8 October 2018 - Monday

8 October 2018 - Monday

This was a scheduled preparation day for us, and the last one on our mission agenda.  Mom and I elected to stay home, from our weekly trip to Casper, and prepare our trailer for our farewell next Tuesday.  There was some detail cleaning and securing the dishes and utensils in plastic bags and wiping down the cupboards, that needed to be done.  That effort took less than two hours, after we got home from the correlation meeting at the Homestead.  And while we were working around the trailer, the snow was falling and the conference talks were playing!  I would like to listen to every conference talk at least one more time before the cabin!  What a great way to spend our last preparation day!  Here are some morning pictures;

Such a beautiful winter wonderland starting to develop!

A look back at the Homestead toward Martin's Cove

Snow on the back steps.  It was equally building up on the front steps!

Gideon is wondering where the garage is!

The first snowball being formed and aimed!  Grand-kids be ready!

The drive into the Homestead was driven very carefully as the roads were wet, and the snow was coming down slowly, but steadily.  We are excited to see the forecast for our return home, next week, to be warmer and clear!  But we are enjoying the pre winter weather knowing that we won't be here to experience the snow and the cold here.  We get to experience it with our family back home!

Mom and I, along with Elder and Sister Hansen, were in charge of the Family Home Evening.  So we took the advice of Elder Cook and invited the senior missionaries to FHE to discuss the conference talks.  Every FHE we attended this summer was always having some kind of game night.  We wanted to be different, and this proved to be a great activity.  We got to experience the insights and feelings of our fellow missionaries from their ideas on General Conference.  We were all edified by the efforts that each senior missionary came prepared and took the opportunity to express their feelings, and their impressions, on how they intended to press forward from these marvelous messages.

Our last Family Home Evening at the Pavilion tonight

We are looking forward to our family discussion at the cabin.  I think that in the coming days, we will be relying more on each other with like minded goals and direction.  In my estimation, every talk that was given can only be implemented one person at a time.  How these messages affect me will be how I put them into practice each and every day!  

What a privilege it is to be a part of this precious family!!  Thank you for checking in with us tonight!

7 October 2018 - Sunday

7 October 2018 - Sunday

What an awesome day of General Conference!  Mom and I were able to see both sessions today.  We had the assignment to open the Visitors' Center at 8:00am and worked until 10:00am.  The snow was already beginning as we prepared to drive to the Homestead at 7:20am this morning.  It was a cold, drizzling, rain with the temperature at Missionary Village hovering at 35 degrees.  By the time we got to the Homestead at 7:40am, the snow was already falling, but not yet sticking to the ground.

I am grateful I had my winter dress coat with me today.  It has a hood on it, and is waterproof, and nice and warm.  Mom always wears her coat so I was finally following her excellent example by wearing mine!  

This is the picture from the drivers seat as I parked the car this morning at the Homestead

I was scrambling to get the Visitors' Center opened and stay warm.  We had all the out-buildings opened and ready for visitors by 7:50am.  Mom and I then huddled together in the Visitors' Center around a portable heater.  They keep the temperature, very constant, at 70 degrees in the Visitors' Center, but the extra heat was nice.  Here are some additional morning pictures;

The snow was starting to collect on the wet lawn

Here comes mom all bundled up toward the front door

A nice winter-wonderland beginning to form

Devil's Gate is obscured by the low clouds at 8:00am

As we were sitting in the Visitors' Center, I went to the Gospel Library, on my phone, and we listened to several Conference talks.  We started with the October 1984, Conference talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson, and listened to the next two conference talks.  I had already listened to the April 1984 talk he gave as his first talk as an apostle.  Then we listened to Bruce R. McConkie's last conference talk before he died, "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane".  All these talks packed such power!

I then got the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast on my phone for today's broadcast.  This was an awesome morning in the Visitors' Center!  We had no visitors because of the snow, and we did not miss the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square's broadcast before the first Sunday session of General Conference!  Our relief missionaries came at a few minutes before 10:00am, and we were seated in the Chapel by the time President Nelson walked into the Conference Center with his counselors at 9:55am.

Here are just a few of the highlights that spoke to me yesterday, last night and today.  Mom and I are so looking forward to our family conference discussion at the cabin in just less than three weeks!

