March 20, 2016

We were called last Sunday with the bad news that Brook and Heidi Summers and Dave and Jessica Anderson had been killed in a small plane accident.  We are so sad for their children and others close to them; including our great friends Chuck and Janet Summers.  Our kids had grown up with Brook-- and Brad had continued his friendship with Dave and Brook.  Brook has been our dentist.  We are all shocked.  Our lives do not have a guarantee and there isn’t an expiration date on us.  This life is the time to prepare to meet God.  I can really see that putting off until tomorrow the things we should do today is NOT a good life slogan.

We have been trying to keep busy at work and home to help take our minds off things at home and lessen the sadness.

Crazy sign in window.  LOL!  This helps!

We caught up on our work that we missed while home.  Last Sunday evening I got to help with the mission audit.  We were about through with it when my computer locked up and wouldn’t go any further.  We worked on it and tried several things, but it wouldn’t budge.  We did the ctrl/alt/delete and held our breath.  When we logged back onto the program it had saved it!  Yeah!  (we had worked on it for 3 hours and the auditor didn’t know when he could come back)  I got it turned in Monday morning and was relieved to have that completed.  (I passed with a couple of unsigned bills and a credit card bill that didn’t match the statement.  The statement said $24.90 and the bill said $25.00.  One dime was the thing that we got called on; not too bad)

We had a baptism this week of a man named John Ward.  He is a very nice man that is Irish and was Catholic.  He was very sweet and wanted to talk after the service.  He thanked everyone that had helped him and was so grateful for their attendance. 

We went to the Temple Friday night and then to work at the Bishop’s storehouse on Saturday morning.  That was a good experience.  We were there a few weeks ago, and now they are so much more organized.  It will be dedicated in April and then it will be really be a place that can change lives.   It seems that there are so many people here that need assistance and I am glad that our church is willing and able to help them.

We followed a sign that said, 'Maple Open House' and found them cooking the sap into syrup.  They told us that it isn't a good year for maple because of the mild winter.  It takes almost 50 gallons of sap to make one of syrup.  Their process was a good one and they filtered the end product very well.  We like the flavor or their syrup and bought a small bottle.

  We drove over to Geneva yesterday to take keys to the elders that left their bag with their keys at the Dr. office in Rochester.  They were glad to have access to their car again.  They arrived after us and they were with a nice, older gentleman.  He was taking them around to appointments.  He introduced himself as a 50 year eternagator (eternal investigator).  He really likes the church, but can’t seem to take the plunge.  I wanted to say, “What are you waiting for, life is short??” but I didn’t.

We talked with Debby Horsley yesterday and she told us of her trial of having to have open heart surgery while on her mission.  It sounds like it was pretty scary.  She had an aneurism that was very dangerous.  We are grateful that she has been through the surgery and is recovering now.  So, it appears that missions do not protect us from health problems, or sadness, or death.  I’ve had to rethink that hypothesis.  I almost thought that if our family could be protected and miracles could occur, a mission is the place for us for many years; but the Lord doesn’t work that way, does he?  He lets our trials come when they come and then helps us through them.  We have prayed for extra servings of the Holy Ghost to be with us and others to help ease the pain.  I believe that we have been given a portion of that blessing.

We have a fireside tonight and it is about time to get ready. 

Happy Birthday last week little Adie!

Happy Easter!  We love you all!

Cute lawn decorations for Easter!

March 13, 2016

How does anyone put into words the events of the last 2 weeks?  The week of Feb. 21 was a week of driving to zone conferences and making presentations.  Elder Merrill did car checks and made sure the cars were being cared for and I was assigned to give a presentation to all of the young missionaries on budgeting.  Each day we returned to Mendon tired, but happy.  The conferences were good and our President and his wife did a great job with the talks they gave.  They really focused on obedience and following the commandments and mission rules (as we have had a few that are trying to push the envelope).  He said that he wouldn’t turn the mission over to a new president in July without obedient missionaries.  He asked everyone to prepare for their personal interview and plan to talk about their weapons of rebellion.  We all have them (weapons of rebellion); it takes real strength and courage to bring them to the surface and admit that they are real and holding us back.

