"The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe": Utah

I got back from Utah on Monday! It was such an amazing trip! Met so many awesome people, learned a lot, and really gained some insight on the future. Unfortunately, I didn't journal every night like I had originally planned, but here's some excerpts from the few nights I did journal...

April 18:

"I'M IN UTAH!! This is unbelievable. I am filled with so many emotions right now. All I know is, it's been a great day."

"We didn't even get out there today, but just from hearing the stories/conversations and just being in this place, I feel so much God! I can't get enough. I know that I am so extremely nervous to talk to people, but my nerves are completely covered up by excitement and happiness to see what God is doing in this place. I think I might want to be a part of that."

April 19:

"Today was mostly spent at Temple Square. It was awesome! I loved having multiple missionaries willing to talk and tour with us."

"Stephen did most of the talking... Scratch that, Stephen did all of the talking. I HAD MY FIRST FAIL THOUGH! I'm looking at failures with a positive mindset because I've really been trying to focus on that struggle lately. Anyway, one of the things I feel somewhat okay discussing is the Mormon idea of eternal families/marriages. Well, one of our tours just happened to take us through a presentation on those very subjects. Stephen gave me the PERFECT set up for a discussion and I completely rejected it! I know I went into today not really wanting to talk, but how could I pass up that opportunity?! I'm such a lame-o sometimes :)"

"So basically today was another great day! One of my favorite things about being here is that almost everything done revolves around Christ.. Especially the conversations! It's all about getting people to come to Him, and constant opportunities that arise out of nowhere! This isn't something I'm used to, and I LOVE IT!"

April 20:

"Today was yet another amazing day in good ole' Utah and I'm falling more and more in love with this place every minute."

"Stephen and I made a second trip to Temple Square today. We got tours of both the Conference Center (which, by the way, is HUGE), and the Beehive house. Stephen again did the conversing, but I didn't feel like a failure. I know it's weird since I didn't talk, but I feel like progress is being made. I'm mentalling preparing myself better with every conversation, and I even had my own conversation with Pat (Conference Center tour guide) in my head while Stephen talked to him and I was able to keep up and remember a few verses!"

"Temple Square is all-around beautiful, and I caught myself not wanting to leave. I have the desire to talk to people.. I just have to take that leap!"

April 24:

"Happy Easter! Today was such a great day, and all of the preparation The Bridge has been doing seemed like it paid off! I was helping out/having fun in the nursery (which is weird, because kids usually make me uncomfortable) so I didn't actually get to see the service but I heard such great things about it! I was lucky enough to get to see the baptism videos, and it was so encouraging to see these 5 different people, all with amazing and different backgrounds, share their testimonies as they took that public confession of faith.

My favorite part had to be after service, though. This was a REALLY big moment for me to witness... While passing out door hangers on Friday night, Stephen, Loren, and I were walking back to the Pankratz' house. We happened to come across an older man named Davy Crockett Numbers who was doing yardwork. (CUTEST old man with an awesome hat, and high-top Chuck Taylors!) He began talking to us, and what started as small talk led to an invite to today's service. He told us how he grew up Mormon, even went on a mission, but then became inactive. He said that he had been to plenty of different churches, and that he was open-minded... It was his wife that was "stuck in her ways." He seemed pretty interested, but of course, you can't get too hopeful. Well, after today's service I was talking to Sheila, a woman who had gotten baptized, and guess who I see walking out of the room with Loren? DAVY CROCKETT NUMBERS!! I was SO EXCITED! I couldn't believe he had come! He joined in mine and Sheila's conversation, and told me about his wife sitting in the truck in the parking lot and how she kept calling him so he turned his phone off to stop the disruptions.. Then he proceeded to tell me about the jewelry he makes, and pulled some out of his jacket which caused me to wonder if he was actually just making jewelry during the service. He quickly put that judgement (I'll admit, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions) to shame when he told me that he brought it to work on but "Loren's sermon was just too interesting!" HOW AMAZING WAS THAT?! He told me that he'd be coming back, and was even considering baptism in the future.

I can't even explain how much joy that brought to my heart. I'm praying for him and his *hopefully* newfound desire for Christ.. I'm also praying for his wife. I really hope her heart will be softened and she will at least give it a chance"

"Even though I miss people at home, I'm REALLY sad to be leaving this place. It's just so amazing! The opportunities for ministry continue to blow my mind, and from my short time here, I've really grown a huge heart for Utah, and all of the people here."

"Today was such a great day. I couldn't think of any other way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! Thank you for the cross!"

Of course there were plenty of other things from the week that I didn't get to journal about, and so many fun things we did, but I've already made this blog post SUPER long! I think I made it really obvious how much I loved the trip, and how life-changing (ahhh.. dramatic me :)) it was, so I'm just going to end with a cumulative list of some things I learned over the week, and some pictures!!

What I learned in Utah: (Taken from journal writings)
-The need to speak up
-Mormons LOVE Stephen (neither of us can figure out why)
-Eli and Asher are by far the cutest kids I've ever met
-GOD IS TOO GOOD!
-All I want to do is study
-Having a strong testimony is really beneficial in conversations
-How to play Bocce Ball, Farkle, and Build a Heresy (All of which have become fav. games)
-How I operate, as far as being put in new situations
-I'm starting to feel comfortable with kids (Or maybe just kids in Utah)
-Why Utah's obsessed with beehives!
-GOD MOVES IN AMAZING WAYS!!
-A VERY deep love for the broken and the lost in Utah
-Trust

Snowy mountains in California on the way!

He apparently didn't enjoy me taking his picture, but this picture looks like he was posing so I think it was just an act :)

First sight of Utah mountains!!

Stephen calls this "Jesus of the Universe," which looks accurate, but the technical name is Christus. Fun fact: Not a single verse in the presentation is from the Book of Mormon.