Fresh produce

Editor's note: No offense intended to Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber and all our other Veggie Tales friends.

Sketchbook: Sweet and sour

For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it's been a roller coaster these past few days. Looking forward to General Conference, BYU winning a tight match against Colorado in a great game, the passing of Pres. Nelson, and then the horrific mass shooting and subsequent fire at the meetinghouse in Michigan — all against the background of studying D&C 107 and 109 in Come, Follow Me and again looking forward to General Conference!

Many of us, I'm sure, have spent a lot of time on our knees over the past day or two — with more to come!

I find comfort in one of Pres. Nelson's recent messages: "The best is yet to come, my brothers and sisters, because the Savior is coming again. The best is yet to come as we fully turn our hearts and our lives to Jesus Christ."

Let's pray for our brothers and sisters; let us pray for ourselves, our families and our neighbors. Let us pray for the members and helpers in Michigan. And then let us work to make those prayers come to pass!

 

In memoriam

I was saddened to hear of Pres. Nelson’s passing — so soon after his birthday, right before general conference, and before the outcome of the BYU game was decided. He always showed a sense of humor and had a twinkle in his eye, so I thought it would be appropriate to pull a few of my cartoons that are based on Pres. Nelson and his talks. 

Here they are in no particular order. He was a wonderful man, a great inspiration, and a perfect witness for Christ. The last is pulled from my conference notes last October.

Power sources

This could very well have been my big brother telling me little known facts about things back when we were kids.

And for those who are thinking that the remodel is taking an awfully long time, remember that the original construction took 40 years!

As we get ready for General Conference, it’s time again for the Ward Cartoonist’s semiannual General Conference Activity Pack! Download your copy today — and use it next week!

Times and seasons

I don't know of this is in the Handbook, but in almost every ward I've been in, they seem to release the Primary presidency right before or just after the Primary program in sacrament meeting.
 

Accommodations

We had a couple of baptisms that we did in the ocean, but it was close to shore. 
 

Lessons learned

Editor's note: I've got a couple of old pirate-themed sketchbook gags that I'm turning in to full cartoons. 

As a missionary, it's great when your investigator actually reads the scriptures. You just hope they're inspired bi the right parts!

Sketchbook: Tissue issue

This is a direct quote from a talk we had at church yesterday. Every ward, I’m sure, has their designated crier and it was his turn yesterday. 

It was a great talk. And, yes, he used a tissue or two. 
 

It's our heritage

Moving people is a bit easier and safer these days, for the most part. As a Church, we've been trying to get people to move — whether it's to Zion or along the covenant path — since the beginning of the Restoration. 

Maybe what we need is some kind of spiritual U-Haul.
 

Weights and measures

Just a couple more weeks until General Conference. I hope we make it!
 

Porch sitters

I've been involved in news, politics and government for a decade or two now, and I don't understand what's going on in politics nowadays either!
 

The family trade

It's interesting when you find out that not all of your ancestors were the best people. But it sure livens up the stories in family history!

 

TGIP

There one hour in Primary each week almost makes up for the rest of the week!
 

Sketchbook: You make the call

These days it seems risky to go anywhere without first saying a prayer, if you know what I mean!
 

Tell me something good

Even though this has been in the queue for quite some time, I've been a little hesitant about running it today in light of the recent incident at Utah Valley University. 

I used to live not five miles from there. I've driven by that spot several times, and I've been in that courtyard. Even from far away, it still hits close to home.

I join in the calls for peace, tolerance and understanding. 

I'm reminded of the words of Elder Dale G. Renlund in his General Conference address, "Infuriating Unfairness."

"Brothers and sisters, not throwing stones is the first step in treating others with compassion. The second step is to try to catch stones thrown by others."

"Join (the Savior) in His mission 'to heal the brokenhearted,' strive to mitigate unfairness, and become a stonecatcher."

Voices carry

It seems like the loud voices are the ones that get heard — and believed — the most. But the Spirit speaks by the still, small voice, and we're admonished to "be still, and know that I Am God." 
 

Count on it

In the old days they used to have the ward clerk sit on the stand to take minutes and do the attendance count. When my dad was clerk, he'd go and do the count and then return to the stand — and promptly fall asleep. It was like clockwork, so I know this method works!
 

Pump up the volume

That must be the kind of shampoo my kids use!
 

Sketchbook: Potatoes

 

Totally worth it. 

New to the neighborhood

Have you used this function on the Family Tree app? There are always fun surprises with the Relatives Around Me thing!
 

Feed me

Sometimes it’s the small things we need to pay attention to.