We were completely worn out when we arrived home from work on Friday evening and were going to play a game with the Spencer’s.  We got a call from Annette.  We could hardly understand what she was saying, but understood that it was urgent that we should immediately pray for help.  We said good night to the Spencer’s (after a prayer) and then began to pray.  We learned that Tessa, Ava, and Halle were under several feet of snow and ice that had slid off the roof of a cabin in Island Park.  Chris had been grilling steaks outside when he heard the snow come off the roof and he knew something was wrong.  He ran to the far side of the cabin and Joslynn told him that the kids were under the snow.  She and Tate had been with them, but had escaped the slide.  He began digging and then asked Joslynn where the kids were buried and she told him they were on the other end from where he was digging.  Annette and Cindy began helping; and called for help.  Chris was able to find a boot and then dig Ava out.  He and others were able to get Tessa out next and they had to perform CPR on her.  Our dear, precious little Halle Ann was buried longer and was injured with the crush of the ice and snow.  They were able to finally get a weak heartbeat from her and she was life-flighted to Idaho Falls.  The other girls were sent in another helicopter.  We prayed for a miracle—and we were blessed with the lives of Tessa, Ava, Joslynn, and Tate.  We lost our little Halle in the accident.   Our friends, the Spencer’s, came over after midnight (because they saw our lights still on).  They cried with us and comforted us for over an hour. They had lost a 2 year old son over 20+ years ago and talked about their sweet little Kevin.  We have been so blessed to have such good friends here in the mission; many of the missionaries, young and old, sent cards, called or texts.

Prior to our flight our President Francis gave us both a blessing.  They were so wonderful and strong.  I know that really helped us.  He mentioned that he was there to do it in the place of the Savior—what a great thing to know that we have the Priesthood of our Father in Heaven on the earth to help us.  We flew into Salt Lake City the next day.  Many people in the airports asked us where we were going and why.  So many people cried with us that were total strangers.  Everyone had such tender hearts for Halle’s family.   Blake Ellsworth picked us up at the airport after midnight.  We drove to Grant and stayed with Annette.  We went to the hospital to see the girls as soon as we were ready in the morning.  Tessa and Ava were both doing much better and were released after noon.  We had family time in the children’s play center of the hospital.  Blessings were given to Grandma and Grandpa Mueller and many talked of gratitude for what had been done for the girls and for the great plan of salvation.  It was a sad, but spiritual experience.

We stayed with Chris and Cindy and were amazed at the love and caring shown to them by family, ward members and friends.  There was never a lack of food, flowers, or someone to visit with.  We spent the next days getting prepared for the services and contemplating Halle’s short life.  She was always such a happy, fun child.    We took over 25 pictures of Halle’s life and had them made into large wall hangings.  They turned out so nice and we put them all over the gym of the Lewisville Church for the viewing and funeral.  They reminded us to be happy too.  Her services were held on March 4^th in Lewisville and Elder Merrill was one of the speakers.  He did a good job and was able to control his emotions for the service.  Annette gave the life sketch and did a great job of it too.  Cindy’s dad also gave a talk and did a good job.  The service was beautiful and perfect for Halle.  After the dedicatory prayer 6 planes came over the hill and did a fly by.  It was so moving.  We had 80 white helium balloons and 1 pink balloon that we had people hold on to and let go at the same time.  It was beautiful!  The day was nice and they floated in the air like they were dancing a special dance for us.  We all watched until they were out of sight.

Tender Mercies:

• Joslyn and Tate were not buried—she told her mother that someone had pushed her out of the way.  She was able to tell Chris where to dig
• QRU was able to come to help
• Family members are there to help us—they reached out in love and compassion
• Chris has been on the Lewisville Cemetery Board for several years and has helped beautify it.
• The day of the funeral was beautiful, peaceful, and calm
• People from everywhere sent condolences and love—everyone tried to take a small amount of grief home with them.  Many people knew the heartache death causes and knew what to say and do.  Everyone suffers grief at some point of their lives and compassion is a wonderful thing for healing.
• People opened up their hearts and helped supply things that were needed; food, flowers,  money or other blessings
• The plan of salvation helps us because we know where Halle is and what we need to do to be with her again
• Christ suffered the atonement for us and knows of our grief and pain and is here to help us.
• The scriptures teach us of a loving Heavenly Father that wants us to return to Him.  They teach us about what happens after our death and where we go and what we do.

On March 9^th my mom and dad took us to Salt Lake City.  We were able to meet up with the Longhurst family at the State Capital.  She is a 2^nd or 3^rd cousin to Cindy and their 11 year old boy, Eric, had been hit in an intersection in Orem, Utah and had passed away a few days after Halle’s accident.  Their son, Elder Brian Longhurst, is serving in the New York Rochester mission.  We were able to take a candy basket from the Caramel Tree to them and pick up some things they wanted Elder Longhurst to have.  They were at the Capital to hear a concert put on by their son’s school and dedicated to him.  We shared many hugs and sent our love; they are amazing people.

