Twice Removed from Barack!!!

The principle of “six degrees of separation” refers to the idea that everyone is approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth.  If that is the case, I am now just TWO steps away from Barack Obama!!!

When the plight of the desert tortoise was a huge issue in Washington County a number of years ago, I was hired to serve as the administrative assistant to Steve Snow, then-chairman of the much-maligned Washington County Habitat Conservation Planning Committee before he was called to the Church's First Quorum of Seventy.  In April 2012 General Conference, he was given additional responsibility when he was sustained as the Church Historian.

When we were in Guyana, I found a wonderful handwritten (by several missionary couples) history of the Church in "the land of many waters" (time period of 1988 to 1993) in a dresser drawer.  Knowing Steve is now the Church Historian, I brought this historical treasure home with me, intent on delivering it to him at his office in Salt Lake City, but I can’t travel out of the county until early September because of my eye.  As luck would have it, I ran into Elder Snow at Target here in St. George (he’s one of our homeboys) where I told him about my find.  He was excited and offered to stop by the house and pick it up before he and his wife returned to Salt Lake City.  In our family room, we visited briefly about his new assignment and how they were enjoying life in the big city.  That was last week!

Today there was a story on the KSL-TV website indicating "Elder Steven Snow of the First Quorum of the Seventy was appointed to be a member of the President's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.  According to the White House, the advisory council "brings together leaders and experts in fields related to the work of faith-based and neighborhood organizations in order to make recommendations to government on how to improve partnerships."

So, if the theory of 6 degrees of separation is valid, Barack and I now have a friend-in-common.  Dang, it really is a small world!!!

Another Sappington Family Reunion

Charlene was here to welcome us home at the end of June, then went home to Fresno and came back in mid-July with Tiffany, Bob, their 3 boys (Ben, Phillip and Josh), and Bob's parents.  Actually, they had a timeshare in Las Vegas so just drove up for the day.  We visited Brigham Young and Jacob Hamblin's homes and enjoyed a bar-be-que chicken dinner (with Dutch oven potatoes).  Stacy and Rick came with their girls (Kendi, Danielle, Taisley and Rilee).  It was the first time Charlene's family had met Rick.  He and Bob - both famous for their great sense-of-humor, particularly relating to the "challenge" of being married to Sappington women - hit it off like long lost brothers!  It was a fun day filled with lots of "remember when" stories, good food and laughter!

Poor Beechers

Elder Bob and Sister Katie Beecher, our replacements in Guyana, drove from their home in Lehi this weekend to spend two days picking our brains so they could learn what we know about PEF, ERS and everything else related to Guyana.  Happy for the chance to share our experiences, we gushed on and on from morning to night until we were quite certain they could take no more, but they seemed excited to hear everything we could tell them.  In the end their eyes were spinning and they had writers cramp from the pages and pages of notes taken . . . but, what a lovely couple!  We are certain they have been called by a loving Heavenly Father and a prophet of God to serve those we love in Guyana.  They left in the late afternoon on Saturday . . . with corks in their ears so the details of our service in “the land of many waters” wouldn’t run out and down onto their shoulders. 

They enter the MTC on September 3 and expect to be in Guyana on or about September 16.  We wish we could go along!!!

Partying On!

On Tuesday, July 4 the celebration of America's 236th birthday at St. George City Park was crowded, the wait was long, but well worth it when the City of St. George provided the biggest and best fireworks show ever!!!  Adyn enjoyed it all, but Skylar wasn't so sure!!!

And just when we thought there was no more fun to be had during our very busy family reunion week . . . on Friday, July 7 we celebrated Adyn's 4th birthday at the Hidden Valley Park and Splash Pad.  Another HOT day in Dixie, but the cold water falls made it bearable . . . and fun for everyone - even the grown ups.

Family Reunion

We flew home from Guyana on June 11 because of my eye problem, but June 28 was the original date for our homecoming so our kids and grandkids had all scheduled a trip to St. George to welcome us back after 18 months.   For the first time in many years, almost every member of the family came . . . five of our six children (David was unable to get away from work), both daughters-in-law, all of our 13 grandchildren, my brother Larry from Seattle, and my sister-in-law from Fresno.  Even the Harris’ with whom we served in Guyana came down from Layton.  Needless to say, late June in St. George was uncomfortably HOT for most family members (up to 106 on one day) and often we had total chaos, but we had a great time catching up on everyone’s news, playing Uno and Skipbo, playing in the water and taking lots of pictures.   The food was delicious and plentiful . . . it was a great weekend!

Our Replacements

If "three is the charm" . . . then five must be "the choice!" because there have been five couples who were supposedly coming to Guyana to take over our PEF, ERS and YSA responsibilities.

The first couple was from Missouri.  They were willing to come to Guyana, they said, on the condition there would be no mosquitos, no humidity, no crime in the country and no planes crashing while they were here!

 

The second couple had already served a mission in Guyana and really, really wanted to come back, but their call to a second mission in "the land of many waters" didn't happen.

The third couple was from our very own Bloomington 7th Ward.  The Hooks had previously served two back-to-back PEF missions in South Africa, so we all thought they were perfect for Guyana.  Apparently the brethren in Salt Lake City thought they were needed elsewhere.  Their call?  Member support missionaries in Independence, Missouri!  Go figure.

The 4th couple , Elder Melvin and Sister Carol Beutler - who we have been told are coming to replace us in Guyana - accepted the calling and are expected to arrive on June 23 from Weston, Idaho (population 450)!  Unfortunately for them, they were required to bypass the MTC in order to have five days with us so we can teach them all we know before we head home.  But, we didn't count on having to go home 3 weeks early because I was diagnosed with a macular hole in my right eye.

Then we heard from Elder Bob and Sister Katie Beecher from Lehi, Utah who say THEY are our replacements.  According to this "over-the-top-eager" couple, their call letter from President Monson says they are Guyana PEF!  We invited them to come to St. George so we could train them . . . they are planning to be here on July 20-21. 

"Hooray," we thought . . . then people in the DR and in the WIM office in Trinidad began asking the same question:  "who are the Beechers and who told them they were going to Guyana?"  Some investigation on my end found that the Beutlers "official" call is to be "member and leader support missionaries" . . . and the Beechers are, in fact, our replacements.

The Beutlers are doing their best to "hold the wheels on the wagon" until mid-September when the Beechers arrive . . . and there is still some question as to how the multi-tasks in Guyana (mission office, PEF, ERS, YSA, distribution center orders, immigration, transfers, etc.) will be divided between these two couples, but at least we are now getting some answers (after FIVE false starts)!