Friday.
I only had to work a few hours and then Vanita picked me up. While the kids were napping, we drove into King of Prussia to get a tarp for our hammocks, but then decided to just get a cheap one from WalMart. While there, we got A TON of snacks for the bus ride and just to have throughout the day. Once the girls were awake, Vanita had to work for one more hour, and during that time we got treats from the bakery and dinner.
It was a chaotic day. Preparation for trips is always kind of crazy. We somehow made it.
Our fancy Uber car that drove us into town.
We all got crammed into the bus for a long 6 hour ride.
But guess what.
There was Wifi and outlets to charge your phone.
WHAT?? Blew my mind.
The bus ride consisted of chatting, eating, dance parties, and a little bit of sleeping.
We had a duffle bag full of food. Haha.
We arrived at 1:20 am.
It was rainy and muddy. Not my favorite part.
We planned on hammocking but soon found out the trees were too important to the park rangers, so we weren't allowed. Instead we slept in the cabins.
Once we got into our cabin, I realized I didn't have my phone.
I prayed it was on the bus but thought it may have fallen when I was getting my bag.
Vanita and Morgan helped me retrace my steps. It was no where to be found.
Everyone crashed right away.
I had some anxiety about losing my phone plus it was pretty stuffy in the cabin.
I laid there for at least an hour.
Then woke up 2 times in the night.
I probably got 3-4 hours of sleep that night.
Saturday.
The day before, the bus arrived an hour early, so I hoped he would arrive at least a half hour early again. I walked outside to check at least 3 times.
I could barely keep my eyes open at breakfast. It was a struggle.
Finally I just decided to go look in the Bishop's car again (Morgan drove us from the bus to our campsite in the car), but still couldn't find it. Right as it was time to leave, the bus pulled up. I beat the crowd and searched where our bags went, on the floor and on my seat. It wasn't there. I told myself it was a positive thing because now I can get a new phone.
Soon everyone else joined me on the bus, and I told them my phone was lost. Vanita met my level of despair, and then my friend Stephen pointed near my seat and said it was right there. I was about to give him some attitude about not joking about that right now. Then I realized it was in the cup holder. HALLELUJAH!!!
I slept for a half hour on the bus ride over to Palmyra while listening to the perfect church songs.
We had a quick devotional right when we arrived. It was perfect and made me cry a little bit.
How we spent the next few hours was up to us. There was a group going to do the temple, or we could spend the whole time touring/sacred grove. I was a little torn because I wanted to see everything again, but I decided I would blessed for doing the Lord's work.
Vanita and I arrived at the temple a little early, and so we decided to walk around. The back side of the temple had this big field. Vanita loves having artsy pictures for instagram, so she insisted we go in the field to take a picture. Well remember how everything was muddy? While we were walking, I was slightly behind her and her shoes kicked up mud on my dress.
The picture doesn't even do justice.
I was embarrassed to go into the temple dirty. I felt kind of unworthy/unholy. But I decided it was better to still go than just change and go back to the tourist sites.
Baptisms were perfect and I received a deeper appreciation for that work.
Sometimes I feel "less than" or silly still doing baptisms, but that day, I was proud and thankful I got to help with the salvation of souls. The veil felt thin.
The temple took awhile because there were 2 other YSA groups that drove down. So we only had an hour left. Unfortunately, we only had time to do a quick walk through of the Joseph Smith house. I tried to remember everything I had been taught on the tour 5 years ago.
PC: A guy in my ward.
I don't why but I love these fences. Maybe because they are so familiar from the movies?
Finally we headed over to the sacred grove.
Right as we entered, we found these dear friends.
Jana posted a picture earlier that week saying she was in Philly. Vanita insisted that we see them! We didn't get a chance that day, but we still ended up in the same place!
The time in the Sacred Grove was so special.
I felt an overwhelming love from my Father in Heaven.
I also felt so grateful for Joseph Smith's courage and sacrifice.
I have always admired him. He is one of my heroes.
Vanita found me right after I bawled my eyes out, and gave me a big hug.
Next we drove to the Hill Cumorah.
That is where Joseph Smith found the gold plates that he later translated into English.
It blows my mind that he made it down the hill/mountain with the heavy scriptures plus a mob trying to attack him the whole way down. Then even after he had them, he had to hide them and constantly find new hiding places, like under the bricks in his fireplace. I loved that story in sunday school.
While we were on Hill Cumorah, we saw some Elders. I chatted with them and GUESS WHAT. ONE OF THEM IS AN ASL MISSIONARY. It made me so happy.
Next we drove to the Grandin Building.
That is where the BoM was published.
It is a crazy long process. Back then when a book was published, they would use paper back and only print 100, maybe 200 if they were lucky. Joseph Smith used leather back (practically unheard of back then) and printed 5,000. It costed a fortune.
To be honest, I didn't really listen on the tour. There were too many people in our group, so I couldn't really see. Instead I did my own educating. Haha.
While we were there, I remembered going to a pizza place with my family. I remembered seeing a picture of the President on the wall. Vanita and I found the restaurant and turns out Bill Clinton owns it! Mystery solved. It was pretty good.
To top it off, we all walked over to a famous ice cream parlor. It was great. I may have cheated and got PB.
Once we got back to camp, we went to Seneca Lake.
Fun fact, it's a glacial lake.
I don't know what that means, but according to how it felt, I think it means extra cold.
We would jump in a swim to this little "island". Then stay there for a bit because we dreaded going back. Also, only 2 of the guys could pull themselves back on the dock and one other girl succeeded. I was determined to get it. I probably tried 15 times. I was sore the next day and I failed. Finally after freezing in the water so long, I swam back to the "island". Btw, everyone offered me help up, but I was determined to get it.
After nearly freezing, I walked back and took a warm shower. It was great.
The night consisted of a yummy BBQ, star gazing, and walks.
It was perfect.
Sunday.
Since the whole bishopric was up there, they got permission to have sacrament meeting in the woods.
I think my favorite part was hearing the water run in the creek.
We sang powerful hymns and bore our testimonies of our experiences.
It was one of my favorite church meetings.
We had about 2 hours to clean up the camp, eat, pack lunches and pack our stuff. We all made it with plenty of time!
Before driving home, we drove to the Whitmer farm. Most of the Book of Mormon was translated while Joseph Smith was living with them.
Next we had our lunch, then headed on the bus!
Lol at our faces.
It really was such a great trip! It was even worth all the mud.
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