June 23, 2016

Last Friday we were planning on attending the Temple when Elder Merrill received a call from a couple that were interested in buying one of the cars he has for sale.  They came and tried out a Toyota and a Subaru and they decided that they wanted the Toyota.  He now has 4 cars left to sell. 

We went to a few garage sales on Saturday with the Spencer’s.  We have had over 2 weeks without rain and the forecast doesn’t show signs of rain either.  We are sad that everything is getting so dry and yellow.  Elder Merrill mentioned that he would need to buy a sprinkler for the hose at our home and the next sale had one just perfect for us.  We have had to run the water to keep things a little green.  We are praying that more rain comes soon. We have noticed that some places do have sprinkler systems (the mall) and that they have resorted to using them.  There are some farms around with circles and they are being used this year also.  We hope it rains so the pageant will be green and lush!

On Sunday we left church after Sacrament meeting and went to Buffalo to the VA hospital to visit with one of our home teaching brothers.  He had been given medication for knee replacement and then he already had lots of other meds.  They found out that he was taking 18 different medications and that they didn’t all work together.  They began to adjust his medications and he began to feel better.  We had a nice visit with him and we can now say that we have been inside of a VA hospital.  (huge from the outside, but very plain inside)

On Monday Elder Merrill helped President Francis by going to Dansville to pick up two of the Elder’s that were returning home.  That evening we prepared a meal for them.  We served baked chicken, potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, green salad, rolls, and lemon pound cake with ice cream.  They liked it so well we made it on Tuesday night for the new missionaries arriving.  When they come to the mission they go to the mission home and eat and stay overnight.

Tuesday morning all the missionaries being transferred meet at the office and drop their bags off in the spot marked for their new destination and then when their car arrives, they load up and go.  Wow, that sounded super simple.  WELL, it is more like this—“your ride is here now, let’s get your bags loaded and you can leave”  “Really, now it’s time for your to load your bags and LEAVE”.  They love to get together and it’s really hard to make them quit visiting and go back to work.  The President showed up and he cleared the parking lot in short order.  That makes me wish that I had that kind of power to make things happen. 

On Tuesday after the rush of all the missionaries wanting supplies and asking questions and eating treats here at the office, the UPS man showed up with 19 boxes of supplies for me.  I decided to help him out by propping the outside door open.  I didn’t realize that the sidewalk had a slope on it and I put the wedge down in front of the door and gave it a pull to get it tight enough to stay propped open.  Well, the door went right over the wedge and caught my right big toe with a thud.  The toenail went back and they I looked down at my toe bleeding quite a bit.  Elder Merrill has been so sweet in taking care of my injury and it hasn’t hurt too badly, but it is a bother.  I can’t get anything on my feet, but sandals because of the swelling and bandage.  I’m pretty sure that I will lose the nail too.  Oh well, stuff happens!  It is amazing how our bodies heal themselves.  We listened to a talk by Elder Nielsen a few days ago and here is what he had to say:

"Our Heavenly Father loves His children^.  He has blessed each with physical and spiritual gifts. Let me speak of each type. When you sing “I Am a Child of God,” think of His gift to you of your own physical body. The many amazing attributes of your body attest to your own “divine nature.”  Each organ of your body is a wondrous gift from God. Each eye has an auto focusing lens. Nerves and muscles control two eyes to make a single three-dimensional image. The eyes are connected to the brain, which records the sights seen.  Your heart is an incredible pump. It has four delicate valves that control the direction of blood flow. These valves open and close more than 100,000 times a day—36 million times a year. Yet, unless altered by disease, they are able to withstand such stress almost indefinitely.  Think of the body’s defense system. To protect it from harm, it perceives pain. In response to infection, it generates antibodies. The skin provides protection. It warns against injury that excessive heat or cold might cause.  The body renews its own outdated cells and regulates the levels of its own vital ingredients. The body heals its cuts, bruises, and broken bones. Its capacity for reproduction is another sacred gift from God.  Be we reminded that a perfect body is not required to achieve one’s divine destiny. In fact, some of the sweetest spirits are housed in frail or imperfect bodies. Great spiritual strength is often developed by people with physical challenges, precisely because they are so challenged.  Anyone who studies the workings of the human body has surely “seen God moving in his majesty and power.” Because the body is governed by divine law, any healing comes by obedience to the law upon which that blessing is predicated.  Yet some people erroneously think that these marvelous physical attributes happened by chance or resulted from a big bang somewhere. Ask yourself, “Could an explosion in a printing shop produce a dictionary?” The likelihood is most remote. But if so, it could never heal its own torn pages or reproduce its own newer editions!  If the body’s capacity for normal function, defense, repair, regulation, and regeneration were to prevail without limit, life here would continue in perpetuity. Yes, we would be stranded here on earth! Mercifully for us, our Creator provided for aging and other processes that would ultimately result in our physical death. Death, like birth, is part of life. Scripture teaches that “it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness.” To return to God through the gateway we call death is a joy for those who love Him and are prepared to meet Him.  Eventually the time will come when each “spirit and … body shall be reunited again in … perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame,” never to be separated again. For these physical gifts, thanks be to God!

On Wednesday the new missionaries and taken to the Sacred Grove and a few other stops and then they come to the mission office and meet their new companions.  They have a meeting called 12 week and we then gave them sack lunches and sent them to their areas. 

We were so happy when Elder Cashmore (now Blake) came into the office on Wednesday with his parents.  He is showing them around his mission and I could see the happiness they had in their son.  They were so happy to be with him and so proud of him. He did more than his part in placing Book of Mormons for the mission goal. He placed several cases himself. The mission total now is near 11,000 within a year. We love this great missionary.  He is getting married in August in Salt Lake and we plan to attend the wedding.  He is marrying one of sister missionaries (no, they didn’t realize they liked each other as missionaries) 

Congratulations to Kylee and Burke on the birth of their new little boy!  It’s wonderful to see babies that are so loved!