Scott Woodbury

1978 - 1980

As I contemplated serving a mission I prayed that I could go to a place with mountains.  At the time - and it still may be true - the La Paz Mission was the highest mission in the world.  I remember flying into the airport and seeing all the mountains, Adobe structures and green  rolling fields and the clouds were so close to the ground.  Serving in Bolivia prepared me for life.  It has helped me to be humble and to appreciate people no matter what their circumstances may be.  I learned that even in very difficult circumstances you can still be happy.  Seeing people accept the gospel had to be the highlight of the mission as well as meeting great missionaries and having the experiences we all shared.  One experience I remember was the health fair in Oruro.  There was a replica of the Washington DC Temple and about a dozen display boards. We received a lot of references from that fair.  I also recall President Hill telling us "to look to the Lord for our blessings, make a sacrifice and expect a miracle."  I did experience many miracles and witnessed others.  It has been a joy reading everyone's experiences and catching up on what is happening now. 

After the mission I graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in City Planning and then went to school in Tempe at Arizona State University for a Masters in Environmental Planning.  I worked for the State of Arizona and then moved to Las Vegas, Nevada doing City Planning and Geographic Information System work.  After Las Vegas I went to work for Henderson, Nevada where I retired at the end of 2011.  I met my wife at a City Planning meeting on the campus of UNLV in about 1997 and we were married in 2003.  We have two little girls ages 10 and 13 and we recently moved to Spanish Fork, Utah to be closer to our families.  Currently I have been substitute teaching which as been a good experience.  We had a real treat just before we moved of having my missionary companion's son, Elder Branning, serve for two months of his mission in our Ward in Henderson and enjoyed serving him and his companion dinner in our home.