Night Out, Surprise Visit with Sister Welch, and Amazing P-Day

Dinner out with the Elcocks & Clarksons

Great table, Great food & Great friends

We got a call during the week from two couples working in the mission office outside of Pittsburgh asking if we might have some time to get them into a museum in the city on Saturday, the 18th, with our passes.  They usually have their P-day on Saturday instead of Monday like we do.  Anyway, we agreed to meet them with our guest passes and then went about our day with appointments.  We later met them for dinner at a restaurant that Jim and I have wanted to go to for some time.  It is called the Grand Concourse and is an old converted railroad station with the big letters P&LERR on the top of the building.  The letters stand for Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad.
Can't help but think that it sounds like something from the Monopoly game!  Anyway, we had a very nice dinner with the Elcocks and Clarksons and it was good to relax and have time to talk about mission experiences.  The stained glass in the building is really beautiful.  It is the first really nice dinner we have indulged in here and we really enjoyed it.

The next morning we were so glad to get Sister Page to church.  She is a sister we have been visiting that is on oxygen and is a little unsteady on her feet.  So she needs a wheelchair when she goes out somewhere. In a lot of ways she reminds us of my sweet mom that we miss so much.

She studies the scriptures diligently at home and loves to feed the missionaries when her health permits.  She is the only member of the church in her family and they have not been too helpful in helping her come to church.  Ever since we met her 8 months ago she has told us how much she wanted to come to church, but she has never been able to make it.  So with a little bit of phone calling we got her set up with ACCESS which is a transportation service available here for seniors.  Jim worked on her oxygen and got the portable working for the first time in quite awhile.  The first time getting her to church was a lot of work, but it was worth it to see everyone greet her at the meetings on Sunday.  And.... it sounds like her family now knows that she is serious about attending and will help her get there after this.

Our mission zone was looking forward to a special Sunday evening fireside (meeting) for quite some time and the evening finally arrived.  We traveled about 45 minutes away to the chapel at Monroeville (or Plum as some call it) and took a couple of teen girls with us.  The featured speakers were President and Sister Johnson and Chris Hoke.  Chris Hoke is very well known here in Pittsburgh.  He is a former BYU lineman and also a Pittsburgh Steeler for two Super Bowl championships.  He is now a bishop in the stake just north of us.  The thought crossed our minds that it would sure be nice to have Megan there participating in such a spiritual evening.  But then we quickly realized that she

was out of our zone and probably too far away for it to be practical.  She and her companion have a mission car, but they are limited on the miles they can drive each month.  So even though they have a car, they still do a lot of walking.

We were also singing in a missionary choir as part of the
meeting,  along with 40 or so other missionaries. Anyway,  I was out in the hall speaking with a missionary with a health problem when all of a sudden I saw her in the hallway.  What a surprise!  We hugged and hugged!  They had found out that they could come about 2 hours before the meeting started.  A member in their ward wanted to go to the fireside and said that she would drive them.  The program was wonderful and was interspersed with inspirational videos and musical numbers from some very talented missionaries.  I even got to sit right next to Megan and sing in the choir right next to her too!  It was a dream come true for all of us.
After the fireside we were able to introduce Megan and her companion to many of the members and missionaries from our area,   We also all got to talk with Bishop Hoke.  He is very personable and likeable and seems like he would be a great bishop.

The next day was P-day.  We have been waiting and waiting to have good weather on a Monday and it finally happened.  Jim and I took advantage of it and rented bikes in downtown Pittsburgh.  We then went on an amazing bike ride.

 There are paved bike trails along both the Allegheny and Monogahaela Rivers as well as bike paths over most of the bridges.  It was such a fun way to see the city from up close.  We were gone about 3 hours and rode around Point State Park as well as many areas that we hadn't really noticed before.  It is definitely something that we want to do again.

