Our Mission to Palmyra

Hi again from Palmyra!!! It is so beautiful here!! We are so blessed to be able to serve here. It is still early but the trees come out more and more each day. I can't believe we have been here for a week and a half. In some ways it feels like we have been here longer and in some ways much shorter! We are settling in. We found a path that, if we walk around it twice, it is a little over 2 miles. We do that every morning. The only day during our regular schedule that we won't be able to do it is on Saturday...and, of course, Sunday. Our week began in the temple with being greeted by the Presidency and matrons and then we were set apart. Such a sweet spirit!! It constantly amazes me how well our Father knows us and what we need at any given time in our lives. So humbling!! We then had a 2-hour tour of the temple....amazing because it is so tiny. I think we saw into every cupboard and closet and explored every knook and cranny in the temple!! We were also traine...

Dear children, grandchildren, mothers and other people's children, Last week was a little training and lots of settling in. Among other exciting events was our great water leak. At first we thought it was over pressure in the lines, so I kept adjusting the regulator at the local connector, but we kept having a leak under the sink and then the carpet. Finally we went to the RV store and they suggested we bring it in. The problem was was a missing o-ring. Boy do I feel sheepish. Fortunately the Savior is the good shephard, so I'm safe. We did sessions Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Friday the Temple was swamped and Saturday we ran out of time. (See item above plus we had a pancake breakfast with the other missionaries in Zion's Camp and a charity dinner for the local museums.) We went by the Martin Harris Farm (house burned down in 1831), while meeting some interesting people, especially when we climbed the Hill Cumorah for our daily walk. (Not THAT interesting. A lon...

Dear Kids, Grandkids and friends who are brave enough to read this! What a week this has been!! We spent 4 long days on the road battling weather, road construction and rough roads. We are getting used to our tiny living space which is actually quite comfortable. Grandad is telling your about our being watched over as we came. I feel that we were truly in the hands of the Lord as we traveled!! Heavenly Father promises that He will go before our face and be on our right hand and on our left!! One thing that came on Thursday really strengthened me again. It was three quotes that were read to us by our shift coordinator in our preparation meeting on the Friday just after Great Grandma had her strokes. I knew that the Lord wanted us to go on this mission but I was missing my mother so much and wondering if we really were supposed to go on our mission at this time. I am including them here. I am called of God. My authority is above that of the kings of the earth. By revelatio...

We have felt this entire week that we have been protected by angels and guided by the Lord to arrive safely. Monday we had a series of events that slowed us down. For thirty five minutes we listened to a young man Mom had taught who needed to share with us. This was only one of the things that ate up the time we had set aside to pack. Altogether it was about two hours. We do not begrudge the time we spent, it was all worthwhile, but it had the effect of putting us out of the house three hours late the next day, and that was with dropping items from the schedule. Tuesday, as I said, we were out over two hours late. The impact was to keep us from going much farther than Cheyenne that night, it was already after eight. The next place was an hour away and so we stopped. What we noticed, though, were two semis flipped on their sides near Rawlins due to weather. This happened sometime before we arrived, but we are certain we were delayed in order to avoid that mess. Weather was worse i...

We were set apart as full-time missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints on Monday, April 17th by President Marshall. John and family and Rob and family were there but Craig and his family couldn't be there. We were very sad that we couldn't hug them and say goodbye. It was a beautiful meeting and so full of the Spirit. President Marshall talked to us, especially the grandkids and told them about our opportunity to serve the Lord full-time and not having to worry about anything at home. He promised them that as they, and all of our children and grandchildren, supported us and prayed for us that their families would be blessed for our service. He challenged the kids and grandkids to search for those blessings. He then asked our bishop, John and Rob to share their thoughts. The Bishop reminded us of the part in my talk when I said that next week I would be receiving a badge that had my name along the Savior's that would remind me that I would be...

On Easter Sunday, we gave talks in church and everyone but Craig and his family were there. It was so amazing to look down and see 4 rows filled with my posterity. It is mind-blowing to think that so much has come from marrying my best friend! I look at each of my children and am so proud of them for the wonderful job they are doing with my precious grandchildren. In spite of us, you have all turned out very well, indeed!! It was hard to say goodbye to each of the little families as they left to go home. We do look forward to seeing the Hickens and John and family in July at the Hill Cumorah Pageant. We put off saying goodbye to Craig and crew, Rob and fam, and John's bunch because they were going to be at our setting apart on Monday.

We were so excited that everyone could be together on Easter weekend. We were sad that the death of Matt's grandpa was the reason they came, though. Our love is with him and his family. On Saturday, we had a mini-family reunion with a quick family picture, thanks to Leighn Mosdell, a BBQ at our house and an Easter Egg hunt. So much fun visiting and watching the cousins enjoy one another. I can't remember who mention later in the day how peaceful it all was but it really was.

Toward the end of March, Great Grandma had her first stroke. She ended up in the hospital in Grand Junction and I went over there to be with her the Monday after General Conference. It was so very hard to see her in that state. She could not talk very well, nor walk easily. She was also very sick due to being given a drug that she shouldn't have been given. We were so worried about her. The next day, she was improved and could talk to us a bit better and feed herself. On Wednesday, she went to a rehab center so that she could get ready to move into a new assisted living center the she was going to before she had her stroke. But that night she another stroke. She was unable to talk more than one or two words at a time or walk. She was very weak and could not feed herself. It about broke my heart to say goodbye to her, not knowing if she would still be with us when we returned from our mission. She has since continued to improve a bit each day. We don't know how far s...

In January, we began worrying about the travel trailer that David was trying to fix up. We felt promptings to begin seriously looking for an RV. Because we don't own a truck and because it would be so much more expensive to buy both a truck and an RV, we looked at Class A RVs online...I call them "self-propelled". To make a long story short, we were led to one in Ogden that is 19 years old with only 26,000 miles. It is beautifully cared for. It is amazing how the Lord carefully led us to this point. In August, we would never have considered purchasing our own RV but in February, we knew without a doubt that this was exactly what the Lord wanted us to do. So, that is how "Sully", the 19-year-old Fleetwood Pace Arrow, came to join our family!

We were finally able to complete or mission papers and had our final interview with our Stake President in October. ...And the waiting began!!! We thought they had forgotten us....or changed their minds....or were considering a mission change....or...and the list went on. It was a great lesson in patience!! Finally, on December 8th, we received our mission call...to the 6-month, Palmyra Temple Mission. We were sooooo excited.