Another Spain/Blanding connection: I served my Mission in the Madrid Mission. My second area was in Mostoles. My companion and I were visiting a member of our ward and he was showing us pictures from his trip to the states to visit the Elder who had taught and baptized him. He never said the Elder's name, but one of the pages of pictures showed him on a 4-wheeler in a field that looked all to familiar. Upon further inspection, I noticed a row of homes in the back ground that were even more familiar. I asked where he was and who he was visiting... turns out he was at Paul and Lisa McDonald’s home with his missionary (Paul’s brother). My family's home was one of those in the background of that picture.
Jacob Smith -- Nevada
While serving as a missionary up in Sparks, NV a young couple had my companion and I over for
"Blue Mountain you're azure deep
Blue Mountain your sides so steep
Blue Mountain with a horse head on your side
My love you've won to keep"
Of course, when I joined in, my companion looked borderline scared. It was hilarious. After singing the chorus together, the husband said, "So have you ever heard of Albert R. Lyman?" I laughed. When I told them I was his great grandson I thought they were going to prostrate themselves on the floor and start worshiping me. (Thankfully, they didn't--my companion would have run out the door without me).
I wish I could remember their names, it was great. They said they had family in Monticello and had annual family reunions up on "The Blue" every summer and they always have one night where they sing Stan Bronson songs and share stories of "The Old Settler".
Jared Kilgrow--Arkansas:
A small "herd" of us missionaries from SJC in the MTC together. Several of us from Monticello and several from Blanding. Left to right: Joe Wilson, Tim Young, Brad Harris, John Wells, Justin Redd, and me.
When I got out to my mission in my first area, Fort Smith Arkansas, I went to my first district meeting. After I walked in a guy on the couch asked me if I was the Elder that was from Monticello. When I said that I was he said, "Dude! I'm from Blanding." That was when I first met my friend Steven Wozniak. Then the last few months of my mission we were visiting a young couple and one of them was related a lady from Blanding whom I had met briefly about 9 months before my mission. More recently one was after I was hired as the Chef for the Cannon Commons at BYU. For the first year and a half I occasionally saw this guy that looked vaguely familiar. Turns out it was Chris Wilcox. I introduced myself and told him how I knew about half of his family. There are several other encounters I have had at my work. Two of them with Silvia Stubbs.
Feb. 5, 2018 -- Steven Wozniak
And, yes I will never forget seeing Elder Jared Kilgrow's name in my Mission Newsletter as a new missionary coming to the OTM from Monticello, Utah. I told my companion his first area was going to be the Fort Smith, Arkansas area and sure enough it was.
Marilyn Black Lyman -- (granddaughter in Edmonton, Canada :
My daughter Jeanette has a daughter who recently went on a mission to Edmonton, Canada. She was talking to her first companion and told her that she had lots of family in Blanding (though she lived in Lehi). Her companion told her that her favorite missionary at the MTC was from Blanding. His name was Elder Lyman. Yes. It was Colton Lyman, Lindsey's cousin. His dad is Jeanette's brother Taylor!
Marilyn Lyman--Palmyra:
My husband Joe and I were on a temple mission in Palmyra, NY in 2004. We lived in a trailer
Then the guy remembered his first name was Mark and as if we knew Mark Bradford. We told him our son Don was married to his daughter!
Marilyn Lyman -- More missionary connections:
Last year we spent our last winter in Quartzsite. Our first Sunday here we met a counselor in the Branch Presidency by the name of Frazer from Raymond Alberta Canada who was a schoolmate of Margaret Shumway. The next day at Home Evening a couple from McCall ID said they knew Missionary from Blanding, elder Black. He was Dean and Maureen Black's son. And today I sat by someone I didn't know. She told me that her sister lived in Blanding years ago. The name is Warren. Anyone know who it might be?
Kevin Christensen: Armenia:
Sandra Dutson and I became good buds in Armenia! I believe she was sent out in the group that replaced me in Armenia. I went back soon after for a year and I had heard that someone from Blanding had been called there. The Dutsons had moved up north long before. When I went back into the mission office we were able to spend a lot of time together and we helped each other out. She took good care of me and we loved talking Blanding.
Scott and Erma Hurst also served there in the 90's. I met a lot of the people that knew the Hursts. One family had even BEEN to Blanding.
Mission connections are always cool but the chances of this in Armenia is crazy.
Out of all places, I ran into the Wilcox's on my mission in England.
Addendum by Janet Wilcox: It was 2001, and the first overseas trip we had ever taken. We toured Scotland and Wales with Professor Ron Dennis from BYU. When we stayed the night in Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales the ward provided a wonderful meal for our group, as well as a talent show. It was there we got to visit with Elder Kartchner. Sadly, there had just recently been two LDS missionaries killed in an auto accident in that country.
The other interesting thing about that tour is that the Hurst family from Blanding had several relatives in the tour group. One young woman was Sage, and I don't remember the others. Lela Jones also went with us and she and the Hurst family visited the Trehorn family farm with Sister Griffith. It had ice-age markers which are illegal to move. (Sage is married to Tim Pearson, and is the daughter of Jeanette and George Hurst. So they had a very strong connection to Blanding.) We discovered that many on the tour all had a common missionary teach our relatives who first joined the church in Wales and his name was Abel Evans. Lela and I were two of the many pictured here at his grave.
Feb. 4, 2018 --Maureen Arthur Olsen:
Chris and Elaine Johnson were serving in Florida on a mission. There was a young girl from my ward, K'Loni Lowry whose family I was close here in Enoch. Her mum was killed in a horrible accident up here on I-15. I was the VT then and released from my RS calling but Stephen was serving in Bishopric when the accident happened. K'Loni was a senior. She went on to serve and lo and behold worked with the Johnsons in Florida! So many tiny town, big heart community of so few people, that literally affects the world, Blanding!
Amanda Hunt Pickard: Florida
Chris and Elaine Johnson (used to be the middle school principal) randomly came to my ward when they were serving a mission in Central Florida a few years ago.
Danielle Wright Burgess:
My son-in-law, Eric Shields, had Dane Lyman as one of his mission companions in the France/Switzerland mission.
Cordell Cosby -- Brisbane Australia My last area on my mission was interesting. The first Sunday I was there I introduced myself and said where I was from Apparently the ward was made possible because of the many baptisms of one Elder Nielson from Blanding.
Andy and Jewel Mikesell -- Virginia
We were living at Colonial Heights, Virginia. Don Palmer was serving as a missionary there. Andy also met up with Wesley Hunt there who was also serving a mission.
Andy also met Lyle Palmer at church in Vietnam. Just before his death.
We meet somebody from Blanding wherever we go
🤗
My husband, Lynn Wright, was called to serve a mission in France in the early ‘60’s. When he had been out about six months, three more boys from Blanding, Lloyd Bayles, Edward Stevens, and Preston Nielsen were all called to that same mission.
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