22 May 2018 - Tuesday

22 May 2018 - Tuesday

Good evening faithful followers of the mission blog!  I can't begin to express adequate appreciation for your love and your support and your interest in our lives as senior missionaries!  These wonderful experiences are priceless to us as we see the blessings and the tender mercies flow so abundantly in our lives and in our families lives!

Our local pet antelope in the front yard this morning!

Mom and I were both assigned to be with the school group today.  They were a group of 40 fourth graders and 5 of their teachers.  I had the assignment to represent the rescuers stationed at Fort Seminoe and train a fellow senior missionary.  That was fun, especially when mom brought her school group to hear the presentation.  I am always so impressed with the willingness of the 20 men who stayed behind, on that freezing cold November morning of 1856, with very little food, to protect the goods left behind by the Hunt and Hodgetts wagon companies. 

They willingly agreed to leave their valuables behind so that upwards of 700 near death handcart pioneers could ride from this area into Salt Lake City.  And they were here for almost 7 months before additional help from Salt Lake City came out to help them retrieve the goods.  They got back to their homes in June of 1857.

I led the school groups here at the Fort!

After our school group tours, mom and I got to work together with another couple, and two sister missionaries, in a project right in Martin's Cove.  We were able to take our tools up into the cove in a Rover, that carried all six of us, to do our work.  That saved us about an hour of walking up there and another hour of walking back!  Take a look at the sky that began to form over us as we were just finishing up that project;   

The storm clouds brewing!

This is the storm aftermath clouds tonight

The clouds as we were heading home this afternoon

Here is a view in the direction of our Missionary Village

As we were driving back into the Homestead at Martin's Cove, the thunder, and lightening, was only just beginning.  We would not want to be out in the storms here in Wyoming, unprotected, which just makes our appreciation of the handcart pioneers that much more amazing.  There is no protection in these high plains of Wyoming and when you are out in these open areas, you have no cover.  As we were coming to our turnoff to the Missionary Village, the lightening became more intense and the thunder was growling louder than my stomach!  Then the rain and the hail commenced.  We must have received 3 or more inches of rain in less than 10 minutes. 

However, we are safe here in our special trailer and protected from the storm.  It has abated, somewhat, and we are grateful for the peace that brings to the ears!  This is really beautiful country, and one can feel the power that Heavenly Father has over the elements, that we so often take for granted.  We tried to catch a picture of the lightening, but it was too fast for us!

As a bonus tonight we were able to talk to our precious Mary and hear her delivery story.  Adam is doing great and Mary will stay one more night in the hospital for rest and a little more recovery.  We were very thankful to have a few minutes to talk with her and dream about cuddling with Adam!