Visitors

. We had just finished our morning shift. We had just started to eat lunch when when Lee and Carol Oldham appeared on our doorstep.They stopped by today on their way to Jean’s in Provo. It was fun to visit with them for a few minutes.

Memorial Day

It has been many years, a little over 48 to be exact, since George has been authorized to salute the flag. One had to be in uniform with a hat to salute the flag until a couple of years ago when flag etiquette was changed. At Cove Fort we flew the flag at half-mast until noon. At noon we all stopped what we were doing and placed our hands over our hearts and those who had served in the military saluted the flag while it was being raised to full mast in honor of Memorial Day.

FHE

Brad and his family stopped by last night about 10 on their way back from St. George to see if I had been able to fix my iPhone. We had a nice visit with the kids. He was unable to get the iPhone to talk to the computer and suggested that I take it to Richfield to the Verizon store.

We were extremely busy again today with the people who were returning from the solar eclipse that happened last night. We started and ended our day doing a tour together. We each did 3 more in between. Five tours is good for a 6 hour shift.

Right in the middle of the busiest time, I heard “Eva” called across the courtyard in the Fort. I should be hearing “Sister Ross”, no it was definitely “Eva”. I was on a tour with a member of another faith. I looked again and there was Doug and Paula Holliday, friends from Mesa, AZ. They were with their longtime friends the Boyle's. I only had time to say “hi” and chat for a minute or two before needing to return to Bonnie. The Holliday’s had just spent an hour with Merle and Carol Allen at their cottage as they were off shift. Doug and Paula were leaving as I completed the tour with Bonnie so I had a couple of minutes to say “goodbye” before greeting the next car full of 5 people.

When a missionary has visitors the others try to give them some time to visit with friends and family, but we were too busy for that to happen today.

Monday night is our Home Evening Sunday School lesson since we meet for only two hours on Sunday. The lesson is rotated so everyone gets a chance to teach. The lesson was a half an hour and then we visited for another half hour before returning home.

Baptism by Fire

President Leonard of the Utah St George Mission came and spoke to us a 3:00 this afternoon for a few minutes. We had an interesting shift after that until dark. The solar eclipse drew many people to our site for viewing the eclipse. We had almost 600 people on the grounds, almost three times the normal visitation for a day. Generally a couple leads the tour together until they feel comfortable enough to conduct a tour alone. We were so busy that we went together for two tours then we had to do them alone the remainder of the afternoon and evening. Baptism by fire! Tomorrow should be easier.

Our instructors at the MTC and Elder Dye taught us that if we are prepared spiritually that words will be put in our mouths as we teach. Elder Ross spent some time on a group of nine who had come for the eclipse helping them decide to tour the Fort. The group was from the Salt Lake area. The kids were inquisitive and asked good questions. They were knowledgeable about the history of the church and could identify Brigham Young, Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The last room has a drawing of the Salt Lake Temple.  I shared my feelings on temples and families and my tongue was loosed. A special feeling was present.

Mentors and Visitors

We have enjoyed getting reacquainted with Merle and Carol Allen. Elder Dye was unaware that we knew each other when he assigned them to mentor us. Elder Allen was our third bishop when we were in the Mesa 20^th ward. Carol and I served in Young Women together for a year or two. When George was a counselor to Bishop Udall, Merle was the Deacons’ Quorum advisor. George enjoyed Merle’s lessons to the deacons.

Elder and Sister Allen have served at least three other missions. They were called to Hawaii where Merle taught law classes at BYU Hawaii right after he retired and Carol did tutoring.They were in Hong Kong as humanitarian  missionaries and traveled all around that area. They served a mission at the MTC organizing over 400 volunteers that aide in missionary work. They came to Cove Fort last fall.

We have had a total of nine visitors and haven’t seen a one of them! Keith and Diane Tempest stopped by on their way to St. George while we were in a training meeting. Brad and his family stopped by on their way to Las Vegas to help LaDonna move.  We were at a party to welcome the six new couples to the Fort.  Carol Allen was acquainting the group with us when Brad called that they had arrived at the Fort.  The dinner was at the Twig building. We hold our activities and our church meetings at the Twig building across the street from the Fort. We are not big enough to be a branch, hence, the twig.

Wind

The wind is one of the constants here. It blows at a variety of speeds. You can see that is was at a fairly swift rate in this photo which was taken yesterday. The wind comes and goes during the day. This morning and during the afternoon we needed coats and jackets to stay warm as we walked around the grounds of Cove Fort. In the evening about seven I went for a 40 minute walk in a short sleeved shirt and capris and worked up a sweat.

Our New Home

We made it!

After our training was over at noon on Wednesday, we headed to Cove Fort to set up housekeeping for six months.

We are using Kristine Gilleland's 5th wheel. John towed in from Durango and got us set up. We hauled three loads of stuff so that we could live comfortably.

