Epilogue 3: Finale

We left Wyoming on Monday and headed for Utah. It was a 7-8 hour drive. We had to stop because we had a little car trouble, but we got to Provo at a decent hour. I forgot how much I love the mountains. Every place we visited had its own beauty... like the trees and the beaches in North Carolina, the rolling hills in Ohio, and the prairie in Nebraska, but when I saw the Wasatch mountains, my breath was taken away.

Welcome to Utah

Provo

Even more wonderful than seeing the mountains, was seeing all these people for the next few days.

Most of our children and grandchildren. Alyssa
& Elayna couldn't come, and they were so missed.

Several of my siblings and their kids were there, too.

I loved seeing my little brother, Paul.
He is one of my favorite people. He
had a stroke while we were gone, and
just seeing him made my heart sing. I
tried really hard not to cry...
unsuccessfully.

We went to a park with the best climbing trees.
Every direction I looked, our grandkids were
having a great time in those trees.

Caroline and our oldest granddaughter, Lily.
Lily grew up so much while we were gone.

These cuties have already or are turning 11 
this summer. It's fun seeing them have so
much fun together.

All the grandchildren except for Elayna.. we
missed you sweet girl. Our oldest grandson Mikah,
the tallest in the picture, recently turned 16. He
has literally grown UP. He was very sweet to all
his siblings and cousins.

I feel blessed to see how much these kids love
each other. They played and visited non-stop.

Susan, Caroline, Dwight, and little brother, Paul

Caroline, Susan, and Dwight

Having an in-depth conversation with our
3.5-year-old grandson, Forrest

Dwight and Susan taking our two youngest
to dinner--Us with Caroline and Joseph.

I couldn't decide which picture to use, 
so you get both.

On Thursday we made it "home" to Hurricane, Utah. We've never lived here, so it really doesn't feel like home yet. Caroline came with us. Our daughter, Anna and her family came the next day to swim, celebrate Independence Day, and help us move in. That made it feel a little more like home.

Home in Hurricane

View from the back of our house... so beautiful.
We were home long enough to get a few things in
the house. Then we turned around and headed to
Cedar City to be released. I didn't prepare myself
for how lost I would feel taking off my missionary
name badge. When can we go on another mission?

On the 4th, we saw lots of flashing lights outside.
 When we went to investigate, we saw this.
Some kids had shot off rockets and
started a fire. Thankfully there wasn't as much
wind as usual, and the firefighters got it put
out quickly. I'm very thankful for our 
first responders.

Today at church, it was hard not to think about all of our friends in North Carolina. I had no idea that my love could be so deep for people outside of our family. We have been forever changed by our experiences as senior missionaries. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to burst with love.

It helped me to feel love in return when we walked into Fiddlers Canyon Ward and my wonderful friends squealed when they saw me. I love them so much and can't wait to make new memories.

This week has been mostly about family, and that's what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about... striving to be eternal families. I hope our children and grandchildren know how much we love them and want them to be happy... to have true joy. Our joy is found in a loving Heavenly Father, and in the Savior Jesus Christ and His Restored Gospel, and in our precious family.

Our love for all of you has grown over the past two years. Thank you for all of your support!

Love, Sister and Brother Potter, Susan and Dwight, Mom and Dad, Nana and Pop Pop 💖

Epilogue 2 (Week 104) - Dwight

 As we visited multiple Church History sites and temples this week, we have experienced all sorts of emotions.  At the Carthage Jail, the site where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum and others were awaiting trial on bogus charges and where a mob of 100 men broke into and killed Joseph and Hyrum, we felt pain and peace and determination.  We watched a portion of a talk given by Elder Jeffrey R Holland, one of the 12 apostles, in which he testified:

"In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth?

Never mind that their wives are about to be widows and their children fatherless. Never mind that their little band of followers will yet be “houseless, friendless, and homeless” and that their children will leave footprints of blood across frozen rivers and an untamed prairie floor. Never mind that legions will die and other legions live declaring in the four quarters of this earth that they know the Book of Mormon and the Church which espouses it to be true. Disregard all of that, and tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as imposters and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that! They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon."

We visited several other sites before leaving Nauvoo.  Then, on Tuesday morning we left the Mississippi River and Nauvoo behind, passing through a corner of Iowa before entering Missouri.  We stayed in Independence MO for a couple of days and went to the Kansas City temple.

The Liberty Jail was another location where Joseph and several other Church leaders were incarcerated and where several revelations were received, including Sections 121 and 122 in the Doctrine and Covenants. 

D&C 122

7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

We took a day and went to Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Hawn's Mill and Far West - which had all been former Church member settlements and where significant events took place and where significant future events are prophesied to happen in the future, including the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  Leaving Independence, we headed to the Omaha Nebraska area and Winter Quarters, where the members of the Church stayed the winter of 1846-47 after having been bitterly persecuted in Illinois and told they had to leave their temple, property and lovely city Nauvoo.  We wept as we considered some of the suffering and pain they had to go through.  We loved our visit in the Winter Quarters temple.

