Elder and Sister Luke

Tonight we said farewell to five couples who are headed home because their time of service at Cove Fort will come to a close on Monday. I wanted to pay tribute to the Lukes.

Elder and Sister Luke best represent service of all the couples in the mission. I noticed that about them the first month we were here. She was always making treats for the sharing table. She is the one who always cleaned the fridge on Fridays. Both were willing to be of service in any way needed and they went about it quietly. Sister Luke fell down when she tripped over an orange cone in the road a couple of months ago. Elder Luke would drive her to the handicapped parking space, carry in her treats then help her into the MPR. She would cover for others on the chair to keep busy while she was there even though she couldn’t go on a tour. They were both sensitive to my needs when I was feeling dizzy during their time on the chair supervising the goings and comings of the missionaries. Elder Luke was our favorite supervisor. Elder Luke assisted me when I was touring a child who started bleeding from a recent tonsillectomy. He shared with me that he had been an EMT after he had cared for the child. As a scout he learned to sign each letter of the alphabet. He has taken a few deaf people through the Fort and has been able to communicate with them by spelling out each word. They are both short in stature but they are giants in humility and service. We are sad to see them head home to Tooele.

Birthday Wishes

Sister Brown makes a cupcake for each person who has a birthday. You get to blow out the candle while everyone sings to you. 

I received a ton of birthday wishes on FB and some texts, plus a few phone calls. All were appreciated and enjoyed.

A Special Family

Today thoughts about 9-11 are prevalent. We have our flag at half-mast that flies over the Fort.

It has been a dreary day so the traffic at the Fort was almost nonexistent. To pass our time, we watched a series of three church videos. The first was about Moroni and the Book of Mormon, the second about Parley P Pratt and the third about the Italian pastor who found a Book of Mormon without the cover. He read it and knew it was true. He refused to burn it as instructed. He was cast out of the priesthood of his church. He eventually was able to be baptized.

About 11:30 a van full of people arrived. We were greeted by a man ( he lives in Sun City in Phoenix) and his nephew who had been to the Fort yesterday. He loved it so much he brought back another niece and her husband (lives in Missouri) with their 6 children who are home schooled. All eight of them live in a 42 foot 5^th wheel. They travel a lot. They love the feel in Utah and the value that is placed on families.

They loved the tour and soaked up the gospel messages. They asked several gospel questions. They didn’t fill out a card but they were eager to get the literature. One of the older girls sought me out on the way back up toward the parking lot and asked me about Jesus and his relationship to God and about baptism by emersion. I gave her a card with Mormon.org and my gmail so that she could ask me questions if she chooses or go online for her answers.

Jan and Michelle

Jan and Michelle arrived right at 1pm as scheduled. Earlier in the day I got involved in helping Sister Parry upload all the pictures for our Memory Book for our mission. I was at Sister Parry's apartment with Brad on the line trying to help us work through our problems, so I left my cell phone with her so Brad could continue helping her. As a result, I didn't get to take all the pictures I had intended while we were at the Fort. I was bummed we didn't get some better shots with Elder Ross's phone.

After our tour went to the Freemont Indian State Park and saw the sites. The "blanket" shown above was awesome to see. We did some hiking around the area and then went to dinner at Big Rock Candy Mountain. We came back to the 5th wheel and chatted until 9:00pm.

Jack & Lynette

A surprise visit from the Youngs was enjoyed by us. They are friends from the Cottages. We received an update on the events that we have missed in the past four months.

Brian and Elizabeth

Elder and Sister Evans stopped by for a quick visit on their way to Wasco, California to serve the second half of their mission. We spent some time catching up and enjoying each others company.
 Our friendship goes a long way back. Elizabeth was instrumental in my becoming active after my baptism at age 13. We became good friends all through high school  and we attended BYU together.  She was instrumental in George and I meeting each other after graduation from BYU. Brian's parents befriended us when we lived in Prescott, consequently, we feel part of the Evans family. We have remained friends and Brian and Elizabeth continue to set a good example for us. We are grateful for their friendship.

Busy Day!

A text message alerted us that Lori and her mom, Emmy, were planning to stop at the Fort on their way home from St George. Their target time was about the same and Kim and her family. Lori came about 20 minutes before the Hannays. I had fun taking Lori and Emmy quickly through the Fort. We had two rooms left to explore when the Hannay family arrived. Luckily, Elder Ross had just finished his tour when they arrived. 

Lauren & Devin Cantwell, Kim, Ty, Eric, Steve, Nate Hannay, Elder Ross

Eric, our grandson, reports to the MTC on Oct 3 to learn Portuguese so that he can serve in Angola, Africa. This is the last time we will see him for two years. We will not be able to go to his farewell because we aren't released until October 29. We are delighted we were able to see him for a few hours and share the Fort with him and his family. We are proud of his choice to serve the Lord.