Message 30 May 2011

Dear Family and Friends;

You all fit into one or the other or both of the groups of family or friends.  We express our love and appreciation for each of you and for the good influence you are in our lives.  None of us have become who we are on our own; we have all been blessed in countless ways by the example, kindnesses, sacrifices, teaching, mentoring, and help of others.  First on the list is Heavenly Father and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  The Father allowed His Son to be born into mortality and suffer more than tongue can express to provide the perfect example and to also provide the atonement and to make possible the resurrection of everyone born into this mortal world.  They also have blessed us to live in this last dispensation when we have living prophets and apostles through whom the restoration of all truth has come and continues to come.  Next would be our ancestors and parents who accepted the gospel and gave us life and provided for us and nurtured us and helped us to learn and grow and have experiences which have taught us more than we recognize.  In addition to these powerful influences for good we have been blessed with brothers, sisters, extended family, friends, neighbors, teachers, church leaders, and people with whom we have been blessed to work.  We are so grateful for all of you and the good influence you have been in our lives.  We witness to you of the great love Heavenly Father and the Savior has for each of us and of their desire to help us all return to live with them.  They will do all they can to help us if we will allow them to do so.  How blessed we are to live in this land of America, choice above all other lands, and it will remain free and choice so long as we obey the teachings of Jesus Christ.

We were blessed this week to help get two sister missionaries and two elders moved in to different apartments so they do not have to breathe second hand smoke.  When we helped move the sister’s furniture out of the apartment they have been in and load it into a trailer to move it to the new apartment, it made it difficult to breathe.  The new apartment is very wonderful and clean; the Spirit will feel far more welcome in these new apartments.  We had great help from the missionaries, the Zone Leaders, and the Assistants to the President.  After we helped the elders move into their new apartment in Buffalo, we stopped on the way back home to visit with Brother Richard Grapes in North Tonawanda.  Brother Grapes is the father of Rick Grapes who worked in the BYU Library with me for a lot of years.  Brother Grapes has an interesting conversion to the gospel story.  We will share it at a later time with you.

The Elders who helped us move on Friday had an interesting experience on the next day, Saturday.  Due to the Assistants to the President being on some exchanges with the same missionaries in Buffalo who helped us move on Friday (exchanges means they traded companions for the day); they had planned to have lunch together at the place where Buffalo Wings (chicken wings) were first introduced in America.  After finishing lunch they walked out of the restaurant and noticed a large group of guys, all were Blacks, playing three on three basketball at some outdoor basketball courts.  The Elders walked over and watched them for few minutes.  Several of our six missionaries who were there have played college basketball before their missions.  Elder Peck asked the Black guys if they could play a game with them.  The Black guys sort of teased them a bit and asked how they could play in a suit and tie; Elder Peck said just give us a chance.  So the Black guys let them play, and our missionaries won each of the four games they played.  While three of the missionaries were playing basketball, the other three started teaching some of the lessons to those who were watching.  The missionaries taught several full lessons and some short versions of a few others.  Just before the last game they played; two other white guys came over and asked the missionaries if they learned how to play basketball in the MTC.  The missionaries asked how they knew about the MTC and they said we know who you are.  Then during the last game Elder Peck accidentally hit one of the black players in the face and he was going to pick a fight with Elder Peck, but the white guys said to the Black guy, don’t you even think about hitting these guys, they are men of God; so that was the end of that.  When the missionaries were going to leave, the Black guys invited them to come and play again with them next Saturday.  It is very interesting how the Lord is able to weave the sharing of the gospel into normal every day activities.

There is much excitement and preparation beginning to take place here in our mission to get ready for the Hill Cumorah Pageant in July.  Because there are not enough senior missionaries we have been asked to help with talking to people who come to the pageant while they wait for the program to begin. The pageant begins on July 8^th and 9^th and then also from July 12^th—16^th.  This will be a great experience for us.

The people in the rural areas in NY are more friendly than those in the bigger cities and more trusting of each other.  We were driving along a road in the rural area West of Brockport where we live and in front of a house right out by the roadside was a table with some rhubarb and asparagus on it.  Maxine wanted to make a rhubarb pie so we stopped to buy some.  On the table next to the rhubarb was a handwritten sign that said the rhubarb was $2.00 a bunch; then next to the rhubarb was a bottle in which you put the money for what you want to buy.  No one sits at the table, so there is no labor expense; the owners operate on the principle of honesty.  If you need change to pay the right amount you can go to the door and knock and you can get change.  The owners do not worry about whether they get paid for everything or not.  They figure most people are honest and will pay the money; if people do not pay, the owners figure the people must need the produce.  The church members tell us that the owners generally make enough money doing their selling this way to make it worthwhile.  Another interesting custom is that if you have anything you do not want you can put it out by the road and if anyone driving by wants it they can just stop and take it.  You do not have to say anything or pay any money; it is like a free garage sale.  A lot of the stuff is junk, but there are some treasures mixed in.

