"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty. You might say, I am not the creative type. If that is how you feel, think again. Creation is your opportunity in this life….. Start small. Creativity does not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you. You will make the World a better place. Improve, beautify, extend, smile, cultivate, develop, create."
~President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

10.08.2013

General Conference

The awesome weekend of our annual LDS Chaplain Seminar over the October general conference started a couple a little early.

Thursday 10/3
We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Lehi with one of Corey's mission companions, Dustin Hill, and his wife Suelen and kids, and a girl that they baptized, Samandra Vieira. It was such a great night! Corey was having a hard time remembering Portuguese and felt a little funny. Dustin married a Brazilian girl so everyone really spoke well. It started coming back to him really quick though. You'd think that I would have felt funny being the only person at the table that didn't know anything. But I was fine. Samandra speaks pretty good English. Everyone was really nice and it was really fun getting to meet them.
Cute Samandra was able to go to the Salt Lake Temple that day and do a session. It was one of her dreams. She is living in Arkansas right now on Visa doing an exchange program. She came to Utah for a week. She had a ticket to go to the Relief Society Meeting. We were actually able to get extra tickets to each of the sessions of conference so we gave them to her. She sat by us during all four main sessions at the conference center. It was so great to see her excitement. She just kept saying things like "I can't believe I am here." "I can't believe this is real." It was really great. She was also able to eat dinner with us on Sunday after the last session here at our house. She wanted to meet the kids. And she needed a ride home! ;)

Friday 10/2
The 'kick-off' dinner at the church office building. Good company. Good food. Good program. Good spirit. So fun to have an excuse to get out on a date, as well.

Saturday and Sunday 10/3-10/4
Conference sessions all day, i.e. spiritual exhaustion!

Us and our good friends, Brandon and Erica Schlect. And my giant basketball belly (35 weeks).

Monday and Tuesday 10/5-10/6
All day speakers. Two highlights: General Relief Society President, and mom of my good friend from high school, Sister Linda K. Burton spoke to the wives. Also, Elder Robert D. Hales was the concluding speaker of the seminar. He wanted to leave us with an apostolic blessing. It was just about the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. The *whoosh* that I felt of the spirit filling the room when he said "Heavenly Father," is something that I will never forget. I literally felt a weight on my heart as it passed from the front of the room where he was all the way to the back. He blessed the chaplains as well as their spouses in the work that we do.

(Again, that giant belly!)

It was an exhausting weekend but was also so great!
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