On July 28th 2011, there was a horrible accident.  Mel and his teacher's quorum and three other adults went on a camp out to Lake Powell.  I took the kids to visit family in Lehi and Pleasant Grove for the weekend.  I wasn't planning on coming back until Monday.  I talked to Mel at 10 p.m. on Thursday night.  They were just pulling their dinners off the fire.  We talked for a few minutes and said our goodbyes.  I got a text 45 minutes later from Mel saying,  "life just s--- Just drove the boat over cliffs"  I texted back "what?"  The next text said, "I think Matt is dead"  I called him, but he couldn't talk right then.  Life flight just showed up.  I knocked on my sister's door and told her.  She said I looked like I saw a ghost.  I started shaking so bad.  She gave me a hug and we said a prayer together.  I was so worried.  So many questions rolling around in my head.
  Mel finally was able to call a little after 11.  He told me he was driving the boat back to the houseboat.  (They had to cook their dinner on the shore about a mile away).  He knew it would be dark when they headed back to the houseboat, so he memorized where he needed to go to get them back to the slips.  He had his lights on on the boat, but it was like shining a flashlight into a hole, you can't see anything.  He turned the lights off and a minute later he hit a rock and sent the boat flying.  There were 6 people on the boat.  Several got thrown out, one of which was the boy that died.   One other boy hit his head and had to get stitches and broke his wrist.  The other adult said he rolled about 10 times on the rock.  He had a goose egg on his head and a hurt shoulder.  Another boy has a bruised back.  He landed on the railing on the boat.  Mel was holding the steering wheel, but ended up with scrapes and bruises. The other made it out without harm.
There was another boat on the lake, a family.  They saw the lights go off and came over immediately.  Mel said this guy just took over and yelled back to his boat to call 911 to get life flight and he told everybody else where to go to help.  They took care of the injured.  As soon as the park service came, this guy took his family and left.  Never to be seen or heard from again.
The injured made it to the hospital to get their injuries taken care of.  Blessings were given to all.  Rides came and picked up everyone else to take them home.  There were 12 of them all together.  Mel and two other leaders stayed until the next day to get the boat and take care of stuff.
That night I could not sleep at all.  I was so worried for Mel and what he must be going through.  I left the next morning to return home.  Mel asked to see if my sisters could take the kids for a few days.  He needed time to work through this.
I got a couple phone calls on the way home from friends, concerned with how we are doing.  When I got home, Mel was still on his way home.  Friends started coming by and calling. I still have not talked to Mel about the accident.  Finally, he made it home.  He was a mess, emotionally.  He was so concerned about the family and how they were feeling.  The Bishop was at our house when he showed up and other people came by to give hugs and offer their help. 

Now, on to the miracles (for lack of a better word).  I'm going to try to do this in chronological order.
1.  I was out of town with family and not all by myself.  I was able to get a blessing that night.  That calmed me down, but not enough to sleep. 
2.  The other injuries were minimal.
3.  The boat was scratched.  I was expecting it to be totaled.
4.  The other boat that helped disappeared.  Mel asked where they were staying, so he looked for their boat, it wasn't there.  They left and didn't give a statement to the park service.  Which is unheard of.
5.  One of the boys has a mental disability and his Mom asked him if he got thrown from the boat.  He said, "Yes.  It was like I was flying and then I landed on feathers."  His blessing also said that he will forget about the accident.
6.   The Relief Society Presidency talked with the Mother and she said that over the last little while she has had the feeling that Matt was not going to make it to adulthood.
7.  The parents are at peace.  They don't blame Mel and there are no hard feelings.  When Mel went to visit the family, he was so weighed down with worry.  He was lighter when he came back.  They opened their door and gave him a big hug and they cried together. 
8.  One of the boys, that was involved, got baptized on Saturday night.  At the baptism, the boy that landed on feathers, said to Mel, "Thanks for the boat ride."  Perhaps he has forgotten already.

I was able to go to the temple on Saturday morning. I wanted to know why Mel had to be involved.  This could make or break him spiritually.  I decided to pray for peace and comfort instead.  I didn't need to know why.  I feel peace and comfort.  Mel feels peace and comfort.  It has been a growing experience for me as well as the others involved.  I believe that Mel will be ok.  It might take a while, but he will be ok.