View from our balcony.
In the mountains on Saturday.
Beautiful flowers everywhere.
View from our balcony.
The days are flying by like a whirlwind. It is easy to lose track of time. Sometimes I leave at 6:00 a.m. and don't return to the apartment until after 5:00 p.m., too tired to eat supper until after a short nap, and then it's late. The learning curve is HIGH for both Elder Smith and me in our new assignments. He is just about ready to start teaching new missionaries, and I'm not sure what I'm ready for. I am still working back and forth between the mission president's wife's office and the secretary's office since I will be doing both jobs. At least that's the plan, but I still haven't figured out how to make two of me yet. Elder Smith and I love working in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The people are just wonderful. We still find time to go to the library, especially on Saturdays, to work on our certification books and on our own family history. The resources there are like no other, and the biggest regret some missionaries have when they leave to go home from this mission is that they have failed to use their time here to work on their genealogy. The following was quoted in a devotional this last month: "Going to the Temple without doing our own family history is like fasting without paying fast offerings." There is a time and a season, though, and you young mothers with lots of children ARE doing your family history! You're making it happen!
I told Elder Smith I wasn't going to the library or anywhere until this apartment got cleaned. So we jumped in, and one and a half hours later, it is spotless. He is now resting up before we finally head out for the library.
The missionaries in the JSMB keep the following site minimized on their computers, ready to pull it up when the chirping begins. Go to: wildlife.utah.gov/peregrine
Peregrine falcons have been coming to nest on the side of the JSMB way up toward the northeast corner for years. Someone actually built a box on the side of the building and installed a camera and microphone. Click on camera 2. These falcons are quite fascinating. They can fly 200 mph. They kill pigeons and bring the dead birds to the nest to feed to the babies. There is one egg that has not hatched and probably won't. When Elder Smith first watched them, he said, "Aw, this is liking watching grass grow," but now he is hooked. The mission has adopted this little falcon family and is cheering them on.
We had a wonderful time going to the symphony with President and Sister Nielson and are going to miss them SOOO much when they go home the end of this month. We are in the middle of so many changes and transitions right now preparing for new leadership. I am going to miss our mission president's wife, Sister Linda Halverson, terriby. It has been such a blessing to have worked so closely with her this past month. They are going to have a combination monthly birthday party and zone "last hurrah" party at their cabin next Saturday. President Halverson has done an incredible job and has "grown" this mission in remarkable ways.
Last Monday evening we went with our missionary activity group (the group that came in together on Jan. 5) to watch "Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration". I just cry more every time I see it. Then we walked to JB's for supper or dessert. There were twelve of us. A couple sitting at a booth next to us mentioned that they were from Indiana. Of course I began talking to them about where in Indiana, things we love about Indiana. I told them I was from there. When our group was ready to leave and asked for our bills, (We had requested separate checks.), the waiter said we were all paid for. The couple from Indiana had paid for our whole table and didn't want us to know until they were gone. We never got their names. We pray they will be blessed for their generosity.
Two weeks ago we attended the US/Canada zone party for Family Home Evening and even did a little line dancing. Over Memorial Day weekend, we headed out through one of the canyons and picked wild flowers and enjoyed the incredible beauty of Utah. We went to the Hill Airforce Base Museum on Memorial Day. If any of you have the opportunity to visit it when you come, it is well worth the time.
Last night Elder Smith and I walked down to the park near us and enjoyed a great concert. They have free concerts on Tuesday and Friday evenings beginning in June and running through August. It was a little chilly (in the 60's. Ha!), but we had fun and the rain held off.
Last week we had another wonderful devotional in the Temple chapel with Elder Marlin K. Jensen. What a humble, good man. Elder Smith and I were able to shake hands with him and visit with him for a few minutes afterwards which was very special.
President Halverson has asked all the missionaries in the Family and Church History Mission to join together in a special fast tomorrow for the purposes of increasing the numbers of missionaries and increasing the spirituality in the zones. The zones are "robbing Peter to pay Paul" and borrowing missionaries from each other. The economy has taken its toll on senior missionaries' ability to fund missions. We need greater faith to prioritize and sacrifice for this sacred work. We are down to 413 senior missionaries in this mission as of last month's statistical reports. Thirty new ones are coming in, but many more are needed.
From the Administration Zone Journal: "Some come on missions in wheel chairs, on crutches, and those who walk and work in constant pain, and yet all are willing to serve. To add to the magic of it all, we work long hours, struggle to learn new tasks, leave the rearing of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to those we have taught, and we then pay our own way. Our daily prayers contain the words of thanks to our Heavenly Father for the call to serve Him, and we count it as blessings to be able to do so." After Elder Smith finishes folding the laundry and I get my shoes on, it's off to the library.
