Elder Dacen Cox returns to Mesquite September 9, 2017 after serving a 2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. Dacen served in the Missouri Independence Mission. He is the son of Kurt and Ronya Cox of the Mesquite 6th Ward. Elder Dacen Cox will start his studies at BYU Idaho September 11th. Welcome home Elder Cox!

Last night was our Raingutter Regatta Pack Meeting. We had all of our boys (except one out of state right now) there. It was a great turn out! The point of the Scout Law for the month was Thrifty and the supplemental theme was Power Up. We started in the primary room where we made Rocket Pinwheels out of a balloon, pencil, straw, pin, and tape. It was powered by wind and the boys seemed to enjoy making and playing with them. We then had our opening and presented awards. Every boy received something. Our two Wolves, Kenny and Kye, were working on the CyberChip and received their cards. Our two Bears, Corben and Skyler, earned their Roaring Laughter belt loop and each were asked to tell a joke. They did a great job! Our Webelos Scout, Taj, earned the First Responder pin where he had to learn how to handle different emergency situations. Steven, who recently turned 11, earned the Webelos pins of Sportsman and Project Family. He crossed the bridge into Boy Scouts - but not before transforming right in front of our eyes. He was a Cub Scout in a blue uniform, then suddenly he was a Boy Scout in a tan uniform. We'll miss Steven in our Pack. After awards were presented, we went outside to race in the Raingutter Regatta. Each boy had their boats ready to sail. Each of them did a fantastic job preparing their boats! We had 12 races with a lot of cheering and laughter. It was a fun night! The Webelos leaders provided refreshments which were enjoyed by all - fruit snacks and Powerade (how appropriate). I really appreciate the power of Cub Scouts and the energy that each Cub Scouts possess. Thanks everyone for participating and making our Pack Meeting a success!

Saturday, August 19 girls aged 8-12 years from the Mesquite Nevada Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered for a day of fun. Under the direction of the Stake Primary Presidency more than 70 girls met in and around the Stake Center for instructional classes, games, and preparation for the Open House and Dedication of the nearby Cedar City, Utah temple. As President Gina Zarate explained “With the new temple so close and knowing that many families will be traveling to visit it during the open house and that we will have the opportunity of viewing the dedication from here, we wanted the children to be excited and prepared for this wonderful experience.” Throughout the day the girls rotated from class to class to outside where they got to shoot BB guns and try their hands at archery. Sister Bernice Fiso was entertaining as she taught the girls a Hawaiian dance and helped them understand how different types of music effect our moods and spirits, Sister Chelsie Abbott and Sister Casey Abbott instructed the wisdom of using their time and developing their talents. Sister Suzi Frehner and her daughter Sister Ashlie Bunker taught the girls how to make and keep good friends. The fun and games at the Heritage Park were wrangled by Brother Doug Waite and Brother Brent Hughes and involved BB guns and bows and arrows. Sister Jamie Jones directed the lunch crew and fed the crowd of hungry girls in great style. Sister Zarate summed it up “The presenters were awesome! The girls loved them and I think everyone had a great time.”