The kitchen has a big refrigerator. You can see up the stairs to the bedroom and bathroom.

 The living room has two swivel recliners and couch across from them. A good sized TV comes down out of the cupboards and can be retracted when not in use.

We love theking sized bed and a there is nice shower in the bathroom.

The dining area has four chairs and leaf comes out on the table. Our view is of the fort and the surrounding mountains. We love that we are at the end of the RV park because our view are unobstructed by other trailers.

The stacking washer and dryer are full sized. The closet is big enough to hold all our clothes.

We have filled up the storage area with suitcases, extra food and things that don't fit in the trailer.

The building has four large bathroom and an open area with washer and dryers. An ironing board is set up. There is some weight equipment.

 Each trailer has their own picnic table. The way the wind blows constantly, we may not use it a lot. We did bring a small BBQ.

Historical Site Training

 The group going to Nauvoo. Sister Brown, front left was the only single sister in our group.

 The Cove Fort group: Lee, Ross, Johnson, Keller ,Martin, Slabach, Bailey(kneeling)

Elder and Sister Mitchell are serving a mission at the MTC for the Vistior Center/ Historical Site trainings and to work in the call center. They shared so many of the spiritual experiences they have had while serving at the MTC and at the Birthplace Historical Site. They have been responsible for bringing many people into the church if the last few years. One couple was  recently baptized in Kenya and the taught them over the phone each week. The were in too remote of an area for missionaries to teach them.

Wednesday was spent wrapping up training and hearing from Amanda Cottam, Vistor Center/Historical Sites director. Of course we had to get pictures of those in our group this week. All of these couples were with us last week as well.

Tuesday evening we had a devotional with L. Tom Perry and his wife Barbara. She gave a good talk and he talked about the restoration of the priesthood which happened on May 15.

Historical Site Training

At 8:00 am we met with Sister Cottam who is over all the historic sites and visitor centers for the church. She shared with us the goal to have the sites welcoming and inviting. For example, there no longer is a rope around the Christus statues in the visitors’ centers. You can go up and touch them, if you wish.

About 9:30 am we headed to Temple Square for a tour with the sister missionaries. The spirit there was so strong. What a marvelous experience.  They were amazing.  Our missionaries were from Mongolia and Mexico. (And would you believe the young lady from Mongolia was best friends with the elder we met last week. We took her picture and found Elder Oyumgerel at dinner tonight and showed it to him. He was thrilled. My picture of him is a little blurred.)

Our first stop was the video presentation on the importance and eternal nature of the family, which was extremely touching. It was so powerfully presented as you move through the five segments.

We were on Temple Square for about an hour.  As we sat in the Tabernacle I had several memories and feelings flood through my mind remembering when I was in high school and had attended General Conference with the youth in my ward on at least two different occasions. Those were testimony building moments for me. I attended Conference in the Tabernacle and Assembly Hall while at BYU. Other memories were when George and I helped clean the Tabernacle as part of a ward assignment, we attended baptisms for grandchildren and we attended conference as newlyweds. Before our group left the Tabernacle, we were able to have them demonstrate the acoustics when a pin is dropped on a plate on the podium, it can be heard throughout the whole Tabernacle.  Even though all of us had experienced it before, it was as amazing as the first time we heard it.

We stopped at In and Out in Orem for a quick lunch before returning to the MTC. As we left the In and Out we saw a Dickeys Barbeque just around the corner! Ug, had we know we would have had lunch there.

The afternoon training was excellent as we learned how to greet and get acquainted with our guests. Several times during the day, I realized that this is where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing just now. I am thrilled to be doing it with my eternal companion.

Saturday

Our experience at the Provo Temple was spiritual and very similar to the last time we attended. There were lots of young (under 25) workers in the temple. There were very few older people in the session. We had a small session. I think we slipped in between the wedding sessions as we saw lots of brides as we were leaving. It was a beautiful walk to and from the temple.

Sunday

We attended church in Spanish Fork and had dinner with Brad and Keryn. It was a nice Mother’s Day.  Four years ago today we were set apart for our first mission to the West Indies.

Brad returned our car on Wednesday. It was acting up because the transmission fluid had been partially removed and not replaced. The filter had not been changed but the new tires they put on are doing well. George wrote a note to the place in West Jordan that goofed up. We will see if they respond.

We attended a fireside with the head of the MTC, Elder Heaton, which was enjoyable.  He had a good rapport with the young missionaries.

We  were assigned a Branch President while at the MTC. President and Sister Stock were helpful to everyone and they were  involved in our training.

We had four couples in our small group instruction. Elder and Sister Pierce are going to England and the Poulsens are going to Nauvoo. They were an inspiration to us. We took this picture after the Montgomery's (going to Washington) left so that we could include Sister Poulsen who wasn't available for the large group with our morning and afternoon instructors.

