Birmingham Alabama

In January of 2013 Ryan had to attend a Servpro Regional meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the week of his birthday so we decided to make it a nice trip for the two of us. Thankfully between Michi, Topher, along with Papa and Mom we were able to leave the kids in Utah and have a relaxing and fun trip. Ryan had two days of meeting then we were able to spend two days seeing the sites of Birmingham. 

We were quite surprised. Birmingham is not a small town and there is a ton of history, but in downtown it is like a "Ghost Town". There are several large buildings that are old and dilapidated. There are also new buildings but you don't really see people going in and out of them. We tried going to the Civil Rights Museum on Friday but because there had been a small snow storm come through (literally half an inch) they had closed for the day. Everywhere was vacant and nothing was open. We were able to go back on Saturday and tour the museum, along with some of the churches in the area. I was surprised by how many different religions could be in a one block radius. I guess that is why they call it part of the "Bible Belt loop". We also walked many of the parks, and toured the Vulcan. The Vulcan is the largest iron cast statue in the world.

The best part of our trip was being able to go to the Birmingham Temple. We have decided that we would like to attend as many Temples as possible, and we kick started our journey with the little Birmingham temple. It was amazing! It was definitely the smallest session I have been a part of. It consisted of three women and two men. There were more temple workers than patrons but I am so thankful for the sweet workers that loved serving in the temple. It is a memory that I will always treasure.

Our final morning in Birmingham we had the opportunity to meet a husband and wife who were staying at the same hotel as us. They were in Birmingham because there 16 year old son had cancer and was being treated at the hospital. The kindness and optimism of this couple despite the sad situation they were in was remarkable and I will never forget how, regardless of the opposition they were grateful to our Heavenly Father and full of faith and love.