Sept 11, 2016

Stevie--

I loved your letter last week to me.  It was so funny!

Sorry I didn't write last week.  I was backpacking, which I think mom already told you.  But anyway, we went to the Wind Rivers in Wyoming and it was great!  Here are some pictures . . . . 

The first fish I ever caught.  And the only fish I ever caught.  Ya know, I don't love normal fishing, but I think fly fishing is really fun. 

Because it was September, it was a little cold, but there were not any mosquitos, which was sooooo nice.  Really, the weather was really cold at times, but at other times, it was so nice.  I want to go back to this place. It apparently is one of the best backpacking places in the country.

It was super cold when we went fishing.  Like bitter cold.  So I had my jacket all zipped up.  But there was nobody else around.  It was so nice.

I think one of the coolest moments of the trip was that Jodi had asked his bishop permission to do the sacrament while we were out there.  And so me and Jordan and Jodi went for a hike Sunday morning, to this beautiful crater lake, and suddenly the loud wind cut out.   There was a storm coming, but in this little shelter, it was quiet.  Calm.  And there, we had brought some flatbread and water bottles, and the two boys broke and blessed it, using the lid of the water bottle as a cup and Jodi's jacket as a blanket to cover the different parts of the sacrament.  I was just sitting there, so grateful that they were both worthy to have and use the priesthood in situations like that.  That even in a remote place of the world, here we were, able to renew our sacred covenants.  It reminded me of the scripture  Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.   I felt the spirit, (a warm sensation made even more tangible by the fact that I was super cold), and I knew that He was with us.  That he approved of our sacrifice.  That he loved us.  And then right after the sacrament ended, the storm picked up and it started raining.  We found shelter under a rock and we sat there, each one bearing our testimony, and then we sang High on a Mountain Top and finished with a prayer.  I will always remember that moment, singing High On a Mountain Top, being the only people around for miles, in the cold rain, but not really feeling it because the spirit was strong.

Anyway, I love you!  Keep on keeping on.