19 June 2018 - Tuesday

19 June 2018 - Tuesday

Today was one of those days that everything seemed to go well for us.  Mom and I were up early to begin our day in prayer and scripture reading together.  We were not at all rushed for time since I did not walk my three miles this morning.  That three miles was done this evening when we brought a new trek group from the Homestead to the Cherry Creek campground.  

It was our pleasure to attend the correlation meeting at 8:30am, there at the Homestead.  Of course, we arrived early, and the morning air and blustery clouds were so wonderful!  At the correlation meeting, mom and I got an assignment together.  We were asked to take apart a display in the museum and fix a 100+ year old box that was put in backwards.  The box was about 2" by 6" and was made out of an early 1860's telegraph pole.  The Sun Family had been here yesterday to take their annual tour of the Homestead and noticed the error.

Mom is holding the Plexiglas display unit as I took the support screws out.

The screws had square heads on them so it took me about thirty minutes to find the right size driver.  Once I had the screws out, we set the display on a counter to begin our work.  We discovered the box had been glued down to the Plexiglas display base.  Mom and I called the Mission President and had him make the decision on whether I should try to pry the box off the Plexiglas base.  I think we were all in agreement that we should not attempt to do that because the box would most likely break.  This picture shows what was on the lid of the box that could not be seen from the front;

A typed notice on the origin of the wooden box circa late 1800's

So mom had the impression to retype the notice in the same manner that other displays had, and place it on the front of the display case.  President Pace is taking that under consideration.  That was fun to be able to handle the artifacts, and to make suggestions for the solution to this particular problem.

Then we were assigned to make two key fobs for the Visitors' Center keys.  It has become a regular occurrence for senior missionaries to put keys in their pockets and take them home.  There are two sets of these keys and the key fobs would act as a deterrent to leaving them in their pockets!  Here are some action photos;

Using the lathe in the woodshop

Mom sanding down the key fob while rotating on the lathe

This was soooooo much fun!  We were told to make it as simple, or as complex as we wanted!  So here is a boy in a workshop with every tool imaginable.  And you give him the option of simple or complex???  Complex it is!  I found some walnut scraps and knew that the hard wood would last longer than a soft wood.  I attached the wood to the lathe and started my shaping.  Oh boy was that fun!  Then mom got involved with sanding it down smoother that Adam's bum!  We came up with some impressive key fobs.  Now the issue will be whether someone will "accidentally" take the key fob home and leave the Visitors' Center keys behind.... Yes!  It was that awesome a key fob!

Then mom and I closed out our day as Trail Guides.  Our group that was scheduled at 3:30pm finally arrived at 4:30pm.  We got them after they went through Outfitting and we headed for the Cherry Creek campground around 6:00pm.  Mom and I got home at around 7:45pm and decided to call on the Gilliland's with a tray of cookies we got for them yesterday.

Preparing for rain as we began the Trail Guide assignment

This is the storm coming our way!  Notice Split Rock is framed in the clouds?

Waiting for our group at the Trek Center

That was a very good call.  They needed to talk and readily invited us in.  Their grandson, Brice, was a passenger in a pick-up truck driven by another teenage friend.  They were going too fast and rolled the truck three times.  The friend walked away with very few scratches.  Brice did not have his seat- belt on and was thrown out of the car.  The MRI has shown he has extensive brain damage, and they are not confident he will come out of the coma.

As we were talking about his family,  they told us how his family members have not embraced the Gospel.  However, he was able to give Brice a blessing, and his sister, who has breast cancer, also wanted a blessing.  When tragedy strikes, people tend to want comfort from religious sources.  Elder Gilliland joined the Church after he met his future second wife, but none of his family has any interest in the Mormon Church.  

But after this terrible accident, his daughter, who has breast the cancer, and got that blessing this past weekend, reported to him that she felt peace like she had never felt before.  And she has confided in her dad that she is afraid to die, but that she would have rather died instead of Brice going through this awful experience. 

Well, the point I am making is that there has been an interest sparked in his family, and the spirit prompted me to ask him if he had considered writing a letter to his son, Craig, who is Brice's dad, and let him know how he feels about the purpose of life and share his testimony.  He hadn't considered doing that but admitted that his son would probably read the letter many times and that could lead to some further open discussions!   We hope so, and will continue to pray for this precious family!