Dear Family and Friends,
Another week has flown by. This is a week in which Spring arrived and even stayed for about a day and a half and then suddenly we were back to Winter again. Those who live here say we will see a few more days of Spring and some time in July we might even get a couple days of Summer...I'm not counting my chickens though. We have learned to do everything in what ever weather comes along and we are even enjoying it.
We had school groups visit almost every day this week. I got to lead a group on Monday morning. They were a great group of fourth graders and I really enjoyed being their guide and teaching them a little about Wyoming history. I'm the one holding the yellow flag and wearing a bonnet in the back. For school groups we dress in pioneer clothing.
Thursday was a super day. We started off cleaning the highway for a mile on either side of the entrance to Martin's Cove. We found some very interesting items...tell me how does one lose their underwear...never mind I don't want to know! May I just ask you to NEVER throw anything out your car window! Thank you very much...I feel better now. I told Elder Cherry that I could now cross "adopt a highway" off my bucket list. As always we had great fun doing the work and Saturday as we drove into Casper I was quite proud of how good it looked along the side of the road.
I got to drive a rover!
After lunch many of us headed out to climb Devil's Gate. The picture below is just to show you where we were when we got to the top. We were on the right side as close to the crevasse as you can be without risking a long fall into the Sweetwater River.
Not at the top yet but a picture showing part of the trail. None of us are what most would call young but the man right behind the Sister in the hot pink jacket is 83! The views were spectacular and the weather perfect. The picture below is looking down on the Homestead.
This shows exactly how I felt. I did it...remembering that this time last year I was barely walking!
The group that made it to the very top!
I thought I would introduce you to some of our leaders. Below are Elder and Sister Bushman. They are from Texas. Elder Bushman is in charge of the treks and Sister Bushman works in the office and schedules all the treks. We call Elder Bushman the energizer bunny. They are such great teachers and leaders and are just plain fun to be around.
Elder and Sister Ormsby are second year missionaries and our district leaders. They are from Syracuse, Utah and we have some mutual friends. Elder Ormsby takes care of all the computer and video systems and Sister Ormsby is his quiet, hard working companion. They are true examples of the motto of Martin's Cove, "Err on the side of kindness." They have been great teachers and leaders for us.
Elder and Sister Cherry are the FM (facilities maintenance) missionaries. They are from Idaho Falls. They assign all the work crew jobs. This is a huge job and they do it well. They seem to know just who to assign to which jobs, always making sure everyone gets a chance to paint! Elder Cherry brings candy to hard working crews and he and Sister Cherry always let you know how grateful they are for your work. They take great pride in making sure Martin's Cove looks neat, clean and beautiful.
Elder and Sister Moench are the Directors of the MHHS. They began serving in January of 2013 when the Missionary department took over management of MMHS from the Farmland Reserve and they will serve until January of 2015. They are from Salt Lake City. Elder Moench is a sheep herder.They are amazing people with a love for these sites that just spills out when they tell the stories of the handcart pioneers. They also have a great love for us as missionaries and all of us in turn love them. Here they are speaking at the baptism that was held on Saturday.
Saturday was our "P" day and this time we did something a little different. We went to see "Captain America." We both enjoyed it very much. We had lunch at a great Mexican place, did our shopping and headed for home. On the way back we stopped at the Homestead to witness the baptism of an eight year old boy from Casper in the Sweetwater River. It is quite a popular thing for people to chose to be baptised here especially if you live in Casper. It was a chilly, windy day and the water was very cold but he was a trooper and I'm sure he will always remember his baptism.
Happy Mother's Day. This is what we woke up to outside! It's still snowing but it should start to warm up on Tuesday...spring in the rockies! Elder Lindsey gave me a beautiful necklace made by our neighbors who collect and polish rocks. I was so surprised, it was one I had admired at a class we went to last week. Church was great (they gave the mothers candy bars...yes!) and after potluck (the women got to go first) we had a fireside with Jolene S. Allphin. She has written the stories of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies and put them into a book titled "Tell My Story, Too." Trek groups often use the book to help the youth learn the stories of the people they are honoring as they trek. The stories are true and they touch the heart. It still amazes me what they sacrificed for us. We are so very blessed. When all our meetings were over we found that the road back to Sixth Crossing was closed because of the snow storm so we could possibly have overnight guests tonight as they try to find places for 19 missionary couples who can't go home to sleep.
Jolene signed everyone's book. She had plenty of time since she was snowed in!
We are well and happy and loving our mission. You are in our hearts and prayers. Love you all.
Elder and Sister Lindsey
Glad you enjoyed it! Way to immerse yourself in the work-- pulling those handcarts! That rover looks fun to drive!!
ReplyDeleteThank for choosing to serve and for sharing your life experiences!
Jerome