This morning in our mission office staff meeting, Sister Christianson shared a thought that was very impressive.  She quoted Doctrine & Covenants 101:22, at the end of the verse is the phrase “…gather together and stand in holy places.”  We usually think of these holy places as the temples.  She then quoted from a talk Elder Richard G. Scott gave in which he said that next to the temple the most holy place is our homes with our families.  The purpose of temples is to seal families together, so it makes sense that home and family should be a holy place and we should do all we can to ensure that our homes are a safe and holy place.  We thought this was a great thought to think about.

This is probably plenty long for this week, so we will end.  We love you and hope and pray all is well in each of your homes and families and personal lives.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Maxine & Richard

Message 23 May 2011

Message—23 May 2011

We are well and happy and having good experiences as we try to do what the Lord and the President ask of us.  This past week we made two trips to the Buffalo area to find a different apartment for two Elders to move in to.  The one they are currently living in has a major problem with second hand smoke which filters in from other apartments.  New York law requires landlords to allow tenants to smoke in their apartment; unfortunately the smoke does not stay in their own apartment.  Through some divine guidance and influence we were able to arrange with the manager of the complex of apartments to transfer the lease to a different apartment building about two miles away which is owned by the same owner we currently pay and the rent cost is the same.  We will be able to move the Elders in to the new apartment; which has no second hand smoke problem and is also newly painted and cleaned, on Friday of this week.  With the Lord’s help we also were able to obtain permission from another apartment owner to move two Sisters in to a new apartment 5 days earlier than we originally planned which will make it possible to move the Sisters from their current apartment to the new one on the same day.  It never ceases to amaze us how the Lord is in so many details of our lives and cares about little issues enough to send His influence to arrange to solve the little things.  As we look back in earlier years of our life we can see so many more times than we recognized previously; when we were guided, protected, and helped by the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

One interesting experience happened this week with an investigator being taught by the Sister missionaries.  This lady, who is in her 40’s, had been taught several discussions, and had read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know it was true, and also that what she was being taught was true.  The Spirit had witnessed to her it was all true; she had started paying her tithing, and she was preparing to be baptized on June 4^th.  Last Thursday she went to the Grandin Press building to talk with the Sisters who have been teaching her.  She lives a few houses from the intersection where the four churches are in Palmyra.  After she left the Grandin Press and started walking home she had a heart attack and died on the street.  She did not have any immediate family but she does have some relatives, some of whom are involved in satanic stuff.  The decision was made to have her funeral service, which was today at 10 am, taken care of by the LDS Church.  A female Episcopalian Minister attended part of the service, then got up and left. The Bishop of the Palmyra Ward took care of the service arrangements.  The Sister missionaries sang a beautiful hymn, Elder Lenker who is the supervisor of the Church Visitor sites was one speaker, and President Christianson was also a speaker.  Elder Lenker gave a great sermon on the Plan of Salvation and did so in a very clear and bold manner, but not overbearing.  The people who are in to satanic stuff were exposed to the doctrine of the plan of salvation.  President Christianson spoke last and taught some appropriate gospel doctrine even though there was a bad feeling present from the relatives.  The Spirit was also present and overpowered the bad feeling.  After the service a man named Danny, who was going to marry the investigator who died, talked with the President and told him that he wanted to continue paying his tithing even though he was not yet a member.  He said he had started giving his tithing to the investigator to pay when she did hers.  He said he had learned that Malachi Chapter 3 was true.  Before he paid tithing he was only making $200 a month, after he started paying tithing his income increased to $1000.00 a month.  The Bishop gave him some envelopes and explained how to fill out the donation form and explained that he should give it to the Bishop.  These are just a few of the amazing experiences the missionaries are having here in the mission.  An inactive sister we have visited with went on a Caribbean Cruise a week ago.  She was in Florida yesterday and called us from there to tell us what a great time she has had; and asked us for our mailing address so she could send us a card.  We told her when she gets back we will come and visit her and she can tell us about her trip and show us some of her pictures.  We were quite surprised she took time to call us.

