A night at the Great Salt Lake with Hannah.....

A few days ago, Hannah Fine, Brady's girlfriend that has waited loyally for him while on his mission, called Cassidy and offered to take some photos of her and teach her a little about photography while she was in Salt Lake City for a day.  She also invited Christine and I, so we all went to the Great Salt Lake at sunset.  Hannah spent almost 3 hours taking pics of the girls and was such a sweetheart to hang out with, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with her.

While Hannah was taking pics I snapped this photo with the camera on my phone.

Road trip with the Heaps......

President Heap, Sister Heap and their daughter took the AP's (Elders Spencer, Watson, Richards and Backus) to the southern border of Texas and Mexico to the cities of Ft. Stockton, Marfa and Presidio.  

Elder Barnes Homecoming.......

I am starting to feel like a ward hopper as we attended the 4th homecoming of one of Cody's companions.  Today we got to hear Elder Barnes (Cody served with him for 4 months in Roswell, NM) speak about his mission, and what an incredible testimony he gained because of it.  His experience was one that took him through his own personal Gethsemane filled with struggles he could never have anticipated before he left, but because of them he developed his own personal testimony of the Savior and His Atonement.  As we listened to him bear a humble but strong testimony of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost was overwhelmingly present to witness of truth.  These are the kind of experiences that are forever written upon my heart that I will never forget.  My memory is definitely showing signs of age, but every experience I have had in my life where the Spirit has taught me a gospel principle, I remember like it happened yesterday.  Its my prayer that my daughters will also remember the way they felt as they listened to this young man who chose to walk away from what the world had to offer him when he turned 18, and dedicate 2 years of his life to the Lord.  I am constantly amazed at what these young men can become when they place their trust in Him.  

I shake my head every time we meet one of Cody's companions, each and every one of them are pretty incredible.  Cody tells me he is a product of his companions, and his companions tell me the same thing about Cody.  After listening to Cody express his love for his mission presidents and companions, I am pretty confident he no longer wonders why he was called to serve in Lubbock, Texas.

Mixed feelings.........

Today I received a phone call from the Texas Lubbock Mission office secretary who was purchasing tickets for those missionaries going home in the next 4 months.  Wow, as much as we all miss that boy and can't wait for him to be home, I do not want the experiences he is having and the blessings we have been receiving to stop.  Definitely mixed feelings.

My good friend and neighbor actually went on a business trip to Lubbock last week, so I made a poster for Cody and Elder Spencer and asked her if she would hang it on their door.  I knew they would be out of town and there would be no risk of a distraction :).

Hey Momma!!

I am so glad that you all got to go and hear Zack and Spencer speak. Haha they are great. That is so funny that Elder Richards gave you a shout out from the pulpit?! I have been so busy these last few weeks that I haven't even told you all about Omar, oops! We have been teaching him for the past couple months, it has been a sweet, sweet, experience. He was actually baptized this Saturday and confirmed yesterday, it was awesome! The Lord really picked up the slack on our part, we were kind of torn between 50 different things, but Omar was still able to keep all of his commitments and receive answers to his prayers. Pretty sweet!

That was very thoughtful of you and Sister Peterson to make that sign, thanks (: It is now hangin up in our apartment!

Yes we are still going around with President for interviews. This week we were in Midland, Fort Stockton, and Odessa. We also had MLC this Friday. Haha busy busy! Our focus was the why behind commitments we extend to investigators, why is it that Heavenly Father would have us keep them. I was the lucky one to draw the Law of Chastity. It was hard teaching that in front of my peers, haha but it was a great learning experience for me and I really learned about the brevity of the blessings of keeping the commandments.

Things are going great mom. I can't believe how fast the time is going. This has been the opportunity of a lifetime, and I want to savor every second while still preparing for the future. Life is good! I sure love you Mom, have a great week.

Love, Elder Backus

p.s. omar is in the white shirt, eli is the one in the suit that baptized him. (due to the size difference it took eli, who is a recent convert himself, four times to get him under haha!)

Transfers.........

Hey Momma!

You cracked a rib?? Is it feeling any better now? Sorry about that ): I worry about you! Haha that run with all the missionaries was a lot of fun; we looked like dorks. Running has been going well, we were in a great rhythm the past couple weeks, but then I think I was going a little bit too hard too fast and pulled a muscle or something in my left foot, so we had to take this week off. But it is back to 100% and we will be back on it Monday. 

This week was the most stressful of my entire life haha. We had 18 new missionaries come in, 24 go home, and 60+ just being transferred to a new area. I was responsible for all of their travel arrangements to and from the mission home to the airport, vice versa, and then all the other missionaries switching. I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. But, we made it through by the skin of our teeth. Sending my companions off and watching them walk through the security line to the other side of the "veil" was very hard for me. I cried haha. I sure am going to miss all of those guys. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to serve with them. I am excited you get to go to their homecomings!!! See if you can make it to Braxton Barnes', his should be the week following Zach and Spencer's (Watson and Richards) (; 

Haha no Mom, I didn't get too big for the belt, that belt actually broke while I was in training. The buckle broke so it was stuck on my body, haha Elder Cutler had to cut it off with a knife! 

We are on interviews now and thus will be on the road for the next two weeks. Haha it never ends Mom. Its all worth it though, the experience is tremendous. 

I love you so much and thank you so much for your support. Stay safe and healthy!

Love, Elder Backus

Some thoughts from Elder Backus to his dad.............

Hey Dad!

What's up?  Can you believe how fast time is flying?  Cassidy is about to finish her Junior year of high school.  Yikes!  Summer is almost upon us.

So Dad, I just wanted to write and congratulate you again on the new call to serve.  As a member of the Bishopric, you will be looked up to and respected even more than you were before.  I have always looked up to the Bishopric a lot.  How are you feeling?  Did you know that was coming?

I think you are going to do a fantastic job.  I know that the Lord has been preparing you for a long time for this.

Elder David A. Bednar gave a talk in General Conference not too long ago about "The Load".  Basically he taught how we and the Lord place weight in our own spiritual truck beds.  Now, there is good weight and bad weight.  Bad weight is the not so important things of the world.  They provide entertainment and take up time, but they do not provide the necessary weight to provide traction.  Good weight is things like a calling to the Bishopric.  They are not easy, they take up a lot of time and a lot of effort.  They sometimes cause us great growing pains.  But that load is heavy enough to give the truck traction to continue down the path of progression.

I am behind you 100% Dad!  This call to serve is now one of the biggest priorities in your life now.  Make the most of it.  Strengthen your testimony and deepen your conversion, learn and re-learn the doctrine.  Follow the brethren.  Give all that you are to the Lord and His people in the River 5th Ward and you will be amazed at who you become.  This is a great opportunity for you to grow Dad!  I love, support, and sustain you.  Let me know what I can do to help.  I love you and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Love,

Elder Backus

Cody has shared that Elder Watson and Richards are 2 of his favorite companions as they have served together with President & Sister Heap.  Today, Cody drove them to the airport and sent them home as they have finished their 2 year service.  I am sure it was an emotional day for them all.....