Our missionary work this past week was also interprespered with a unplanned visit to the Pittsburgh City Courthouse with a set of elders (a long story and not the elders fault).  The Courthouse experience was not the most pleasant that we've had on our mission, but one that we won't forget.  Jim also helped line up a Nepali translator from our previous mission stake in South Salt Lake to visit with elders  here who are teaching Nepali investigators that don't speak English well.  I was also asked by one of our bishops to accept an assignment as a home study seminary teacher for this next school year to some refugee teens.  This assignment meant that I spent all day Saturday at a teacher training while Jim caught up on things at home.  I've decided this is what I get for being a seminary dropout!!  We also did our first apartment inspection of the Northside Elder's apartment for the mission office.  Jim's contribution to the inspection was to let the landlord know that they need a new front door!  We are finding out that our previous experiences really are coming in handy on this mission.  Every week is SO different.  We start each week wondering what will happen next!!

More Rain, "The District", and MEGAN'S ARRIVAL ! !

We are still having lots of rainy days, but luckily it doesn't usually last all day and the weather has basically been cool and comfortable when it's not raining.  It is gradually getting a little warmer, but so far it doesn't seem too much like the heat we get in Utah.  From what we've heard, the rest of July and the month of August may be much more hot and humid.

We have been part of the biggest district we have ever been in these last few weeks. There have been 3 sets of elders from the two wards we are assigned, the zone leaders who are Young Single Adult missionaries, and then us.  Ten of us in all.  Our district leader was Elder Hunksaker and it has been a great district.  We've had lots of great district meetings, gone with almost all of the companionships to many lessons, had dinners in our apartment with them,  and had fun going with them all to lunch at Chipotle, Subway, and Boston Market.

We were also able to get them into the Science Center and the History Museum with our passes.

The districts change a little (or a lot) at each transfer meeting due to people going home, elders being transferred in, and just changes in leadership in general.  Anyway, it has been a great group to work with and get to know.

We are sad to see it all come to an end, but it is just part of life on a mission.  You really do have to get used to change.  We can't complain because we don't have nearly as much to get used to as the young elders and sisters.

We have felt privileged to have been part of such an amazing group.

Then on July 14th we attended transfer meeting and helped to
welcome cute Sister Welch and 28 other missionaries to the mission---the biggest transfer that President and Sister Johnson have ever had.  It felt like such a tender mercy and blessing for us to see her as a missionary.  It will be wonderful to be able to share with her the people and places that we have come to know and love.  What a unique blessing and opportunity that has come to us!

It was quite a coincidence that her first area is "Butler, PA".  She has a great trainer and it seems like they will work really well together.  Just SO, SO excited for her to begin her experiences.

We also had some great missionary moments this week where we definitely felt the power of the Lord reaching out to some of the people that we are working with.

 Moment #1----We felt the blessing of helping to get 3 great kids to youth conference in Palmyra at the very last moment. They were all so excited to go and it just wouldn't have happened if the Lord hadn't directed us to be at the right place at the right time.

  Moment #2----After struggling for 2 plus weeks to get major issues with Comcast taken care of for a refugee family---everything finally worked.  We got approval

for them to subscribe to a low cost internet program after they had been taken advantage of by telemarketers because of language barriers.  They will probably even be able to buy a low cost computer besides!! This means they can do school work, job hunting and online seminary now!

 Moment #3----We had a wonderful district meeting with our new district, interviews with President & Sister Johnson, and then dinner at Sister Eldridges home.  Sister Eldridge is a wonderful cook that spares no calories in her cooking.  The elders love her cooking and it does taste SO good.  She loves the church and the elders.

Senior trip, lots of rain, and 4th of July

Our mission president assigned us to plan some senior outings and conferences for the next few months so during the last part of June we planned a trip to Kirtland, Ohio and the Columbus temple.  We went with four other senior couples from the mission and, although it was a lot of driving, we had a very nice time.  We especially enjoyed spending a little extra time in the upstairs room of the John Johnston home.  We spent the night at the Hiram Inn at Hiram State College and then drove to Columbus the next day.  Our day in the temple was just very, very special and we were able to do ordinances for several family names.

We heard that Pittsburgh was known for 'bad weather' when we came here, but we hadn't really experienced it as that unusual until this past month.  It seems like it has definitely rained most days of the month.  

The trees and scrubs are exploding and everywhere is just so, so green.   Even so, the rain has not stopped many of our activities and missionary work.  Things dry out or soak in or drain off very quickly-- even after downpours that drop several inches of rain.  The elders who walk everywhere are affected the most by the unexpected rainstorms.  We were with them for dinner at a members home recently and they had to walk home in pouring rain.  They had forgotten umbrellas and so they decided to borrow garbage bags from the member.  Our car was not big enough for all of them so we offered to shuttle them back and forth to their apartments---but no----they said they wanted to make memories!

