One Very Busy Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is usually a very fun-filled and busy time for most families, but this year, it was extra busy at our home. To start things off, Thursday May 27th was Steven's graduation from Higley High School. The ceremony was nothing out of the ordinary, but Steven was mentioned in the Valedictorian's speech for his memorable lip sync dance (where he won $300 which was used to purchase his mission suit). Steven graduated with Honors. :)

After a late night graduation party (supervised by the Stake President!), Steven got up at around 4am to leave for a Senior trip to Lake Powell with a small group of friends from the ward/stake. They camped out on the lake and spent the next few days water skiing, cliff jumping and just relaxing together.

While Steven was away at Lake Powell his abuelos Lindheimer arrived with tia Guga from Utah. It had been a few years since they had come to Arizona, so we had a fun time running around to some of the sights, such as Canyon Lake and South Mountain. We also made matambre, empanadas and drank mate...it was a great time. Steven was scheduled to come home Monday evening, so we made arrangements with our High Councilor to come over to the house at 7pm so that Steven could be ordained an Elder. It was nice to be able to have family members from both sides who were able to participate in the ordination.

The following day, Tues. June 1st Steven had an appointment at the Mesa Temple to receive his endowments. Steven and Dad got up early and went ahead to prepare for the 9:30am session. Part of the preparation was a personal meeting with President Garn, the Mesa Temple President, which was very spiritual and uplifting. Those who were able to join us for the session were Grandma & Grandpa Neher, Abuelos Lindheimer, Aunt Rebecca, Aunt Jen, Travis & Weston Dutson, Leslie Thompson and Pres. Hauserman.

 

Looking back on that weekend now, it is amazing that everything happened so smoothly. So many important and significant events in such a short period of time! I am sure that Steven's head must have been spinning after that weekend, but it will always be something that he can look back and remember fondly when Memorial Day rolls around in the future.

Opening the Mission Call - April 22, 2010

"Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation."   - D&C 31:3

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Well, where do you begin a mission blog? One might say that you could go all the way back to the day that the missionary was born and his parents looked upon him with wonder and awe as they thought of what the Lord had in store for him throughout his life, but for the sake of time (and tears) we will start this story on the day the mission call arrived in the mail.

Steven was the first missionary in the Gilbert, AZ San Tan Stake to be able to turn in his papers 120 days before his 19th birthday (for a long time it had been only 90 days prior and for the past few months it had been expanded to 100 days). With dad serving as the Stake Executive Secretary and having access to the online recommend process, we watched as the application made its way through the different levels at Church headquarters until it said "Call Letter Sent". In Arizona, if the status shows "Call Letter Sent" by Friday, the letter will arrive at the home on Thursday of the following week.

Preparations were set in motion to have friends and family over to the house on Thursday, April 22nd to open the letter. Thursday came around and luckily for us, the letter arrived just as planned! Mom & Dad took him out of school and went to lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ and talked about the excitement that everyone was feeling. Everyone was very anxious as we waited for the designated time.

Later, a large world map was set out on the kitchen table so that everyone could make their guesses (one domestic and one foreign). Soon people started arriving and making their predictions. As is to be expected, the guesses covered the globe, but most seemed to concentrate on Spanish speaking areas (the closest guess was Guatemala).  Once everyone was in their place and after a few seconds of trying to get everyone ready, the room got really quiet (except for a few rowdy relatives listening by conference call) as Steven opened the letter and read...Honduras San Pedro Sula!!

  

Click HERE to watch Steven open his letter!

What an exciting moment and one that none of us who were there will ever forget! As we start this blog today (about a month a half before entering the MTC) it gives us reason to stop and reflect on what lies ahead. Surely there will be trials, challenges and possibly a few heartaches, but most assuredly there will be even more moments of laughter, excitement and true joy. As these words are being typed, there are people in Honduras who are waiting for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be brought into their lives, people who are waiting for the special connection that they will feel with Steven and his companions. What a joy it will be to meet these people here and to share in these experiences with him as he serves the Lord for the next 2 years.

Stay tuned,
Greg (Dad)