I had the privilege to see a DVD of some training Elder Holland gave to missionaries in the Provo MTC.  In the training one of the concepts he taught was that the missionaries first needed to be converted and have a spiritual witness of the truths of the gospel so they can then teach others by that same Spirit using the Preach My Gospel Manual and the scriptures as guides.  By following this instruction, missionaries can be far more successful in bringing souls to Christ.  We know the gospel is true, and that the Lord is indeed going before us, and is on our right hand and on our left, and Angels are round about us.  We love and appreciate all of you and pray for your well-being and happiness.  Thank you for your prayers for us.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine

Message--16 May 2011

Message--16 May 2011

This past week has been an awesome week for us.  We had a number of spiritual experiences and opportunities which I will share later in the message.  Monday’s in our Mission Office Staff Meeting we have time to sit together with President & Sister Christianson and council with and learn from them as well as learn from each other.  The staff is composed of Sister Evertsen, Sister Price, Elder and Sister McVea, and ourselves.  Sister Evertsen is a sister to President Christianson’s wife.  Sister Evertsen takes care of all the finances for the mission and takes care of paying for the missionary apartments and utilities, mission supplies, the missionaries monthly expense cards and some other things.  Sister Price is the companion to Sister Evertsen.  Sister Price takes care of correspondence for the President, arrangements with the Church Travel Office for missionary travel to New York and back home at the end of their missions, she does a monthly newsletter for the mission, its title is “Glad Tidings From Hill Cumorah”; and she also does sewing projects to mend the missionary clothing when needed.  Sister Price also keeps the missionary board in the President’s Office up to date; this has a picture of each of the  missionary companionships and where they are currently assigned, and she updates this board every time there are transfers.  There is a duplicate of this board in the President’s home and she updates both of these.  She also does some other miscellaneous things.  Sister McVea takes care of the mail, both incoming and outgoing, which includes not only office related items but letters, packages, etc. for the missionaries.  She also keeps track of Baptism records and insures they get to the Church Membership Department through the MLS System,  to create a membership for each new convert.  She also handles all the referrals that come to the mission and insures they get to the correct missionaries, and that the missionaries report back to her that the referral is contacted and if a Book of Mormon or church video was requested she makes sure the missionaries delivered it.  She also does some other things as well.  Elder McVea is responsible for all the church owned vehicles; he insures they are properly maintained and that the missionaries keep the vehicles clean and serviced, and that tires are replaced when needed.  He also takes care of registration, inspection, accident reports, and that the collision damage to vehicles is repaired as the Insurance requires.  He is also the in house office computer expert.  There are about 40 vehicles that he keeps track of and coordinates with the Church Motor Vehicle Department to see that everything is done as they direct.

I have shared all of the above so you have an idea of the variety and quantity of work it takes to keep the missionary program operating in each mission of the church.  These are all great people and they do an outstanding job in their assignments.  They also have a great spiritual side to them; and they each help in one of the wards here in the mission in various other ways.  Elder and Sister McVea teach a seminary class one night a week, and the Family Relations class in Sunday School.  Sister Evertsen and Sister Price help in the Relief Society in the ward they attend.  These two sisters also help Sister Christianson with hosting and meals done in the Presidents Home for newly arriving missionaries, departing missionaries, and visitors from here in NY and other places, and various people who come from the Church Offices in Salt Lake, including General Authorities.  It is a privilege and great blessing to us to be able to associate with these good people.

Last week the President had four Zone Conferences.  The mission has four zones; the Buffalo Zone, Rochester Zone, Palmyra North & East Zone, and the Palmyra South Zone.  We had a Zone Conference on each of the following days; Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  We were both assigned by the President to attend all four Zone Conferences to help with behind the scenes things, like food and vehicle inspections, and apartment issues.  The Conferences each started at the Sacred Grove where they met at 9am in a small amphitheater near the entrance to the Grove.  Here the Zone Leaders gave some instruction and then President C. gave some instruction and shared some fascinating details about the history of the Grove.   He then walked through the Grove with the missionaries and pointed out some of the Witness Trees (trees which are old enough to have witnessed the appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith).  As we went through the Grove we could feel a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.  This Spirit combined with the spiritual instruction given was just so impressive.  Our testimonies of the First Vision and the restoration of the gospel were reinforced and strengthened.  We bear our witness that the Prophet Joseph did see the Father and the Son and he was called and given the responsibility to be the mouthpiece of the Lord through whom, all the gospel truths and knowledge of the Savior and the atonement and Priesthood Keys were restored.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s true church on the earth.  Through the ordinances and doctrines restored and obedience to the covenants associated with them, we can be together as families with Heavenly Father and the Savior through the eternities.  The Book of Mormon is true and Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today; we both know these things are all true and of eternal value and importance to each of us.