Finally we left Omaha and traveled along the Mormon/Oregon trail and stopped by the most famous landmark along this trail - Chimney Rock.  Now we're in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Carthage Jail

Nauvoo - Browning Gunsmith Shop and Home

Nauvoo - Red Brick Store

Saying Goodbye to the Mississippi

Hello Iowa

Missouri

Liberty Jail - Liberty, MO

Kansas City Temple

Entrance at Adam-Ondi-Ahman

Adam-Ondi-Ahman

Hawn's Mill - site where many Church members were mascaraed

Far West

Welcome to Nebraska

Winter Quarters Temple

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock

The Wild West - Wyoming

Tomorrow we'll get to Utah and get to see many family members over the next few days.  This has been an amazing road trip and we feel closer to the Mormon Pioneers that did all that they did to give us the blessings we have today as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We're grateful for their sacrifices and thankful we could serve this mission and contribute, in our own small way, to the work they started.  We add our testimony to theirs.  God lives!  He is our loving Father.  Jesus Christ is His son and our Savior.  The Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith was God's prophet who restored the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth.

We're almost home!  Love you all!

Epilogue 1 (Week 103)

Last week we were so busy, we didn't have time to finish packing. So Monday morning when we were supposed to leave, we were still packing and cleaning. Can I just say, exhausted is the only way to describe us. Around 12 pm, we stopped what we were doing and prayed that we could finish up and have room for all our stuff in our truck. As I prayed tears were streaking down my face. I was so tired, my back ached, my feet hurt. After the prayer, I suddenly had extra energy and everything stopped hurting. (Miracle number one.) I put a bunch of clothes and blankets in those plastic bags that shrink things by sucking out the air. When Dwight was packing the truck he used every available space. We had one more box to put in the truck--it fit perfectly in the only spot left. (Miracle number 2) 

The contents have settled a little during the week.
When we started out, everything was touching
the ceiling. 

We finally left around 2 pm. We had a 10 hour drive ahead of us. When we had been on the road about three hours, the car gave us warning that our front right tire was losing air. It was pouring down rain and there was no where to stop. I looked up where the nearest Walmart was--6 miles. Could we make it? We weren't sure. All the other tires were at 39 psi, the low tire was 29 and falling. By the time we got to Walmart, it was at 13 psi. We ran in to get some "Fix-a-flat." It pumped it up a little, but the foam was coming out of the hole in the tire. A guy stopped and asked if we needed help. He used his air compressor to pump up the tire a little. We asked if there was a Sam's Club near by (that's where we bought the tires). He told us it was just a mile away. We thanked him and drove quickly to Sam's Club--the tire shop was open for 20 more minutes. There was no one in line, and the truck was immediately pulled in. We got a new tire and were back on the road in 20 minutes. (Miracle number 3--the only place we could pull off the road was the Walmart exit, the guy that stopped knew exactly where Sam's was and it was super close, and the tire shop didn't have a line and they had the tire we needed. That never happens. God was looking out for us.) We said a prayer of thanks and got back on our way.  

Our first stop was Millersburg, Ohio. We had so much fun there. We went to an Amish restaurant and bakery--so good! We went to an Amish farm and petting zoo. We talked to an Amish family, and saw so many buggies. We drove up to Kirtland and toured the temple and some other sites. The temple was amazing. Being in the room where Joseph was with Jesus Christ--just wow! We also sang "The Spirit of God" with the group we were with. Tears could not be avoided. Here are a bunch of pictures from those four days--(In no particular order.)

Millersburg countryside

This is in the Walmart parking lot--there is
buggy parking.

Leaving Walmart--I'm kind of advertising
this store a bunch.

Amish restaurant

Kirtland--Whitney Store

Kirtland Temple

Inside Kirtland Temple

We miss all our Haitian friends. Several of them have called and texted just to say hi. Jennipher Edwards sent me pictures of our youngest friends at a Primary swim activity. I'm so thankful to her for making sure these kids have great experiences. None of them have ever gone swimming. They had a great time--I want to hug them all.

We drove to Nauvoo on Friday. It was another long day. Nauvoo has been amazing. We did a session in the temple--it's beautiful! We watched three performances of the young service missionaries. We've had dinner at Jim and Cheryl Walker's house twice. They are from NC and are serving a mission at the Nauvoo Temple. We've toured some old Nauvoo houses. I found 8 ancestors who lived in Nauvoo between 1839 and 1846. I took those names to the visitor's center and they printed out maps of where those relatives owned property. It was really cool. (I told Dwight, when he was looking bored, that for two years we lived in his neck of the woods and constantly talked about his relatives. He looked at me and said, "Now it's your turn? Yep!) One of my relatives, Moses Curtis, my third great grandpa, lived right by Joseph Smith. Another one lived in the Morley Settlement (it was called Yelrome). A lot of the settlement, homes and farms, were burned by mobs. Another one has a house that's still standing in Nauvoo and is used as a private residence for senior missionaries. I'm so thankful for these faithful people!

Here are some of the pictures from Nauvoo.

A field where my third great grandpa,
Richard Rushton and his family lived.

Nauvoo Temple

A sun stone from the original Nauvoo Temple

The "receiving room" at the Mansion
House where Joseph and Emma lived
for a while.

Mansion House

The Homestead where Joseph and Emma 
first lived in Nauvoo (Mississippi River in
 the background)

We're having a great time on our trip home and are looking forward to seeing our family and friends in Utah, but we keep missing all of our friends in North Carolina. This has been the hardest move I've ever made. Our time in NC will always fill a space in our hearts.

We love you all so much!