The Longhursts and Merrills

Tender Mercy:

• We accidentally got tickets to fly into Salt Lake City and not Idaho Falls.  We feel it was this way so we could visit with the Longhurst’s for a few minutes.
• We parked at the back of the capital and Elder Merrill called the Longhurst’s and they said that they were just coming around to the back of the capital also.  We met them in about 20 seconds.  Amazing that we both parked behind the capital. 

We are now back in Rochester trying to do mission work again.  It seems all different to me.  I want to continue our mission, but right now I feel a little less-enthused.  It’s hard being away from our loved ones and I miss my kids and grandkids.  I guess time will help with the feelings I’m having.  We are praying continually for Chris, Cindy, and Tessa.  We love them so much!  They are amazing parents and have such great love.

When we arrived at our home in Mendon there was a little potted plant on our table.  It is a hydrangea; the very flower we wanted for Halle.  The Spencer’s didn’t know that (and I haven’t told them yet), but there are so many things are not coincidence.

Where can we turn?  To Christ and Heavenly Father

Feb. 21, 2016

We started out our week with our Monday morning office staff meeting.  We had a lengthy conversation on the need to be accountable for our actions and the need for making that accounting to someone.  It’s nice to allow others the autonomy to make choices and follow through with assignments, but there also needs to be an accounting of that.  We all brought thoughts to the conversation and it was a very good discussion.  My thought is that even Jesus Christ was asked to ‘return and report’—why should we not be asked to do the same?

A little girls was having a baptism party in the gym during our meeting.  (the kids were out for a week of school here)  They asked us to come to the party.  The theme was Alice in Wonderland and we are dressed for the party.

This takes 'extreme' balance

On Tuesday we woke to lots of new snow.  Really this was the first snow of the winter.  Dennis was like a man with a mission (different than a man on a mission).  He went right out and fired up the snow blower and had such a good time using that machine.  It really did a good job and he cleaned up our walks and the Spencer’s also.

Our car in the office parking lot

This is the day after the storm--this little machine does the sidewalks around town

Sister Spencer and Sister Merrill on our way to work

Elder Spencer had a cornea transplant a few weeks ago and he can’t lift, bend or do anything strenuous for a few more weeks.  He finished the walks and we were ready to go to the office.  There were all kinds of people that had slid off the road and we stuck in the gutters.  The news reported accidents on almost every major street and in the afternoon they shut down some of the big roads that move traffic around Rochester.  The church has someone hired to keep the parking lot cleaned out and they had been there before we arrived, but it had snowed quite a bit more and we got stuck in the parking lot.  Elder Merrill was able to get unstuck and park.  It kept snowing and at noon we talked with President Frances and asked if he thought we should go home.  He said that would be alright (if we had our work done—just like what we tell our kids, right?)  We decided that Elder Spencer would lead because his Pathfinder is a little heavier and he might be able to create a path for us to follow.  He is from Arizona and was doing well until his wife told him to stop at the opening to the street because the city had plowed a large drift into the entrance.  He stopped and then he was stuck.  Elder Merrill was able to help them get out and we followed directly in their tracks.  (it was a little tricky)  It snowed about 18 inches in less than 12 hours.  It was really beautiful and we enjoyed watching it from our warm, little home.  I kept thinking about the winds of Idaho and how much of a mess that would have made here.  However, we were lucky and it didn’t cause too many problems and the next morning was beautiful and all the roads were clear. 

We went over to Palmyra to the Temple on Thursday night and enjoyed our time there.  It has been nice to attend the Temple weekly.  We haven’t attended weekly together during our marriage.  Elder Merrill tried to go to the 5:00 a.m. session every Friday when he was the Bishop, but I didn’t accompany him.  I’m anxious to see the changes to the Idaho Falls Temple and hope it will be ready to open again soon after we return home. 

We were able to go over to Palmyra on Saturday and went to see Sister Nalder, one of our senior missionaries that had back surgery 2 weeks ago.  They weren’t home, but we left a little gift for her inside their door.  We then went out to the Palmyra Inn and looked at the artifacts there from the ancient people that inhabited this land.  (Nephites and Lamanites) They had a very nice display.  We then went over to the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center and viewed the art display of Liz Lemon Swindle.  We loved them!  Each picture depicts something from the life of Christ.  I will add a couple of the pictures each week on the blog.  (We were able to take pictures of each painting—yes, we asked for permission) 

Mary and Elizabeth greeting

When did He know?