We are starting to get used to having unusual experiences crop up here.  We got a call from a 7th Ward bishopric member on Thursday asking if we could help with a funeral on Friday for some out of town members.  Turns out that they are from Atlanta-- very close to where Kent lives.  We visited with
them (John, his wife and 16 year old son) in their hotel early Friday morning and then helped with a small graveside service and dedication of the grave.  The service was for John's dad who had lived all of his life in Pittsburgh, died at 91, and was being buried next to his wife in a cemetery close by.  It was amazing how we got to know the family and had many close feelings and connections with them.  John, who is a non member of the church, has since had some good conversations on the phone with Jim since the funeral.  John has actually contacted Kent to see if they can get together with them at some point.  We just never know what to expect next!

Rain was in the forecast for the 4th of July and we wondered how things would turn out for all of the planned festivities.  It actually turned out to be quite a pleasant day and it was a beautiful evening for fireworks at Point State Park.  We went to a ward barbecue during the day at the home of one of the young couples in the 7th Ward.  Then we went to visit a member of the 1st Ward in the hospital and spent most of the afternoon there.  The mission president asked all missionaries to be home by 9:30 pm and so we ended up watching fireworks on TV.  We heard that the show here in Pittsburgh is the 4th biggest in the country and it really was spectacular.  Seeing the fireworks with the lights of the city reflected onto the river was pretty amazing---even on our little HDTV screen.  Maybe we'll get back here one day to see them in person down on the river!

Pittsburgh fireworks via TV

Family History Fun--------Really!

June has been a month filled with Family History.

 We mentioned in the last blog that we had a wonderful time in the Palmyra Temple with Heather and Mike's family on June 5th.  We no sooner finished our visit with their family and then were so excited to be able to go to Pittsburgh Rootstech on June 13th.  Rootstech is a community genealogical event that is sponsored by the church.  The biggest central event is usually held in Salt Lake each year, but they also have satellite events held in other cities around the United States.  It is ironic, but we have never been to Rootstech in Salt Lake.  In Pittsburgh, though, it is a smaller, free event and it was held in our Oakland church building.  There were many presenters and participants who were not members of the church, as well as many who were.  We both learned alot from classes that ranged from subjects as varied as Beginning Familysearch to DNA testing to Western PA research.  The event organizers did a very good job at organizing and publicizing it.  We helped to distribute flyers and posters to local libraries and also helped clean the church and set up the day before. Then we helped with clean up afterwards. We heard there were about 170 people in attendance.

The next event was held on June 19th (anniversary of the emancipation of the slaves) at the Heinz History museum.  We felt honored to be invited to it.  It was called the "Freedmen's Bureau Indexing Campaign" announcement.  We arrived at the Heinz History Museum and were seated with about 100 other people. Many of the people there were prominent community leaders and leaders in the African American Historical organization here.

 There was a short 1/2 hour program conducted by a very dynamic man, President Ron Paul,  who is member of the Pittsburgh Stake Presidency.  The news

media for CBS kdka 2 news was there. We actually ended up seeing a few shots of us in the audience on the news that night!  A glimpse of fame for us here in Pittsburgh!!

Then they started a Live Video feed from the main event which was held in Los Angeles, California. The Master of Ceremonies at that event was Germaine Sullivan and his wife, Kembe.  He is a Stake President in Atlanta and they are featured in the recent documentary called  "Meet the Mormons".
Elder D. Todd Christofferson (Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) was the speaker from the church who announced the purchase by the church of the Freedman Bureau records.

By now you are probably wondering "What in the world is the Freedmen Bureau"? A few short weeks ago we didn't know either!   It was basically a
bureau established by the Federal government when the slaves were freed after the Civil War.  The bureau was meant to help assimilate the freed slaves into normal society since they were in need of so much education, food, employment and many other things.  Records were kept which are invaluable to African American research. They have been so difficult to search in the past.  Now the church has purchased the records from the government and is planning to start the indexing project with help from the African American community.  They hope to have it completed in one year.  One small portion (Freedmen Bank Records-- a tenth of the size) was completed previously by inmates at the Utah State Prison and it took 12 years.  The new website is discoverfreedmen.org.  With all the advancements in Familysearch and the large number of volunteers now indexing, it is a real possibility that it can now get done in one year or less.

