He is Here!

He Is Here: The Trip I Thought Was About My Sister

Have you ever entered a season thinking you were simply showing up for someone else, only to realize God was quietly working on your own heart?

That is what happened to me.

I thought this trip was about my sister.

A campus visit.

A sister trip.

Our first one together as adult siblings.

I thought I was going to support her as she explored a possible next chapter of her life.

And I was.

But before we ever left, I felt a clear impression:

This trip was ordained by God the Father for my sister, and I was invited to participate.

I was invited to be present.

Not to control her journey.

Not to decide her path.

Not to make everything happen.

But to walk beside her.

What I did not realize was that while I was walking beside my sister,

Jesus Christ was walking with me.

He reminded me:

He is here.

When You Let God Do the Mapping

Before traveling, I naturally thought about all the connections I could make for my sister.

I have many friends in Arizona, and I thought, “Why not connect her with people who could become part of her support system if she chooses this campus?”

But something interesting happened.

Out of all my friends, only two names came to mind before we traveled.

Looking back, I can see God was already guiding the details.

One of those friends invited us to attend church, but because circumstances changed, we ended up at a different location than originally planned.

Because of that change, my sister met someone who was exactly the person she needed to meet someone connected with the community who could answer questions and provide insight she was looking for.

Both my sister and I walked away feeling the same thing:

God sees us.

God knows our needs.

God is in the details.

I shared this thought in my stories:

“When you let God do the mapping aka GPS, you always run into these special bright souls with that very familiar feeling that you both instantly recognize God is the One who did it. He is always in the details too.”

Learning to Release My Own Plans

This trip also revealed something about my own heart.

I love beauty.

I love meaningful experiences.

I love discovering cultures and connecting with people.

I had a strong desire to attend church with an Indigenous group because of my love and respect for Native Indigenous people.

I also really wanted to go to Sedona.

Looking back, I can see where I was holding tightly to my own plans.

I can see my stubbornness.

But instead of fighting it, I made room for God to step in.

That became one of the greatest lessons of this journey:

Sometimes God guides us not only through what happens, but through what He asks us to release.

Arizona: A Beauty That Felt Familiar

When we arrived in Arizona, I was surprised by how familiar and welcomed I felt.

The spaciousness took my breath away.

Seeing the hills and mountains silhouetted against the sky felt surreal like stepping into scenes I had only seen in movies.

The beauty was different from my island home of Tahiti, but it was powerful in its own way.

Tahiti has the beauty of the ocean, tropical landscapes, and lushness.

Arizona carried another kind of beauty:

Strong.

Quiet.

Expansive.

Reassuring.

Driving through the desert, seeing the cactus, the colors of the rocks, the mountains, and the sunsets, I found myself reflecting on my own journey.

I never planned to leave my beautiful island.

Yet God led me here.

I thought about the Book of Mormon and the way this land is described as a promised land. I was seeing that idea through the lens of my own life realizing that God can lead us into places we never imagined because He sees what we cannot yet see.

Sacred Moments Hidden Along the Way

One of the most meaningful moments was stopping at Hope’s fry bread.

The food was delicious, but the story behind it was even more beautiful.

Years ago, my friend Hope (owner of Hope's Fry Bread) had taught my boys how to make Navajo bread.

Now, years later, we were standing there tasting something she had transformed into a beautiful business.

A seed planted years ago had grown.

After dinner, we discovered the Mesa Arizona Temple was nearby.

Walking those grounds became one of the most sacred moments of the trip for me.

Some of the views reminded me of Solomon’s Temple. Walking near the olive trees brought back memories of my time on The Chosen set in Goshen, Utah.

I felt closer to Jesus Christ.

I took so many pictures of those olive trees and shared:

“How I feel under trees... Olive trees.

So much wisdom passed down to us as we learn to slow down, open our heart, ready to receive Christ.

Chaos around silences, making way for the One and Only beautiful Savior.”

There was peace there.

A reminder that when we slow down, we create space to receive Him.

Las Vegas: A Different Experience

Our time in Las Vegas surprised me.

My sister and I walked through the Strip area and the hotels and casinos around where we stayed while looking for food.

In previous visits, I remember feeling sadness seeing images that portrayed women in ways that did not align with how I believe God sees His daughters.

This time, as we walked through those same types of places, those images were not part of our path.

Both my sister and I noticed it.

To us, it felt like a tender mercy from God as if He had blessed our path and allowed us to experience that place differently.

Instead, what stood out were different expressions of beauty:

Storytelling.

Connection.

Friendship.

Creativity.

We watched KÀ by Cirque du Soleil and noticed the deeper story underneath the performance.

We found ourselves reflecting on courage, identity, transformation, and becoming.

Utah: Walking With Christ Through Creation

Our first visit to Zion National Park was another reminder that God’s timing is often different from ours.

We arrived later than expected and only had one or two hours.

Instead of trying to figure everything out ourselves, we asked a ranger where we should go.

He guided us.

We followed.

And the hike led us to an overlook called The Temple.

I did not plan that.

I did not know that was where we were going.

But there we stood, surrounded by God’s creation.

Another reminder:

He is here.

That moment helped me understand “Wake Wonder” in a deeper way.

It is not about doing more.

It is about becoming awake enough to notice.

To notice creation, to notice people, to notice beauty, to notice Jesus Christ walking with me.

Bringing the Lesson Home

The greatest test of this journey came when I returned home.

And I want to be real.I did have thoughts.

I did feel sadness because it seemed like my return was not celebrated by my sons and husband the way my heart had hoped.

Those feelings were real.

But then I remembered my conversations with God.

I remembered what I promised I would do.

I wanted to work on changing my mind, my heart, and my focus.

Instead of staying focused on how I felt, I wanted to see them the way God sees them.

And once again, I remembered:

He is here.

Not only in the mountains. Not only in sacred places. Not only under olive trees.

He is here in my home. He is here in my relationships. He is here in the ordinary moments where I choose to become more like Him.

The Gift of This Journey

The greatest gift of this trip was not the campus, the places we visited, or even the beautiful memories we created.

It was getting to know my sister.

Without anyone else around, I experienced a side of her I had not known before.

I saw her heart .Her hopes. Her questions. Her journey with God.

My prayer for her is that she always feels seen and encouraged as she navigates this beautiful life.

That she knows God the Father has a purpose for her.

That she knows Jesus Christ walks with her.

And that she always remembers:

He is here.