After we returned home we took a big pot of beef stroganoff and went over to Batavia to their monthly pot luck.  We haven’t been attending the pot luck because they usually have much and mingle the Sunday following.  This month we are having fast Sunday on the 3^rd Sunday because next Sunday will be our branch conference and the following Sunday will be Stake Conference. 

What a Sunday we have had.  We left home at 7:45 and attended our branch.  It was a nice Sunday and I was able to bare my testimony.  After church we went over to the Haggerty’s and did home teaching, then we drove out to Albion and did home teaching with the Long’s.  After we home taught them we drove back to Batavia and went out to Warsaw.  We had to pick up a vehicle from the Elders there and bring it back to the office.  We went to the Dieu’s (senior couple) and they wanted us to stay and visit and have dinner with them.  It was great to visit with them, but I kept looking out the window and worrying about driving home in the dark.  (I’m not too anxious to drive in the dark anymore)  Well, we drove home in the dark.  It wasn’t too bad and I just followed Elder Merrill.  We got home at 7:30 p.m.  PHEW!  What a day—I’m ready to kick off my shoes!

I wanted to add a sweet story that the Sister Bradford sent to us for our monthly newsletter:  

Frozen tidings from Cumorah

Sunday night we were serving at the Visitors' Center, it was a quiet night with few guests.  It was cold and dark outside, but warm and bright inside.  A little family came through the doors, Dad, Mom, little boy, new baby.  As we always do, we try to get to know them a little at the beginning.  I met the parents, LDS who had driven from Connecticut that day and then turned my attention to the little boy; 6 years old, Jonathan.  It was obvious that Jonathan had some disabilities, he kind of looked sideways through his glasses and drug his left foot.  I asked him if he would like to see a movie or go learn about the Helaman's warriors or we could go into the room where we have a statue of Jesus.  He looked up at me and said, "I want to go see my friend Jesus."  We went in and listened to the recording of Christ's words, then I turned on the music, "A Child's Prayer," then "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing."  Through the recording and the music, I watched as these two good parents surrounded this little boy in love and I watched as Jonathan looked up at Jesus in awe and love.  He had come to see his friend.  We were in a holy place, the spirit filled the room and all of us were crying.  

I wasn't sure what their story was, but I knew that Jonathan and Jesus were intimate friends.  We walked into the gallery and Jonathan went to the kiosk about Helaman's warriors and listened to every one of the stories.  As he was doing that, his mother told me of his premature 25-week delivery, of the brain trauma he had, of the multiple surgeries, of the 5 months in the NICU, of the priesthood blessings that he had been given many times that pulled him through, of the struggle to walk at 3 years old, and the time he went into have another eye surgery and was given a blessing and as a result of that surgery and blessing how he went from being non-verbal to speaking sentences in 2 weeks.  This dear little child had been through so much, it was obvious that the separation between earth and heaven is very thin for this child.

They stayed for about an hour and in that time, another couple and one of our Senior couples came in.  She came with her flute and he came with his piano skills.  She serenaded us in the Christus room on her flute.  The echo from the rotunda magnified her sound and skills.  It was magical.  Eventually, Jonathan and family came back to the Christus room to hear the music.  We all went into the auditorium where she played primary songs on her flute and he played piano accompaniment, and Jonathan led the singing for all the adults in the room.  I thought what a magical place to be where a disabled child can be loved and cherished and a very accomplished flutist can play purely for the enjoyment of others and the two of them can be joined in an overwashing of the spirit.

 The work here is so sweet.

Happy Birthday Brytlee Ann Harris—9 years old!  So proud of her and what a sweet young lady she is!

February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine’s Day! 

Winter has finally arrived!  We have had snow and cold weather.  We have about an inch of snow and it has stayed.  Batavia has about 3 or more inches and other areas around have more.  It was below zero on our way to church today, but it is supposed to be up to 43 again next Saturday.  It is supposed to be 30 tomorrow.  (I don’t know how they predict the weather or how accurate it is)

We began our week with arriving missionaries last Monday.  We received 2 Sisters and 6 Elders.  They were so tired at the dinner at the mission home on Monday night.  We make them a nice meal and then give them about 3 hours+ of meetings following.  Seeing how they had to get up at the MTC at 3:30-4:00 a.m. and fly all day to get here is it any wonder that they have a glassy stare during the meeting?  They are completely immersed in missionary life!  We made a nice ham dinner for them, and they seemed to like it.  We make enough for the ones coming here on Monday night and then the ones leaving on Wednesday will have the same meal at the mission home on Tuesday night.  This was the last time we will do it that way.  Our transfers from now on will be reversed; we will serve the returning missionaries on Monday night and they will fly out on Tuesday morning.  The new missionaries will arrive on Tuesday evening and they will have their meal that night.

