Fun with friends

A few weeks ago Alison and I got to spend an evening with one of my best friends, Cameron Market, and his wife Kelli. They live in Pennsylvania and we don't see them often. In fact, this was the first time we have spent time with them in Utah. The team I am working with at Questar was kind enough to let me leave early that night. I am glad they did because it was a wonderful evening.  We wanted Cameron and Kelli to have a unique Salt Lake experience so we ate dinner at the Garden Restaurant. We enjoyed the ambiance, and the views of temple square and downtown are stunning. The best part, however, was spending time with our good friends.

I met Cameron in the MTC. We were companions twice - first in the MTC and then later in the mission field. I still remember showing up that first day and meeting Elder Markert. I had no idea then that we would become best friends. In the MTC we were a great team. We worked hard, we learned a lot, and we had fun. I still remember one of our last days when Cameron asked our MTC teacher if there was a chance we would serve together in the field. Our teacher said it was extremely unlikely, and that it was more likely we would serve with someone else from our MTC district. The Lord had different plans. After six weeks with our trainers, I got a phone call to tell me that Cameron would be coming to Livermore to be my companion.

On March 24, 2009, I wrote in my journal: Elder Markert is back. It is awesome. We had a great day. It took us a while to get oriented but then we got out working. We work so well together. We are going to tear it up here.

The next three months were a blast. We had no idea what we were doing, but we poured our heart and soul into the work. We thought outside the box and we set ambitious goals. We found a lot of success in Livermore.

On May 3, 2009, We had two baptismal services one for Dorothy and the other for Jon. Both baptisms went well and it was a wonderful day. It was one of the best days I had in Livermore and almost exactly one month later I moved on to a new companion and a new area.

One of the best experiences of my mission came one year later. Elder Markert and I were invited to go to the Oakland temple with Jon and his family. I wrote in my journal Jon looked so happy. I felt a sweet spirit that day in the temple. Then just two days later we were invited to go through the Oakland temple with Dorothy.  I wrote that day: Dorothy was so happy to see us and kept telling us how she loves and misses her boys (us). I am so happy that I got to be a part of Dorothy's life. This has been one of the best weeks of my mission.

I had a lot of great with Cameron during my mission. Our missions came to an end and we went our separate ways. I came back to Utah and Cameron went home to Pennsylvania.

We don't see the Markerts often, but when we do it is always a lot of fun. We went to Palmyra for their wedding in June and we were excited to see them during their trip to Utah in January. We can't wait until the next time we see them again!