I’m reminded of Elder Holland’s message that we don’t want to fill people up with “spiritual Twinkies.” They come to be nourished by the good word of God

A travel journal, part 10

The good news is, the U.S. Consulate in Barcelona was able to give me same-day service on my emergency passport!

I was the second one in line when they opened Monday morning. After all the paperwork, forms and fees, they said I could come back in the afternoon and pick up my passport!

I could have floated back to my hotel. It's a good thing I took a taxi instead because they were going to kick me out of my room. Luckily I was able to extend for one more night. Otherwise I would have had to sleep at the airport!

One thing about the emergency passport — it's purple rather than the standard blue for U.S. passports. That means I got a little extra scrutiny each time I went through a security checkpoint. Curiously none of the agents were surprised to hear that the theft happened in Barcelona!

I made it home without further incident. As Dorothy said, "There’s no place like home!"

Finally, a happy face!

Saying goodbye to Barcelona.

It's required by Portland law to take a photo of your feet on the carpet at PDX at the beginning or ending of your trip.

A travel journal, part 9

The unthinkable happened. We tell the kids to keep their passports safe and secure. Barcelona, beautiful city that it is, is also well-known for its pickpockets.

On our last day we stopped to have lunch in a mall (El Corte Inglés) that has a rooftop restaurant with great views of the city. You have to go through security to enter the mall. The bottom floor has stores like Gucci, Prada and Versace. Fancy place. The restaurant, La Rotonda, is on the ninth floor and you have to go through additional security to enter.

We picked a spot near the cashier. It had a security camera above the table. It felt like a fairly safe place. I had my satchel with all of our important papers next to me; I was touching the strap.

One moment it was there; the next it was gone — including my passport!

In stead of spending the afternoon at the beach, I got to spend it visiting three different police stations to file a report. It was a Friday afternoon — siesta time — in Spain, so of course the U.S. consulate was closed. No chance of even starting the process for a replacement passport. And we were scheduled to fly out early the next morning. 

Not a situation you want to find yourself in!

They told me that there was a small chance I could fly out with the group. I still had my wallet with my REAL ID, my only glimmer of hope. The only bugaboo was a stopover we had in Zurich. 

Nope.

I went with the group to the airport early the next morning. They turned me away at the airline counter. It was the Zurich thing.

I had to stay behind while everyone else went home. The tour company was able to book me a hotel room near the airport for three days, which should be enough time to get an emergency passport. And the airline was able to reschedule my flight, so I didn't have to pay any rebooking fees.

Bu t I was stuck there. In a country where I didn't speak the language, with no passport, all alone.

I didn't take a lot of photos that afternoon. Here's one of us going to the first of three police stations.

A travel journal, part 8

One of the fun things we had an opportunity to do while in Barcelona was to attend a night of flamenco dancing. Unfortunately, some of the kids didn't understand what flamenco is, so they opted out of a wonderful, educational and entertaining evening and decided to go shopping instead.

Just a short walk from our hotel was a beautiful beach. The water was warm and the weather was beautiful.

One of our boys was so excited to go wade into the water that he forgot that he had his phone in his pocket. Oops. Bad news is, the phone died. Good news is that most of his photos were stored in the cloud.

TOP: The beach was a short walk from our hotel. We were ahead of the tourist season, so it was pleasant and not crowded at all. 

BOTTOM: Our three-star hotel was a little quirky and about an hour's drive from Barcelona, yet it was a nice place to stay.

Editor's note: We're almost done with the travel journal and we'll soon be back to our regular programming. Stay tuned!

 

A travel journal, part 7

Barcelona is a big, beautiful city with so many things to see and experience! 

One of the unique sights is Park Güell, a park designed by Antonio Gaudi (and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site). If you're not familiar with Gaudi, imagine if you will a park designed by Dr. Seuss brought into the real world. 

It could have been an amazing visit...but, for reasons never fully explained to us, we had one guide when we should have had two (group sizes are limited). So we got half a tour of half the park. And they made our teacher stay behind. 

I'd highly recommended visiting the park if you're ever in Barcelona. However the same cannot be said for the tour company, bless their hearts. 

Another mind-blowing site is the Sagrada Familia, a cathedral also designed by Gaudi and another World Heritage Site.

It's been under constant construction since 1852, and they keep saying that it will be finished in the next year or two.

The outside is covered with stories from The Bible, and every nook and cranny is filled with detailed designs. Definitely worth a visit. Maybe it'll be done by the time you get there!

TOP: View of the city from Park Güell. It's wild!

MIDDLE: Detail of Sagrada Familia depicting the Nativity.

BOTTOM: They were filming a commercial while we were there. A couple of our kids were captured on film!