Message—15 November 2011
Dear Family & Friends,
On Monday we attended the mission office staff meeting at 8am. After the meeting we went to President & Sister Christianson’s home and sorted through all of the items in the trailer in the their garage. This is all of the items from the Wellsville apartment where Elder and Sister Depew lived. There were some things we junked because they were broken or otherwise not usable. We rearranged the good things in the trailer so nothing would fall out when the trailer door was opened. Monday evening we had family home evening together since President Christianson asked all of us in staff meeting to begin (or continue) doing that regularly.
Tuesday we spent the day searching various online sources to find a suitable apartment for Elder & Sister Moses, a senior couple from Houston TX who will be arriving in our mission on November 16th for a one year mission. We found some possible apartments for them to see after they arrive. Sister Moses has some problems with asthma so she will need to be sure the apartment will be safe for her to live in.
Wednesday morning we had our district meeting at the chapel in Greece NY where our zone leaders, Elder Cox and Elder Campbell serve. These two elders reported in our district meeting that they had fasted and prayed the previous Saturday to Sunday to ask for help in finding a family to teach. Sunday morning when they arrived at the chapel, they saw a family they did not recognize. They introduced themselves to the family and learned their last name was Torres. The husband is a member but has not been to church for many years. The wife is not a member, and they have twins who are 5 years old and another 1 year old child. The wife wants to be baptized into the church and they want to work towards going to the temple to be sealed as a family. The elders were very excited to have their fasting and prayers answered so quickly. Elder Campbell was particularly excited because he has had a major goal on his mission to find and baptize a family. Elder Campbell is a serious soccer fan and his favorite player is Fredrico Torres; Brother Torres is not named Fredrico, but his last name is Torres, so Elder Campbell was very happy. Wednesday afternoon we looked for more apartments for Elder & Sister Moses.
Thursday morning about 8:20 am our daughter Kristine and Her husband Brandon arrived at our apartment. We knew they were coming to see us, and President Christianson had given us permission to spend time with them while they were here. They arrived Wednesday evening at the Baltimore airport and had dinner with a friend of Brandon’s, who is getting married Saturday. Brandon and Kristine then drove part of the way to our apartment Wednesday evening/night. They finally found a motel and spent a few hours getting some sleep, then drove the rest of the way to our apartment Thursday morning. Right after they arrived we loaded a few things in our car and drove to the church history sites, beginning with the Hill Cumorah. President Christianson was so kind to us to make himself available to take us to some areas of the Hill Cumorah which very few people get to see. The president spent about a half hour with us and then got a call from some missionaries who needed his help, so he had to leave. We were privileged to see a very large and very old sugar maple tree on the Hill; which is the oldest sugar maple in the state of NY; it is over 350 years old. Sister Maughn was our guide for our visit to the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center. We then went to the Sacred Grove where the Prophet Joseph Smith received the first vision. Sister Stoker was our guide for seeing the log home and frame home where the Smith Family lived; she is completing her mission tomorrow and will return home on Wednesday and will be attending BYU next semester. We then went to Palmyra and saw the grave and monument where Alvin Smith, Joseph’s brother, was buried. We then went to the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was first published. I served as the tour guide for us, since I had done this for part of the two weeks during the pageant last July. We then drove to Fayette to see the Peter Whitmer home, where the Church was organized on April 6, 1830. Elder & Sister Toronto, from Spanish Fork, were the guides for the visitors center and the home. We had a wonderful day together at the church history sites. The weather was very cooperative for the day, there was no rain even though it was cloudy and windy and cold. We were very blessed to feel the spirit and the peace that are in these special places. My testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the restoration, the truth of the Book of Mormon; and the restoration of the fullness of the gospel was increased through this experience. We also felt the Spirit tell us how central and important families are in Heavenly Father’s plan. Being in these places with Brandon & Kristine were very special to us, and we hope also to them.
Friday morning we took Kristine and &Brandon with us to see Niagara Falls. We took a scenic route on Highway 104 to the Falls so they could see some of the rural NY country and farms. It was very cold when we first got to the Niagara Falls State Park, it tried snowing a little. We braved the cold and walked out on the observation deck so Brandon could get some pictures of both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. As we started to leave there was some snow pellets which hit the ground; but before we got to the car the sun came out, the wind stopped blowing and it warmed up 15 degrees in less than 5 minutes. This was quite interesting. On the way back to our apartment we stopped at two different Amish stores in Lyndonville NY, which is very near the shore of Lake Ontario. After we arrived at the apartment about 3:30pm, Brandon and Kristine loaded their things in their rental car and headed back to Baltimore. They arrived in Baltimore at about 10:30 pm. We have not heard from them since they arrived there; but they should be on the plane heading home about now, and will arrive in SLC about 12am tonight. Since Brandon and Kristine took a number of pictures and some video also; we hope they will share these pictures with you and with us also.
Saturday we drove to Hornell NY to help Elder Bryson and Elder Maisey move to a different apartment which is much cleaner and is not so small. The Zone Leaders, Elder Peck & Elder Fitt came from Geneva NY, and also Elder Wilson and Elder Caldwell came from Wellsville to help do the moving and cleaning up of the old apartment. We arrived home about 6:30 pm.
Sunday morning I attended the ward PEC meeting in place of our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Kimbler, who is in Moscow Russia on an assignment for his work. He is a computer wizard for the Kodak Co. whose headquarters are still in Rochester. This was the first PEC for our new bishop, Bishop Zundel; he will be a fine bishop, he has desires to see missionary work increase in the ward.
Since Thanksgiving will soon be here we hope we will all stop and consider how blessed we are, in spite of the challenges we are experiencing. We have a beautiful world on which we live with plant and animal life to give beauty and variety to the earth. We have life and good health, we have homes and as far as we know all but two or three of us have jobs. The grandchildren are able to go to school and obtain an education. We have food to eat, and freedom to worship according to Heavenly Father’s revelations. We have the gospel and the knowledge of the doctrines and ordinances that go with it. We know of the atonement of the Savior; and we have living prophets and apostles to help us know how to live worthy to return to be with Heavenly Father and the Savior for eternity. We have scriptures, including the Book of Mormon. We have wonderful families and friends to be part of our lives. We have countless comforts, conveniences, and inventions to make life so much easier. The list goes on and on if we stop to think about it. Having gratitude and appreciation to Heavenly Father for all with which we are blessed will help us be more positive and add to our joy in life.
We love each of you so very much. We pray for each of you every day and hope you will be blessed with what you need to provide for yourselves and be happy together in your families.
Love,
Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Richard & Maxine
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