Home from Vegas

We made a quick trip to Las Vegas this weekend to visit with Jenine, Brandon and Laila. We had a great time. We visited a place called the Springs Preserve. It is an area of gardens, trails and museums. There were lots of activities for kids and lots of interesting exhibits about the desert.

We came home Sunday night and the last three hours we were driving in heavy rain. It has been in the 40s most of today and we have had hail, wind and more rain. I guess this is now the wettest spring and the wettest May ever recorded in Utah. I still have lots of garden to plant but there is no point if summer never comes.

Snakes and Academic Awards and Sweden

For some reason, blogger is not accepting any pictures right now, so I will just have to make do with words.  This Monday, I went down into the basement to get something and found a snake on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.  It reminded me of Johnstown, where we seemed to get a couple of snakes in the basement every year.  It was also Mariana's academic teams banquet on Monday.  She recieved the "Rising Star" award for being a strong contributor to the academic teams as a freshman.  Several of the teams she didn't participate on were trying hard to recruit her for next year.

I went back to Sweden again this week.  In addition to my business meeting, I was able to visit the Vasa museum.  The Vasa was built as the royal warship in 1628, but sank after sailing less than a mile from the dock.  The conditions in the Baltic sea kept it well preserved until it was raised in 1961.  I packed light, so I didn't have my good camera with me, but I took pictures with my Ipod Touch.  I put a few of them up on my facebook page since they didn't work here.

Creed is getting transferred

Transfers,
Well the time of transfers has come and I am being transferred. I am going to some place in the capitol called Simon Boulevard. It should be super interesting. The capitol is the best baptizing area there is but they also have the most missionaries there.

This area will be like capitol capitol, I think which means right in the middle of everything, which will be weird because I have never had an area like that before. I have always had areas that are out on dirt roads and far away from the capitol. But now my last area is in right in the capitol. It’s kind of crazy. I don’t know how I feel about it. I will be with a Dominican which could be cool or it could be less than cool, but I should be able to work a lot on my accent and Spanish so that is way good.

Funny culture thing-- I don’t know if you have ever seen a shirt in an store and thought to yourself who in the world would buy that shirt? Maybe it’s ugly or has some stupid phrase on the front and you can’t imagine who would be dumb enough to buy or wear that. Well the answer to that question would be Dominicans, Yes Dominicans would buy and wear that shirt. I think after no one in the States buys them they donate it and someone here buys it and then the American missionaries get a good laugh out of what their dumb shirt says. I don’t know if I have ever told you that before but it’s pretty funny.

It sounds cold at home and wet. It has been raining here too but now it’s hot and sunny again. My last title for the email is the title of a song here that taught me what volar means so that’s why I put it. Nothing happened last night at that time but the prayers are always a big help no matter what time it is. I don’t need extra money in my account I can do without it and I actually eat stuff I like now and not so much rice so its all good. And I’ll probably be good without the little fan thing but I will be thinking about a few things for my birthday that I may need for the last little bit of the mission I just don’t know what it will be.

I’m pretty sad to leave some of the people we have been teaching and not see them get baptized but I am hoping my next area will be pretty good. I don’t know anything about it though. Oh also I am happy that the world didn’t end on Saturday. I don’t know if that was a big thing there in the States or not but lots of people were saying that the world was going to end on Saturday the 21st. But well we all know the results of that. It was supposedly a Pentecostal church that said that here and I don’t know how they can wiggle their way out of that without people accusing them of being false prophets or a false church. They had it painted all over billboards here and everything. It’s not like they can just say oh just kidding—He’s coming later. Dumb. I don’t know how some churches even have members some of them teach things that are so against what the Bible says. Dumb.

I’m glad Jacob didn’t get eaten by a lion. That would not be cool. Anyways love you all and I hope you have a great week.


