After dropping my parents off at the airport on Saturday afternoon, Chad and I drove over to the Sacramento area to visit some of my mission areas. Along the way we decided to take a break to avoid some of the traffic by seeing the new Harry potter movie. It was fun to do that. It annoys me that I can be spontaneous in some respects but in other things it drives me crazy. Hopefully I can become better balanced. Anyway the movie was a lot different than I expected but it was really good.

We arrived late in Lincoln, CA. I had spent 8 months of my mission there and didn’t remember it seeming so rural. It was tricky trying to fit the pictures together in my mind so I could get us out to the house we were staying at. We stayed with Greg Beyer, who was one of my former ward mission leaders, who also set up the most incredible ward mission program I have ever seen! We played pool and my total lack of skill didn’t keep Chad and I from loosing. It was a fun visit. We also found out that Greg’s son Joel is serving in our mission in Switzerland right now. Small world.

It was so nice to attend the wards in Lincoln and Auburn the next day. Thankfully it worked out that we were able to attend part of three of the wards I had served in. I was honestly shocked at how many people remembered me and even more touched by how many people had missed me and were so thankful for my service. On the drive over I was pretty anxious. I have really struggled to know that I served faithfully and one of my prayers was that I would receive some confirmation that the Lord was pleased with my service.

Yvonne Brinkley was there and was just an absolute joy to see. She was one of the woman who I was able to teach and who joined the church. She is active and has gone to the temple to receive her endowments. What an incredible blessing for me to see her! I also saw a man, Don McCrea who I had also taught and was quite surprised to hear he had also joined the Church. I was able to visit with so many of the wonderful people I was blessed to serve and serve with. What fun! It was also so nice to introduce everyone to Chad. I am pretty proud of the fact that he is my husband and it is so fun to show him off!

We went up to Auburn and saw Rachel McMicken who had just joined the church when I arrived as a missionary. She is such a sweet, sincere person. I also saw the Godfrey family and many others who were such a wonderful support while I served there. It was so great to see Stephen and Nancy again. They have always done a great job of talking sense into me. It was also nice to hear that even when my mission was tough and I felt like I was doing everything wrong they thought I was doing great and I was still being strict with my self and trying to to all I could. It was great to sit down and talk to so many friends. I was just floored at how happy people were to see me. One of the members, Doug Mason, came and gave me a huge hug and apologized for not being able to make it to the wedding.

We were able to meet up the the Brashers who I hope take up our offer to come visit us in Switzerland. They are just fabulous people and we had a blast spending a little time with them and their family. We had dinner with the Hutchinson’s and as always were given a fabulous meal by some of the most hospitable, generous, and caring people I know. Then we stopped by the big casino to catch one last person while they were at work. Candace was also a recent convert when I served up in Auburn and I taught her son before he got baptized. I sure love her and hope life becomes happier for her, she deserves it.

I wish I had had more time to visit more people and go into my first two mission areas in Chico and Gridley. There was just too much to do. It was so great to see everyone with Chad. I really felt better about my mission after visiting, so I’m glad I had the opportunity.