Our newest assignment for the library is the Washington Kennewick Mission. It might not mean much to you but for me, this is part of my childhood and I am so excited. For those who don't have a total grasp on my personal history or the geography of Washington state, Kennewick is a part of the Columbia Basin in south eastern Washington known as the Tri-cities. I grew up in Richland, another one of those cities.
We did our first oral history interview with a mission president and his wife who served there a few years ago. It was amazing as they shared about the places I loved as a child. We didn't spend time exploring who they knew that I knew--that wasn't the purpose of the interview or our interactions before or afterwards--but the names of the places alone brought back so many memories--Richland, Prosser, Benton, Hermiston, and others. But this is not the Tri-cities I grew up in--after, all it has been 50 years since I moved from there in 1971. It was wonderful as they talked about the great people there and the growth of the Church in this special part of the world. They said that the Columbia River Temple, located in Richland, is the busiest small temple in the world. That is the type of people that are in the Church in this desert of a place in eastern Washington.
Of course, I loved that they grew to love this part of the world as well. It was a sweet experience and I look forward to meeting other mission presidents and their wives who have served there since the mission was created in early 2000s.
Have I mentioned that I love serving this mission??
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