July 10, 2016
It has been a wonderful, full summer . . . and its only half over! We enjoyed a wonderful day in the temple on Friday with Isaac as he received his endowment. He seemed to take it all in stride and was happy and peaceful throughout the experience. It was definitely one of those “joy and rejoicing” moments for us as parents. And thank you to those who were able to join us. Its always so wonderful to see family in the Celestial room.
Having that experience with Isaac served as the final alert – at least for me – that this mission thing is really happening. We’ve been reading with interest about the latest law changes in Russia that may affect Isaac’s experience there and how and where he can preach the gospel. We hope and pray that things will change in a way favorable to the Church so that the gospel can continue to spread in that country. We’re confident that Isaac will be successful regardless of any external conditions.
While still glowing from our amazing Nauvoo / Carthage / Adam-Ondi-Ahman / Liberty / Independence experience and the thrill of seeing Auriana perform there, (Link to Nauvoo Pics) we transitioned quickly to scout camp at Bear Lake with Enoch and Pioneer Trek with Isaac and Natalie in the same week. Enoch enjoyed his experience at scout camp, but probably would have chosen not to get stranded in the middle of the lake when the boat ran out of gas right as he said “hit it” to start waterskiing. He had to swim back to shore. Good thing he’s such a strong swimmer. Now he and I both have a Bear Lake scout camp horror story. ☺ After Enoch returned from scout camp he took a bath, threw a few more things in his huge duffle bag and headed off to serve as staff at Timberline youth leadership training camp. He enjoyed it so much I think he still wishes he was there.
Pioneer trek was amazing! We assume that most of you have seen photos of the Payson temple replica that we built in one day. If not, I’m guessing Becky will include some photos as part of this family letter. Our stake youth leaders decided that instead of focusing on the trekking part of trek that we would focus on the temple since that was at the center of the reason the original pioneers trekked in the first place. The replica was about 24’ square and approximately 25’ tall. As each of us took a photo of someone special to us and put it inside the temple replica it was such a neat experience. As we were driven out the next morning by a “mob” it was a powerful lesson to the youth of what the original pioneers experienced, and hopefully it created in them a greater appreciation for the temple in their own personal lives. Becky and I loved being Ma and Pa to a group of great youth in our stake. It was a lot of fun to interact with Isaac and Natalie as they enjoyed their own trek families and participated in the various activities. They both made pretty good pioneers.
We have enjoyed time with many of you lately as well, being able to see everyone but Steve and family and Mike and Alison. Pizza Pie Café was fun for Adam’s birthday. The 4th of July in Rexburg was wonderful despite it being such a quick visit. It was fun to see Jenny & Chad and Brenda & Matt for Jenny’s birthday outing. And it was great to see many extended family members at the Pratt reunion. We especially enjoyed watching Rachel act out the part of a chair and a bed in Goldilocks. Miriam and Ellie served their teams well in the minute to win it games. Thank you to Mom and Dad and Alan & Konnie for taking such good care of Miriam and Ellie while they stayed up in Rexburg for a few days after the 4th.
We’re looking forward to our last big family vacation before Isaac leaves as we head up to Quickwater Ranch in Idaho for the family camp that we’ve participated in the last several years. We hope to cap off a wonderful summer of memories that will strengthen each family member over the next couple of years.
We look forward to seeing many of you on the 31st as Isaac speaks in church before leaving to the MTC on August 3. Samara, Russia – here he comes!
