We enjoyed a beautiful celebration on Sunday evening after Ben's talk in Sacrament Meeting. (By the way, he spoke about Pioneering Faith). We enjoyed spending time with so many friends and family before Ben leaves. We didn't get very many photos, but here are a few:
"Individual progression is fostered in the family.... The
home is to be God’s laboratory of love and service. There a husband is
to love his wife, a wife is to love her husband, and parents and
children are to love one another."
—Russell M. Nelson, "Salvation and Exaltation"
"Do you know how important you are? Every one of you—right
now—is valuable and essential in Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. We
have a work to do. We know the truth of the restored gospel. Are we
ready to defend that truth? We need to live it; we need to share it. We
must stand firm in our faith and lift our voices to proclaim true
doctrine."
—Neill F. Marriott, "Sharing Your Light"
The summer has been one of special experiences for Ben. These include:
Megan's Mission Call:
Ben and Megan have been best little cousins since Day 1. She received her mission call last month to Porto, Portugal. It was wonderful celebrating with her and her family. She's going to be a faith-filled missionary!
Spencer's Ordination:
Ben had the blessed opportunity to ordain Spencer to the office of Priest. It was a beautiful brother to brother moment and a great experience to prepare him for his mission.
Daniel's Mission Farewell:
Ben's best friend since 7th grade left for his mission to Mexico at the end of July. We're so proud of his choice to serve and wish him the very best. What a blessing for them to serve together though they're worlds apart. Here's a few pics of their friendship:
"I pray that ... we may each of us do all things that lie in
our power to teach our youth what source they may look to for a
remission of their sins, even the Lord Jesus Christ. May we each respond
with our most sincere efforts to “all hands on deck” as it pertains to
saving our own rising generation—they are certainly worth our very best
efforts."
—Ronald A. Rasband, "Our Rising Generation"
A big thank you to our good friend, Rich Hart. We are forever grateful!
"Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we
stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and
move forward."
—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "You Can Do It Now!"
Thanks to Tresa Haymond for the beautiful photos of Ben to celebrate his mission. We wanted to have a "Boston Harbor" type of setting so we chose to take the photos at the Lindon Marina. That's one handsome missionary!
"The Lord made it clear at the very start of this last
dispensation that we were to take the gospel to all the world. What He
said to the few priesthood holders in 1831 He says to the many now.
Whatever our age, capacity, Church calling, or location, we are as one
called to the work to help Him in His harvest of souls until He comes
again."
Part of Ben's mission journey was reaching some health milestones of which we all participated in. We hit our goal and celebrated with a 12 day trip to the East Coast, a Cruise to Florida and the Bahamas and a visit to Ben's Mission. The whole trip was superb! We loved spending time with family, seeing the sites, eating delicious food on the cruise and driving from New York to Boston. We were able to see much of Ben's mission, including the two temples in the mission and we visited our good friends in MA one night. He was especially excited to see where he will be serving in a few short months. We drove through Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and up to New Hampshire.
New York
A visit to the city, Yankees Game, Time with the Newmans
Florida/Bahamas Cruise
Air Boat Rides through the Florida swamps, the Orlando Eye, eating Gator, Turtle, Frog Legs, Snorkeling, Nassau Tour, Conch Salad
Ben's Mission!
Drive to Hartford, CT, visit to Newport, RI, time with friends in MA, Plymouth, Downtown Boston, Duck Tour, Italian District, Minuteman Park, Boston Temple, New Hampshire
"In stories, as in life, adversity teaches us things we
cannot learn otherwise. Adversity helps to develop a depth of
character."
—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Your Happily Ever After"
