Yesterday while we were driving, I called the bishop of the Perry ward and asked him if we could join his ward for church on Sunday. Our campground lies in his ward boundaries so naturally we would go to that ward. Bishop Rock was so kind and not only did he invite us to church, he invited us to his house for dinner without even meeting us. I was so excited for adult time that I accepted his generous offer without even thinking about the fact that we didn't know them either. 😆 That is seriously the best thing about being a member of our church. You have family everywhere you go. We arrived at church and right away people were talking to us and asking about our story. Then when the meeting was over, we stayed outside talking to ward members for about 30 - 45 minutes. At one point, I looked over at our truck and my boys were there, surrounded by all these cute girls. They were in heaven. We all were. It was so exciting to be talking to adults. We fell in love with this ward immediately. They reminded us of our ward back home in CA. 
Dinner wasn't until 4 so we used the in between time to go site seeing. Our first stop was at Lake Erie. The Great Lakes have been a favorite of our families, so we had to add Lake Erie. It did not disappoint. The lake was really full. You could tell that it had eroded the land. We walked up a large tower and had a beautiful view of the lake and the bald eagles flying around. Picturesque. 
Our next stop was the Kirtland Temple. I feel like it speaks for itself but I have to say, the heavenly visitations that happened in this building make my heart want to burst with gratitude. I am so grateful for the early saints and their eternal energy to do the Lord's work. 
Our next stop was to Historic Kirtland. All the buildings were closed because of Covid, so I made an appointment for a virtual tour later this week. I just wanted the family to see the outsides of these buildings before we had the tour. 
After our site seeing, we rushed over to Nathan and Allison Rock's house for dinner. They spoiled us with the best hamburger dinner. Then if that wasn't amazing enough, they invited a ton of people over from the ward to hang with the kids. We were there from 4ish to about 9:30. It felt like we have know these people our whole lives. It was so comfortable and fun. Thank you so so much Nathan and Allison for opening your home to us. We had the best night. We love you. 
While we were eating dinner I got a surprise text that one of my friends from my mission drove 2 1/2 hours to come see me. I about cried I was so excited. Meet Lillian Hoyt. When I told the Rock family that she surprised me and was here in Kirtland, they were so gracious and invited her over too. Lillian and I served our 18 month missions for our church in Chile. We were never companions but after the mission we played a lot together. We were both at BYU together and have some really fun memories. We spent our time together catching up and reminiscing about our crazy days together. If I have ever told you the story about how I took Asher to a friends house and in the time that it took me to say hi and give my friend a hug, Asher had dumped her potted plant over on her carpet and was digging in it. Well, that was Lillian. We both laughed about that and she met Asher again after many years. I love you Lillian. Thank you for surprising me and for being an angel in my life. 
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