Back when I was a missionary in Slovenia I had the wonderful privilege of having one of the best missionary companions you could ever ask for…Shantel Winegar! Shantel and I actually served as companions not just one transfer (which was two months in my mission) but for FOUR transfers! Yes you heard that right, and if you did the math right you’ll realize that we were together for 8 months total! A record in our mission and the longest companionship I’ve heard of in ANY mission for that matter (unless you count the missionaries in the early early years of the church who were companions their entire mission). But for missionaries now-a-days that is a super long companionship! You would think we would get sick of each other being together that long, but this woman just impressed me more the longer I got to serve with her and she became one of my closest and most cherished friends! She was just the epitome of love and kindness and made me want to be a better person when I was around her!
Thankfully our friendship didn’t end after our missions were over, but instead got even stronger when we decided to move in together as roomates at BYU. And then our friendship has continued over the years as we’ve both met and married our husbands, moved to different states, had kids, etc. I just love this woman and love any chance I get to see her!
So you can imagine the sheer JOY I felt when we were able to reconnect at Lake Tahoe for a fun night of catching up! What a blessing this amazing woman has been in my life!
I also loved getting to see Shantel’s cute kids and husband and catch up with them. She married such an awesome man (who is currently the bishop in their ward) and the two of them have created such a beautiful family!
Cute little Quinn, Maddy & Amelia!
Our kids made friends easily too and had fun playing in the sand and making motes and castles together.
Later that evening after we were done playing on the beach we packed everything up in our cars and then took a walk around the Harbor to watch the sunset. Wowsee wow wow was it ever beautiful!
Ryan was nice enough to take a group shot of Shantel and I with our kiddles!
Then after our fun sunset walk, we headed to our cars where we followed Ryan and Shantel back to their lovely home in Sparks Nevada. Once again Ryan and Shantel showed us how awesome and amazing they are by putting our family of 7 up for the night, which as anyone knows is no small feat! We loved getting to spend even more time with them, and so appreciated them hosting us! They even let us come and join them during their church services the next morning which we loved! It was so fun to get to see Ryan in action as the bishop in their ward, and to see the influence Shantel has had on so many. We loved our time with the Gonda’s!
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end though, so after church we had to say our farewells so that we could get on the road for our 8 hour drive home! We sure felt grateful for the time we got with our wonderful friends and for the deep influence for good they have had on us over the years we have known them! Thank you Shantel and Ryan for taking time out of your busy lives to spend time with us!
The rest of the day luckily went without incident and mostly just consisted of lots of naps, listening to church music, movies for the kids, and stops for gas. It was really a pretty pleasant drive home. We were even greeted with the most beautiful sunset when we arrived back in Utah and a few cool thunder and lightning storms as well. It was awesome to watch the lightning as we drove!
The sunset over the Great Salt Lake
Adam had hoped to make it home for his families fast Sunday dinner, but we didn’t end up getting home until just after 9pm so we totally missed it. We made up for it though by going over the next night for FHE. I loved this cute picture of Jamis snuggling with Grandpa Smurf!
All in all, it was a wonderful 10 day trip where lots of great memories were made! We were able to see so many amazing places and visit cherished family and friends! We truly are so blessed!