Then on June 24th we organized and held a Family History

Workshop at the Vintage Senior Community Center.  We had 17 people, besides us and ward members, there.  We felt alot of interest and had many positive comments about it.  We had volunteers to help from the two wards we attend and also a set of elders to help.  We did an overview of family history and then we did a demonstration with our computer and projector on Familysearch.  One of the best things about it was that the technology actually worked.  Jim worked very hard on it.  Many people were very interested, especially in the newly released Freedmen Indexing Project.  It was very timely and really seemed more than a coincidence that we planned this workshop right after the announcement about the Freedmen records.  When we set the date we had no idea about the  announcement.  We have two more workshops scheduled soon and then will do more in the Fall if we have enough interest.

Really, we are discovering that Family History is just exploding around the world.  It's like the train is leaving and we are trying to catch it before it is too late.  We have a little bit of a grip so far----so I guess we will just keep trying to hold on and keep learning.

MORE VISITORS!!

We experienced one of the most wonderful and yet unplanned blessings of our mission this last week.

I remember as we first began planning to leave on our mission.  We felt strongly that this was the time that we should go.... and yet we began to realize all of the family things we would miss.  One of the major ones was having Megan leave on her mission without us. We still felt spiritual promptings that going on our mission NOW was something we needed to do....and so we moved ahead.   Even so, every time we would think of her going to the temple without us there was a little saddness.
                                                 
She did go through the temple

for the first time with her mom and dad in St. George, but having her family come here a month later and experience going through the Palmyra Temple with her was amazing and so unexpected!  Jim and I were able to even do some 'sealings' with her for family names after the temple session.  Mike and Jenna did family baptisms.  It was just an incredible blessing.  It is wonderful to see how we can never indebt the Lord.  He always ends up blessing us more than we can imagine and more than we really deserve.... even when we can't hardly see our way through the trials of life.

Mike, Heather, Megan, Jenna & Brynlee were planning to come visit us anyway before Megan's mission.  Megan's mission call here to this mission made it quite a unique experience for her to see part of her mission area before she even gets here as a missionary.  President and Sister Johnson were very supportive of them coming and they even invited us to the mission home for a short visit with Megan and her family.

They arrived on June 2nd.   Of course, our first stop was to Mount Washington to see the beautiful view of the city.  We loved showing them other spots around the city and we were able to take time to visit both the temple and church sites in Palmyra and also go to Kirtland one day.

On our way to Palmyra we stopped at Niagra Falls and
really enjoyed walking around the area on the "American side".  We also took a boat ride on the "Maid of the Mist".  We were blessed with great weather and it was such a pleasant experience for all of us.

Mike & Bryn-Science Center climb

We stayed at a comfortable place in Palmyra called "The White House" which was within walking distance from the Sacred Grove.  Going to the temple the next day was a real highlight, but we also enjoyed all of the other history sites.  It was fun to talk to every set of sister missionaries at each site and relate the fact that Megan would be coming out to join the ranks in about 3 weeks.  Talking with each one seemed to get Megan even more excited.  They exchanged e-mails and gave her tips for what she would encounter at the MTC etc.

We spent another day or so with Pittsburgh sightseeing and then also visited Kirtland Ohio church history sites.  We had a comment made on the trip that can go into the family archives!  After we visited President and Sister Johnson we were talking in the car on the way home.   We felt such a missionary spirit while we were there and Jenna said how excited she was to become a sister missionary in the future.  Then
she said "but what I'm REALLY excited about is to be a senior couple one day"!  It just made us smile!!

We were able to celebrate Heather's birthday here.  Their anniversary was also on the 9th, but we spent the day driving and touring Kirtland for their celebration!  They left Pittsburgh on the morning of the 10th and flew to Atlanta to visit with Kent, Shelly, and cousins that Megan won't see for quite a while.  Megan and Courtney especially have a special bond so we were so glad that they had this opportunity.

