Saying Goodbye

Well, this was a rough day. Our son Conner came home from his mission in October. We enjoyed so much spending time with him, and on December 29th, he returned to the United States. There parents are so proud of their son. He was a faithful missionary, and is now going back and starting school at Weber. He has been so fun to have around.The house already seems so quiet without him here. 

Our last picture at the airport.

It made me very happy to see all my kids together again. He had a great group of family members there to greet him at the airport. 

On December 31st, he spoke in church in the Grantsville 14th ward. He had a lot of family members and a few friends there. I’m sure he’s so happy to be home, and start his life. I’m just missing him and my kids a bit right now. Haha. 

We went to Rwanda the day after Conner left. It was a very busy trip. President Collings changed out the branch presidency  in the Kigali 2nd branch. The previous branch presidency had done a wonderful job, but had been in for several years, and it was time for them to be released.  The new branch presidency will be amazing. We are excited to see the continued growth in Rwanda. 

 After church, we were invited to have dinner with President Bizimana and his wife. He was put in as the Branch President of Kigali 1st branch a couple of weeks ago. It was so fun to see their new home. His wife is a wonderful cook, and it was a great visit.

 On Monday, New Year’s Day, for preparation day, we went with the whole zone to Akagera Game Park. We asked that each missionary pay what they could for their entrance fee, and we would make up the difference. The missionaries were not asked the amount that they contributed for themselves, but we did find out that some of the missionaries did not have enough to cover the cost of the entrance fee. Several of the other missionaries approached Elder and Sister Wright, and said that they wanted to contribute extra to help those who weren’t able to pay for themselves. It was done quietly, and I was so impressed with the service they provided for each other. We have such amazing missionaries.

 The missionaries took a lot of pictures of the wildlife. I was just happy to take pictures of the missionaries. Everyone had a great time. We saw zebras, giraffes, an elephant, many different types of antelope. It was really a good experience.

Missionaries taking   pictures by the lake shore of dozens of baboons, some water birds, and hippos.

We stopped for lunch at a place called hippo beach. It did not disappoint. We saw several hippos out of the water, grazing on the shore, along with crocodiles, and more birds. 

Hippo beach had covered picnic tables. It was a perfect place to stop for lunch. Sister Wright made a wonderful picnic for the whole group. She definitely feeds the missionaries well when we get together.  Above is all the Elders with President Collings. Below is all the sister missionaries with myself and Sister Wright. 

                                 We found a hippo taking a mud bath. Very close to the road.

And a lot of other animals. 

It was a great place to spend our New Years Day! 

On Tuesday we had zone conference. The missionaries came well prepared, and we were taught well by the zone leaders, and by  the spirit. I got a little bit preoccupied, and didn’t take any pictures of the missionaries at zone conference. But we had an amazing weekend in Rwanda.