We have had transfer meetings when new missionaries arrive and other missionaries are transferred on Tuesday afternoon.  However, the church has asked that we discontinue the practice of holding transfer meetings.  In the past we had them come to the mission office and we had a nice meeting and the new missionaries were assigned companions and the returning missionaries were able to leave their testimonies with those attending.  This practice took about 2+ hours and some missionaries were out of their areas for most of the day with travel and the meeting (and they couldn’t just say goodbye—they had to stay and talk and talk and talk).  So now they are to meet in areas and make the transfer without wasting any time.  The companions for the new missionaries will meet them at the Hill Cumorah and attend a training with them.  It should streamline things quite a bit, but I really liked seeing them come and go.  We tried doing this new system last Tuesday and it was complicated and long.  It’s hard to get missionaries from one end of the mission to the other without some delays and trials.  Next time should be easier, I hope!  Elder Merrill and Elder Spencer are working out the details.

We attended a voluntary church discussion group on Wednesday night at our stake center.  Our ex-stake President was the presenter and he gave some interesting information.  We had to introduce ourselves and some of the people seemed to be there to delve into the ‘mysteries’.  If it gets too weird we probably won’t go to all of them.

We had hair night on Thursday and I got a cut and color.  It always feels better when it is covered up.  I hate the ‘skunk line’. 

Friday night we went to the Temple and then out to dinner at Moe’s.  It was all good.  We went with the Spencer’s and had a good time.

Saturday we went over to Batavia and went with the High Priest’s bowling.  We bowled 2 lines and then had dinner at a restaurant attached to the bowling alley.  It was funny, we didn’t know where the bowling alley was and Siri kept saying that we had arrived and that our destination was to our left.  We couldn’t see a bowling alley and so Dennis turned the corner and the bowling alley was directly behind the store on Main Street.  It was hidden down an alley and I was surprised that Dennis found it.  It was fun to bowl—but when did they make the lanes so slick?  The shoes and lanes were like trying to walk on ice and then the balls that were available either had little kid fingers or were so heavy it was weird.  (I guess I’m used to bowling with the WII and bowling with a 3 oz. control thing and on nice carpet that doesn’t slide is much different.  I can bowl over 200 on the WII, but I was lucky to get 88 for real.  I came really close to beating Elder Merrill the first game.  He stepped it up on his second game and got 138.  He still has great form (even though it was slick)  I was afraid of falling or doing the splits in front of the branch, my form/technic was less than desirable.  We ate with them and came home.  

Our Branch President kept falling on one knee--ouch!

That hour drive gets a little old and it was a little difficult to make myself want to take it again today—but we did.  There must have been some others that felt the same way about the cold, because we didn’t have 1 Primary child there today.  (yes, NOT one)  So, all of us Primary ladies went into the Relief Society and enjoyed the meeting. 

After church we went to the Lehman’s and had a nice ham dinner.  I had made a salad and cookies to take and it was nice to visit with them.  After the clean-up we went home teaching to Sandra and Susan.  Susan is the one with the leg that has given her problems for over 8 years and last week she was hospitalized for 2 large cysts on her tummy.  They were giant and very sore.  They had to be lanced and she has home health coming in daily now to pack them.  I feel so bad for her.  Sandra, her mother, was hospitalized in Jan. and found out she is diabetic.  She has lost another 10 pounds and has such sadness for the way she is now required to eat.  She really hates it!  Their landlord passed away last week and they don’t know if they will be able to stay in their apartment or not.  They have to have an apartment that is HUD approved and that the landlord will approve that also.  They heirs of the building may not agree to do that with them.  There is always something to keep people from feeling secure.

We just got a text from Marilyn (Dennis’s sister) that says that her daughter, Becca, is living in Arizona now and that Layne and Gaylene Gneiting lives nearby and has been very nice and invited her over and is welcoming her.  We were glad to have the Gneiting’s here and they are helping Becca there.  Isn’t that great?

Each week leaves me with feelings of gratitude.  I am so thankful to have the gospel in my life and know that it is true and have the opportunity to serve.  I am so thankful for a great husband who is loving and kind, helpful and happy.  I am so lucky!  I love my family and friends.  I am grateful for everything I have been blessed with; capacities, freedoms, abilities, and knowledge.  Sometimes we don’t feel that we measure up, but we still need to be grateful for those things we DO have. 

The greatest blessing of all is to have the support of our family and know that we couldn't do this without their great love and help. 

