Students and friends living in the “V.I.P House” are hoping to make a documentary called “Mormon Connection” by traveling through Europe this summer and staying with members they meet on the road. The movie is meant to demonstrate how small the Mormon world can be. V.I.P House resident Cody Myers, a junior from Texas studying business, explained the “Mormon Connection” video is going to be “half adventure film, half missionary tool in order to spread the gospel. In a nutshell, it is going to be a documentary of the global Mormon Church. It will spotlight how there are members of the church in every part of the world.” Myers said six of his friends from BYU-Hawaii, including three from the V.I.P House, are going to travel around Europe and use their connections to stay at members’ homes while and recording their hosts’ stories.Clayton Kearl, another V.I.P resident and Utah senior in business, said, “How many times do you hear people say ‘Oh, it’s such a small world in the Mormon world.’ You’re always making connections everywhere you go. We want to highlight that and show you can make friends in the church wherever you go.” Myers talked about some of the inspiration for the project. He said, “This summer, I went on a road trip with my younger brother for five weeks. I was planning on camping every night, but because of our membership in the church and going to BYU, we only had to camp two nights out of the 35.” Myers continued, “The first two weeks we didn’t even buy any food. We were just amazed by how awesome our membership in the church is. There are families and friends everywhere. We wanted to show that to the world because it was such a cool experience, and show it in a larger scale in Europe.”Myers said they just launched their idea on Kickstarter, a platform for funding creative projects. He said they have raised over $1,400 out of their goal of $7,500.Lindsay Kelley, a senior in EXS from Oregon, said she loves the idea. “It sounds really cool because they are going to be able to connect to people all over the world and understand different cultures with the LDS faith. I love their house because there are a lot of different personalities that make it entertaining. Kelley said, “I love how genuine everyone is, there. They are all in my ward and they bring such a sweet spirit.” Kearl said their house is trying to bring people together. “You’re only alone until you talk to the person next to you. That is how our house is. We make people feel welcome.” He said they want to make people feel like a V.I.P. when they come to their house. The V.I.P House, located off the cul-de-sac on the Point, is full of color. A person going down the stairs enters and sees red and green flashes from the disco ball light, and an art wall full of eclectic paintings to the right. There is an open deck with a piano, an ukelele, a drum set, harmonicas, couch sectionals, hammocks, a television, an art station, and a hanging bed called the “Magic Carpet,” for guests’ entertainment.Rachel Jenson, a freshman from Utah studying elementary education, shared her favorite part of the house. “It is definitely the deck, the lights, and the vibes of the house. All the boys at the house are really upbeat and happy. They just want to have a good time. They don’t care who you are. Everyone is welcome and I like that.”Uploaded March 5, 2015
Writer: Mackenzie McLeod