After spending two hours in the Sacred Grove everyone went to the chapel across the road from the Palmyra Temple for the rest of the day and the training and instruction the President had prepared.  A video of some instruction given by Elder Holland was shown, followed by some instruction by the President.  Then there was a lunch break for 30 minutes.  Elder McVea did some safety instruction to the missionaries for driving and caring for the vehicles, this is required by the Church Motor Vehicle Department.  As part of the vehicle inspection elder McVea and I did we selected the vehicle in the best condition inside and outside and gave the missionaries driving it a license plate holder that was gold colored and had the words “Golden Plate” on it.  The missionaries enjoy competing to see who gets the “Golden Plate”.

Richard helped Elder McVea do vehicle inspections each of the 4 days, and Maxine helped with the food and some other things.  It was a wonderful week and gave us the chance to get better acquainted with more missionaries, including the proselyting couples.  We also had Elder and Sister Saunders come to our Zone Conferences; they are assigned to be Health Care Coordinators for the many of the missions in the North East Area of  North America, they live in Boston MASS.  Elder Saunders is a retired M.D.

The weather was wonderful on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.  On Saturday morning it was cloudy and we drove through some light rain in a few places on the way to Palmyra.  The President pleaded with the Lord in multiple prayers before the conference began and also prayed silently while we were in the Grove that the Lord would prevent it from raining on the missionaries in the Grove.  Some of the others of the Mission Office Staff likewise prayed for the rain to be stayed so the missionaries could have the experience in the Sacred Grove without it raining on them.  These prayers were answered, another witness that the Lord is in the details of His work.  It was raining all around the Grove most of the time we were in the Grove, from about 9am-11am; but no rain fell in the Grove while we were there.  Only a few drops fell as we started out of the Grove at 11 am.  The Zone Conference on Saturday had the rest of their training in the basement of the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center because the Palmyra Chapel was being used by the Sisters in the Stake for an activity they had.  Some of the staging and practices for the Hill Cumorah Pageant takes place in the basement of the Visitors Center.  The last month an artist has been restoring the large mural behind the Christus Statue in the Visitors Center.   One of the days during the last week he was redoing the mural an investigator couple brought their 3 or 4 year old girl with them to visit the Church History sites.  The little girl was very attentively watching the artist painting.  The artist noticed her and asked if she would like to paint on the mural.  She very excitedly said yes; so the artist gave her a brush with the right color on it and let her paint some grass in one of the lower corners for a few minutes.  The girl was so excited to have been able to do this.  I am sure she will remember this forever.  The investigator family was already scheduled to be baptized that same night.  We are sure special things like this happen often in many places as the missionary work progresses here and all over the world.

We love all of you and appreciate your prayers, thoughts, kindnesses, and help in our lives as we serve here.  Thank you for being the wonderful people you are.  We hope our grandchildren who graduate this month have great experiences in graduating and moving forward in their lives to decide what to do next.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine

Message--9 May 2011

Message— 9 May 2011

We express our deep appreciation for the Mother’s Day cards and phone calls and wishes.  We also hope each of the mothers received our Mother’s Day cards that we sent.  In a talk our mission president gave some years ago, which had the tile “Women of Light”, he quoted the Apostle Matthew Cowley as saying the following: “Mothers are the co-creators with God of His children.  Therefore, it is expected of you by a right divine that you be the saviors and the regenerating force in the lives of God’s children here upon the earth.”  You Mothers are of eternal importance in the lives of the children and we express our love an appreciation for each of you and our great admiration and respect for all you do to help your children who are also our grandchildren.  We also express our most sincere heartfelt gratitude for our own wonderful mothers for all they have done to sacrifice for us and set good examples and teach us and help us and pray for us and help us become who we are.