Feb. 7, 2016

Well, this has been a rough week.  (we are doing great, but there have been some difficult things that have happened)

1.      My phone died and I had to get a replacement (easy enough done, right?)

2.      Elder Merrill caught a cold and cough and is miserable (that can be better with time)

3.      Elder Spencer had a cornea transplant (and it went very well and he is recovering—but she can’t keep him from coming into the office and working part of a day)

4.      A couple called to do be camp directors here suddenly didn’t show up on our records and we found out that he had died suddenly.  (Not so easy, and very sad!)

5.      Some of our missionaries were being disobedient and Elder Merrill recommended that they no longer have car privileges.  (not so easy and very disappointing!)

6.      President Frances’s brother-in-law died while having a stress test for a mission.  (very hard and sad!)

Our lives can change so quickly and we need to be prepared to do what we are required to do.  I feel so blessed to have been given so much and such great families.  I can’t imagine heaven without everyone there—family, friends, and ward members.  Everyone has been such a blessing and help to us.

We just finished reading the New Testament again.  There are so many good things for us to learn there.  I had a little trouble with Revelations.  I think that John had a very long and scary dream.  Some of the creatures he saw reminded me of some of the crazy characters from Lord of the Rings.  (I think that story was also written with some of the Bible in mind) 

We had the opportunity to go out to supper on Friday night with the Selvages.  Sister Selvage is a 2^nd or 3^rd cousin of Elder Merrill and it was fun to hear of their experiences working at the sacred sites.  They said that every day there are spiritual experiences to have there.  Elder Selvage told of people that come there expecting to see everything is a short time span and end up have a life changing experience; sometimes without them saying a word.  Heavenly Father knows what we need and what will change our hearts.  The Holy Ghost testifies of the truth of all things and that is when people change.

We invited the Spencer’s and 2 sets of Elders to our home for an ‘un-super bowl party’.  The Elders both said that they could come, but then both called to say that they had other engagements and couldn’t make it.  We called the Selvages and asked them to come.  They were working at the Whitmer Farm (they give tours even on Sunday) and could come at 6:00.  We couldn’t believe it when we looked outside and the 1^st set of Elders were coming to the party.  They said that they could only stay ½ hour so we hurried and baked a few items and fed them and they left after about an hour.  Then the 2^nd set of Elders came and they were still here when the Spencer’s and Selvage’s arrived.  All in all it was a successful party!  We had plenty of food.  We made chips and cheese dip, hot wings, bacon wrapped chestnuts, bruschetta, shrimp cocktail and caramel corn.  The Spencer’s brought chicken enchiladas and homemade refried beans.  We had LOTS of food!  Oh, who won the game?

Go Broncos!  The first seating!

Go Jaguars or is it Panthers! The second seating!

We drove over to Mendon Pond on Saturday with the Spencer’s.  It is really beautiful even in the winter (if this is winter) and there were a couple of girls that had a bag of carrots and they had 3 little deer that were trying to get close enough to them to get a taste of carrots.  They wouldn’t even run when they put their hands above their heads and threw the carrots out.  It was pretty fun to watch.

A little buck is rare, for some reason they don't come out of hiding very often

On Golden Pond in Mendon, New York

Cool Barns, eh?

We listen to the scriptures in the car when we are driving to church and this morning I heard this scripture that really stuck out to me:

1 Nephi 1: 20 . . . But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

We are loved by our Father in Heaven and blessed in everything!  

We got a picture of Elder Peters and Elder Rushton after church.  Elder Ruston will be transferred to another area on Tuesday.  

Funny:

Shirt at a Mexican Restaurant--LOL!

January 31, 2016

We had another great week.  We began our week by having our weekly office meeting.  It was very good.  We finished the day and had a meal that night at the Spencer’s.  We invited the missionaries over and they ate and then gave us the discussion on the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was a nice evening.  Each missionary can present this lesson a little differently because of the Preach My Gospel and it is good to hear how they present it.  Each is unique, but still gives the same information. 

Sister Merrill, Elder Sevy, Elder Anderson, the Spencer's

We went to a Missionary Leadership meeting on Thursday evening at the Westfall building.  Our new Stake President is really into missionary work (thank heavens!).  He has a great vision of how new converts can be retained.  (it is so sad that we don’t retain enough of our new converts here)  His vision is that the members should be doing the finding.  They all have friends and have lived here long enough that they have family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. that they can approach and have to their homes in order to meet the full-time missionaries and hear the gospel.  When they have friends already, it is easier to feel part of the ward or branch.  They are going to do this with their ward councils and home teaching programs.  I think it sounds wonderful! 