President Nelson - What an inspired announcement on the Home centered, Church supported adjustment to Gospel learning.  The emphasis is the Gospel being taught, and studied, and discussed, in the home where families can "learn doctrine, fortify faith, and foster heartfelt worship".  That will surely open up many opportunities to strengthen the family unit!  I can't wait to participate in that effort with our family!  I love the fact that the meetings at the Church will be reduced by an hour.  And then 12 more temples announced, and the marvelous invitation extended by him in the Women's Meeting, that will help all of us more fully focus on staying on the covenant path.

Elder Cook - I liked the idea of the encouragement of groups to form Gospel study meetings outside the Sunday meeting schedule.  They discussed this in the MTC with Book of Mormon reads, where groups get together and read in the Book of Mormon and discuss what they read.  And I really appreciated his take on the reduced meeting block to allow "joyful" family time to discuss the Gospel and how it affects us as a family.

President Oaks -  Don't you just love President Oaks direct and unfiltered messages!  "Be cautious as we seek truth".  We have seen so much of the fake news to promote an agenda and even to spoil reputations in the name of promoting those hidden agendas.  He said that "expertise in one area does not make one an expert in another area, specifically using high profile sports stars, actors and professionals inserting opinions in areas they are not trained in".  He encouraged us to use "spiritual methods in seeking Gospel truth".  It added even more solid credibility to President Nelson's comments from the April Conference when he said; 'in the coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost".

Elder Holland - He spoke about the personal aspect of ministering that is not by assignment concerning Grant Bowen and his family. His father had that terrible experience with his Bishop and went inactive over tithing payments.  I learned from his cousin, Shayne, that families must stick together.  It made a very strong impression on my mind to the importance of how critical, even life changing, it is to be supportive of our family members.  

We need to be careful of how we talk to each other and how we come across to each other in our conversations.  It brought to my mind one of the Creekside Ward goals of "being less critical and more supportive" of each other.  Being more supportive is finding ways to encourage and compliment rather that suggest something negative about a family member.  I see the Home centered, and Church supported adjustment to Gospel learning that goes beyond just immediate family.  It includes all of us, 31 and a half and counting!  If someone is doing something terribly wrong, it would be better to have a one on one loving discussion to help a family member remain on the covenant path.  

It was just so firmly impressed on my mind that we all need to be less critical and more supportive of each other, that I wanted to post it here tonight.  Let's face it, if we can all stay on the covenant path together, we will have that "joyful" feeling that so many speakers mentioned in their messages.  How very important it is to find ways to compliment each other,  We all need that kind of family support!  Perhaps we can adjust that goal of being less critical and more supportive, to not being critical at all.  But perhaps we can be as Jesus taught, that we live together in love with no disputations!  Fully supporting each other in our struggles and challenges!  

Mom and I love our precious family!  We are excited for our reunion at the cabin and for the discussions we will be able to have over that four day celebration!  We are also excited to begin our last full week in the mission field here in Wyoming.  It will be an awesome and productive week for these two senior missionaries!

6 October 2018 - Saturday

6 October 2018 - Saturday

Mom and I enjoyed a wonderful day of another historic General Conference.  The talks were so inspiring and as we continue accelerating the preparations for the Second Coming.  I love the fact that we are moving toward home based and church supported teaching.  We will all benefit from this prophetic direction!  I am anxious to re-read every talk and to review all of President Nelson's conference talks from April 1984, through this conference, to see how he had been prepared to lead us today!  Has anyone done that yet?

Here we are in the Chapel at 9:30am this morning, ready and anxious!

Before we left for the Homestead, mom and I ended our fast to be in tune with the messages.  We took a walk out to the highway as a way to be awake and alert and attentive for the messages.  It was our privilege to end our fast with our favorite breakfast as well!  Look what we saw on our morning walk at 7:00am this morning;

Thick frost covering the area at Missionary Village

We used caution in walking across the cattle guards this morning!

The next four days has snow in the forecast and next Saturday and Sunday will be cold.  However, on Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th, the forecast is for sun, and a very pleasant ride home!  We are looking forward to helping this work move forward in our family, and our ward!

In between the second session of conference and the Women's session, we helped with a mission dinner.  The menu was a potato bar, and mom introduced her salad as a base for the potato bar.  Not everyone tried the salad.  They wanted the potatoes and beans and condiments.  That left the best part for us!  This was a wonderful day of conference.  Mom and I were especially grateful to finally get in an area where our text messages could be received and shared about conference!  We love you!

