This is a series on my favorite things through our time on deputation. This post is a little different, but it really is one of my favorite things. My wife is incredible. I am a bit partial, but it is very true. In two year of deputation, we have travelled well over 180,000 miles. We have had meetings in 23 states as far west as California and as far north as New York (our home was in Georgia). Leslie has been by my side through all of this. She has sat in hotels and prophet’s chambers with sick children while I was at church. She has taught classes and given her testimony in many churches across this country. She has made deputation fun for our children while continuing to lead them in home school (which she has done in very odd places). She does not complain. She makes the most of any and every situation. When I am down, she lifts me up. When I am worried she calms me down. When I am in a bad mood, she works hard to lift my spirits. Before every church service she gets our children ready, gets my things ready, and gets herself ready and walks into each church with a smile. She has loved on the people we have met in churches across this country. Leslie has not just “made it through” deputation, she has completed deputation with hard work and a great attitude.

I can recite story after story, event after event that would testify of who Leslie is. I am only going to give one for this post. Our longest trip on deputation was almost eight weeks long. This near two month trip started in August and ended in October. Our schedule was completely full. We had meetings in nine states. We drove across the country from Georgia to California (with meetings in churches that were in between). We ended up going back across the country, driving north and had our last meetings in Ohio before driving back home to Georgia. This trip started out with hot summer temperatures and ended in Ohio in the middle of October with cold temperatures. We had to pack clothes for summer and clothes and jackets for a crisp autumn. Leslie made sure everything was packed that everyone needed. Our car could not handle another bag. In fact, we stopped in Alabama and bought a cheap roof bag for our car to put a few bags in so that I could partially see out of the back window! We stayed in different prophet’s chambers across this country, a few hotels, and a shed out in the middle of nowhere in Missouri. Through all of this Leslie made every place “home”. During off days (days we did not have church services), Leslie found fun things for us to do in whatever area we were in. She made this trip one of the best memories of all of our deputation.

The truth is without Leslie I don’t think deputation would have many “favorite things”. She made our deputation the joy it has been. Leslie is one of my favorite things (or favorite people) through our deputation.