April 3, 2016

This week has been a week of COOKING!  We took a meal to the mission home on Monday night for 4 missionaries leaving the mission.  We had chicken and rice, fruit salad, rolls, vegetable and chocolate cake.  We repeated the same meal on Tuesday evening for 4 new missionaries coming to the mission.  We always go when they come and give an introductory portion of the meeting following the meal.  They always look so tired!  They get up around 3:30 a.m. at the MTC to catch the plane in Salt Lake City.  They are tired! 

Transfers!  Almost 2/3 of this 'stuff' belongs to one missionary.  He doesn't know how to cut back!

On Wednesday the President took the new missionaries to the Sacred Grove and other places and brought them to the office for lunch.  We made chicken rolls ups, salad, and ice cream sandwiches.  They liked that.  We went to the Temple after work.

We got the day off (from cooking) on Thursday and we prepared ourselves for next week.  We are having ‘Specialized Training’ 3 days next week at the Whitmer farm in Fayette.  There will be 2 zones each day and we are having a cooking event there.  I hope it goes well.  We have tried to think of everything we need to buy to have ready for the training. 

On Friday we had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) at the office from 10-4:30.  We made pork roast, cheese potatos, salad, and strawberry shortcake.  It was really good.  I bought applesauce and put it out by the meat.  One of the elders knew what to do with applesauce and pork roast.  President Francis saw him and mentioned to me that he would follow that elder’s example with the applesauce.  I asked him if he had ever had pork roast with applesauce and he said no.  I told him to try it.  He did, and he liked it.

We went to Sam’s Club after work to get some of the supplies for the training.  We got everything we think we will need for the first day.  Hope this works!  (we also have to feed everyone lunch—bonus!)

Yesterday we went into town and found a garage sale—yeah!  It had some nice things and we bought a couple of them.  It’s so much fun to get bargains.  However the best bargain we found was at the Goodwill.  I have wanted to make a recipe JoAnn Randall has for ice cream, and needed to find an ice cream freezer.  We have looked several times for one.  I went in and Elder Merrill stayed out in the car talking to one of the Elders on the phone.  When he came in he looked at me and said—no—I was able to tell him YES!  We got a freezer for $5.00

He is so happy with his new treasure!

Here is the ice-cream recipe.  Sister Randall made it for us when we went camping out to Kilgore.  We ate outside and it was really getting chilly.  She passed out bowls of ice cream and it made us colder—but we couldn’t quit eating it.  It is that good!

Lemon Custard Ice Cream (no custard involved)

1 qt. cream

3 c. sugar

1 ½ t. lemon extract

1 c. fresh lemon juice (4-5 lemons)

Milk to fill container to the 4 qt. mark.  Mix and freeze!  Delicious!

Conference was wonderful!  I hope everyone enjoyed it.  I have notes that I will post next week.  Elder Holland really knows how to wrap up things, doesn’t he?  I love his talks! 

I have been thinking a lot about repentance.  The mission slogan is now ‘Teach repentance and baptize converts’.   I have been thinking about repentance in the wrong way.  People don’t want others to tell them they are doing the wrong things and point out their faults.  That doesn’t work.  When we teach repentance we invite people to make course corrections that will turn them toward Christ.  They may have turned from Him, but in teaching them the truth about Christ and His doctrine, they turn back around and make corrections to come unto Him.  There you have repentance!  That really is a beautiful thing!

He rescues all of us!

We woke up to 2 inches of new snow today.  What a sense of humor—April Fools! 

Happy Birthday Mya, Jex, and Grandma Merrill!  We love you all so much!

March 27, 2016

Happy Easter!  The weather today is beautiful and reminds me that things are going to be renewed.  We can see buds on the trees and a green hue beginning throughout the brush, shrubs, and trees.  This is a ‘type’ for the resurrection.  Things are dormant, sleeping and then—awake, come back to life and be beautiful again.  I can hardly wait for the resurrection!