Montgomery's , Sister Arce, Pierces, Rosses, Brother Wozinak , Elder Poulsen

MTC

Friday

It seems many of the special spiritual moments I experienced throughout the week were related to video clips with Elder Holland as part of the message. He has a way making a point that touches my soul. Some of them I had heard before and been touched but not as deeply as this week. The training today closed with the vignette about the Idaho potato farmer. He was a service missionary in a Russian country. He planted a matching field of potatoes to the locals and produced 11 times their crop.

Thursday

We had some really neat experiences today.  Our pretend investigator was Amanda about age 30.  She was in a wheelchair. We meet with the investigators in a mock living room that has a camera set up so that our instructor can observe us along with his other three couples as we teach in separate rooms. Amanda made us go out and come in again because we didn’t knock, we had just walked in. However, she immediately warmed up to us as we joked with her.

Her scenario was that she smoked and did some other things. She got in a car at age 17 without having a driver’s license and hit a tree and rolled the car three times. She was thrown from the car and ended up in a coma for six months. She now wonders what her friends are doing who are on missions and why she can’t go see them. She is curious about their beliefs.

We taught her the second discussion.  She was concerned about where she would be after this life. She was concerned that my ruffles on my blouse wouldn’t stay a certain way. She said that Elder Ross was “hot” for an old man and that she would have dated him.  She seemed content with her situation and isn’t bitter about being in a wheelchair. She seemed to feel that she was saved from death because there was more for her to do.

After the end of the lesson we asked how close her pretend scenario was to her life. She had been a wild inactive teenager smoking, doing drugs. She had a baby that she gave up to the church social service for adoption. Her son is now about 17. She hears how he is doing from time to time. She can’t remember if she writes back. There seems to be some cognitive damage although she is bright and sharp in her questions and knew exactly how to make it tough for us to teach her.We saw her later in the cafeteria with her father.

I thought my testimony of the Book of Mormon was already strong, but today it seemed to double. It is such an amazing book. Our Elders in Tobago only carried a Book of Mormon and I thought they should have the other scriptures as well, but no longer.

Overall it was our most spiritual day thus far. I especially enjoyed the 20 mark story told by Elder Bednar about Elder Packer and his wife were visiting his mission when Elder Bednar was 20. I had heard it in General Conference and had wanted to hear it again. The Lord is in control and watches over us.

Wednesday

We had to teach an investigator cold turkey. We did OK. It was an interesting experience. It was a different approach than we used the last time we were here.

MTC

Tuesday

We both feel like the training has been  fine-tuned. There was even more flexibility in how the lessons are presented. It requires the missionary to be in tune and teach by the spirit. I wonder if the percentage of baptisms has improved.

One of the teachers for the morning training is Elder Hawke from the River Ridge 6^th ward. We were hoping to be in his group but it didn’t happen.

We were so impressed with the food last time. It has become more fast food oriented than we remembered. The good thing is that we won’t eat as much.

Our speaker tonight was D. Todd Christophersen. It was more for the young missionaries but cool to be taught by an apostle. His wife gave brief remarks, neat lady.

Monday

We are excited to have completed our first day at the MTC. It is interesting where and when the tender mercies come in our lives.  It was a different experience this time when we arrived at the MTC. We had to come through a gate with a gatekeeper. Looks like heightened security. There were young elder to help us get our luggage to our room, last time we were on our own.  Our room looked very much like last time.  We couldn’t get the window to close and it was freezing in the room. We finished checking in, had lunch and still an open window.

 When we met with our MTC branch president and his wife at check  we let them know   that we needed to get our car repaired as the transmission was not acting properly since getting new transmission fluid on Thursday. His wife came up to us later in the day with new room keys.  We didn’t know she knew about the window problem. The keys were for a room in the new wing! The room is lots bigger and nicer than in the old part of the building. I recruited three elders from the bookstore and we were able to move to our new digs in one trip. We have a view of the mountains, lake and the city. Amazing!

Brad met us at 5:30 and took our car to get it repaired for us. The transmission isn't working properly.

There are over 40 couples in our group. About 7 are going to Cove Fort and eight to Nauvoo. Several couples are on at least a second mission, one couple their 6^th and another their 5^th. What an interesting and powerful group.  Elder Ross was selected as district leader again.

The MTC seems even more diverse than in 2008. A few young elders joined us for lunch. The elder next to me was from Mongolia. There is now a stake in his area. He is going to the Salt Lake Mission. The elder from Chile will be Spanish speaking in upstate NY. The other elder was from Italy and he is going to Texas English speaking.  All three are learning English. A little while later in the lobby two elders came to talk to us and they were from Warsaw, Poland ( Elder Tyzwinski) and a tiny island with 500 people in Figi ( Elder George). They are headed to Tacoma, WA and Minneapolis, MN respectively.

Queen bed

closet with iron and ironing board

Granite counter top on sink

alcove

view to the right is the mountain, opposite way is Utah lake