This past week we spent most of our time doing our May apartment checking to see how the missionaries are doing and how we can help them make their apartments more appropriate to invite the Holy Spirit to be present as the study and prepare to do their missionary work.  We checked 17 apartments and traveled through a variety of towns and villages.  Some of the names of these places are Warsaw, Batavia, Egypt, Geneseo, Chili, Greece, Orangeville, Lehigh, Holley, Sweden, Ogden, Marion, and Palmyra.  If you look at just the names of the towns and villages and ignore that they are in New York, it would appear we have traveled the world.  The weather was mostly good for us, some days were cloudy, and other days were mostly clear and sunny.  The leaves are finally appearing and it is looking like we expected New York to be.  Sunday and today were just perfect days and warm.  Maxine is impressed with the fact that hardly any of the homes have fences around them; the lawns between the homes are like one continuous lawn.  The neighbors treat each other like family and when they mow the grass they do not worry about whose boundary line is where.  Some of the people just mow their neighbor’s lawn while they are doing their own.  Many of the homes in the rural areas have lawns that cover from one half to several acres.

The members in the ward here are much like the people at home in our ward in Provo.  They accept us and are very good to us.  In the High Priest Group meeting it felt just like attending my group meetings in Provo.  The High Priests have a great feeling of brotherhood.  The Relief Society sisters likewise have a great feeling of sisterhood and treat Maxine with love and kindness.

This past week in our mission several missionary miracles happened.  In one ward, on Sunday May 1^st a young woman, a single mother, who lived near one of our church buildings, brought her two children and attended church.  The members and missionaries welcomed her and learned she had been looking for a church that felt right for her to bring her children to, and she had tried to attend previous Sunday’s but came in the afternoon after the meetings were over.  A neighbor told her the meetings started early in the morning so she came at the right time.  The elder’s met with her and her children and started teaching her that very day.  A Tongan man called the mission office to find out how to get hold of the elders.  He sounded a little scary to the Sister in the Mission Office who took his call so she sent the Assistants to the Mission President to see him.  He insisted he could only meet them in a library, not in his apartment.  When the elders met with him they learned he had been taught one lesson and had been given a Book of Mormon last November.  The missionaries who taught him lost track of him.  What had happened was that he had some legal problems and the judge had given him the option of doing 5 years of probation or going to jail for 4 months and he would have his record purged and cleaned; so he chose the jail time.  While in jail he had read the pamphlets and the Book of Mormon several times.  He just got out of jail and wanted to be baptized as soon as possible.  The elders have been teaching him several times this week and have set a baptism date of May 28^th.  It appears the Lord is bringing people to the missionaries so they can be taught and baptized.

We testify the gospel is true, and there are living prophets and apostles on the earth today who are inspired by the Lord to do His work and direct the missionary efforts to gather the children of Heavenly Father who will accept the truth and keep the commandments.  All the people who are truly converted have received a testimony by reading the Book of Mormon; it has the power to bring people unto Christ and His church and kingdom.  We are gaining a stronger testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon as we read from its pages every day.

Megan, thanks for the emails, we will answer them as often as we can; keep sending them; we love to hear from any of you.  We love you all and appreciate your prayers and help in various ways.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, etc.

Message--2May 2011

Blog Message – 2 May 2011

This past week has been mostly cloudy and  has rained nearly every day.  Saturday, however, was an absolutely beautiful clear and sunny spring day.  The temperature was in the 70’s and the sun was warm; and the leaves on the trees began to appear and the spring flowers opened up and the birds sang.  It was a very lovely day.  We went for a short drive after dinner on some of the back roads and took some pictures of what springtime in New York can look and feel like.  We noticed that the water was turned into the Erie Canal so that it is full.  One of the days we saw the bridge over the Erie Canal in Brockport was being raised just to test it out I think, because there was no barge in the canal.

We attended the Mission Office staff meeting last Monday; these meetings are always helpful and we take time to share spiritual thoughts and scriptures that relate to our missionary work.  The Mission President always shares some spiritual messages from the scriptures and also some of the experiences the missionaries are having and some additional details about those who were baptized during the week.  We have been asked to do some behind the scenes things to help with the Zone conferences during the week of May 9^th to the 13^th.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday we provided a ride to Rochester for some investigators the Elders are teaching here in Brockport.  The investigators have some legal issues to take care of to help them be worthy to be baptized in a few months.  The woman has a testimony which is growing and she helps it by reading in the Book of Mormon daily.  She wants to be baptized and so does her 8 year old daughter.  The teenage daughter is being a teenager and cannot make up her mind about being baptized.  Due to previous marriages and divorces the woman and her boyfriend have some legal issues to resolve before they can be baptized.  The boyfriend is not as willing to be baptized and he has more legal problems than the woman does.  The elders are patiently working with them and teaching them and the members are helping with making them welcome as they attend church.  One of the ward members is a police officer and is trying to help them with their legal issues.  It will be several months at least before they can get baptized.