We got a report that Megan and Jenna actually had a really good missionary opportunity on the way home.  They sat by a woman who was interested in talking about religion and had a religious reference book she wanted to discuss.  Megan pulled out her missionary handbook "Preach My Gospel" and Jenna contributed to the discussion.  The discussion ended up being positive on both sides as they related why Megan will be leaving to serve a mission, what people in our church believe, and what this woman believes.  Seems like she is really being prepared for the next 18 months and Jenna and Megan decided it almost seemed like they were missionary companions!

Memorial Day News--From Home & Here

Being here for Memorial Day seemed really different.

We attended a ward Memorial Day picnic on a beautiful day at a beautiful park here. The weather was perfect and we actually got to taste something off the grill--something we will kind of miss this summer.  We were very grateful to also get a few pictures from Jared and his family who tended to my mom and dad's graves at home.  Somehow it just warmed our hearts to see them doing this---something we would have liked to have done if we were there.  Just one more thing that makes us so thankful for GOOD kids and grandkids!

We continue to notice seeds of the gospel being planted in people's lives here even amidst alot of transistion in both of the wards that we attend.  Both the lst and 7th Wards have a large percentage of the population comprised of students from the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and a variety of other schools and programs across the city.  So summertime is transition time with lots of people graduating and moving in and out.  Even with all of the movement, the Elders seem much more busy than they were in the winter and the work is moving really well.  Each Sunday there seems to be alot of new people who are investigating the church in attendance at the meetings.

Mary, who just went through the temple, is now the teacher of the Gospel Principles Sunday School class for newer members of the church.  She was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools. She told the class that she has found many answers to her questions that have added to what she learned as a young girl.  Today we had an awesome class where everyone introduced themselves and told a little bit about where they came from and how they came to join the church.  There were a variety of brief stories told by people from a variety of different religions.  Some were born and raised in the church---some had fallen away and were now returning.  One was trained as a minister for a time and is investigating the church currently.  One said she was a recovering alcoholic who almost lost her life when she fell away from the church and made very bad life choices.  One is actually a Pittsburgh Steelers football player!  At any rate, each person was there because of their search for truth and a feeling within themselves that tells them they have found the truth in what the restored gospel has to offer.

We also helped Karen and Charlette with family history, did a service project with the elders which involved removing carpet padding and staples at Margaret's house, and hemmed some drapes for Martha who is moving and trying to sell her house. No matter how messy or trivial the service projects are, we are finding that it feels good to wear jeans and T-shirts occasionally!  At least I like it!   It still makes Jim a little nervous and shaky to take off his tie!!!!   We also watched a video with Mel and Elders Tunquist and Wright that we found from BYU-TV.  It is called "A New Day for the Book of Mormon."  It gives a variety of expert opinions both in and out of the church about the validity of the book.  It was just SO  good.  Mel really liked it.  He is devouring lds.org and getting into family history.  He is already excited to start working towards going to the temple.  We are also visiting the Children's Hospital again for two families.  One is a 3 year old boy who went with his mom for a routine doctor visit and wound up being sent a couple of hours away here to the hospital with a diagnosis of leukemia.  Another is a family who has had so many struggles with their little 5 year old son.  They have been in the hospital this time for over 50 days. We are realizing that the people we visit seem to love our visits.  We think it is not because of us.  We feel that when we enter the room and they see our name tags that it just melts their hearts.  They know we represent the Savior.  As they face such difficult trials we sometimes want to give them something tangible, but have realized that His love is really what they need most.

Morning hike at Falls Run

Then on Saturday morning for our exercise time we drove about 15 minutes away to the coolest little hike.  It had rained the night before so things were a tiny bit damp and misty.  We hiked across many small bridges to a small little trickle of a waterfall.  It was so refreshing and was a nice bit of variety for our exercise routine.



               Pennsylvania is really BEAUTIFUL !!!

Temple Blessings and I-Pads

The first milestone of our temple classes occurred on May 16th.  We were able to travel to the Washington DC Temple with Mary, Mari, and LaShaun.  They each received their endowments that day. We met at the church to leave at 7 AM and then didn't get home until about 10 PM.  We had to take a lunch to eat in the car because there really wasn't even time to stop on the way.  They wanted to purchase some temple clothing there so that took up some of the time.

