A day to remember

I can't believe it has been 7 years since that fateful day we will all remember and never forget - September 11. I still remember (as I'm sure all of you do) where I was and what I was doing when I first heard about what was happening in the great city of New York. It was my first semester at Weber State and on Tuesdays and Thursdays my first class didn't start until 11:30 (those were the days). So, as this was a Tuesday, I was still in bed in the waking up stages when I heard some commotion on the news in the next room. I lay there in disbelief as I listened to the reports of a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. I got out of bed shortly after the second crash and watched the news for another hour or so, still shocked at how something like this could happen in the United States. I do remember going to class that day, but I don't remember much about what we did, other than everyone was talking about what had happened.

I can't even imagine what it must have been like for the people there - wondering if their loved ones had gotten out alive; feeling lost, alone and violated; thinking that maybe the end of the world had come. I'm grateful, as they were, for all the men and women who risked their lives to save a few more.

Of course I can't think about 9/11 without thinking about my mission. I had the amazing opportunity to serve where this event took place. Unfortunately Manhattan was part of another mission, so I was never able to go there, but I did spend the majority of my time across the bay in Brooklyn and Queens. From many places you could see where the towers would have been had they still been standing. When I was in Brooklyn a couple of our zones had the chance to do some service in the Twin Towers Memorial Garden. It was directly across the water from where they stood and the garden was shaped like them. Two long rectangles of grass and flowers, with paths in between and around them. It was a lot of work to fix the place up, but a lot of fun!

I actually got this picture (below) from another missionary. It was taken on 9/11/2006. The blue lights represent the towers.