July 2026 Recap
Early Morning Kayaking at Union Reservoir, and Halle got her diploma!
Eastern Serengeti
WHAT. A. DAY. Our first day in Serengeti exceeded our wildest expectations. Yesterday evening I told Charles I wanted to see a Cheetah. We were joking that I was good luck, and that it would probably be the first animal we saw in the parks. Halle said, “Cheetah with cubs.” We all laughed and I…
Ngorongoro Crater
Rusty woke up a little early this morning to go for a swim in the beautiful pool. Here’s his IG shot. The Tanzanians thought he was CRAZY. The water was pretty cold, but he said as long as he was moving it was ok. We enjoyed another breakfast with a view and then it was…
Tanzania – Tarangire National Park
TRIP OF A LIFETIME! We are all changed for the better because of this trip. Rusty and I now see why Halle loves Africa so much. Any number of words we write will not be sufficient to explain all that we saw and all that we felt. I was so excited I could hardly sleep…
Josh Mission Email July 27 2026: 6 months woah
Hey guys! Not a super crazy week, but I got a couple fun stories today I met a homeless lady on the street a week or so ago and she wasn’t that interested in what we had to say. However, she must have changed her mind because she managed to track down my number from…
Josh Mission Email July 20 2026: One Day Only: The Return of 班长老
Hey everyone! Hope everyone’s summer is going good. Tony and Emay got baptized yesterday! The Chinese branch is all the way on the other side of my mission, but luckily the church service is early in the morning, and the ward I am in doesn’t meet until the afternoon. I got permission to drive down…
Josh Mission Email July 13 2026: “Say the line Bart!”
Ok a real full email this week for you guys!Last week was the 4th of July, and I was way too cooked to write anything super long. Literally. Last week the heat index broke like 115 and of course it was nice and humid out here. Missionary work was pretty tough, we spent a lot…
Banks Bunch in Steamboat
I got so behind on blogging, so I’m using Rusty’s journal. I think he must have been a little behind too, because he didn’t say much! Suffice it to say, we had such a fun time being together in Steamboat. Love this family of ours! Was happy to turn my phone off and leave to…
Josh Mission Email July 4 2026: Happy 4th!
Sorry no big update this week, it’s been crazy today. But good! I am so grateful for this land of freedom, and for all those who uphold the principles of religous liberty in all ways in this country and across the world. I’ll probably add some stuff to google photos soon. Love you all!Elder Banks