Planting and Trekking

April 27, 2014

This week was a real work out and so much fun! Monday at correlation we were introduced to Brother and Sister Thomas from Montana. Brother Thomas is a retired landscape architect who wanted to serve so he contacted the Church to see if they had a need. His assignment at Martin's Cove was to design a planting that would shore up the bank of the Sweetwater River as it runs through the Homestead and also to provide a cover from the other side of the river so that our parking lot and equipment couldn't be seen.

It was decided that we would plant Coyote Willows which are native to the area. It was a huge area to plant and it was quite a process. Dig the hole, add water, add soil enhancer, add water, add plant, put soil back, stomp down, add water, add Miracle Grow, form a dam around each plant, rake rocks and make the area look pretty.

Brother Thomas expected the project to take well into Tuesday but we finished it early afternoon on Monday. Missionary power at work! Our tender mercy for the day was the weather was perfect...60 degrees and only a hardly noticeable breeze. The kind of day if you live in Wyoming you mark on your calendar!

Elder Lindsey and a couple of others spent Monday afternoon and all of Tuesday installing the drip irrigation system around each plant so we can keep them watered well in this dry windy climate. The Elders will also be completing a deer fence around them so the plants are protected until they are well established.

On Tuesday Sister Mellor and I were assigned to work in an area where we are planting native plants that will grow and hide the septic system. Since it is in an area that everyone sees when they arrive it is important that it looks as natural as possible. We spent the morning hoeing native weeds! After our work out on Monday we were feeling the burn. After lunch we went with Elder Stull (our resident plant man) and three other sisters out into the wilds and dug up sage brush which we then transplanted into our garden. I was very careful to watch for snakes and luckily not a one crossed my path. Once the sage brush was in we went back out into the wilds and dug up clumps of prairie grass which we again brought back and planted in our garden. Next we raked and then spread native grass seed and raked again.

I know we look happy...we were, but our rakes were holding us up! A fitting way to celebrate Earth Day! Unfortunately Tuesday we were not blessed with a breeze but the full force Wyoming winds were back.

After two days of out door work we were ready for our "P" day. After correlation meeting we headed for Casper. Our first stop is always the McDonald's where we indulge in a diet soda. We no longer buy Diet Coke for home so it's a real treat. We visited the  Western Trails Interpretive Center. It was great fun and I kept thinking our grandsons Parker and Skyler would really love it.

We did a little shopping then indulged in some great Mexican food before heading for home. Thursday we worked in the Visitor's Center  from 9am to 1pm then spent the afternoon preparing for our first trek.

Friday dawned beautiful. (of course it was windy...that always goes without saying) The trek leaders started arriving around 8:30am they came from Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, California, Oregon, Arizona and two groups from Canada! After registration and orientation we headed out onto the trail. Because the Sweetwater River is running too high and swift to do a river crossing we started out crossing Pete Creek.

     That's me (behind the flag) helping to hold the cart back as it went down the bank.

We trekked the sand trail and headed for the women's pull. That is where the men walk to the top of the hill and silently watch the women pull the carts up the steep hill. This represents and honors the many woman who pushed forward with their children after their husbands died along the way. Most of us Senior Sister Missionaries helped with the pull, including me. It was hard but exhilarating when we reached the top and realized we did it!

We trekked about seven miles altogether stopping for lunch at handcart parking where we left our handcarts before we did the 2.4 mile trek into and around Martin's Cove. The pioneers went into Martin's Cove to get out of the wind and we did the same. As we walked into that beautiful peaceful area, we were sheltered from the wind, rather like when we turn to our Heavenly Father we can be sheltered from the evils of the world.

We returned back to the Homestead in time for a great dinner, program and then square dancing. After helping with the cleanup we headed for home. We were happy with how we handled our first trek. We were definitely tired but we did it and we enjoyed it! Bring on the youth!

Saturday morning we headed for Six Crossings for breakfast and more trek leader training. I participated in a readers theater and all of the missionaries sang at the end of the readings. The spirit is so strong when we tell the stories of the pioneers. I told the story of Jane Parkinson whose father died shortly after the last crossing of the North Platte River and was buried in the morning in a shallow grave. That evening after eating her mother took her little sister to bed and tried to clam her down. Jane says her mother was exhausted. Sometime during the night her mother died leaving five children orphaned in just 24 hours. She describes how they wrapped her mother in a blanket and buried her in a shallow grave of snow. The stories are heartbreaking yet the miracle is how many of them survived to tell their stories and to praise God for his blessings. After having lunch at Six crossings we headed for home. We used our free afternoon to putter around the "house" and get ready for Sunday. We are feeling very settled and loving our new life as missionaries.

