Week 14 – Happy Day, All is Well!!
Dear Children, Grandchildren, Family and Friends!!
Sorry this is three days late!!! John, Cathy and their families came over the weekend so we didn’t get it done on Sunday and then on Monday we moved back to Zion!! We were told that when our sites came open we could move in. Ours was….so we did!! It is so good to be back at the foot of our Hill Cumorah!! Here are some pics:
Goodbye to the Twilight Zone (a.k.a Red's Twilight on the Erie RV Park)
Rolling in the weeds to unhook
Hooking up in Zion at our own little spot!! Sooo good to be back home again!!
This week was so busy at the temple with the Pageant going on. There were so many patrons especially in the baptistry. Four of our 10 shifts were in the baptistry. It was fun but soooo tiring!! For the sisters, working in the baptistry also entails doing the laundry. One day, we arrived for our afternoon shift and the laundry hadn’t been kept up and we could barely get into our little laundry because of the overflowing baskets and rolling bins of wet baptismal clothing. I was the coordinator that day so it was my responsibility to make sure all the laundry for the day got done as well as organize the tasks for sisters in the baptistry. I thought surely that we would be there till 6 or 7 that night, after the temple closed at 5:30, getting the laundry done. We were expecting a group of 35 boys and we didn’t even have enough jump suits for them. We had a walk-in of a brother and sister so we took care of them and then 6 boys, of the group of 35, came. Evidently, the others had come in the morning. It was a tender mercy because we were able to catch up during that time. Finally, we had a sweet family from Lehi walk in. We actually finished the laundry by 5:15!! On another day, Richard and I were heading up a session and he felt impressed to ask a couple to be the witnesses. We found out after the session that they were celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary. They were there from Phoenix and had just been called as ordinance workers in the Mesa temple. I worked in the office twice, once scheduled and then was asked to fill in for a sister. It was so busy….I was exhausted both days when I got home. We worked 8 straight days at the temple, as did almost everyone else. We were all dragging by the time the Pageant ended. It was great to be back on our regular 6-shift-per-week schedule this week.
Three sweet things that happened this week, besides my kids coming. The first was a tender mercy. On Wednesday, I couldn’t find my missionary tag anywhere. I looked all over the house and in the car and even on the sweater I had worn the day before….It wasn’t anywhere. I had to go to the temple without it and felt like something was really missing. I just felt bombarded with opposition and discouragement. I felt better when I got to the temple but my tag wasn’t there either. After the shift, I said a fervent prayer, again, and thought, again, to look in the closet on my sweater. I listened to the prompting but didn’t find it on the floor of the closet or on my sweater. I felt like I should look all over my sweater and there it was, barely on the bottom of the sweater. What had evidently happened is that I had knocked it, probably with my temple back, and loosened it from the magnet backing. It had fallen but so had the magnet and then they must have attracted each other with enough power to reattach at the bottom of the sweater before they fell to the ground. Soooo amazing!!! When I found it, it was like my arm had been reattached. The second thing was that we got to see the Hathaways, a couple that we work with in the Payson Temple, on Monday, the 24th. They came to the temple and then we got to chat before we ran off to our next assignment. It was soooooo good to see them and catch up a bit. Then in the next session, we saw Richard’s cousin (once removed) Pat and his wife Kathleen. We had run into them in the Sacred Grove the night before. They were here visiting the sites and seeing the Pageant. Kathleen had served her mission here in the 60s. We went out to eat with them after we got out of the temple. So fun to catch up with each other and our families. We talked and talked until about 3:30 and then dashed home….to find that we could move back to Zion’s camp.
It was so funny because as I walked by Pat on the trail in the Grove, it took me a second but my mind said: "That's a Roberts." I then turned around and said, "I know you." He didn't hear me but then Richard stopped him, recognizing him. Pat didn't have his glasses on so he didn't recognize us until we stopped him and talked to him. It was so fun. Kathleen came by later and we had a great talk in the Grove. We were then able to get together on Monday for a better talk.
Last Monday, we had a great FHE but Dad is going to tell you about it. The highlight of the week, though, was when the kids and grandkids came….wish the rest of them could have come also…. John came into the temple on Friday with Jeni when she was going on a session. It was so good to see him….I missed seeing Jeni!! He then took his kids to the Smith Farm and Sacred Grove. He came back to go on the next session and the kids sat out under a tree by the window where I could see them from just outside the office where I was working that afternoon. Jeni came out just a few minutes later and it was so good to see her also. She took the kids to check into their hotel. When we were finished working our shift and John had come out of the session we went back to the RV park and met Cathy and family, and soon afterwards, Jeni and the kids. It was soooo much fun to be together. We had hamburgers for dinner and then had s’mores afterwards complete with a real campfire. John and family had to leave soon afterwards and Cathy and family had scriptures and prayer around the campfire with us. So sweet. We all went to bed after that.