It was a far cry from being able to drive to the temple in about 10 minutes from our home.  Having to make a sacrifice to get there and concentrating on various aspects of temple worship during the weeks of temple preparation classes really makes us appreciate all that the temple

means in our lives.  It was so wonderful to see the joy on each of their faces as they completed the temple endowment.  They are each so excited to return to the temple again and again.  They are also looking forward to doing much work for their family in the temple.

Another sister, Winnie, was able to go to the temple that day with a friend and do the baptism for the grandmother who raised her.  She also had someone be baptized for her father.  We weren't able to see her at the temple, but we saw the glow on her face as we taught her the final lessons in her home and helped her prepare the names to take to the temple.  It was a long awaited day for her and the first time she had ever been to the temple.  She is looking forward to going back again soon for her endowments.   I was also able to do some alterations for her on a beautiful white suit that she wore to the temple that day. (I just knew there was a reason that I packed my sewing machine in our VERY overloaded car)!

On Monday, May 18th, we were invited to go with the elders and Mel to see Fallingwater, another Frank Lloyd Wright home that is even more famous than the last one we saw.  It was built for a family who wanted to live around nature so much that they had it built so that a waterfall flows through the home.  It was beautiful and I loved how you could sit indoors and yet feel like you were actually outside.  Jim, on the other hand, kept looking at all the maintenance involved in keeping up a house like this.  We actually saw a few leaks in the roof and we think the upkeep is so expensive that they do charge an arm and leg to tour it.  Mel paid everyone's admission which was very kind of him.

Anyway, it was quite an experience to tour it and to have fun thinking what life would be like living there....without having to worry about the mundane realities of leaky roofs, cleaning all those windows, and dusting all that furniture.

We returned to the city by late afternoon and drove directly to a high school on the North Side.  The South African family we have been helping invited us to a school program. Greg and Dorcas were both participants, but we had no idea that they each had major parts in the program.  They brought their native dress with them when they left South Africa and they each had hidden talents we didn't know about.  It turned out that Greg was the MC and played the drums.  Dorcas had a lead part in an African dance that she and about 20 other African kids made up---each using parts of dances they had learned from their homeland.

We were so impressed by the quality of the performance and also by the intricacy of the native dress that their family wore that night.

We really felt like we were in another country for a little while especially since the school is quite a melting pot of many different countries. The countries we noticed represented the most were Nepal and Africa.

The dancers were asked later that night to perform again in a couple weeks at an event at Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh so we hope that we can possibly attend that evening too.


Then on May 21st we attended a meeting that has been looked forward to by all of the missionaries for months and months.  They all got I-pads to use in their missionary work.  It was so fun to share in their excitement and we had some very inspired and wise counsel given about "Missionary Work in the Digital Age".  We were told that the church now has about 25% of it's missions using I-pads---all in the United States right now.  It has been done on a trial basis for quite awhile and is proving very effective in most cases.  We went to the meeting not knowing whether we would get an I-pad or not---and we didn't!  But we can't feel too deprived since we came here with two laptops and an I-pad already!  We have used them a lot in our teaching and so we know how useful they will be to the young elders and sisters.  It was great to be together with all of the elders and sisters in the mission all at once.  It was one of the only times they have all been able to travel from across PA to be together.

I Pad meeting in Cranberry, PA with all 200 plus missionaries

One third of our mission is done!

Well, Sunday was what is nicknamed a  "click day"!  We entered the MTC on November 3rd and 18 months seemed like 'forever' ....then all of a sudden it is already May 3rd---6 months have passed by!!  The couple before us were only on their mission for  6 months and then went home.  We are amazed at all they accomplished.  We hear so many good things about them, but we feel like we are just getting a good start after our first 6 months.


We are still enjoying wonderful spring weather.  We have gorgeous days, but it does seem to rain alot too.  Every week it seems there are at least a few rainy days.  I guess that is why everything looks so great once it quits raining.

