A Visit to Adam's Mission in Portland, Oregon

When Adam got home from his mission back at the end of August 2024, less than two weeks before BYU started back up again,  we promised him a trip back to visit his mission the following summer.   

A couple months ago, we finally made good on that promise and I am just now finally blogging about it.    

We waited until the craziness of his full-time FSY office job wound down, then, in mid-August, Adam and I took off for a week and a day to spend in the beautiful Portland area!  

It's a pretty short flight from Utah to Portland, so we hit the ground running when we got there.   We started with a visit to The Grotto, which is a serene woodland sanctuary in the city--not far from the airport.   It's home to the outdoor National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother, beautiful botanical gardens, meandering paths, peaceful forestland, and many statues and artworks of Jesus Christ .   It was a lovely place to begin our journey exploring the place Adam grew to love so much over the two years he spent there testifying of Christ! 

The Grotto 

After The Grotto, we headed out to one of the areas he spent the most time in--Damascus/Boring/Gresham, where we were spending the first few days.  Right next to one of the chapels he served in was the North American Bigfoot Center, which was about as weird as it sounds!   It was hard to tell if the creators of this quirky exhibit dedicated to proving the existence of Bigfoot were serious, but it was highly entertaining.   We enjoyed examining the supposed "buttprint" of Bigfoot and looking at all the "evidence" of why Bigfoot could be real, as well as all the reasons why we shouldn't dismiss his existence due to lack of hard evidence.   This museum postulates that Bigfoots are likely a yet undiscovered species of elusive mammals.    We laughed a lot and spent the rest of the trip looking for Bigfoot in the wilds of the lush Oregon forests.  😂

Bigfoot Museum

 We planned the trip to cover two Sundays,  and Adam picked areas where he'd served in multiple wards serving in the same building, so we could maximize the number of wards we visited.    Damascus and Powell Valley Wards were literally the first and last areas of his mission, so that's where we visited the first Sunday.   It had been almost three whole years since the few transfers he served in Damascus, but he was clearly remembered and very well loved there.  He got lots of hugs and even got invited to a BBQ later that day.   He only served one transfer in Powell Valley, so the reception there wasn't quite as grand, but those that did remember him were excited to see him.  The BBQ turned out to be a super fun, laid-back way to visit with lots of people.  I felt a little like a fish out of water there, but it was great to see Adam in his element reconnecting with the people he'd served and loved!  

Damascus and Powell Valley Wards

After Sunday, we spent a couple days exploring the beautiful Columbia River Gorge!    We spent a lot of time driving, hiking, and exploring!  It was unusually hot  for Oregon--about 100*--but we thoroughly enjoyed soaking in that rugged green beauty!  

Exploring the Columbia River Gorge

Next on our list was heading to the shore!   The Oregon Coast is a popular weekend destination for Oregonians, so he heard a lot about it on his mission, but never got the chance to go.  The weather was much cooler on the shore, but it was also pretty foggy. 

 Most of our hikes' destinations were to cool lookout points, which proved to be a little disappointing when shrouded in heavy fog...

 but dipping our feet in the {cold} Pacific Ocean was quite rejuvenating.  We loved our laid-back time here on the shore, although Adam was thwarted in his attempt to find an intact sand dollar.  

Oregon Coast

One of our can't miss places to visit while we were on the coast, was the Tillamook Creamery...

Tillamook Creamery

We enjoyed learning  all about how they make cheese...then got to sample a bunch tasty (and old) varieties!  

After Tillamook we headed  to Cape Meares Lighthouse, which was our last stop on the way back to the Portland area.  We were surprised, after a few days of fog and clouds all along the shore (even in Tillamook),  that the skies, just a few miles away, were clear as can be!  

Cape Meares Lighthouse

After we got back to Portland from the shore, we picked up Glen from the airport, so he could participate in the rest of our adventures!    

Some of those adventures included...

 Visiting the End of the Oregon Trail 

Trying the Famous Voodoo Doughnuts 
(alas, they did not offer any gluten free options, so I did not partake)

Attending the Portland Temple

Taking a Very Muddy Hike 
after which I threw my shoes away

Hiking To "Witches Castle" and Pittock Mansion
and visiting Cathedral Park/Saint John's Bridge

 Tonga Festival
after being invited by a local member

Trying Out Different Food Trucks
Portland is quite well-known for its active food truck culinary scene, so we tried out a few different food truck locations while we were there

Rose Gardens/Dahlia Festival
I did not know before our visit that Portland is famous for its many flowers and gardens.  In fact, it even has the nickname of "Rose City", though we enjoyed many more flowers than just roses

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm
It was long past tulip season, so we enjoyed the fields of sunflowers and other flowers, the fun colorful tractors, and the bucolic surroundings.

Lan Su Chinese Gardens 
This was a peaceful little haven right in the city

We definitely enjoyed much of Oregon's natural beauty while we were there, but one of our very favorite parts about our visit was getting to meet the people--some  people that he taught, as well as many members that he interacted with during his time there.    It's hard sending a kid off into the world to serve a mission without seeing them for 18-24 months and it was very meaningful to us hearing about how Adam had impacted their journeys for good.

The People

 Over the last few days there, we also visited the mission office, drove by several of his apartments, and got to meet his beloved mission leaders--the Botchways!     
 

Mission Leaders, Mission Office, and his Mission Apartments

The Botchways are faith filled people sacrificing much to serve the missionaries  in the Portland mission.

