John and I took a quick trip to Alabama / Georgia to visit with Josten and Jehkiah and it was magical. Of course, John fell in love with it all (must be the trees that completely surrounded us.) We weren't in a position to plan a trip like this. It was an
unexpected surprise, paid for by members of Jehkiah's ward who
insisted that we come so that John could ordain Jehkiah a High Priest.
Jehkiah and
Josten picked us up at the airport in Atlanta on Saturday (the 1st). We arrived there at about 8:45 p.m. Actually, our flight got in about 30 minutes early so we had to wait for the boys a while. What a huge airport ~ I was so grateful there was a wheelchair available and someone to push John to baggage claim. It's about an hour and a half drive to where they live from
Atlanta, but we took our time to drive around the city a bit and later,
on the way home, stopped off for a bite to eat at this waffle house. It was
fun. The waitress was pure southern hospitality! "What can I get for you darlin'?" I loved it...
We stopped at Jehkiah's place first to drop him off and take a peek at Jace who was fast asleep. Jehkiah and Casey have a cute apartment tucked off in the woods. Then on to Josten's where we stayed the whole time. He, too, lives off in a little area on the outskirts of town in a wooded neighborhood. The house was spacious and has a bonus room above the garage that doubles as a playroom ~ homeschool ~ Grandparents guest room :), and that's where we slept. It was so warm that each night we had to open the window next to our bed and let some cool air in. We fell asleep to the sounds of crickets chirping and frogs croaking outside. On Monday, it got up to 70 degrees and we were in short sleeves.
Sunday morning we went to
church. The ward was so amazingly friendly and warm. It seemed like everyone knew us
already by name and made us feel so welcome. It was fast Sunday and Jehkiah conducted ~ his first time. He's a natural! That ward members adore Jehkiah and Josten, and their families, especially
the stake leadership. Both of them bore their testimonies and had us in tears. It was a beautiful day.
Jehkiah's boss, President
Eiland was there and he bolted from the stand in the chapel to
meet us and then sat with John through Sunday School and Priesthood. Apparently, they are just alike and think
the same way. This is the man Jehkiah has spent every day with
swapping stories and so it was like they had always known each other.
Everyone kept asking when we were moving out there. After the block we went in to the Bishop's office and Dad got to ordain
Jehkiah a High Priest. That was a spiritual experience for us all. Then we all went home to Josten's and had a huge feast.
Monday
Jehkiah, Josten and John hung out together and drove around looking at
houses and stuff, then Josten took all of us to Ft. Benning and gave us
the grand tour. He took us all through Columbus (which is on the
Georgia side of the Chattahoochee River) and Phenix City (which is on
the Alabama side of the river. It's like Tri-Cities. Those two cities
(and Ft. Benning) are all right together, divided only by the river.
Ft. Benning itself is several thousand people.
Later in the
after noon we went to the base PX (military retail stores). It is
actually a mall! John got one of those electric scooters and drove
all over the place with Breck and Sienna riding on it with him. That night we all had dinner together, again and visited until late.
On
Tuesday morning Josten had to go to work early so John, Jehkiah and I (and Jace) drove
around town to see the
sights. Then we went over to Columbus sate University where
Casey is head volleyball coach and women's athletic director.
Both Columbus and Phenix
City have historic as well as modern architecture, and we walked down
to their river front park (like Spokane's) and enjoyed the features
there. That's when Jayden called, so we spoke to him for some time. He
sounded so mature and spiritual. He admitted having had some refining
while at the MTC that helped strengthen his commitment and enthusiasm.
(Overcoming struggles of self-doubt). It was emotionally hard,
obviously, to say goodbye. He told me he loves me in Armenian which made me cry. Then he bore his
testimony in Armenian to John. Then John asked him if he would recite the First
Vision in Armenian beginning with "I saw a pillar of light..."
That's when they both lost it. He was in
Salt Lake at the time he called (at the airport waiting for his flight
to New Jersey). There was concern his flight would be cancelled because
of an Arctic storm that had already delayed flights. But, he was
determined he would make it and call us later from there.
When Josten got off
work we all met over at Ft. Benning to the Army's National Infantry
museum. It was stunning and awe inspiring. A sober and reverent place
where the government has spared no expense to honor the
infantry soldiers of every war since the Revolution.
After
that they treated us to dinner (for Dad's birthday) at a Hibachi Japanese
Buffet and it was fantastic food!!! What fun! We all sat around this
long table in a banquet room and feasted! Then Breck
and Sienna brought Grandpa out a bag with a gift inside: a shirt and hat he had eye balled at the infantry museum!
We got done late and visited for a while but had to finally get to bed
so that we could leave early back to Atlanta before rush hour traffic.
We said our good-byes, which is always so hard, and then Jehkiah drove Dad and I back to
Atlanta airport. It was so sad to have to part. We spent some time together at the airport
before going through the security check. Then, said our goodbyes and
flew home.
Good times, good memories!
Papa looking for alligators with Breck & Sienna
Sarah & Josten Jr.
Jace