July 11, 2016
Dear Sister Kristina,
How was your week? We thought of you a lot since dad and I were in SoCal last week. It’s so great to step off the plane and feel that moist California air. Do you have that same air up there? I love feeling the beach air.
Our trip last week was very needed and it was so fun getting away with dad even if it was just for a few days. We pretended like we had no cares in the world. :) We got there early Wed morning and went straight to grandpa’s. He looks about the same, but it’s pretty obvious he struggles with things. It’s hard for him to walk, to talk, etc but then parts of the day, he told stories like usual and it was fun talking with him.
Dad and I went to the City Block shopping area, El Pollo Loco (of course), Fashion Island, Balboa Beach, Laguna Beach, El Torito with Toni, etc. We spent most of our time at the beach. Laguna Beach was so beautiful. I would like to go back there and spend some time.
The girls went to girls camp and it sounds like it was great. Nikki absolutely loved it. She did the 4th year hike and even went fishing and caught the most fish. The Binghams led the way so you know it was great. She said she knows she can do hard things now. Here are some pics from her 4th year hike and overnighter.
Here are a couple pics from our trip:
Balboa from the pier
From Laguna Beach:
Leah had a rougher time at camp and didn’t enjoy it as much. Sometimes she did things, but as the day wore on, she started refusing to participate, so her view of girls camp wasn’t the same as Nikki’s. But on Sunday, I heard people asking Leah how girls camp was and she said it was fun. So I don’t really know how things went, but she ended up having to call us twice while there. Then on Saturday, they stopped at a lake on the way home to boat, but both girls didn’t want to do that, so they caught rides home early. Nikki is totally looking forward to being a YCL next year, so that’s great.
This week Nikki is getting ready for her big trip to California to stay with Aunt Jan. She leaves next Monday and flies out all by herself to Santa Maria. So I’m helping her get ready this week. She is very excited and I hope her flight goes well for her. She actually flies into San Fran first for a short layover, but she’s going to call me and I’ll help her make sure she gets to the right gate for her next flight. Then she flies straight into Santa Maria where Jan lives. In fact the airport is only about ten mintues away. Jan is very excited to have her there and is already making lots of fun plans for her. While she’s there, Leah and I will make a little trip to Utah to help celebrate Addie’s 2nd birthday!!! We face timed with them yesterday and Addie was helping make banana bread, so she was talking with Nana making nana bread. haha She kept saying, “Nana, look.” “Nana, eggs, look.” So cute and I love hearing her talk to me. She says a lot of things, but some things are hard to decipher. :) Whenever we leave, I taught her to do tight loves. But she puts her arms around herself and squeezes and says, “tight love.”
We’re having the sister missionaries over for dinner tomorrow night. Of course, the girls voted on having Chicken Ole. It’s their missionary dinner favorite and usually none of the missionaries have ever had that. What are some of the meals you get served and what have been your favorites???
Alex’s birthday is this Friday…just FYI.
Hey, just so you remember, it’s 7/11 today if you have a 7/11 near you, go get your free slurpee!!
Sorry I was so late writing. I can’t believe how many things were going on this morning. And your letter….wow, what a week. It goes along with the thought I had yesterday for you. I can’t believe how wonderfully the spirit works.
Two things yesterday. The first was a small thing, but I still love the little reminders of how the spirit works. In RS they asked me to give the opening prayer. So during the song I all of a sudden started thinking about saying the prayer and I kept thinking about our covenants. So during my prayer I thanked Heavenly Father for the covenants we’ve been able to make with Him and how much they mean to us and to help us remember our covenants so that we can help bring our families back to Him and together. Something along those lines. I can’t really remember now, but right after the prayer, Lonni Barker looked over at me and asked “Did you read the lesson?” She was teaching yesterday and I was a little embarrassed to say no, that I hadn’t read the lesson. She said, “Really?” “You don’t know how perfect your prayer was for what I’ve been thinking about for my lesson.”
Then that’s when I remembered that I kept having the words “our covenants” go through my mind when I was thinking about saying the prayer. I remember that even when I prayed I asked that we might have the spirit continue to teach us through the lessons we hear, the songs we sing and the prayers we hear. I know this was a little thing, but my whole life has been full of hundreds, probably thousands of little things where I’m reminded that I have the most beautiful gift that has been given to me, the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The second thing happened when I was in Sacrament meeting. Yesterday was Grant Reeve’s farewell. He gave a wonderful talk and he sounds so prepared for his mission. At the end, the Bishop said a few words, then Pres. Shaw got up to say a few words. It was during Pres. Shaw’s remarks that I felt impressed to write something down to send to you. He said that missions are a wonderfully unique period of time. He said, “Missions magnify our weaknesses because so much happens in such a concentrated amount of time. It’s something that most of us as members have to learn throughout our whole lives, but that’s when you get on your knees and pray for strength.”
By the sound of your letter, this is exactly what happened last week. So many life lessons in such a short period of time and sometimes that just overwhelms us to the point of tears. But I read a quote about tears that said, “It’s better to cry than to be angry because anger hurts others while tears flow silently through the soul and cleanses the heart”. Your tears last week cleansed your soul and heart and then you moved forward with the help of the spirit. I’ve been having a lot of cleansing also lately. :)
You have a caring, strong and empathetic soul that is so wonderful for those around you on your mission. Heavenly Father sure knew where He needed you. My heart also goes out to those sisters who are struggling with mental issues. It’s very real and they are blessed to have you, your companion and your awesome mission president and his wife in their lives.
Here’s one more picture from Laguna Beach. There was a beautiful walking path on the cliff that was above the ocean. There were so many different kinds of trees and plants and each one was unique and beautiful, yet each one has endured the hardships and blessings of living and growing in a somewhat harsh environment, the sea water, the winds, etc. This tree has been through a lot, but it was so beautiful to me because of how it had endured. I couldn’t help but take a quick picture of it.
I hope this week goes a little smoother for you and that Sister Stromberg regains all her strength back. Give her a hug for me.
Love you more than you know,
Mom xxoo
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