The Mango Transfer

Jonah said he and Elder Housley "have been on a mango grind."  They buy a bunch of mangos every week and they love to buy the really big ones. They both love to eat them and they also get mango flavored protein shakes and they even have mango bodywash. Jonah said this is the mango transfer. 

 

They bought some Kebabs.  Jonah said they were really

 good.

They played chess on the train on the way to their interviews with President Munns. 

He lost.

Jonah said Elder Tupana falls asleep a lot and it's creepy how he sleeps with his eyes open.

This is in the city center where they go to find people. 

These pictures are from a park near their house. 

Jonah said he wanted a cool railroad picture. He said it looked cooler in person.

This was a gate in front of a house.  Jonah thought it was picture worthy. 

Jonah went on exchanges with Elder Housley. They visited with a new friend, Sam.  He is a fashion designer and is tired of partying and drugs and looking for something different.  Jonah said they had a really good visit with him and that he is a really cool guy. 

Bella was baptized on Sunday. They found her through a reference a month ago and she has been very interested. She immediately started reading the Book of Mormon and wanted to come to church.  

This is her son, Yoann, he is 11-years-old. 

Brother Boloko, the Elders Quorum President from the ward baptized Bella.  Jonah was also in the front to help get Bella in the front and under the water.  She needed the extra help because of her disability. 

Jonah said the day was a little chaotic because Bella wasn’t ready when one of the members came to pick her up for church, so Jonah and Elder Tupana went to help her get to church.  They rode buses and had to walk some and Jonah said by the time they got there church was almost over.  Bella walks very slowly, but she also likes to stop and talk every few steps. Jonah said she says some pretty interesting things. It was also raining so they were holding an umbrella over her while they walked. 

Elder Erikson and Elder Housley had a baptism on Sunday as well. His name is Rosney. 

They got transfer news on Saturday. They found out that Elder Tupana and Elder Erickson will be leaving and Jonah and Elder Housley will stay and get new companions. Jonah has loved working with Elder Tupana and will miss him and Elder Erickson. 

Today is Elder Erickson's birthday so Jonah and Elder Tupana bought all the stuff to make him pancakes and decorated his desk.   

Taylorsville Temple for Caitlyn

 

Caitlyn has been thinking about going through the temple for a while.  She has been very thoughtful about it and wanted to make sure it was the right time for her. 

Since grandma passed away she has felt a draw to spiritual things.  She has been praying and reading her scriptures more consistently and feeling a desire to go to the temple. 

She has been talking to Jonah about going to the temple and he has been encouraging her to do it. 

Moving back to Provo has been a good move for Caitlyn.  She has reconnected with her high school friends who all just came home from missions and enjoyed getting involved in the singles ward with them.

Caitlyn decided she wanted to go through the Taylorsville temple on grandma's birthday. 

Caitlyn went through the 7 PM session so we asked grandpa to come early so we could get some pictures with him while it was still light. 

Caitlyn has always looked up to grandma and grandpa spiritually.  She has been talking to grandpa about going to the temple and he has helped her with her fears and concerns.  Her relationship with her grandparents is so important to her.  She does a great job at making relationships a priority. 

We were surprised and excited when Gary decided to fly in to come with us.  It was great to have him here. 

He came over early with dad so we were able to get a few pictures with him.

Caitlyn had a dream recently that she went to the temple and grandma was there. In the dream a temple worker told Caitlyn that her grandma wanted her to wear her veil and Caitlyn happily did that.  Caitlyn has been worried about grandma since she passed away and prays every night that she is healthy, happy and safe. In her dream grandma came over to her and hugged her and told her that the last few months of her life were hard, but she was happy, healthy and safe now.  In her dream I couldn't see my mom so grandma told Caitlyn to tell me that she loves me.  The dream brought Caitlyn a lot of comfort and was an answer to her prayers. 

It was very special for me to escort my daughter through the temple. Caitlyn had a great experience and when we were leaving after it was over she said, "that was the best decision I ever made."

Elena snapped this picture when we were all walking out.  Caitlyn invited a lot of people who we didn't get a picture with.  Mrs. Hoffman, Kaleb, Kiersten, Rebekah, Alisha, and Shannon all came to support her.  It meant a lot to her and to me. I'm glad she has so many people who love and care about her. 

After the temple we went over to grandpa's for ice cream and to visit for a bit.  It was a very late night, but I'm glad I had some time to visit since everyone was here for such a short time. 

It was special to have Matt, Lori, Cody and Elena here for it. 

We were so glad Lindy came too!

My mom was so excited about this Taylorsville Temple. She talked about the progress constantly while it was being built. A few years ago Caitlyn bought her a necklace with a stone from the Taylorsville Temple for her birthday and mom loved it. Caitlyn has that necklace now and wore it last night. It has been very cool to see grandma continue to love and help Caitlyn from the other side of the veil. Caitlyn misses her so much and the grief is so hard, but having the knowledge that we will see her again and that because of Christ we can be together forever is such a blessing. 

The temple has always been a source of peace and a refuge for me. I'm so grateful that Caitlyn felt that peace last night. She told me that she has never felt the spirit like that. I'm so proud of Caitlyn for preparing herself and having a desire to make covenants with God and grow closer to Him. 

Life Lately

Hallee worked hard on her project for the stem fair.  They experimented to see who shuffled cards better: a robot, or a human.  I think they concluded that the human shuffling was better. 

She loved working with Trinity. She is so happy that they have so many classes together this year. 

Keith and Wyatt went to the Jazz game.  They played the Clippers so they were excited to see Kawhi Leonard and James Harden play. 

They went to Crown Burger before and had a great night. 

Hallee and I treated ourselves to Yogurt Land while the boys were at the Jazz game. 

Another pretty sunrise on my way to work.

Mel came over and helped me cut squares out of mom's shirt.  We got a lot done and Wyatt helped iron them.  

Trinity invited Hallee to the BYU gymnastics meet. 

They had a great time and Hallee was excited that she got a cougars tail. 

Saturday night we went to Sawyer's dance recital.  She is a great dancer and really fun to watch.  We brought her some flowers and a note from Jonah.

Yesterday Wyatt blessed the sacrament for the first time.  I love that I can message Jonah anytime.  I took this picture (before the meeting started) so I could tell him that Wyatt was going to bless the sacrament.  He can only respond on P-day, but he can like it. It's fun that he can be involved in little ways like that.  Wyatt did great and blessed the water. It's crazy to me that he is a priest. It feels like yesterday that Jonah was ordained a priest. Wyatt takes his duties seriously and does them reverently. He's a great kid, with just a bit of teenage attitude mixed in!