We created this ad for a small publication in the Mesa, Arizona area. It will be out next week. I posted it and sent out the link to some friends for feedback and before I woke the next morning someone had already purchased a copy of The Mormon Colonies in Mexico DVD.

All along this journey, I kept encountering people who were interested and wanted to know when and where they could get the finished product. I kept wondering if there would ever be a finished product. Well, now they know. In addition to wondering if it would every be completed, I have certainly had moments over the last 10 years when I wondered about relevance of all of this. It is just history! Who really cares? I admit there were times I didn’t. Then I would start reading something and the project would haunt me some more and I would get back to work on it.

I think I would have just kept researching for the rest of my life if one day Cyndi didn’t say, “Enough already. Let’s get this thing done!” So after my ten-year incubation period, about 30 days ago, we started compiling all I knew. She took all my books and became absorbed in the history herself. She found the story fascinating. In discussion, we decided the best format for the story. We traveled to local historical libraries and found a wealth of photos to breathe life into the words we had been reading. We found more journals and histories (thank you Uncle Don!) to add even more depth and diversity to the story. In truth, I could keep researching forever because the amount of information about the settlers and their descendants really is endless. We have discussed the possibility of “sequels” for each individual colony because it seems that there are dozens of powerful and inspiring stories in each colony. We hope and invite others to share their stories about this place and time. To help the sharing, we are establishing a “wiki” site for that to occur. (Like Wikipedia, everyone can post stories and photos and movies for others to see and enjoy!)

As for me, I guess I’ve carried this baby long enough. It is time to send this project out into the world. I am ready to let it go so that others can take it in.