A little more than a BBQ to me

Blue and Green was my theme. Not really a theme, but it was still fun to
decorate! 

My spread! 

Love our friends here! So I don't forget
Starting from the left: Kassie Searle, Isaac & Julie King,
Candace Dyal, Carlos & Alyse Kemeney holding Megan, and Adam Dyal
doing a pose! 

 We've started having BBQ's with our friends from church, and it has been so nice. I feel so much more at home in my ward since we started. We all have similar senses of humor. I've decided that I for the first time since I was a teenager I am going to miss our ward when we move. That is a good feeling. It actually makes me really sad thinking about how I finally found good friends here, and we most likely will be moving and I may never see or hear from them again. This is something that causes me to have problems with making friends when we move to new places, thinking that we will all just move on. I am thankful to be surrounded by people I have come to love and cherish. This is the college experience I always wanted, and just never seemed to get while in Utah. We had our good friends in Utah, but it just was never like here. I feel at home and that truly is all I have ever wanted. I just pray that wherever we end up we will find dear friends there as well. As I was telling Justin my thoughts he said that we can meet again in Zion, and I laughed and said that I will make sure and put that on their cards when we move. lol. But seriously, I was talking to my sister the other day who mentioned she has a hard time in her ward, and I was agreeing with her, and then we started doing these BBQ's and I discovered in my circumstance, that we just had to make the effort and the love was all around us. Not to say that is true in everyone's circumstances, but in ours it was. And with it Justin and I discovered that we want to do this sort of thing all the time. We once were not social and now we will be. Who knew! lol.

My neighbors showed up! Their friend Katherine, Mel, her boyfriend John
and Renee. 

What I was the most excited about was that I invited my neighbor Mel and her boyfriend and their roommates. You see on my first day riding the bus to work, I was so nervous I was going to catch the wrong one, and didn't know which stop to get off at. Mel was at the bus stop, and I know she was because Heavenly Father wanted us to meet. Mel didn't ride the bus often, but I felt like whenever I needed a little pick me up that she would be there. Mel is a member of the Church of Christ, and is very active in it. We had many discussions on the bus.  I want to record a few of the ones I remember because they are so dear to me, and I don't want to forget them. Mel often would read scriptures on the bus and write in her journal. This was such a good example of me of not hiding your light. So she inspired me to read the Book of Mormon on the bus with the purpose of giving it to her. I didn't finish it while on the bus but I look forward to giving it to her before we move. I did give her a copy of Finding Faith in Christ, and was able to tell her my testimony of temples, the Prophet, and things that are talked about in the New Testament that are unique to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She invited me to go to a women's conference at her church, and I was unable to go because of women's conference broadcast for our church. One day Mel was having a rough time with knowing what to do with her priorities. She felt like she had too many good things going on, and didn't feel like she could say no to more good things. I shared with her the talk that Elder Uchtdorf gave called Forget me Not. I felt the spirit so strongly while I shared my testimony about it, and about the Prophet and the apostles. I know that because of Mel's great example to me that I was able to share the gospel with many on the buses of Pittsburgh. I was asked one day just out of the blue by a man sitting starring at me he said, "I feel like you know the meaning of life." We had a great discussion about Jesus Christ, and the purpose of life. I shared a book written by Elder Erying called "To Draw Closer to God" with a friend who worked at the University of Pittsburgh. I spoke about the New Testament, the temple, life after death, baptism all on the bus. I am thankful that we moved to Pittsburgh and for the experiences I have had here. I am thankful to a Heavenly Father who blesses all churches with good people who can be an example at all times and in all things. I hope that I will always let me light shine too!