Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Four families are now nine! We had a big group marriage ceremony a few days ago. And that’s exciting and all. Problem is we don’t have 9 tents. We have 6. So…yeah. Privacy isn’t really a thing in our current situation...

…But Jael’s great. We’ve only known each other a couple weeks, but I feel like this is gonna work out great. In fact, I guess this is an upside to this whole “flee to the wilderness” thing. I don’t know if I’d have ended up with Jael had we stayed in Jerusalem, and I like her a lot better than any of the other options that Mom and Dad were considering for me. So, there’s a silver lining to this cloud.

Now, it would be a bit more convenient to start a new family not in the desert. But Jael’s a good sport, and we have a good time throwing in just a dash of snarky commentary to help make desert survival a tad more enjoyable. I’ve been thinking of some DIY ideas of how I can improve the camp and make things a bit more homey feeling for the two of us. In my next post, I’ll blog about it:

5 Mind-Numbingly Awesome Ideas to Turn Your Desert Nomad Camp into a Luxury Suite!

I'm sure it'll look just like this by the time I'm done.

Make Me a Match

Being in this small of a dating market makes for some interesting interactions. We have five single guys, and five single ladies. And we all have to match someone. If Dad and Ishmael just went down the list matching by age, I’d be with Orpah, but she’s not my type at all. Luckily, like I said in my last post, she and Sam seem to be fans of each other. Also, Dad and Ishmael seem to be taking into account how everyone interacts in the arrangements they’re making. So that’s a good sign. Laman and Nephi both made their moves for their desired lady-folk quite quickly. I’m a bit less gung ho, and have never been great at the wooing game, so from the moment we headed back to get Ishmael’s family, I figured I’d get last dibs.

But I gotta say, this is actually turning out really well. Jael’s a lot of fun, we have very similar personalities, and she knows how to rock a wimple and crisping pin combo. Oh, and none of my bros are going for her, so I think I actually have a chance getting an awesome wife. Laman, Sam, and Nephi seem to fit well with the girls they’re cozying up to, and even Zoram seems to be a good match for Salome. Although, those two are on again off again—a lot. I think they’ll settle down over time though.

Anyway, Dad, Mom, Ishmael, and Jehosheba are making plans for a big group wedding soon. I told Dad it seems weird to be doing a wedding out here in the boonies with no one around. Can’t really do the big celebration. He said something about how that’s what made this arrangement so nice. Less time worrying about unimportant stuff, and more time to get him some grandkids. Jael was sitting next to me when he said that. He’s kind of awkward, but I guess when you get older you don’t care.

I don't think we'll have enough guests to fill out the reception

They're Coming with Us (and some prophetic words)

This update is coming sooner than I expected. The good news is I’m not in prison. Also, Ishmael’s place is pretty nice; we’re staying here to help him and his family get geared up to head out. And yes, that means he's going with us. Nephi did all the talking, which made sense. I still haven’t really drank Dad’s Kool-aid so I’m not a very effective representative of his views on this matter. Nephi on the other hand really sells it.

I dunno, maybe I’m being too hard on Nephi. That angel seemed to like him, and he did get the plates. So in spite of his weaknesses, I have to remind myself that he’s got some redeeming qualities. That’s hard to remember though, because I really don’t get what’s going on with him and Dad. They seem to be doing everything wrong, and yet God hasn’t stopped them yet. They criticize our leaders and our people, when it’s obvious that we’re keeping the Law of Moses. Yeah, we’re not perfect, but neither are Jeremiah's followers. Shortly before we left, I heard one of the prophets teach the following:

"Too many people think Jews and their leaders should be perfect or nearly perfect. They forget that the the Lord's grace is sufficient to accomplish His work through mortals. Our leaders have the best intentions, but sometimes we make mistakes. This is not unique to our faith, as the same thing occurs in our relationships among friends, neighbors, and workplace associates and even between spouses and in families.

Looking for human weakness in others is rather easy. However, we make a serious mistake by noticing only the human nature of one another and then failing to see God’s hand working through those He has called.

Focusing on how the Lord inspires His chosen leaders and how He moves Israel to do remarkable and extraordinary things despite their humanity is one way that we hold on to the Law and stay safely within the Good Caravan Israel."

Why do Dad and Nephi have to be so negative? Isaiah was pretty clear when he said, “How beautiful up on the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!…Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for Jehovah hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.” Don’t they know what these words mean? Why would they rather be negative and criticize others instead of be counted among those who bring good tidings?

Anyway, sorry for the tangent, but it’s just something that’s been on my mind lately as I'm trying to figure this thing out. I admit I’m still at a loss.

Anyway, back to the main point, Ishmael and Nephi really hit it off. So Mr. Charisma apparently isn’t as awkward as I thought. He just gels with certain types of people. With Zoram and now Ishmael, I’m worried we might have too many of Nephi's “type” pretty soon.

Luckily they're balanced out by Ishmael’s sons and a couple of his daughters who seem to be a bit more practical. Both of Ishmael’s sons have one young kid, and his oldest son, Hoshea, will be getting a second kid soon. His wife, Ashtaroth, is about six months along. Sheerah, Ahijah’s wife (Ahijah is Ishmael’s second son), just had a baby two months ago. So needless to say, neither Hoshea nor Ahijah are all that pumped about abandoning everything to live in the desert. It was one thing for our family to do it with all of us kids being a bit older. But taking a newborn out to live the life of a nomad…well, I can see why his two sons are ticked at us.

Last night, I could see how unhappy Hoshea and Ahijah were with their Dad, so I pulled them aside and kind of gave them the run down. I let them know that most of us weren’t excited about it either, but it’s like Dad and Nephi are on a different planet. I told them to store their stuff somewhere secure because eventually our Dads and Nephi would come back to earth when the reality of the situation (read: potentially starving in the desert) set in. We just gotta get through this until Dad and Ishmael have had time to cool off and feel it’s safe to return. I don’t know if this helped them settle down or not, but at least they’re cool with me now and realize we’re on the same side.

Same goes for Zilpah and Jael, two of Ishmael’s daughters, who were there when I was trying to calm their brothers. They don’t have circumstances that cause the same level of concern as their brothers, but they’re rightfully concerned anyway. Zilpah’s worried that her dad is full on apostate now. He’s no longer just reading and listening to the Jeremiah faction, but now he’s abandoning Israel. I totally get where she’s coming from. I didn’t really have a good answer to help her out because…well…I worry about the same thing.