The not so little ones...

I just got home from a stinkin' awesome trip. It started with a road trip with my parents, Jen and Jordan up to Seattle to attend Justin's wedding. Seeing as my bloggin' buddies have done an ample job of reporting on the happenings in Seattle, I will refrain from expounding too much. However, I would like to add that with all the fun that was being had in Seattle, the highlight of the weekend had to be the Temple wedding. To see Justin and Jessica, two people who I love, take the first steps towards an eternal family was a sweet experience, to say the least. I wish them the best of luck!

After Seattle, my parents and I drove north of the border to visit my mom's brother and his family in Vancouver. I was excited for the visit to Vancouver for the promise of good Chinese food that little Hong Kong offers, the good golf, but more so the opportunity to visit with family that I had not seen in nearly 6 years. In fact, the last time I had seen the family the kids, Natalie and Aaron, were just 9 and 12 years old. For some reason I was still expecting to see two little ones that I could throw around. That idea was dashed soon after we got to their house and I saw Aaron come down the stairs. All remnants of that idea were destroyed when we saw Natalie awhile later. She met us at the dike, proceeded to jump out of the car, ran up, and bent over to give my mom a hug. She only bent over a quarter of an inch, but still...

Vancouver is a neat city, with a number of cool touristy spots. However, the highlight of the trip had to be Natalie and Aaron. They basically gave us a 4 day long talent show, and I am pretty sure that was just the tip of the iceberg. Aaron gave us a glimpse of his hip-hop and R&B dance moves, showed us how to ace cumulative tests without studying, and owned everyone on the Wii. Natalie did a terrific job of humbling me, by playing just a couple of songs from her vast piano repertoire. And as ironic as it is for a Chinese girl to do traditional Irish dancing, she sent wood chips flying on her home made dance floor in the garage. In addition to that, she played some Chinese harp thingy, kicked my butt in badminton, and played the violin. Whatever they feed those kids up there, I need to find me a stock supply of that when I start my own family.

We were set to leave on Thursday morning, and as Wednesday night rolled around, I could not help but to think the Lo's had just given to us the entire week. Regina and Freddy, fought with my parents over every bill, and I think with my parents' not having any Canadian cash on them, won the majority of the battles. Aaron and Natalie gave us performance after performance, and were even willing to share their rooms with us. Thankfully, late Wednesday night, after all the parents were asleep, Natalie and Aaron snuck over to my room to chit-chat. Over the course of our conversation I was grateful for the chance to give a little back, as I was able to share my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After seeing how much those kids have accomplished, it was probably the only thing I had to offer them, but if there was only one thing which I could share, it would be that.

During the long drive home, I reflected upon the experience and recognized that as small and simple as my testimony was, the Spirit was present. I kept thinking how I could have explained more, or answered more questions, but I was reminded that it is through small and simple things that great things come to pass. Seeing as those two are no strangers to great things, I can only imagine what's in store.