A Visit From an Old Friend

Last week Jon called me pretty excited that his friend and mission companion from Sweden would be in town and wanted to spend the day with us on Sunday. I only met Antti Syvanen a few years ago. But I know he and Jon have a special friendship. Jon left early Sunday morning to pick him up from his hotel and then he went to church with us and came back to the house for a bit to eat lunch and visit. The kids thought he was really funny and kept asking him to say things in Swedish. They also loved when he played some fun songs on the piano. On the way to take him back to his hotel we took a couple detours. One was to the base of the Superstition Mountains so he could see come cactus. He'd never seen one before and was fascinated by them. The things we take for granted being native to Arizona! :) We also stopped at the Temple Visitors Center. And of course we had to show him the cactus gardens there. I know it really meant a lot to Jon to have a day with him. It's not often you get to see a friend who lives half way around the world. I'm glad they both had the opportunity, even if it was only a day!