We went to the Temple on Friday night and enjoyed the session.  There were 7 men and 12 women.  It will difficult to go home to over-full Temple sessions—but great!  I would love to see the Palmyra Temple filled for every session, but winter has its draw backs.  However, it was 59 degrees today (Sunday) and all the snow has all but melted.  This Temple is busy in the summer with all the tourists that come to the sacred sites.

Saturday was really fun.  We went over to Batavia to a baptism for a young man in our branch.  That was nice.  Afterward we met 8 other couple missionaries at a restaurant in Batavia and ate and visited.  Two of the couples will be leaving for home soon.  The Jones’s will leave on Monday for Fountain Green, Utah.  They will really be missed.  They have been here 23 months working with the Bath Branch.  The other couple will be going to Georgia.  They have worked in Facilities Management.  We went out to Lamb Dairy afterward with the Spencer’s and Aldrich’s.  They were impressed with that dairy operation too.

Sister Merrill--Did you forget your purse?  Yep!

Look Close, there are lots of geese on the bank of canal.  This is outside the restaurant

We had church today and went to Batavia.  Becca’s friend, Tasha Lowd and her husband were our speakers.  They had a subject I hadn’t heard from the pulpit for sacrament meeting before.  It was ‘family councils’.  They did a great job with the subject and tied in scriptures of councils with the Lord from Moses, Abraham, Noah, and Adam.  Our great example for a family council was a long time ago when we met for the grand council in heaven.  A family council is a good time to plan, budget, encourage, and testify.  I really enjoyed their talks.

After church we went to visit a sister in the branch that hasn’t been out lately.  I talked with her around Christmas time and she told me her husband was having trouble with memory and other age related things and couldn’t attend.  She was still able to come, but hasn’t been out for a while.  I really wanted to go and see how she was doing with all of her responsibilities.  They weren’t home, so we will have to try again next week.  Then we went to Albion to see the Long’s.  Sister Long had to go to the hospital on Thursday night, but was home today.  We went to visit with them for a few minutes and give them a short home teaching message.  She will go in for a colonoscopy in the morning, so a long visit wasn’t practical for us.  (the prep for that procedure requires a little private time)  We came home and I made Weiner schnitzel for us and the Spencer’s.  They thought I was making hotdogs.  Ha! Ha!  Turns out that Weiner schnitzel is chicken fried pork.  It turned out really good!

Funny:  Last week Dennis did our email home and I had already posted the blog when I read his email.  I loved it so much that I decided to put down the cute part here on the blog:

“Yesterday we helped at the new Bishops’ Storehouse, which is across the road from the Hill Cumorah.  The church doesn’t do anything second rate.  It is a very modern and beautiful facility.  I volunteered to stock the freezer which might have been a mistake, but Elder Spencer, who is from Arizona, volunteered, so I thought I could do it too.  It was 20 below 0 and after a couple of minutes Elder Spencer moved to the refrigerator and I was left a lone man in the freezer.  Brrrr!”

We saw this interesting window in Mendon Saturday and had to take a pictures.  There is also a decorated Christmas tree to the right of Skeleton Santa/or Grinch Santa holding the Easter Bunny

Creepy, huh?

January 24, 2016

We started out the week by having our weekly office meeting.  I was assigned the Spiritual thought.  Well, it wasn’t even sad, but I couldn’t keep from crying through the entire thought.  Here is the scripture:  Helaman 5:12 And now, my sons, remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereupon if men build they cannot fail.  Isn’t this great counsel to those you love so much, it is beautiful!  I don’t know what happens to me when I start to read out loud—it just starts leaking out.  If I could just hold a straight face or even talk half way normal, but no—I have to squish my face all up and then try to squeak out one syllable at a time.  It’s not a pretty thing!

On Tuesday Elder Merrill had a pick up that needed to go to Canandaigua so I followed him in our car and we drove there.  Yes, I can actually drive in New York.  I still don’t like lots of traffic, but I usually try to go when it isn’t rush hour.  We found a diner there called ‘Eric’s Office’ that had really good lunch.  We shared a French dip and loved it.  We went back to the office and finished our work for the day and went home.