One of those gorgeous days was May 4th....our

first Preparation Day where we escaped from the city and took off into the great outdoors.  We went to a place about an hour and a half away called Ohiopyle State Park.  We toured a home built by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and then spent time by the river and waterfalls.  It was just delightful.  We also discovered a rival to some of our favorite hangouts that are near our cabin in Oakley.  It made us a little homesick for summer in Utah, but we are also just loving being able to explore the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside.
 The place we found is the Falls River Inn and we enjoyed a great burger and ice cream there.  It is a stop for many who hike or bike the Great Alleghenny Passage which goes from Pittsburgh to Washington DC.  We plan to return to Ohiopyle soon and try hiking or biking at least one section of the trail.

Then this last Sunday, May 10th, was my one and only Mother's Day on this mission.  It was very busy.  We did have both ward councils canceled that day, but we still taught 2 temple classes and I taught a Relief Society class on the Book of Mormon.  I learned a lot by teaching it.  Later in the day I enjoyed calls to our children and grandchildren, flowers, chocolate, homemade Cafe Rio, and having 4 elders in our apartment calling for their biannual Skype/phone calls home.  What more could I ask for?  I was exhausted by the end of the day, but it was all worth it.

It was especially fun to
Facetime with our very youngest grandchild, Dawson and his family.  He was just barely starting to stand when we left and now he is walking (and running) all over the place.  We also understand that he is a real maniac on his 'wiggle car' on the basketball court near their home.

He is one that will be changed the very most when we get home.  As we Skype and see him on the phone though, he is very interested in talking and interacting with us... so we hope that he will somehow remember us or know us just a little bit a year from now.  He is just SO cute and we think the next "tech" invention should be a way to give hugs and kisses through the phone or computer.

The minute that we start to miss our family though, we get cards from home with our grandchildren telling us about their desire to serve a mission one day.  Then it all seems like we are really doing the right thing.   We can see how much missionary work is blessing us and the young elders and sisters that we work with.  It is an AMAZING AMAZING work!

One of the paydays of a mission rolled around on May 14th.  We were able to attend the baptism of Mel.  He is an older gentleman who owned and ran a florist shop for many years.  He offered to give the elders a ride home from the grocery store one day when it was raining, and before he knew it he was taking the missionary lessons and getting baptized!  We have visited  with him at church and had a dinner for him and the elders at our apartment the day after his baptism.  We are looking forward to getting to know him better in the weeks ahead.

One of my Mother's Day gifts was a plaque with this thought.  We think it applys to families, missionaries, and everyone else too.

Birthdays, Blessings, and Boys

On April 24th Jim celebrated his 67th Birthday in the mission field.  We're getting SO old, but there are definitely perks along the way and one of them is being around all of the young elders and sisters.  They help make us feel young again and we are so happy to be associated with the youth of this work at this time in the history of the church.

There were a couple of other elders who also had BIRTHDAYS the same week and we had occasion to sing to them at various times. But for the most part, birthdays on a mission are work as usual.

We did take our BFF (BEST FRIEND FOREVER), Charlette, out for lunch that day since her birthday is in April too.  Also, because of past events in her life, this month is a very hard month for her.  It was a very nice lunch and it seemed to  brighten up the day for her.

Charlette loves to give and get gifts.

She gave Elder Butler a cute card with a nice note in it.  The best part was what she wrote on the outside.  It gives a little hint to her cute sense of humor.

Jim also talked with each of our kids and many of the grandkids and got nice gifts from them.  It's always especially fun for him to talk to his 'Birthday Buddy', Megan! He says it was a really good birthday.

Now for the BLESSINGS part of the blog.  Our spiritual blessings have truly been amazing. We are continuing to work with members getting ready to go to the temple.  It has made the temple blessings seem even more precious to us as we have taught classes on Sunday and also visited individually in many homes.  Right now it looks quite

promising that we will attend the Washington DC Temple on May 16th with three sisters who will be participating in the ordinance of the 'endowment' there.  We are working with others who are hoping that they will follow later in the summer.

We also got up the courage to ask the leadership of the Vintage Senior Center near us if they would like us to present Family History Classes at the center.  They said 'YES'!!!!  And so it will be a little bit of community service that we think will be challenging..... but we are sure excited about it.  The classes will probably start the end of June or first part of July.