Potato Bar, chili, gravy, mom's salad and the condiments being prepared.

5 October 2018 - Friday

5 October 2018 - Friday

We are so excited for General Conference tomorrow!  Our feeling, this morning, was that we might be released to return home with the weather forecasts that we were seeing.  However, our mission president did not see the same forecasts, and did not seem to appreciate our concern for snow forecasted for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  Even today we saw these clouds looming over the mission;

We saw mid 30 degree temperatures this morning as we headed to the Homestead

Mom and I spoke with him, and he was a little short with us suggesting that we seemed to be campaigning to go home.  Our response was no, but we were concerned with the weather forecast for snow, and traveling through the Teton Mountains, that we had to cross, to get back to Rigby.  But we told him we were on board staying next week if we were needed.  He said there was work for us and that he didn't see the forecasts being as severe as we were thinking.  As we left his office and began our assignments, within fifteen minutes it was snowing.  

Our assignments were to climb up on the Barn roof and cover the swamp coolers, check the propane tanks to see what they registered for propane usage, and to burn a fire pit near the hay-bales that many of you saw this summer.  As we were measuring the propane tanks, the temperature dropped colder, and colder;

Mr Rain Poncho-man checking the propane gauges!  See Devil's Gate? 

Then we went to start the fire since I was not comfortable climbing up on the Barn roof.  This safety officer saw no need to climb up on a metal roof while it was raining.  Here are some action pictures of burning a trash pile of wood, and debris, that have collected for over a year;

I doused the pile with some gasoline

After about two minutes I was able to get the flame going.

I kept feeding the fire with miscellaneous wood pieces.

There is the fire-boy feeding the fire - looks like I was in the fire here!

This fire burned for over eight hours.  I let the gasoline sit for about five minutes before lighting a section near the couches.  It was during the starting of the fire that we got the snow flakes coming down.  And to avoid any concerns, the gas did not explode at any time.  It was a slow creeping of the fire that eventually caught the wood pieces, I had thrown on, catch fire.  It spread very slowly in the wind that picked up.  I could not stand closer than ten feet on the front side of the fire as the flames really got going.  It was an awesome fire!  

This was about 9:30am this morning.  As we left the Visitors' Center at 4:15pm, it was still going!  We had the split assignment to serve on the work crew from 9:00am until noon.  And then we changed clothes and worked the Visitors' Center from noon to 4:00pm.  The sun finally came out around 3:00pm and boy did it feel good!  We had visitors all afternoon, and even had a group come in right at closing that had lots of questions for their trek this summer.

Tomorrow we have no assignments except to help with the potato bar for the missionaries and the mission presidents family.  There are about 14 missionaries, and about 18 family members that will eat together between the afternoon session and the women's broadcast.  We are excited!  And we are grateful to be serving here all the way through our October 16th release date!  

4 October 2018 - Thursday

4 October 2018 - Thursday

Our priority work continued this morning.  Mom and I were scheduled to travel into Casper with Elder and Sister Hansen to purchase the dinner supplies for the mission's missionary dinner between Saturday's conference sessions.  We got to the correlation meeting and found out it was all hands on deck to cover the Fort Seminoe foundation with ground cover and dirt before the forecasted rains hit us this afternoon.  

However, the FM leaders did not fully comprehend Wyoming weather.  When the forecast states afternoon rains, you can almost count on morning rains.  That occurred as we were assembling to the dig site to get the priority work started.  And the senior missionaries forged ahead in the rain!

"Afternoon rains" that started 15 minutes after the forecast for "no morning rain"

Garden top soil turning into mud as we got about an inch of rain this morning.

Mom and I quickly changed from our trail clothes to our work clothes right after correlation.  We were on our way to the dig site when the clouds let loose with a lot of rain.  We had six senior missionary couples working in the rain to get this project under control.  I often wonder why we can't schedule these projects earlier in the Fall.  The entire month of September was warm, and dry, and our September projects consisted of different smaller things that were meant to just keep us busy.  We are happy to do the work and grateful for the opportunity to serve, but keep our assignments productive!

