On Our Way Home

Aaron had to fly from Kansas City to go on a business trip leaving Este and I to make the eight hour drive home. Este drove the whole way. I was the navigator and I am so grateful for modern technology. The GPS was amazing not just for navigation but also to monitor the weather (We drove through a major thunderstorm.)

Our drive home took us directly through Moore, Oklahoma. On May 20, 2013 an F5 tornado (the most powerful rating) ripped through the town demolishing two schools and hundreds of homes. Twenty-four people were killed including nine children.

As we drove through Moore, I commented to the kids about how "normal" everything looked. As soon as I said those words we saw this.

It was hard to grab my phone and snap a photo as we were traveling at 70 m.p.h. down the interstate.

The remains of a billboard are on the left of the photo.  If you look closely you can see a man walking in front of the debris. That shows how high the debris is piled up. On the right of the photo you can see the "remains"  of a shopping center. The houses directly across the interstate were also heavily damaged. The movie theater next to the shopping center appeared to be unscathed.

We also saw churches being used as emergency shelters. Their parking lots were full.

We saw areas where there were mobile trailers set up for various home owner insurances.

We saw semis full of food and supplies and other various disaster relief.

We saw dump trucks full of debris. There were lots of dump trucks and even more debris. The work won't end for months and months.

Then, a few minutes later, everything was back right to "normal"

We were grateful to arrive home safely. It is always so nice to be home and sleep in our own beds. The memories we made were so worth it. The opportunity to visualize church history and to imagine the experiences of our ancestors. The feelings that we felt and things that we learned were amazing. Then, to top it all off, our ride home reminded us how nice it is to have a house to come home to. Sometimes you have to get away to appreciate all that you have right in front of you all along.

Local Foodies

While in Kansas City we had to get some BBQ. Here in Texas the BBQ is dry and smoked. In Kansas City is is known for it's moistness and sauce. We needed to get  KC BBQ while we were there so we could compare the two. Some friends recommended Oklahoma Joe's. Zagat agreed with them and when we showed up and the line was out the door we knew we were in the right place. We are always seeking out the places where the local foodies eat.

 Plus, any BBQ joint with a neon pig in the window has got to be legit, right?

I had the brisket. It was really moist and I quite liked it. The potato salad was interesting. I couldn't figure out what made the sauce different. They didn't have creamed corn (how is that possible?) The 

coleslaw was just ok. 

Ethan really liked the pulled pork sandwich.

 Vanessa, of course, had some ribs. She is our resident carnivore.

Este followed Pete's advice and ordered the rib meal. He was not disappointed.

It was definatley worth the wait in line. While the BBQ was delicious and we enjoyed trying a new take on it, we will remain loyal to our Texas BBQ (that's no surprise.) We find this map of BBQ to be accurate.

We also visited the local frozen custard place.

I always get the vanilla shake with peanut butter cups. Not only is it my favorite, but it makes it easier to compare with other places. This little treat was good,  but still not the best (you can nver go wrong with peanut butter cups in anything). So far, the ice cream store in Torrey, Utah has the best peanut better cups shake. 

By the end the kids were getting tired of me taking photos of them eating. 

I don't know why, it's all just part of the experience.

Nature

We went to Adam-ondi-Ahman. There is not a lot to say just a lot to show.

It was so wonderful to listen to the leaves blow in the wind. We could hear birds chirping. I loved the humidity and smell in the air. Everything was so lush and green. It was incredible being back in nature again. 

We took a short walk down a trail and simply enjoyed being together as a family. 

We stopped in one area and had a short family scripture study and shared what we were thankful for that day (a family tradition). It was so peaceful and calm. There are some things in life that I will never forget. There are some things in life that make everything else so worth it. Here are a few of those things and some of my favorite candid photos of all time. 

Sacred Ground

We attended Sacrament Meeting on Sunday while we were in Kansas City. I love, love, love attending church while on vacation. I love knowing the doctrine is the same where ever we go. I love hearing talks and testimonies from people I don't know. Members often assume we are a new family moving into the ward. They are kind and welcoming. I always ask how many kids are in their Primary. (We have 210 children in ours so I like to compare.) In this particular meeting, we learned that we should delight in fatness (See Isaiah 55:2). Spiritual fatness that is. Our family found this quite amusing. It will always be a good memory for our family.

After church we had a picnic in our hotel room then headed to Farr West, a settlement for the early members of the church. It was supposed to be a place of refuge after the mobs drove them from Independence. It was here that Joseph Smith dedicated a piece of land for a temple. The cornerstones were laid at that time and the Mormons were soon driven completely from the state of Missouri. The temple was never built. The cornerstones remain to this day.