Boy Scouts from Virgin River Valley District have been on many exciting adventures this summer at camping and hiking. Twenty-One Varsity and Venture age scouts from Units 42, 488, 493, 596 and 498 sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints went on a 50-mile hike in the high Unitas for six days. Six leaders accompanied them. Their hike began at Grandview Trail head and they hiked to Rocky Sea Pass, Rock Creek Basin, Squaw Basin and Brown Dutch Basin before leaving the trail at Moon Lake. They went fishing at Rock Creek and had trout for supper. Their hike took them to elevation between 10,00 to 11,000 feet. They hiked 4 miles the first day and 10-12 miles on the succeeding day for a total of about 56 miles. They had planned and prepared by taking 3 pre-hikes, camping overnight and hiking 4 miles each trip in April and May. They had to carry packs with all their own gear and food which weighed about 50 lbs. and pack out any containers leaving no trace. They each received a 50-miler patch to wear on their uniform. Scouts from Bunkerville Unit #341 sponsored by the LDS church went to Beaver for 4 days of camping, biking and hiking. They also did rappelling, canoeing, and climbing. The scouts working on cooking merit badge took turns fixing a meal. Varsity and Venture scouts took their bikes on Monday and went cycling. Several scouts said the best fun was cliff jumping into the lake. Other scouts worked on fishing merit badge, rifle merit badge and had a horseshoe tournament. Troop 640 with 3 scouts went to Maple Dell located in Payson Canyon where they went on zip lines, swim races and iron man races. Iron man had teams of 3-4 scouts, one would swim, the next run around the lake to the canoes and tag the next scouts who would race a canoe using their hands to row around a buoy in the lake. Hyrum Baker placed 6th in the swim races, racing against all the scouts at camp. They had fun on the ziplines and worked on merit badges. Scouts from Troops 82, 493, 998 and 596 went to camp at Tife near Mt. Pleasant for a week, working on merit badges such as swimming, life-saving, rifle, archery, leatherwork astronomy, and wilderness survival. They had fun with a soft sword fight. Varsity and Venture scouts from 2640 went to Moab and went white water rafting on the Colorado, mountain biking on the slick rock and hiking. Thank you to all the wonderful leaders!

FamilyRoots Expo will be held September 15-16 in St. George at the Dixie Convention Center. They are offering great classes again this year included a free one-day pass on Saturday for Youth. The details and schedule are discussed on the website.

Val Woods has been awarded the Silver Beaver Award for his 19 years of serving the boy scouts in Virgin Valley. The Silver Beaver Award is the highest award given to volunteer scouters. It is given to leaders who have served in many capacities in scouting, have attended training meetings, and served their community and church in other ways. Val is currently the 11-year-old Scout Leader for Troop 493 sponsored by the Mesquite 4th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as Scoutmaster for Troop 493 for 6 years and assistant scoutmaster for 8 years prior to this. Woods also served as district Round Table Commissioner teaching other leaders to plan activities and train them.. He has also served 11years as assistant camp director at Camp Kolob summer camp. He served as Cub Scout Day Camp assistant and for the last 17 years has been on the support staff for Scouting for Food Drive held in November. During all of the 19 years he has been a merit badge counselor always willing to help the scouts learn skills. Bishop Charles Burton said of him, “He has provided young men with well planned activities, which allowed them to attain rank advancements. His campouts were well organized and provided opportunities for the scouts to become proficient in scout skills.” Woods has taken young men on outings when their fathers could not go. He has also volunteered to go to girl’s summer camp for many years. He has cooked Dutch oven meals for hundreds. He has inspired many of the youth by spending time with them, teaching them knots and setting up camp or just listening. He is a great story teller and reminds the scouts in his gentle way to choose the right. He loves his country and has passed this love of country to his scouts and has been a true example to them of the scout oath and law. He will be honored at the Silver Beaver Banquet for the Utah Parks Council in September.

The Elders Quorum organized a swim party that included Carne Asada, watermelon and root beer floats.

Elder Cody Vernon Burnside served his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and has returned Mesquite. Cody served in the Texas Houston South Mission for 24 months. Jody and Nichole Burnside of the Mesquite 2nd Ward are his parents. Elder Cody Burnside will speak on Sunday, August 13, 2017, 12 pm in the Littlefield Chapel in Littlefield. AZ.

President: Kris Bingham 1st Counselor: Paige Anderson 2nd Counselor: Melissa Julian Secretary: Ashley Bunker

Elder Christen Larsen Cannon has been called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in the Australia Sydney South Mission (English speaking). He will report to the Provo, UT Missionary Training Center on August 16, 2017. George and Jean Cannon of the Mesquite 4th Ward are the parents of Chris. Elder Chris Cannon will speak on Sunday, August 13, 2017, 9 am in the Stake Center.

22 Boy Scouts were at the Mesquite Rec Center tonight working on their Swimming Merit Badge. Thank you to merit badge counselor Kyle Memmott as well as the Mesquite Rec Center for their time in completing this badge.

About 300 hundred people enjoyed socializing at the Ice Cream Social Saturday evening..