After becoming fully soaked from this effort, that took about 90 minutes, we ran out of dirt to spread.  The next load was about two hours away from arriving.   That is  when mom and I, and the Hansen's,

left this project and changed into dry trail clothing for our trip to Casper.  Mom and I were wet to the skin!  I made up a little drying rack in the wood-shop, for our soaked clothing, and we left for Casper.

Our first order of business was to drop off the recycled metals that had been collected all summer.  We loaded these items up yesterday.  The recycling place was just outside of Casper, and we got the metal unloaded by noon, and then headed in to town for lunch. 

This load of metal and aluminum netted the mission $29.02!

The Hansen's picked out the restaurant and it was one we have not tried before.  They had a decent menu and we placed our orders.  When we got our food, Sister Hansen had some plastic clip embedded in her salad.  The waiter was gracious and took the order back and was very efficient in bringing back the replacement.  Then the shift manager came to the table, very apologetic, and took off the price of her meal and then gave us all dessert.  

I appreciated the excellent customer service, but the food was less than appealing.  Mom and I later decided that we would not come to this restaurant again.  But then, again, we only have, at the most, one more preparation day in Casper!!  

We got back to the Homestead a little before 4:00pm.  Sister Hansen took the time to give me a much needed haircut.  This will be my last haircut in the mission field!!  I posted a picture of my first haircut by Sister Hansen back in May.  Now I am posting a picture of my last haircut in October!

Oh happy day!  Getting ready for the family reunion!

This was a fun day with our exciting "priority" project at the Fort, and our subsequent trip to Casper.  We had fun with the Hansen's in getting to know them a little better.  And Elder Hansen was, again, very thankful for the suit we shared with him.  Isn't it wonderful when people appreciate the things you do for them?  It is a firm reminder for me to better show my appreciation when others extend any form of kindness to me!  

I did get a chance to thank Samantha at Sam's on behalf of Josie.  She was there at the Customer Service booth as I filled out my experience card, and when I spoke to store management.  She was beaming, Josie, and in the process, she smiled and held up another cell phone that had just been turned in!  She also told me that Brandon, the cart clerk, was the one that found the phone in the shopping cart.  Both will be acknowledged on my on-line customer appreciation survey!

3 October 2018 - Wednesday

3 October 2018 - Wednesday

It has been another physically exhausting day!  I can't believe how tired I am right now!  Both mom and I got to work together on a variety of assignments.  The wind has been blowing hard, most of the day, and the clouds are being shifted frequently in their rotation above us!

Here we are on our way to the Homestead!

 

The captivating storm clouds directly over Devil's Gate

The big project today was Fort Seminoe preservation.  The Church History Department has given some very specific instructions on helping to slow down the damage to the original footings of the Fort.  Mom and I cut the grass around the dig site, and today we started receiving more supplies.  They want to temporarily cover the project with ground cover, spread  the ground cover with about 6" of top soil, line the perimeter with 6" by 6" by 16' beams and then fill the inside perimeter with gravel.  They plan on picking up the project sometime in the future;

Waiting at the Welcome Post for some dump belly trucks with top soil.

The first of several dump belly trucks with 20,000 pounds of top soil.

The perimeter beams for the Fort project, each weighing about 150 pounds

We will take the ground covering and lay it our over the project and then rake and shovel the 6" of top soil over the ground cover.  I heard we are bringing in about 60,000 pounds of this top soil, but after the first load, it doesn't seem like that will be enough!  The FM folks thought we would start this project today after correlation.  We all had our assignments and gathered to the dig site.  But with lots of delays, we all finished up other projects.  This project will probably resume tomorrow.

Mom and I and Elder Hansen went to clean out the remaining burn stubble in Bertha, for one of our other projects.  The burning of the garbage is done for the season and we were to fill up the dumpster with this burn stubble and then load up the metal items to be taken to Casper.  The missionaries have been told what to put in Bertha, and every forbidden items was found inside!

What will burn... aerosol cans?, bicycle frames?, tin cans, metal pans?

The big burn in Bertha last week!

We burned this final batch last week and got it ready to load the residue into the dumpster to be hauled off today.  It was a very dirty and nasty job, but I seem to be the lucky one to get down and dirty!  Mike Rowe would be so proud!  But it is interesting what senior missionaries will put into a burn incinerator!  I got the fire hot enough to burn the worst of household garbage, but could not get it hot enough to melt metal!