--
E. Creed Stephens

Business in Philadelphia

I took a quick trip with my boss to Lightfair, which was in Philadelphia this year.  We didn't have much time for sight seeing, but we did manage to slip away and see the Liberty Bell after a lunch break.  Isaac has good news this week, as he found a job.  He is working for a dental lab delivering dental appliances to various dentists and orthodontists around the area.

To the desert and back

We had a fun and interesting day Saturday. Anette and I traveled to the West Desert with Jed, Cally, Harvey and Grey. We went all the way to Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, which is about 20 miles past the Dugway geode beds. So it is about 110 miles each way and most of that is on gravel and dirt roads. We left a 9 and got back after 7.

It was lots of driving with plenty of pretty scenery. The desert was quite green most of the way. When we got to the geode beds, Harvey and Grey did not have much interest in looking for rocks. Cally brought their kites so they flew them for awhile. Then I caught a lizard and that became the only thing they cared about. We released the first lizard, which turned out to be a mistake because they both cried. I caught another one, and then they spent a lot of time fighting over who could hold the lizard. I tried to catch one more so they could each have one, but that didn’t happen. Eventually the lizard escaped which prevented him form suffering a cruel death at the hands of two little boys who loved it too much.

Harvey and I took a walk and found a big gopher snake, but I couldn’t catch it before it went down a hole. There were some cool little squirrels, but they hid in the bushes and Harvey couldn’t see them. I got close enough to touch one. It tried to hide by sticking its head into a bush, but most of its body was still poking out.

We had a picnic and I found a few cool rocks and some geode chunks. Most of the best dig sites were filled with water.

Fish Springs was cool. I had never been there before. It is really just a big marsh out in the middle of the desert. There is an 11-mile drive along dikes through the refuge. We saw lots of birds including pelicans, comorants, herons, geese and ducks. We also saw four coyotes. While we were there the wind picked up and a storm moved in so we started the long drive home. It rained most of the way back.

After church on Sunday we played outside with Harvey and Grey. It is warm and sunny but very windy. Grey loved playing with the geese. He would herd them with a stick and try to feed them various stuff. We also took some tractor rides.

Verlins funeral

May 2011 Verlin was taken to a nursing home the last week of April. Shortly thereafter he was moved to Legacy House Assisted living facility and all his family was around him for a mini-family reunion on the 30 of April. Monday May 2^nd Verlin suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right side and he was no longer able to communicate. We visited with him and the family on Wednesday and was intending to visit him again the following Monday. We received a call from Nancy Lincoln about 10:30 Sunday morning telling us that Verlin had passed away a few minute earlier (8 May 2011). We couldn't go to Layton Sunday because I had to give a Patriarchal Blessing and give a talk to the young people in the 14 Ward. Monday Nancy called and had arranged the funeral. She ask me to speak at the funeral.

We did get an address for Kenneth as a result of Verlins stay at the nursing home. Kenneth is currently in a nursing home in Medford, Oregon. I sent a letter to him with a copy of Verlins obituary and funeral program.

One of the things Nancy commented in her talk was, Mark is an artist, Duane is an actor (with a very beautiful voice), Ileane was a politician (served as city Councilman).

Picture are: Honor guard, Marks family, Karmas family with Roma and a copy of the funeral program.

Uncle Verlin's funeral

Anette and I went to Uncle Verlin's funeral on Wednesday. It was a nice service and it was good to see cousins that I have not seen for several decades. I can't believe how old everyone else looks.

The two speakers were Nancy Lincoln and Dad. I was a little disappointed at the bishop's comments, especially when he pronounced the last name as Stephenson. Dad told about many of the kind things that Verlin did for various members of our family through the years. He and Aunt Roma attended all of our children's weddings and made it to many other important family events through the years.

Aunt Roma still seemed sharp. She has always been strong and kind.

The service was in Layton but the burial was in Brigham City so we did not make it to that portion. I did not take any pictures. Maybe Dad has one or two that he wants to post.

Tomorrow we are headed out to dig geodes in the West Desert for a story I am writing for the Deseret News. I'll give a report later. I trust everyone is well and gearing up for summer.