Morning brought a trip to the temple to do baptisms by Joe, Jackson, Matt and Dad. I made waffles all morning for different groups of people eating….some for the second time around….and I suspect a couple had round three. We then went to Hill Cumorah as a group and Dad showed us where the old monument was. We saw the new one then piled into the cars to go to the Peter Whitmer Farm where the Church was organized. We ate lunch at an Amish store and café. It was great! On the way back past the Hill, we left Dad to save seats for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The rest of us went to the Grandin Press. By then the kids had just about had it so we left them with the dads to go swimming and Jeni went to the Grove while Cathy and I went to the store for groceries for Sunday….I just don’t have a big enough fridge to hold all the food we needed to feed that big of a crew!!
We then went to the Pageant and it was simply awesome. We had fun being together before but when the sound track started playing “The Spirit of God” and the banner carriers and cast started taking their place I was overwhelmed by the Spirit. It almost felt like a tangible bubble was coming over that entire place, surrounding us in joy, peace and safety. It was like few things I have felt before. The kids loved the Pageant and I was so grateful that they could see it, while wishing that ALL of my grandkids could have experienced that.
Sunday was fun at church having both families there. We pretty much doubled the size of the congregation. It was fun for our branch members to meet the kids and grandkids. Afterwards we had a “Linger Longer” and John and family filled their plates and then had to leave so they could get to the Sharon Vermont Church Site before it closed. Cathy and family came home with us and we stopped by the Grove on our way home. It was so peaceful there. I LOVE going there and know I have shared that I feel like I am entering a temple when I go.
When we got home we ate dinner and then while we were eating dessert, Dad told stories about the Grove and the Pageant. Afterwards, we played games and the little ones went to bed while Dad played “Seven Wonders” with the older ones. We all went to bed soon after that. Monday, we awakened to a downpour at about 6:00. The Little Hickens decided it would be a good time to take down the tent a make a hasty trip into the RV. After breakfast we said goodbye to our last little family and went to the temple. And that brings us current….phew!!!!
I have been thinking so much about tender mercies this week and how much the Lord loves us. It is so true. Each one of us is precious in His sight and He KNOWS each of us by name and knows what we need to experience to come back to him. We just need to trust Him enough to let Him work in our lives. More and more I know that to be true. I LOVE being His servant here in Palmyra and pray I will serve Him well. I love each of you and miss you!!!
Mom/Grandma/Sandy
Dear Children, Grandchildren, Family and Friends!!
Sorry this is three days late!!! John, Cathy and their families came over the weekend so we didn’t get it done on Sunday and then on Monday we moved back to Zion!! We were told that when our sites came open we could move in. Ours was….so we did!! It is so good to be back at the foot of our Hill Cumorah!! Here are some pics:
Rolling in the weeds to unhook
Hooking up in Zion at our own little spot!! Sooo good to be back home again!!This week was so busy at the temple with the Pageant going on. There were so many patrons especially in the baptistry. Four of our 10 shifts were in the baptistry. It was fun but soooo tiring!! For the sisters, working in the baptistry also entails doing the laundry. One day, we arrived for our afternoon shift and the laundry hadn’t been kept up and we could barely get into our little laundry because of the overflowing baskets and rolling bins of wet baptismal clothing. I was the coordinator that day so it was my responsibility to make sure all the laundry for the day got done as well as organize the tasks for sisters in the baptistry. I thought surely that we would be there till 6 or 7 that night, after the temple closed at 5:30, getting the laundry done. We were expecting a group of 35 boys and we didn’t even have enough jump suits for them. We had a walk-in of a brother and sister so we took care of them and then 6 boys, of the group of 35, came. Evidently, the others had come in the morning. It was a tender mercy because we were able to catch up during that time. Finally, we had a sweet family from Lehi walk in. We actually finished the laundry by 5:15!! On another day, Richard and I were heading up a session and he felt impressed to ask a couple to be the witnesses. We found out after the session that they were celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary. They were there from Phoenix and had just been called as ordinance workers in the Mesa temple. I worked in the office twice, once scheduled and then was asked to fill in for a sister. It was so busy….I was exhausted both days when I got home. We worked 8 straight days at the temple, as did almost everyone else. We were all dragging by the time the Pageant ended. It was great to be back on our regular 6-shift-per-week schedule this week.
