There are no coincidences....

It's so interesting how you can be somewhere far away from home and someone you meet knows someone you know. When Talise, our daughter, was a baby we went to Georgia, to visit where I was born and where Brett served his mission. Someone told us that out of 10 people we meet anywhere in the United States they will know someone you know. The first family we visited in Georgia was a family Brett taught and we told them that we were looking for the man who blessed me as a baby. We gave them his name and low and behold he was the person who brought this family into the Gospel and that that man was serving a mission with his wife in Salt Lake City, Utah while we were there.

This picture to the left is of Elder Beagley from Mesa, Arizona. he is the great nephew of President and Sister Jenkins of the Boise, Idaho Temple. He is our Mission District Leader.

Elder Schwab he is from Star Valley, Wyoming. We have some good friends who live there. "Do you know the Speakman's?" I asked, He says, "Yes, Abby and I are great friends!" She is the Daughter of Patty Speakman who is the daughter of Dale and Jeanette Ricks, from Gooding, Idaho.

These wonderful Sister Missionaries are in our Mission District as well. The lady on the left is Sister Hodgekiss, who was was getting ready to leave for Sapporo Japan, where our good friends the Fujimoto's are serving. Sister Allen is from St. George, Utah. Sister Mackley is from Willard, Utah. We asked her if she knew the Zundell's of Willard. She said, "Yes, Bishop Mitch Zundell is my Bishop at home!"

The picture to the right is us with our good Friends Rex, and Bonnie Thornock, and then Wynn and Sherry Zundell, and their son Mitch and his Wife Angie Zundell.

The picture on the Left is Scott Christensen, the Director of the Church History Library in Salt Lake City Utah. I was doing some research on my biological family and he was telling me about the Zundell's who lived next to the home where my great grandfather lived as a child in Willard, Utah. He gave me the Zundell's phone number and said to say Scott Christensen sent me. I called Sherry and asked if we could meet with them to see my great grandfather's home. She and Wynn were so wonderful they shared with us pictures, and told us stories and literally just welcomed us into their home. Strangers and yet it felt like we became family!

Scott Christensen wrote the book pictured on the right.

Chief Sagwitch is my Great Great Grandfather.

from the back of the book:

"Sagwitch, "the Speaker," a leader of the Northwestern Shoshone, grew up as European Americans began arriving in his homeland west of the Rocky Mountains. He saw a trickle of outsiders passing through the heart of his people's territory become a steady stream of emigrants and settlers. The Shoshone found it more difficult to support themselves from traditional resources and tried to replace them from what the newcomers brought. Resulting conflict led to the slaughter of hundreds of Northwestern Shoshone--Sagwitch's relatives--at the Bear River Massacre. Though wounded, Sagwitch lived to lead the desperate survivors. Believing their best hop lay in joining the people who occupied their homeland, Sagwitch and his band were baptized as Mormons. That enduring relationship led to the founding of the Washakie Indian colony in northern Utah and to a legacy among his descendants of community and religious activisim."

There is so much more to this story! But for now I am grateful to those whose paths have crossed my path.

Elder Rasband said: "Our lives are like a chessboard, and the Lord moves us from one place to another--- if we are responsive to spiritual promptings. Looking back, we can see His hand in our lives.

Look back at your chessboard of life as you have moved or been placed in this place we call life!!

Elder Rasband goes on to say:" The Lord is in the small details of our lives, and those incidents and opportunities are to prepare us to lift our families and others as we build the kingdom of God on earth."

God is mindful of each of us individually. Some days it doesn't seem so, but I testify that if we continue to do what is right and walk up-righteously before God that people, or opportunities, or blessings even we can be that someone to help another on their path of life, that the Lord will Prevail!!!!