This week was busy and at the same time slow.  We went over to Henrietta on Monday night after work and met the Dieu’s.  We had dinner with them and got to visit.  They will be leaving the mission near the first part of July and they will really be missed.  They have family issues at home that they need to help with. 

The ‘Chill and Grill’ in Palmyra opened up last Sunday (we didn’t go on Sunday) and we wanted to show the Spencer’s how good it was so we drove over there on Wednesday night and had a burger and ice cream.  They have the best ice cream and the burger was good too. 

We went to the Temple on Thursday night and this week the Spencer’s were asked to be the witness couple.  Last week we were asked and it was really nice to have that opportunity.  I have slippers that don’t stay on my feet very well and I had to keep tugging at them so they didn’t come off at the altar.  (Just something to keep me awake and alert)

I made sausage waffles and the Spencer’s came over and we watched the presentation of the Messiah on Friday night.  It didn’t start here until 9:30 p.m. so when it was 2/3 done at 11:30 we gave up and called it a night.  It really was beautiful.  We can watch the last 1/3 on www.lds.org until April 6^th.  (I believe that is the last day)  Handel was certainly inspired to write so many beautiful songs that depicted the Savior’s life.  He stated that whether he was in the body or out when he wrote the music, he wasn’t sure, but he was definitely inspired to write that much music in 22 (or 24 days).  That’s a miracle!

Elder Merrill is getting 9 new cars and he received 2 of them last week.  He has learned how to change out the TIWI’s and so he can get them out where needed quicker.  On Saturday morning we got up and took a new car over to the Sister’s in Buffalo.  We took packages to several different stops and had a nice lunch.  

Easter Packages for Elder Stokes and Elder Peters with Elder Spencer

Delivering Books of Mormon to Elder Hunt and LaBar

We drove over by Darien Lake Amusement Park on the way home.  It is between Buffalo and Batavia (probably closer to Batavia).  We stopped there to see what they had and look for the pavilion that will hold Josh Groban on July 27^th.  We didn’t see the pavilion, but it looks like there are wild rides plus a water park.   We felt like the Griswold’s and had pulled up to Wally World when it was closed.

 

We were very tired of riding when we returned home and we made some popcorn and got ready for the Women’s Conference.  It is so nice to be to view these special things via the internet.  I was too tired to pull on dress clothes. 

We had fast and testimony meeting this morning in Batavia.  I had taken the book and CD of Gethsemane in Primary last week and the children had loved it.  They were so reverent and the spirit was so strong.  The Relief Society asked me to do that for them today and I told them I was needed to play the music for the Primary.  Elder Merrill volunteered to do that for me.  He didn’t realize how hard the song and talking about sweet Halle would be.  He and all the women in the room were crying their eyes out.  Thank Heavens we know about the Savior, His atonement, and the resurrection.  The GPS for this life really works! (the Great Plan of Salvation)  He can take upon Himself our sorrows and grief.

We went to Warsaw after church and had Easter dinner at the Dieu’s.  We had a great time there and they invited a couple of men from the Warsaw Branch.  We had a nice visit with all there. 

We have lots of things planned for next week and the week after.  We have 4 days of meals for next week.  We are sending home 5 missionaries and receiving 5.  It’s the way of life in the mission; they come and then, before you know it, their time to leave arrives.

Funny:  Yesterday after we had lunch in Buffalo Elder Merrill stopped to get gas.  He has the habit of getting out of the car and leaving the door open.  The Spencer’s were with us and it was getting a little cold.  I started to open my door to get out and shut the door, but it didn’t want to open.  Elder Spencer was really quick and said, “I’ll get it”.  He jumped out of the car and ran over to shut Elder Merrill’s door.  He stayed and talked to Elder Merrill a few minutes.  We began laughing because he had left his door wide open also.  OK, is this a man thing?? 

Elder Nielsen is leaving Tuesday. His grandpa is Harold Nielsen who served with Chris in Jamaica

Elder Peters, Elder Gibby, Elder Nielsen, Elder Stokes--the Batavia Elders

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!