Besides the cornerstones, all that is in the area of what would be the temple is a granite monument.

 I don't know how to describe how I felt at this site. Simply said, I knew we were standing on sacred ground. The thought of the early church leaders that stood on this same ground was incredible.

There was close to 8,000 Mormons driven from this area in 1838. Interestingly enough, there is very little here that remains here today. Just a few houses. It is very quiet. This place was once the headquarters of the church and the center of activity for the members, now it is tranquil farmland.

I couldn't help but think about those early pioneers as they were forced from their homes in Farr West in the dead of winter. In the church manual, Our Heritage, it tells of the John Hammer family that was one of the many families who sought refuge. John recalled the difficult conditions: “Well do I remember the sufferings and cruelties of those days. … Our family had one wagon, and one blind horse was all we possessed towards a team, and that one blind horse had to transport our effects to the State of Illinois. We traded our wagon with a brother who had two horses, for a light one horse wagon, this accommodating both parties. Into this small wagon we placed our clothes, bedding, some corn meal and what scanty provisions we could muster, and started out into the cold and frost to travel on foot, to eat and sleep by the wayside with the canopy of heaven for a covering. But the biting frosts of those nights and the piercing winds were less barbarous and pitiful than the demons in human form before whose fury we fled. … Our family, as well as many others, were almost bare-footed, and some had to wrap their feet in cloths in order to keep them from freezing and protect them from the sharp points of the frozen ground. This, at best, was very imperfect protection, and often the blood from our feet marked the frozen earth. My mother and sister were the only members of our family who had shoes, and these became worn out and almost useless before we reached the then hospitable shores of Illinois.”

I am grateful for my heritage in the church. I am grateful for the example of those before me that endured impossible things and yet refused to lose faith in Jesus Christ. I am grateful to be reminded what it means to stand on sacred ground.

Liberty Jail

We visited the Liberty Jail. This is the place where Joseph Smith was held for four months in the winter of 1838.

There was no trial. He had been accused of treason with out evidence. His family and friends were being forced from their homes by mobs at the same time that he sat in this freezing fortress. He entered here on December 1, 1838. A crowd had gathered to see the famed "Joe Smith" as he entered this door to the jail, he simply said to the crowd, "Good Afternoon, Gentlemen."

The walls are 4 feet thick. They were held in the dungeon of a basement. The ground was stone with only dirty straw to cover it. The ceiling was so low that most of the men could not stand fully erect. The food was dirty and the conditions were horrible.

It was here that he prayed to the Lord saying, "O God, where are thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea they pure eye, behold from the eternal heaven the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?" (Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-2)

He received the following answer from the Lord, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands." (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-9).

I know the Lord will never abandon us. He will never leave us alone. If He can bring comfort and peace to a cold dark dungeon on the edge of what then was the western frontier, He can bring comfort and peace to all of us where ever we may be.

Kansas City Weekend

We decided to take advantage of the four day Memorial Day weekend to go on an adventure. We know that our time of "someday we'll go" is here and now. Our "someday" is upon us so if we really want to go somewhere we need to go. We realized Kansas City was only an 8 hour drive from home. We decided to would be fun to see the church history sites and to explore a new area.We packed our bags and headed out.

Our first stop was the Independence Visitors' Center. I know these centers are mainly to share our beliefs with those who are not of our faith, but they also serve as a good reminder for all of us as to why our beliefs are so important.

Sister Rogers, a sister missionary, spent most of the day with our family. She got to know us all by name. She shared personal stories with us. We shared personal stories with her. She handled our teenage boys and pre-teen girls with the greatest of ease. We had a wonderful day with her. The kids were all delighted when she predicted where they would serve their missions. We have her email so we can let her know where they are going. It is amazing to me how fast you can build a relationship with a complete stranger. It feels as if she was part of our family for the day.

I loved the exhibit about families. It portrayed a family whose children were growing up and leaving home at the same time that they lost a grandparent. With Aaron's mom still sick in the hospital and facing the reality of one-more-year before Este leaves and our family changes forever, it was really personal for me. I am so grateful for the knowledge that there is life after death. I am grateful to know that our family bond will last forever. I know it is part of Heavenly Father's plan that my children grow and eventually have their own children.  I will ever be grateful for the things that I heard and felt during this presentation.

I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is very real. I know it is the answer to all the sadness and problems in the world today. I know the members of this church are not perfect, myself and family included, but I know that the gospel helps each of us who follow the teachings to be better people. I am happy to be reminded of just that.