Started working on the house last week. Right now we’re in tree cutting mode. When we left Jerusalem, we didn’t know we’d be doing this, so we didn’t bring the best tools for such an endeavor. It makes for a lot of work just to cut down a single tree. Then once you cut it down, it’s still a ton of work to shape the wood so it's usable for a house.
Luckily, I saw Nephi with some iron ore yesterday. I guess he got it out of the mountains where’s he’s been hanging out lately. I haven’t asked him what it’s for yet, but I’m guessing he’s going to be making some tools that will really save a lot of time here. Good thing we brought him.
Oh, and I LOVE it here. After 8 years in the desert, there’s so much great food here. Sam goes out early every morning and comes back with a bunch of fish by breakfast. The kids go out and find fruit. There are some new fruits here I’ve never seen before. Whenever we get something new, one of us eats it the first day, then if they don’t get sick (or worse) from the fruit, then we know it’s safe for us to all eat.
Each time Dad has insisted that he eat the fruit. He says he’s already old, and the family would probably do better without him anyway. That’s so not true, I’m just hoping we can count on his prophetic abilities to warn him before he eats something he shouldn’t. He’s not as physically strong as he once was, but he still is helpful to have around, and probably more so for leadership than for labor.
To everyone stuck back in Jerusalem (assuming you haven’t all been hauled off by the Babylonians yet), you guys need to come check out the place sometime. Don’t take 8 years to get here. That’s not fun. But if you ever get a chance to come down this way, go basically east from Nahom until you hit Irreantum.