On the second Sunday, we visited the two wards he served in in Tualatin.  Once again, people were quite excited to see him, though I didn't take any pics there! 

All in all, it was a good trip...

and I think we did a good job keeping Portland plenty weird.   

The Little Birdie Returns

Now that we know we are not moving to Saint George, we have embarked on several projects that will make staying in this home better for our needs!    One of the big motivating factors was that we needed to get the office setup for Glen to start working from home.   We are still in the throes of most of it right now, but here's a glimpse of it as a work in progress.  

 On a completely different note, I didn't want to miss documenting that a couple weeks ago, Ellie hitched a ride with a roommate and came home for the weekend.   It was fun to have her around and it made me extra miss my days (28 years of it) of having kids at home with me.  

We did a little photo shoot while she here, so she could pick one for her mission papers.  

I had to laugh pretty hard when I found this random assortment of screenshots show up in our camera roll.  Apparently the girls were having a fun late-night facetime and took some goofy shots!  

On Saturday, we had the missionaries over for dinner.  I made them jalapeno chicken, Brazi bites, fruit salad, and PB bars for dessert.  It was great to have them here, but it made me miss Adam a little extra!   WE ARE DOWN TO DOUBLE DIGIT DAYS UNTIL HE COMES HOME NOW!!!!

Stay tuned for some house updates (and perhaps a little trip post) coming soon...

Adam in Oregon!

Adam has been on his mission about 18-months now, which, having only sent out his two sisters before him,  officially means we are entering into unknown territory as far as missionaries go. Two years is seeming like a really long time right about now and I'm eagerly looking forward to August!    It's been a while since I've done a recap on how he's doing (have I ever done one?!),  so here's a little glimpse at the last year-and-a-half of his life.   I'll do it in little sections to break it up: 

THE TEMPLE:  
He is able to attend the Portland Temple once or twice a transfer, which I love.  Cami didn't have a temple in her mission in France and Emma was a COVID missionary, so despite serving in Utah, she only went three times total during the entirety of her mission.  Even though it means that we don't get to communicate with him as much on the p-days he attends the temple, I am just happy he gets to go feel that peace and gain that strength on a regular basis.

THE WEATHER: 
He's serving in Portland and, as such, often has rather unpleasant weather to deal with.   As expected, it rains A LOT and we sent him with waterproof everything.  I'll be interested to hear how it all held up after two years of heavy use.   He doesn't complain about it, so I assume he's keeping pretty dry...most of the time at least!    

  It also gets quite cold sometimes and has random snow/ice storms in the winter, which Portland is not well equipped to navigate.  He and his fellow missionaries recently spent almost an entire week in their apartment due to a pretty severe ice storm, which turned the streets into ice skating rinks and knocked out power to their apartment for a couple days. 

HIS COMPANIONS:

 His current companion, Elder N,  is 6'10" tall...

  

So at a measly 6'2", Adam looks positively short when he's with his companion! 

I never can quite get a full feel for how he's getting along with his companions, but I can tell that he connects with and works better with some than others.  I'll be interested to get the full scoop when he's home and can talk freely about it.  It did seem like Elder S (in the snowy picture above) has been one of his favorites, but what can I tell?!  

ADAM-ISMS: 
Writing was his least favorite subject in school by a mile, and I'll be totally honest, that I've been quite surprised that he is a faithful weekly letter writer.   His letters are informative and bring the spirit into our days!   I also loves that he sends sky, scenery, and animal pictures on a regular basis.  He's definitely a picture taker after his mother's heart!  

 

 

PHONE CALLS: 
I know I've mentioned it before, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE that we live in a day and a time when we can talk to our missionary on a weekly basis!   Cami served her mission entirely before the communication changes were made and it makes such a HUGE difference being able to hear his voice and see his face every week!     We usually manage to get most of the family on at one time for his p-day calls, but usually someone or the other (often Emma, Cami, Glen, or Garrett) are at work and unable to join.    These calls are such a happy part of my week! 

 

QUOTE FROM HIS LAST LETTER:

"This is the Lord's work. This is Jesus Christ's church. If it wasn't, it simply just wouldn't happen. No humans could ever organize this and see as many miracles as there are EVERY DAY!!


One last little spiritual thought this week is going to be the words of the prophet Jacob. He taught:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts." (Jacob, 6:5)

Turn to God! His arm of mercy is extended towards you! He is quite literally trying to reach you, love you, comfort you, and lift you up!

If you find a way to focus on God a little more this week you will feel that love!

I love you all! I hope you have a great week! Let me know if I can do anything for you all!"

 

OTHER RANDOM STUFF:  
I'll finish up this post with a few random pictures and thoughts.   He got a new mission president (from Ghana) this past summer and I think it's been a great change for Adam.  You can see his mission president and mission mom in this picture. 

Not that there was anything wrong with the former mission president, but I get the impression that the new one has been a blessing for Adam.    He's been a Zone Leader for the last several months, and I think that opportunity for growth and stretching that that calling has given him, has been good. 

He's been in the same area for the last few transfers (longer than any other place on his mission) and it seems that he's really enjoyed being able to get to know the ward and the area better. 

We love this kid and are proud of the sacrifices he's made to serve a mission. 

We've recently got his living situation all figured out for fall semester at BYU, so, despite it seeming like it's still a long ways off,  it's really happening!

  Here's hoping the next six months will fly!