We spent one day looking for an apartment for some sister missionaries.  Several sister missionaries completed their missions and went home; and since there were not enough new sister missionaries arriving in the mission the President had to close one area.  There were 4 sister missionaries living in one apartment; two went home and two stayed.  The apartment they are living in has some problems with mold, and the stairway leading up to their room reeks with second hand smoke which is not good for the sisters.  Plus the landlord keeps raising the rent, so President C. asked us to try to find a new apartment for these sisters.  One that has 2 bedrooms so when additional sister missionaries are assigned to the mission there will be a place for them to live.  We had searched several internet sites to find apartments for rent in the Irondequoit area where the sisters live and do missionary work.  We took a print copy of the information about the apartments and entered the addresses in the GPS and headed off to see what we could find.  As we were trying to find our way to the first address, which only had the name of where two streets met and not an exact address, Sister Jensen saw an apartment available on a sign in front of an apartment complex on Hudson Ave. which we did not have on our list to check on.  We took note of where this apartment was at and then continued trying to find the one we were looking for; which ended up being at a catholic school, so we knew that would not work for LDS sisters to live in.  We discarded that one and went to the 2^nd apartment we had on our list and talked with the people in the rental office.  We were not real impressed, but it was better than the one they now live in.  We then decided to go check out two other apartments in a different area across the bay in Webster.  One of these would have been a good place for them but they would have to change to this area to do their missionary work.  We then returned to the one on Hudson Ave. with the sign out front, and went in to the rental office.  The lady in the office saw our name tags and said “I know who you are” you are Mormon missionaries.  We did not know if that was good news or bad, until she continued.  She has had many interactions with our missionaries over the years.  She has also worked as a dental assistant for a dentist who has treated some of our missionaries.  She grew up in Scotland, she still had the Scottish accent, where her mother frequently invited the Mormon missionaries to dinner, even though she was not a member of the church.  She was just a kind Scottish woman who felt like she should be kind to the missionaries.  The lady was very willing to rent the apartment to the church for the missionaries, especially for sisters.  The apartment is being totally refurbished  and is in a quiet area, and very clean and no mold or 2^nd hand smoke.  We reported to Sister Evertsen, who takes care of the rental agreements etc., in the Mission Office that we recommended the one on Hudson Ave.  Sister Evertsen checked with President C. and he said take it; so that is the one the sisters will be moving into at the end of May when the lease will terminate on the apartment they now live in.  We were impressed that the Lord had time to have the Spirit help guide us to find an apartment for just two of His sister missionaries.  The Scottish lady was very talkative with us and we spent over 20 minutes visiting with her.  One other thing she shared with us that you will find interesting was about one of her friends.  This friend is a woman and is a member of the LDS Church.  She came to visit with the Scottish lady and the Scottish lady took her to the “Holy Grove” (Sacred Grove) in Palmyra.  She said there is a special feeling there in the grove, she was very impressed with the experience.  Perhaps the sister missionaries, with the help of the Spirit to guide them, will be able to share the gospel with her at some point.  She also commented that she hopes we get the Mormon for President of the USA next year.

We want to wish happy birthdays to Megan on May 3^rd, Shadyn on the 11^th, Hayden on the 23^rd, and Chandler on May 24^th.  We also give congratulations to Tyler for graduating from high school early and beginning his National Guard training.  We also give congratulations to Mckinzi, and Chandler who will graduate from high school at the end of the month.  We hope the Jensen rodeo children are doing well and not getting injured.  We wish all the women 18 and older, including mother’s, a Happy Mother’s Day!!

This is long enough we better quit.  We thank you all for your thoughts and prayers in our behalf; they make a positive difference in what we accomplish.  We see the hand of the Lord each day in what we are able to accomplish.  We pray for each of you in your lives and individual challenges.  Our testimonies are increased and strengthened more each day by what we read in the scriptures and other gospel related sources, and also by our experiences.  We know Heavenly Father and the Savior live and love us and do all they can to help us.  Joseph Smith is a prophet, the Book of Mormon is full of truths and doctrines that will bless our lives if we let them.  President Monson is the Lord’s prophet today.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa etc.