We also had a sweet experience of working with Denise this last week on her family history.  She is such a strong woman and just keeps going in her life.  She has health problems herself and she still

takes care of her 84 year old mother in her home as well as having two brothers live with her.  She also now has her granddaughter who is expecting a baby any day and two great granddaughters living with her.....all in a pretty small home.  Anyway, she has an interest in using the FamilySearch website and we got her signed up for Ancestry on Wednesday.  Sunday she bore her testimony about how wonderful it was for her mom to finally find the names of her grandparents after all these years.  Sometimes when we help people I feel like it is a little like the blind leading the blind, but somehow it seems to work because I think we have a little...or a lot...of help from the other side!

 On April 21st we had "transfer meeting" where all the sisters and elders who are being transfered or getting new companions meet at a church building with all of their luggage packed up.  There is such a sense of anticipation and nervousness in the air during this meeting.  We've heard it said that getting used to change and being flexible is one of the best things that young elders and sisters can do to prepare for missions... because every 6 weeks there are changes made.  It also makes us so glad that we will probably 'stay put' our whole mission.

The building is not far from where we serve and so we like to go if we can.  It is fun
to see where 'our elders' are going and meet past elders and sisters that we have served with.  This leads us to the experience of Jackie!

I met Sister Wade at the transfer meeting for the first time and she asked where we are serving.  When I told her the 'Oakland' area she was very surprised.  She said that she and three other sisters had just had lunch in Oakland and that a woman they met expressed interest in the church and shouted her phone number to them as they got on the elevator.  They didn't have time to get her name and didn't know who to give the phone number to.  Anyway,  she gave me the number and asked if I would follow up because, since they met her in Oakland,  they thought she might live there.  I phoned her later that day and it turns out that she lives in an area across the river from Oakland.  We set up an appointment to visit last Friday and kept wondering how and what to teach her because we don't usually work with non members, but she said she didn't want to meet with the elders just yet.

We kept wondering about the appointment and thought we would probably just visit and get to know her....then the inspiration of President Johnson must have kicked in!  He invited us to a training by two past mission presidents who are now trainers for the Missionary Department.  We were the only Senior Couple invited and wondered why... until they started teaching just exactly what we needed to know to talk with Jackie.

The next day we met with her, learned a little bit about her,  and answered a few of her questions about the church.  Her main question was 'how is your church different from all the rest?'  We presented the Restoration pamphlet pretty closely to how we had been taught and then gave her a Book of Mormon.  She said she would read both the pamphlet and the book and pray about the Book of Mormon.  She said a beautiful prayer at the end.  We left with a new friend and felt very humbled that the Lord had seen fit to help us through our meeting with her by providing exactly the right training that we needed.

One of the most interesting things about the visit was that she is a very influential woman in Pittsburgh.  She is on the Board of Directors of many charitable organizations in the city as well as a city-wide board that determines which organizations get tax money.  She lives in a beautiful, wooded part of the city and even though it isn't in our area we have found out about some of her neighbors who are members of the church.  She was surprised to learn this.  She is very busy, but we hope to meet with her again and soon introduce her to the elders in the area.  Like I said...BLESSINGS  BLESSINGS   BLESSINGS

Now it's time to talk about a couple of the cute BOYS at home!

Blankets for Primary Children's

We have been getting good reports about how these two are doing and just thought it was time for an update.  Luke will turn 11 years old in just a few days.  He is getting almost as tall as his mom and each time we see a picture of him we can see that he looks
just a little bit older.  He is doing really well in Scouting and just got second place on his rain gutter regada creation.  We think that he has the engineering genes from his dad!  Luke is also playing soccer and we hear that he is doing really well.  He especially likes having his Dad for a coach and having his cousin, McCord, on his team.

Next is Brexton.  He will turn 4 years old in October and is playing soccer for the first time.  We have heard that he makes a goal almost every time that he plays.  He has his big brother, McCord, to help him and play with at home.  Last Saturday we happened to be talking on the phone to him right before his game. He left, went to the game, made a goal, and then the
minute he got in the house afterwards wanted to call us and tell us about the game.  That really made us

smile.

He also sends great emails to us.  He sent us one a couple of months ago with the help of his mom and dad that went like this..."I like the zoo. My favorite animals are lions, tigers, zebras, and snakes. The zebras were fighting.  I didn't cry at church.  I didn't wrestle. I was good at Primary.  I am nice to my friends.  Love, Brexton