Super Day

Super Smack Down

Saturday, 28 January 2017 - For one of my last days to play with my family before I go, I went with my dad and brother to Thanksgiving Point for their Superhero Day.  My sister was working at the event and we went down to see what she's been working on.  It was designed for younger kids, but we had fun dressing up (I'm the Nuclear Ninja for you Studio C fans) and it was fun seeing the little kids dressed up.  My sister was dressed as Kara/Supergirl, and a little girl thought she looked pretty real.  She followed Lia around for a while until her mom told Lia that Supergirl was her favorite and asked if she could take a picture with her.  It was very cute.

I also made up a super power for myself (I can fly--but only North), a superhero name (Compass Man), and drew a little comic strip about it.  (The bad guys flying a ship ahead of me got away by turning around.)

A Different Kind of Superhero

Last week I gave my farewell talk at church, and an open house reception the day before.  At the open house, we had a french fry bar with toppings for Canadian Poutine, Chilean Corrillana, Chili-Cheese fries, and loaded baked potatoes.  We made Canadian desserts of Butter Tarts and Beaver Tails, and my grandma brought cherry bars and Buckeye candies.  It was super good and we had a super turn out.  Thank you, everyone, who came to celebrate with me and wish me luck!

My sacrament meeting talk was about service, and especially missionary service.  A man who spoke with me quoted James 1:27 which essentially says that pure religion is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, which I think means to help and be with those who are lonely, distressed, or variously afflicted.   I'm glad that, as a missionary, not only will I be able to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I will also be able to love and serve the Canadian people--to give blessings, to clean or mend or build or feed, or even just give a hug or pat on the back to let a person know that someone cares about them.

Family Heritage

Zempter Grandparents

I started out the new year visiting with family in St. George, Utah.  As I look back on the year just completed, I remember the summer trip we took to San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, western Nevada, and northern California.  With mountain passes, an alpine lake, vineyards, a magic show, the Golden Gate bridge, Chinatown and Star Trek locations, that was one of my favorite activities of the year.

For our New Year activities, we played lots of board games with the Zempters and watched some videos.  My family likes to celebrate low key, and we like to do all kinds of things together.

I began 2017 by attending church with my Hill grandparents.  The speakers were two sister missionaries, one from England who was in her thirties and had joined the church fairly recently.  She talked about how challenging experiences in her life brought her to where she was.  The other sister was from South Carolina, and she was very bubbly and talkative.  She was younger and very anxious to serve others.  They both were close to ending their missions and going home, and I think both were grateful for the chance they've had to serve.

Hill Grandparents

Also on the first day of the year, I watched some of "The District" episodes that are available on the Mormon Channel.  They give a lot of insight into the lives of missionaries and the people they teach and serve.  They are helping me be prepared for the adventure to come.

My goals for the new year (as you would probably expect) are to better learn the gospel of Jesus Christ, to be successful as a missionary, to draw closer to God through the Holy Ghost, and to love and serve others.

This week I'm planning to go to the temple and receive my "endowment".  If you are not already aware, the endowment ordinance is much like baptism or the sacrament in that it uses symbolism, wherein the participant demonstrates that they are making a covenant with God to keep His commandments and receive blessings associated with obedience to their principles.  (Baptism symbolizes death, cleansing, and rebirth.  The sacrament uses symbols of bread and water that we receive as reminders of the bodily sacrifice of Jesus Christ.)