First things first: I would like to give a shout out to the men and women in military service, who have answered the call of duty; who are willing to sacrifice everything. Thank you. We’ve got numerous clients in the military and they are a delight to work with.

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I am grateful to live in the U.S.

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I spent two years in Chile (mission). I lived and served in some of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in the country, both rural and urban. I remember seeing the profoundest miseries imaginable. Things that had not entered my imagination before then, though I am sure that even worse conditions exist in human existence.

I remember the day I got back to the US. When I got off the plane in Miami I knelt down and kissed the floor (and you have to be pretty worked up to put your lips on the floor of the Miami airport). I bought two king-sized Snickers and sat there in my worn-out shoes and trench coat eating them gratefully.

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I remember flying into the Medford, Oregon on a little puddle-jumper and seeing all the mills and lumberyards encrusted with snow. From that day everything was sweeter. I was amazed just to go into a produce section of the grocery store. It seemed over the top. A swimming pool was a luxury beyond belief. My clothes smelled and felt softer. And we had these two great machines that did our laundry for us! Oh, and no fleas.

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I remember describing a washer and dryer to my first pension mother. She didn’t believe me. She said I was lying and that such machines did not exist. Besides, why would you need them when a clothesline and fresh air were free!

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Now that I’m in Utah I feel like I’ve moved right into the heartland. I live with a fiercely independent people, who fled persecution in the mid-1800s. There is a tremendous sense of community and self-reliance. We take care of our own (and visitors/others, too!).