Well, our time in Salt Lake is coming to an end and I have very mixed feelings. We will leave in the morning to travel back to Mesa, Arizona and finish our last three months from home. Everything is online and there is nothing we are doing here that we can't do at home. It still seems strange to leave our "Celestial Bubble" but with COVID it has not been the same. We have missed interacting with other missionaries, and even the wonderful activities and resources that Salt Lake had to offer before the shutdown and closure of all the buildings around Temple Square. We have mostly been Packing and getting rid of the things that we are not taking home. Since there is no longer a monthly missionary swap meet we have been taking stuff to the foyer and surprisingly, things disappear. It is hard to believe how much "stuff" you can accumulate in nine months.
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| Celestial Bubble |
We had a mission devotional on Wednesday where they changed the mission presidency as the McKnight's are also going home. Our new 2nd councilor is Elder Sherril. He had been home for 22 days and was called back. We did not know him as he was in the other branch and worked at the Family History Zone. People who know him say he will be amazing. Elder Unger will now be the first councilor.
Heather, Shaylin, Heidi, and Alea came on Friday. They had brought Shaylin up to BYU and it was good to see them. We had dinner and played games and then they all left but Heidi who spent the night with us. It will be good to be closer to family when we get home but there are definitely things I will miss from here.
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| August 14, 2020 lookin South East |
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| Debra, Heidi, Alea, Heather, Shaylin West side of the temple looking East. |
Friday they had a farwell zoom party for the Botts and us. I had an appointment to digitize negatives at the Family History Library. I was there all alone with two employees. The way I got the appointment was through Julee Roberts, my high school friend. Her sister Joni Kelser works there and made arrangements to meet me there. I feel so blessed to able to get some done, but it will take me months to get all of them done. I found pictures I had never seen. So amazing. I hope they have the equipment at the FHL in Mesa when it opens.
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| Bob learning a new game There's a Moose in the House |
They started putting up the Christmas lights this week. It seems they just get them down and they start putting them up again.
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| Putting up Christmas lights in August at 98 degrees. |
Saturday the 15th we had a Mission Conference with Elder Christofferson (12) and Elder Teixeira and Elder Schmeil (70s). They spoke to our mission for two hours. We even were favored by the Tabernacle Choir (prerecorded). Of course it was all on Zoom, but it was amazing. One of the things that hit me was when Elder Christofferson said that things are going to get harder. What? I did not want to hear that! There is hope that the temples will open again but no idea when.
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| Elder Christofferson talking to the Salt Lake Headquarters Mission August 15, 2020 |
We hope that we will be able to get everything in the car in the morning, if not? Found out this morning that more of our missionaries have COVID, including the couple one floor above us.
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