April Fool's Day

I do not look forward to this day. It has been a somber day since April 1, 1996 when Patti's dad died. I was on this mission and felt really terrible that I could not be there to comfort my nearly lifelong friend. I always think of Patti on April 1st. She took her father's death very hard. Gary was like another father to me, as I had spent so much time with his family since the age of 5. Anyway, this April Fool's Day has been a very sad one indeed. After my last post and the comments, I was thinking about the importance of being aware of what is going on in the world, learning to be more compassionate from hearing the difficulties that others are facing, learning to put our lives in a better perspective and focus on things that are of eternal importance, and serving others; yet not letting the horrible news of all that is going on around us consume us.

Tonight, again, I feel a bit consumed about the following this: 1) Patti is still suffering and has a hard time on this day. 2) All day I have been praying and thinking about a beautiful little Burmese girl that disappeared yesterday from her apartment in South Salt Lake. Seven years old. Her family had finally made it here to the US after spending 20 years in a refugee camp. There was a press-conference at about 7:30 that I listened to. Then...about 8:45...her body was found. 3) I was made aware of a friend's friend's daughter. Five-year-old beauty living in Eagle Mtn. She was complaining of some headaches a month ago. He parents noticed her speech was a little blurred one weekend and she was dizzy so they took her to the doctor. Inoperable, massive, cancerous brain tumor.

So, those two items made me feel more weighed down than usual. But luckily, I also had two very inspiring things, today, as well. I would like to share these, mostly for myself, to remember good people and HOPE in the world!

This past weekend, my brother Aaron participated in the Bataan Memorial Death March. It was created in New Mexico to commemorate a page in history that affected so many families in the state. The march consists of 26.2 miles of hiking through grueling desert trails, washes, small mountains, and sand pits. The participants carry a backpack weighing 35-40 pounds. The majority of the participants were military. My brother and his team are all corporate lawyers. But they did great. My awesome brother is now very sore and blistered but he said it was an incredible experience. He said, "Just before we crossed the starting line we walked by about 2 dozen survivor veterans (most in wheel chairs) and got to shake their hands and thank them for their service. That was definitely the coolest part." I am proud of my brother and think it is so cool that he had the opportunity to thank and honor these veterans. What made it especially moving was when my mom sent us a photo of this handsome young man. This is my mom's cousin. His name is Wayne Allison Fisher. He died during the Death March of Bataan. I'm sure he felt honored that Aaron and others participated in this memorial.

The second thing that brought me so much happiness today was receiving a photo from my sister of people I don't even know. My sister Kathy has a son on a mission and she is involved with these on-line missionary mom groups. One of the mom's has a son serving in Guyana. He has been through some rough times. All missionaries have rough times. Some of the trials we go through are the same for everybody, and then there are trials unique to each mission and each missionary. Apparently this elder had to be transfered to a dry area because he'd been walking in flooded areas for so long that his feet had gotten all diseased and worm infested and stuff. But anyway, I'm sure Elder Breinig (far right) doesn't complain a lot. The mission in Guyana is flourishing. They usually have 5-10 baptisms per week. This photo speaks volumes to me on so many levels. And, it also gives me comfort in regards to those who are suffering or who have suffered and then been able to leave this place and go to one much more glorious.

So, anyway, please enjoy this photo and also don't worry about coming back to my blog. I promise that the next several posts will have nothing to do with suffering, only silliness and happy kid things and stuff! And if you can look at this photo and not feel happy, well, then...I don't know what. But I love this!