud of him. I can only imagine how proud his parents are of him! He is such a fine young man, and has always been a great friend to my son. Drew was incredibly lucky to have the most amazing friends while growing up; all of them such great examples. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Mark's mission. I seriously can't think of a better visual than to see a young man you adore baptizing someone in the ocean. Wow.




Next up... Elder Jordan Salmon! Yay! Man I love those boys!!!!!

Stuck in the Mud

Drew had a few great experiences this week. Rather than tell the story, I thought it would be more fun to have you read his version...

"Wow, this last week has been way crazy. First we had to go to a place called El Progreso. Its a little village of like 50 people. Their is a family group there, a mission president went there and baptised people like 5 years ago. The leader called and asked if we could send missionaries out, so we had to take two missionaries there. It was crazy its like 9 hours away. So we went and picked the missionaries up in chiclayo and then we went there, first we got to a little village called catache at like 4 and that place was pretty cool, then we started going again, and at 7 at night we got to a place and we thought it was El Progreso! woohoo! but no, it was Santa Cruz, there was apparently a division in the road that we didnt see and it was clear back about 15 minutes after catache! So we had to go all the way back. The road was dirt and gravel and narrow, there were a lot of times when it was mountainous wall to your left and an 80 foot drop into the river on your right, so that was intimidating. We finally get back to the division and head up there, its a steep incline the whole way and then about 30 minutes away from the destination we get stuck in mud, but seriously like a patch of mud 5 feet wide and ten feet long, it took us like 30 minutes to get out, and then we go again and get stuck again and again and again. Then we end up in the village called chalal which is 10 minutes from el progreso. and everyone is asleep because it house 15 houses and there isnt electricity so they just go to bed when the sun goes down. We start yelling and a lady tells us where the leaders dad lives so we walk to him and he says the road is just right up here past my house, bring the car up and i will take you there and we were like ok. So we go, BIG mistake, we got stuck, but not because there was a whole lot of mud, but because the mud was like oil and the tires didnt catch so we had to throw a bunch of wood and bags down. That took about 25 more minutes and then we cruise to El Progreso and get the car out of the mud like 2 more times. It was so cool! I loved it! and can I just tell you I loved it there. The people have a really sweet accent and they are pure loving people. This place is in the state of cajamarca and everyone says that they are just the nicest people. And it is true, I love them. I also loved it because it was surrounded by mountains. The people of cajamarca are also known for being white, ha book of mormon. So then we slept there, woke up early and went back home."

Here he is with the family group leader he refers to in his letter, plus the other Elders that went on the adventure...

Woah!

So, guys... I was on Stephenie Meyer's blog the other day. I heard something on the radio about her putting the last book in the "Twlight" series on hold indefinitely, so I was curious. As I read through her site, she recommends this book, "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. Oh my gosh! I started reading it, and couldn't stop. It is seriously one of the most interesting books I have ever read. If you enjoy the Twilight-type stories, you would love this!

It's a Boy!

I bet you wouldn't believe it if I told you all that I had a baby! I did! JK. It's just Carlos. Originally I thought I would just be a boarder. You know...provide a place to sleep, a roof over his head, and feed him. Surprise! No. He's actually just like having a young son at home.

Here he is in his typical position...

We have been working on getting all his medical and dental evaluations, as well as his immunizations, so we can turn the papers in to the Bishop on Sunday. If all goes well, we should have his mission call by October 22nd or so. I'll keep you posted (I say that as if there are thousands of people waiting for this information).

My Fair Lady

Working on My Fair Lady has been so much fun. The show closes this weekend, which is bittersweet (as is the closing of every show). I have enjoyed the cast and crew so much. I dress the three most amazing ladies; each one is brilliant and has a phenomenal voice. We did a photo call last week, and I snuck a few shots for myself...

Here is a sweet young man in the cast that I recently did another show with...

This is the "ascot" scene. The costumes are beyond belief...

These are the principals: Eliza Doolitle, Henry Higgins and Mrs. Higgins (She actually steals the show. She is so beautiful and gracious. Each of us women should be so lucky to be so beautiful at that age)...

This is shot during "Little Bit of Luck". Mr. Doolittle is so great! He is my niece's favorite character. She would love this guy...

The next show is Noises Off!, and opens on Halloween. The theater asked me to committ to the whole season, so I will have new adventures to talk about soon.