We have been in major lock down for the entirety of the pandemic and I have been very resistant to fully engaging in the world around me. Obviously we cannot live like this forever but, everything seems much scarier and riskier than it once did. I have been trying to figure out when and how to engage in the outside world again.
And then our Church rolled out the FSY (For Strength of Youth) program. I attended EFY (Especially for Youth-the program FSY is patterned after, as a teen) and even became a counselor because I felt so strongly about spending a week immersed in wholesome activities and building a strong testimony of Christ. I always knew I wanted our kids to attend EFY and was thrilled when our Church made FSY available at a significantly reduced price.
The only thing was the pandemic. The numbers have been trending down but there are some worrying signs that COVID is increasing again. And so the question was...testimony versus public health? We chose testimony and signed her up to go the first week so I wouldn't have as much time to talk myself out of it.
And then after two years of isolation, we dropped her off on a cool, rainy afternoon at the University of Utah to build and strengthen her relationship with Jesus Christ and hopefully not get COVID. Hope you have an amazing week Little Girl!
After we dropped her off, the rest of us headed to This is the Place Heritage Park to see what they have to offer. It was awesome. My absolute favorite kind of place. I love history. I love stories. We must know and learn from the lessons of the past so we do not repeat them.
The boys enjoyed themselves as well and Steve was a willing participant which I appreciated. We meandered into the telegraph office and as we were leaving a man asked if we wanted to see the cemetery. We didn't even know there was a cemetery there. It turns out once a year on Memorial Day, tours are given of the cemetery and we just happened to be there on the one day of the year it was open. We accepted his offer and followed him up the hill.
The people buried there are some of the those who died within the first few years of coming to Utah. The first death happened within a few days of entering the valley. A young boy playing in a creek fell in and was quickly washed downstream. He drowned. Another is a mother and infant who died during childbirth. The mood was quiet and somber. We were on sacred ground and because of the rain we had the entire place to ourselves. I am so glad we were able to go. It was a reminder of how blessed we are. I am so grateful.
Update: M LOVED FSY! She felt the Holy Ghost and is learning to recognize how He speaks to her. She said she would love to go to FSY as many summers as she can. Yeah!
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