On Wednesday we hurried into the office to get a few things and then we drove over to Amherst (in Buffalo) for the world-wide conference for missionaries.  We had been told about the conference a couple of weeks ago and we all thought that there would be some BIG changes or something else for the church to have all missionaries attend this meeting.  It lasted 2 hours and was really good.  It was a boost or shot in the arm, and there were a few things that have emphasis changed, but nothing drastic or shocking.  We had it in 3 areas for the mission and we volunteered to go over the Amherst so we could see the Aldrich’s and how they were doing.  It was good to see that they were happy and doing well.  I love how he is so good with the young missionaries and always positive and happy.  (she is too)  They told us a story of how 4 elders wanted to ride with them in a 5 passenger car and how the one smallest elder volunteered to be bungie corded into the cargo area of his SUV.  (because that would be the seat belt)  Well, Steve told them that would still not be legal and that he didn’t want to bend the rules, but they were certain they wouldn’t be caught.  He told them that he had seen such a thing at a circus one time when a bunch of clowns came piling out of a car.  He mentioned that ‘someone’ would know about it.  They didn’t catch his drift for a few minutes. 

I have a question—how do you find someone’s phone number or address from the white pages anymore?  I was about ready to scream the other day when I tried to get an address.  I had the name and then when I clicked on it the computer promptly began compiling criminal histories, court records, and many other pieces of information that I wasn’t interested in.  Then, they make you pay for this unwanted information.  I really think we are all being processed way too much!  Of course I didn’t pay for it and then I didn’t get the address.  I tried several googles, and other searches, but they all want to do the same thing.  HELP!  It is very frustrating!  I sure don’t want all of my information posted for the world to buy.  (of course it won’t be very interesting) 

The Haggerty’s came to the office on Thursday and Leslie and I practiced a few musical numbers that we are going to do with the Primary kids.  It was nice and then we took them over to Tom Wahl’s afterward for a burger.  I think that they liked it.

We went to the Temple after work on Friday.  It is so relaxing.  I love being able to go there and feel of the Spirit.  We went with the Spencer’s and Bill and Leslie.  Leslie has hearing aids and has used them for several years, but something has happened and her hearing is getting worse.  She was really sad when she finished the session because she couldn’t hear or understand what the worker was telling her.  It was frustrating to her.

On Saturday we got up earlier than usual and went over to work at the Bishop’s Storehouse.  We were there for 2.5 hours and had a great time helping.  There were some orders that seemed a little excessive in what they had ordered and the amount needed.  One of the people that work there was talking with us and said that it would be easy to be critical of the orders or how they were placed, but it isn’t up to us to make that type of judgment call because it was done by their leader and they know the needs of their people.  (he didn’t say it as a reprimand—just that he had to remind himself of it also)  That is so true, we need to not criticize things that we don’t understand.   

We have a young sister that lives in Canandaigua that needed her insulin.  Today was the last that she had and we got additional medicine in the mail yesterday from home (In the nick of time).  We took her the package right after the project at the storehouse.  I have really been thinking about the trials we are all given and how some have so many difficulties.  Diabetes, heart attack, kidney failure, strokes, injury, blindness, deafness, loneliness, depression, deaths of loved ones, addictions, cancers, etc.  We need to remember that Christ suffered everything and that we can turn to him with our needs.  It’s easy to wish that all of these trials could be removed from us; but we need to remember that trials are meant to be trying.  (I’m talking myself through this hard subject—I need this review)  We need to prove ourselves worthy.  He is there to help us!

The Spencer’s were with us Saturday and we went over to Warsaw to deliver a pick up to them.  (they had wrecked it and we were returning it to them repaired)  We drover to Letchworth State Park afterward and it was so funny when we got out at a viewpoint of the canyon.  Elder Spencer said that he wanted to get a picture of them and then a gust of wind came up and her hair blew straight up and he said, “oh, never mind”.  It was pretty funny!

This year's icicle contest is officially over!  The pictures doesn't do it justice, but they are from the top of the canyon to the bottom.

We have had a little snow this week.  The east coast is getting hammered, but we are doing great here.  The temperatures are a little colder, but the snow isn’t too bad.  I got out my boots a few days this week, but really didn’t need them.  This is so much different than when we arrived here last year.  It seemed to snow about 2 inches every night for 3 months.  We had plenty of snow and to spare.  We took this picture on Monday of a field covered with geese.  I can’t even imagine how many geese are in this gaggle (gaggle, right?? Flock) There were several fields that had this many or more.  Really beautiful, I hope they don’t just look like snow on the ground. 

The top part of the picture is not snow, it is geese

We have decided that it really isn’t that humid here.  It is DRY!  We kept saying that there was lots of humidity-- and in the summer there was more, but our skin and hair is really dry.  (just like Idaho)  We need not be homesick!

We are starting to see more deer again.  We think that they were hiding during hunting season because we didn't see many, but now they are back in plain view and being hit on the road again.  The picture is of a big bunch grazing out in the field. This was in someones back yard.