Sundance + Arturo

"Big River"--a musical about Huck Finn--has been playing at the Sundance Amphitheater for about the past month now. There's a big billboard advertising it on I-15 just outside of Provo, and every time we pass it I say "WOW, Brock! That play 'Big River' sure looks like fun! Golly, sure wish someone would buy us tickets . . . " My man pulled through and bought tickets for Friday night to celebrate the end of my finals! Wahoo!

We started our date with dinner at a new restaurant in the Riverwoods called La Jolla Groves. It was fantastic. Brock ordered beef tenderloin and I had a turkey sandwich on focaccia. Before you hate on me for ordering like a twelve-year old, try that turkey sandwich. For dessert we shared an orange creme brulee and lemon cake--both oozing with citrus goodness! 

The amphitheater at Sundance was gorgeous. I'm sad we've lived here three years and have never been there before! I'm attaching some pictures, so I'll let those speak for themselves. "Big River" was a well-done play. I could tell that some of the Utahns around us were shocked at the frequent use of the n-word, though . . . pretty funny. The night got a little chilly, but Brock let me wear his big fleece coat and we nestled into our blanket nice and warm. Hot cocoa at intermission helped, too :)

After the play ended we were walking down to our car when we heard some soulful blues music echoing through the trees. Turns out there was a blues band playing at The Owl Bar. It was one of those sounds that you hear and you can't help but walk towards it. We stepped inside for a half-hour and listened to the best harmonica, guitar, bass, and drums we'd heard since Rosa's in Chicago. 

We woke up early the next morning to see one of my friends receive his endowments at the Mt. Timpanogos temple. His name is Arturo, and I used to work with him way back in the day at Bajio (about three years ago). I spoke enough Spanish to make friends with him, and we always joked around at work. He and his wife were having a difficult time getting pregnant. After a particularly disappointing miscarriage, I could tell he was really depressed. I gave him a Book of Mormon en espanol--even though doing that makes me so nervous. I don't want people to feel like I'm exploiting their hard times to impose my religious beliefs on them. I remember my heart was pounding out of my chest with nervousness as I handed it to him and tried, with my feeble Spanish, to explain how I thought it might comfort him. I wrote my testimony inside it.

As it turns out, his wife is LDS and had been trying to get him to come to church for some time. My giving him a Book of Mormon must have helped in some small way, because a year later Arturo was baptized (he even asked me to speak at his baptism--not an easy feat for this gringa!). This past Wednesday, he gave me a call and invited me to his endowment session. Wow. Seeing the peace and joy in his eyes . . . indescribable. 

I'm sad to report that I've lost pretty much all my Spanish. The Arabic running around my head jumbles everything up! At the session, I accidentally called Brock retarded ("Mi esposo es lento" instead of "Mi esposo ESTA lento"--dang it!) and asked for the NAME (nombre) of Arturo's phone, rather than the number (numero). Smooth.

As for today's docket? Church, reading, dinner at Aunt Cindy's, and a run in the mountains.

Weekends don't get much better than this one.

Click here for Sundance pictures! They're photos #71-89 in the album.