Three sweet things that happened this week, besides my kids coming. The first was a tender mercy. On Wednesday, I couldn’t find my missionary tag anywhere. I looked all over the house and in the car and even on the sweater I had worn the day before….It wasn’t anywhere. I had to go to the temple without it and felt like something was really missing. I just felt bombarded with opposition and discouragement. I felt better when I got to the temple but my tag wasn’t there either. After the shift, I said a fervent prayer, again, and thought, again, to look in the closet on my sweater. I listened to the prompting but didn’t find it on the floor of the closet or on my sweater. I felt like I should look all over my sweater and there it was, barely on the bottom of the sweater. What had evidently happened is that I had knocked it, probably with my temple back, and loosened it from the magnet backing. It had fallen but so had the magnet and then they must have attracted each other with enough power to reattach at the bottom of the sweater before they fell to the ground. Soooo amazing!!! When I found it, it was like my arm had been reattached. The second thing was that we got to see the Hathaways, a couple that we work with in the Payson Temple, on Monday, the 24th. They came to the temple and then we got to chat before we ran off to our next assignment. It was soooooo good to see them and catch up a bit. Then in the next session, we saw Richard’s cousin (once removed) Pat and his wife Kathleen. We had run into them in the Sacred Grove the night before. They were here visiting the sites and seeing the Pageant. Kathleen had served her mission here in the 60s. We went out to eat with them after we got out of the temple. So fun to catch up with each other and our families. We talked and talked until about 3:30 and then dashed home….to find that we could move back to Zion’s camp.
Last Monday, we had a great FHE but Dad is going to tell you about it. The highlight of the week, though, was when the kids and grandkids came….wish the rest of them could have come also…. John came into the temple on Friday with Jeni when she was going on a session. It was so good to see him….I missed seeing Jeni!! He then took his kids to the Smith Farm and Sacred Grove. He came back to go on the next session and the kids sat out under a tree by the window where I could see them from just outside the office where I was working that afternoon. Jeni came out just a few minutes later and it was so good to see her also. She took the kids to check into their hotel. When we were finished working our shift and John had come out of the session we went back to the RV park and met Cathy and family, and soon afterwards, Jeni and the kids. It was soooo much fun to be together. We had hamburgers for dinner and then had s’mores afterwards complete with a real campfire. John and family had to leave soon afterwards and Cathy and family had scriptures and prayer around the campfire with us. So sweet. We all went to bed after that.
Morning brought a trip to the temple to do baptisms by Joe, Jackson, Matt and Dad. I made waffles all morning for different groups of people eating….some for the second time around….and I suspect a couple had round three. We then went to Hill Cumorah as a group and Dad showed us where the old monument was. We saw the new one then piled into the cars to go to the Peter Whitmer Farm where the Church was organized. We ate lunch at an Amish store and café. It was great! On the way back past the Hill, we left Dad to save seats for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. The rest of us went to the Grandin Press. By then the kids had just about had it so we left them with the dads to go swimming and Jeni went to the Grove while Cathy and I went to the store for groceries for Sunday….I just don’t have a big enough fridge to hold all the food we needed to feed that big of a crew!!
We then went to the Pageant and it was simply awesome. We had fun being together before but when the sound track started playing “The Spirit of God” and the banner carriers and cast started taking their place I was overwhelmed by the Spirit. It almost felt like a tangible bubble was coming over that entire place, surrounding us in joy, peace and safety. It was like few things I have felt before. The kids loved the Pageant and I was so grateful that they could see it, while wishing that ALL of my grandkids could have experienced that.
Sunday was fun at church having both families there. We pretty much doubled the size of the congregation. It was fun for our branch members to meet the kids and grandkids. Afterwards we had a “Linger Longer” and John and family filled their plates and then had to leave so they could get to the Sharon Vermont Church Site before it closed. Cathy and family came home with us and we stopped by the Grove on our way home. It was so peaceful there. I LOVE going there and know I have shared that I feel like I am entering a temple when I go.
When we got home we ate dinner and then while we were eating dessert, Dad told stories about the Grove and the Pageant. Afterwards, we played games and the little ones went to bed while Dad played “Seven Wonders” with the older ones. We all went to bed soon after that. Monday, we awakened to a downpour at about 6:00. The Little Hickens decided it would be a good time to take down the tent a make a hasty trip into the RV. After breakfast we said goodbye to our last little family and went to the temple. And that brings us current….phew!!!!
I have been thinking so much about tender mercies this week and how much the Lord loves us. It is so true. Each one of us is precious in His sight and He KNOWS each of us by name and knows what we need to experience to come back to him. We just need to trust Him enough to let Him work in our lives. More and more I know that to be true. I LOVE being His servant here in Palmyra and pray I will serve Him well. I love each of you and miss you!!!
Mom/Grandma/Sandy
I would just like to add my two cents. It was great to be with mom and dad. My kids were given such a great opportunity to see where Joseph saw the Father and the Son, then started his efforts in this great work. The questions they asked made it clear to me we were where we should be. Anyone else who can make the trip, before M and D come home, will be blessed by the experience.
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