The Twenty-Third Year - 2002

After Tyson left my next companion was Hyrum Hibbert. He came straight out of the MTC - yes, I was a trainer. I was pretty sure that President Tanner (the mission president) was never going to have me train, but there I was.

Hyrum was a good kid. He had good intentions and desires, but I think he was the most difficult for me to get along with. I sometimes think the situation wasn't much different than with me and my first trainer in Ecuador. I think Hyrum had a certain idea of how things would, or should, be in the mission - so learning the reality of things was probably a difficult adjustment. I'm pretty sure Hyrum struggled with a bit of a learning disability or a social disorder as well, so all things considered, he really was a good kid and a good missionary.

He and I were together for a couple of months and he was transferred. My next companion was also new to the mission, yes, I trained again; Ian Bates. Ian was so much fun. He and I decided to ditch the car (as much as possible) and bought bikes. What ever happened to my bike?... I think I might have sold it or given it away when I left... I think. We also bought Camelback backpacks - anyone who has ridden a bike (all day) in Texas, in the summer, would understand why they were necessary. Most of our area covered low income neighborhoods, predominantly Black and Hispanic populations. The Black kids would always stop us in on our bikes and ask us what were were selling, if we were "pakin heat", and "why you got that hose comin outta you bag, you not gettin enuf air to breef or sumfin?" They would get a kick out of the fact that there was water in that hose, not air, and they would all line up to get a drink out of it - of course we wouldn't let them put their mouth on it, we just held up the pack and let the water flow out.

After a month with Ian, we got another missionary added to our companionship. He was supposed to be headed to South America but had visa problems and was sent to Texas to wait it out. The three of us had a lot of fun together, even though we couldn't do bikes much after that.

When my time had come for me to go home, December 5th 2002, I ended up spending ten and a half of my twelve and a half months in the same area in a small branch in Arlington. I really grew to love that branch and all the families I worked so much with. The branch (church group) that I worked with was composed of Hispanics from all over the world, from Acuna, Mexico (just across the boarder from Del Rio, TX - to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Peru, Chile and all over Mexico. It was great to learn about so many different cultures, accents and vocabulary uses - not to mention how fun it was to listen to the Chileans talk about how "everyone from Peru is a drug addict" and the Peruvians would claim, "all Chileans are drunks." Yes, the rivalries among the Latins is great - especially around the World Cup.

I miss everyone I got to know and love during my service as a missionary. But when it was my time to be done, I was ready.

I came home and needed a place to stay for a month (the month of December) while I waited for the winter semester to start at BYU (I had applied and been accepted during the last couple months of my mission in Texas). Tyson (and my mission president) convinced me to apply and go there. Tyson was all set to attend and we were planning on being roommates. He arranged housing and everything. When it came time for the semester to start, Tyson bailed. He ended up getting engaged to a girl from his hometown. Now, not only was I going to be attending BYU, but I wouldn't know a single person up there - and I still needed a place to live for a month.

Brian and JoLynn Hutchinson was an older couple who lived in my Scottsdale ward before I left to Texas. I never really knew them before I left, but they offered their home to me for that month of December 2002. The month with them was great. I learned JoLynn a lot about both of them including the fact that she is Jeanie Day's aunt (my middle school music teacher). Another great thing about my coming home to Scottsdale was I got my old job back at PracticeMax. In fact, when it came time for me to head up to Utah for school, my boss let me take my work with me and work remotely correcting billing errors.

The housing Tyson had secured for me was - not the fanciest place in Provo, but I was poor so, I didn't care, it was a place to live. It was an apartment for four guys, but since Tyson bailed, there were only three of us - me, and two Canadians: Buddy Beazer and Will Petersen. The three of us got along great and became great friends. Halfway through the semester we came home to a new roommate. Matt Mendenhall. Imagine Kramer from Seinfeld, then give him a Macbook computer and a guitar - that was Matt. He was a character. The four of us melded well as roommates. We went to more social events that semester than I think I ever have, Matt had that influence on people - to just get out and have fun. Before the end of the semester, just as he came, Matt left. He was from Scottsdale, AZ and I was able to get him a job with PracticeMax back in AZ. After the semester ended, I too moved back to AZ, back in with Brian and JoLynn. I still had no car so I bought a pair of rollerblades and would rollerblade to work - thank goodness the office was only a few (3) miles away. Yes, I used to rollerblade to work in Scottsdale in the summer - so what?




Like I mentioned before, when I went into the MTC in October 1999, that was really only the third time I had ever even been to Utah. The first time I went with my family when I was much younger - maybe eleven-ish. We made the trip to visit some of my mom's family and to visit temple square and a few church history sites. The trip up took two days... somehow. We took it slow stopping at sites here and there - in the old copper van. The stop I remember the most was at a KOA where we stayed the night - somewhere in Utah. There was a small store that sold some random crap and candy. In all my trips to and from Utah since then I've tried to find that KOA, but I never have, I think we must have gone a different way, or it's just not there anymore.

In Utah we visited my aunt Dona (my mom's sister) and my uncle David (my mom's brother). David was married to Sherri at the time, an older woman who had a son about Nephi's age from a previous marriage. Chad had rollerblades, I had never seen them before and I was jealous he and Nephi got to use them, my feet were too small at the time. David and Sherri also had some black chow dogs - pure chows, with purple tongues. I thought they were the coolest dogs ever - probably just because I knew they were expensive.

At temple square we toured the tabernacle and some of the other buildings around. We also went to the beehive house and I remember I bought a copper post card with a picture of temple square on it. I kept that for years - in fact, it may still be in my box of stuff at my parents house, unless they threw that box away.

The other trip up to Utah was when we dropped Nephi off at the MTC. Pretty much the only thing I remember about that (if it was the same trip) was we visited Bret and Tevia in their tiny basement (bottom floor) apartment, and Tevia was still learning how to cook. She made spaghetti, I think, and I remember the mountains looking SO tall and close from their place. It looked like the mountains would fall right on top of me. I also remember Nephi wanting to eat at [Up] Chuck-O-Rama for his last meal before going into the MTC. I actually thought that place was good back then.