It's Moving Day again for Aubs and Elan. When they got married they moved from their own apartments to Cambridge Court, which is married housing right by campus. From there, they moved to Edmond, Oklahoma for a summer sales job. In early June they got a call about a job offer here in Utah that would start at the end of the month. Two weeks later, they packed up all their stuff, said goodbye to their Oklahoma friends and ward, and drove back to Utah and moved into Elan's parents basement. And today, Lindsay and I helped them move from that basement into a basement apartment in Alpine, UT. Their new home for the next while.
It is so beautiful here, right at the base of the Wasatch Mountains and American Fork Canyon.
A little history about the unexpected events that brought them here.
This is the home of Jerry & Kristine Jensen, a wonderful couple who raised their family here in Alpine. Jerry is a Physical Therapist and owns Dry Creek Physical Therapy. In 2010, he and his wife served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Denmark. Again in 2016, they were called to serve another mission in the Philippines. After being trained in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, they returned home just prior to their plane departure for the Philippines. It was early November, and Jerry noticed some leaves in the rain gutters. Not wanting to leave that task to others, he thought he better clean those out before leaving the house for 3 years. He quickly grabbed a ladder and got to work. As he was working, the ladder fell, and Jerry likewise fell to the ground. He was rushed to the hospital by ambulance where they learned he had broken his back and several crucial vertebrae in his neck.
Jerry was now paralyzed from the waist down.
Life changed quickly for Jerry and his family. Their son, who is also a physical therapist, began taking care of him. He and his family had planned to live in the house during his parent's mission but now moved out to Lehi. Their youngest son and his wife remained in the basement apratment to also help with daily tasks and things Kristine and Jerry needed help with, but in July, they would be leaving to start medical school in Louisiana.
Elan had swam with one of Jerry's son years ago, and more recently had decided he wanted to be a Physical Therapist, and Jerry had given him some opportunities to shadow therapists in his clinics. In early June, Jerry and Kristine called Elan and Aubrey about possibly moving into their basement apartment to care for Jerry in the morning hours Monday-Friday and help keep up on the yard and house maintenance. They spent the weekend praying and fasting about it, and Sunday evening they decided to take this opportunity and move back to Utah early. The next day, Elan was the top salesman in the company with a record # of sales and great commission payouts. They were glad they had made the decision to move the evening before, and decided they were willing to forego some immediate financial benefits for long term experience and the opportunity to live with and care for Jerry and Kristine. Now, a few weeks later, it's Move In Day!
Bedroom #1
Bedroom #2
Living Room
Lindsay and I helped Aubrey move from Elan's parents to Alpine while Elan took Jerry to his daily therapy appointments. We were able to meet their son and daughter-in-law that had been living here and were now headed off to medical school. The first thing we noticed about their home was the amazing spirit we felt there. It was almost tangible, a sense of love and goodness in that house. I felt so much joy and gratitude that Aubs and Elan could live in such a wonderful place. This will be such a great place for them to learn and grow together as they serve Jerry and Kristine.