Six, underutilized senior missionary couples getting instructions before the delay!

Granny with her hood on saying; lets go to work!

After we shared lunch with the Hansen's, mom and I went back to our open issues.  We helped celebrate Sister Hansen's 68th birthday with some soup and crackers in their new little apartment home at the Homestead.  We sure have enjoyed the many activities we have shared with them, and not to mention the suit I gave him!  It is a perfect fit and it looks sharp on him!

The shuffleboard tape being removed

What a slow and methodical process!

This last assignment was a leftover from last week.  We took the tape off the floors at the pavilion at Missionary Village, along some of the floor paint!  This is the shuffleboard game that a senior missionary set up this summer.  I am not sure if anyone has played this game except my precious grandchildren, but this was the wrong tape to use.  But, we finally got it off late this afternoon.

It has been such a physical day for me!  I am looking forward to retiring when I get home and play with the grandchildren everyday!  I can't believe how achy I get kneeling down like this.  My mind says everything is just fine but my body rejects that notion!  It is time for a good nights rest and it is not 8:00pm yet!  Am I turning in to an early to bed Grandpa?  Perhaps Granny has the right answer!

2 October 2018 - Tuesday

2 October 2018 - Tuesday

It looks like we have just one more Tuesday left in the mission field!  And what a busy Tuesday this one has been!  We had our precious Sathre Family here with us this morning, as mom and I left for our correlation meeting.  They have been such a blessing to us as we have spent the last few days loving their company!  

We got word last night at the Family Home Evening that the Tuescher's would be leaving today, about two weeks early, to attend to some family business.  Mom and I were not able to wave goodbye to them as they drove out, since they left well after we departed for the correlation meeting.  So guess who filled in and made quite an impact on Elder and Sister Tuescher?  The Sathre children!  I wish I could have gotten a picture of that send-off!  Sister Tuescher sent me a touching note of appreciation this afternoon!

Mom and I are on a roll to get these different and varied assignments completed.  There is some persistent forecasts of snow for Sunday and Monday.  That usually means the summer missionaries are sent home.  But before we leave, there are some projects that need completion.  We finished up mowing around the original Fort Seminoe foundation.  They will be covering this up with canvas tomorrow because the footings are being destroyed by the weather.  We also helped with the mowing around the picnic area where the Hansen's were busy mowing right near the Fort area.

The original footings for Fort Seminoe - we mowed a six foot diameter.

This area will be covered with canvas and dirt tomorrow.  A priority project.

The field where mom and I helped the Hansen's.

Our next project was some loose ends back at Missionary Village.  When I left home this morning, I forgot my phone.  So these pictures are from this afternoon.  The projects at Missionary Village were to cover the swamp coolers on the trailers, treat the gasoline in the back-up cans for winter stabilization, and scrape the tape off the floors in the pavilion.  And we had to be back at the Visitors' Center by noon for our Visitors' Center assignment, so we still have some open items!

Winterizing the swamp coolers!

They sure kept us busy today!  The Visitors' Center was very quiet so I took several walks to build up my steps to over 7,500 today.  I also got some great storm pictures from the brewing storm clouds that are bringing the winter-like conditions this weekend!

Are they snow clouds or rain clouds?

 

A nice shot from the Visitors' Center to Devil's Gate

I call these the whipped cream clouds!

We finally had some visitors at around 3:00pm.  The Visitors' Center closes at 4:00pm, for the winter hours, so it helped to make that last hour go by quicker.  I took a prospective member on a tour during the last hour.  The last time he was on the roadway in front of Martin's Cove was 1979.  He was telling me how peaceful and calm the atmosphere was here at Martin's Cove.  I got to tell him some of the significant details of the property and some details of the development of the area.  It was fun to talk with him and have him so receptive.  I invited him to stop by more often!

And finally, one of the benefits to forgetting your phone, (and camera), when you say goodbye to family, is finding a picture like this;

Mia and Jackson discovering a grandpa camera!

Thank you, Mia and Jack for leaving me your pictures!  It was so much fun having you and your family here for the weekend!  We love our precious family and feel so blessed to be a part of your lives!  Two more weeks and we will see you again!   I feel a pumpkin pie celebration coming on!