You might notice that you don't see Elder Lindsey in many of the pictures. He's been asked to do the year book and a DVD for this season so he's mostly behind the camera. I'm starting to take my camera with me so I can get a shot or two of him.

We drove into Missionary Village and encountered our friend here resting on the lawn. He didn't get up until we stopped to take this picture.

What a wonderful Sabbath day we have had. It was our Branch Conference and the Stake Presidency and other leaders were here from the Casper Stake. We heard from Elder and Sister Moench and our Stake President, President Smathers. The theme of the conference was the same as the young men and women's theme for this year; Moroni 10:32 Come unto Christ. We heard powerful testimony in all the meetings but I was especially impressed by President Smathers remarks at the close of Priesthood/Relief society when he told us we were here for a reason and the spirit will give us many opportunities to touch the lives of the youth who come here that might be struggling.

He also emphasized that this was our time of life to dedicate all we do to the Lord and how blessed we will be for it...all I can say is AMEN.

Love and blessings to each of you,
Elder and Sister Lindsey

The Wind Blows in Wyoming

A feel like my blog is redundant when every week I tell you how much we love what we are doing and the people we are serving with. But, if the truth be told we had another great week of learning and working along side of more great people! Now to fill in a few details.

Here is a picture of our Monday morning as we arrived at the homestead.

Since we were the first to arrive Elder Lindsey decided to to drive down the long drive back and forth leaving a trail that was far from straight. When the Butler's came in behind us Elder Butler asked Elder Lindsey if Sister Lindsey was driving! After correlation meeting this was next on the agenda:

Since it was too cold and windy to paint Elder Moench (the director of MHHS) decided to do visitor's center training with the first year missionaries. He was very through and very interesting and we all learned allot!

After lunch we met at the pavilion at Missionary Village and learned to square dance. Actually we learned two dances that we will teach to the trekker's at the campgrounds in the evenings. Unfortunately Elder Lindsey forgot his camera.

Tuesday was warmer and for a few hours in the morning the wind slowed down so we spent the morning cleaning the little yards around each of our trailers. We got a trailer load which we took out into the middle of the field and dumped it for a yummy treat for the cows. There are now many baby cows frolicking in the fields that surround our home.

Thursday was beautiful. The day dawned warm (for Wyoming) and absolutely no wind so we started painting. At 10:30 am the wind arrived but it didn't stop our painting progress!  We painted, picnic tables, benches and the surrounds that the trash cans fit in. We are painting everything BLM brown so it doesn't stand out but blends in with nature. As much as we accomplished it is just a drop in the bucket compared to what needs to be done. I think we could all paint until the second coming and we wouldn't be done. The wind which blew fiercely most of the week was a big help in drying the paint.

When we work around the homestead we have lunch together in the barn. It is an original building on the property and we use it mostly as a social gathering place. We have our Sunday pot luck's here also. Elder Lindsey got a picture the other day at lunch.

Friday we did RRA (restrooms) and trained one of the new couples. After lunch our district was assigned to clean the Chapel then at 2:00 pm we filled up all nine of our rovers and headed out on the trails. Elder Bushman is in charge of treks this year so he took us out and showed us all the places we would be going with the trekkers. I have a few pictures so here goes...

These markers mark the actual trail that the Oregon, California and Mormon Pioneer's traveled. They are place about every 500 feet in the state of Wyoming.

                                           A view across the valley looking into Martin's Cove.

                                               The Sweetwater River Crossing Point.

Elder Taylor decided to get a small taste of what his pioneer ancestors experienced by crossing the river. Did I mention the wind was blowing!

This is the first of three statues that represent the help the "Valley Boys" gave to the pioneers as they carried them across the Sweetwater River with wind and snow blowing and the ice floating in the river. If not for their sacrifice in doing this many more of the handcart people would surly have died. We know that there were at least five young men who preformed this heroic service. None of them died because they did this. It was sixteen years before the first one died and the last one lived another 64 years...well into his 80's.

Did I mention that the wind was blowing? It blew so hard that when we came home we peeled off our clothes and took hot showers and you could almost see the dust going down the drain! A pioneer I am not.

Saturday was our "P" day so after attending correlation meeting Elder Lindsey and I headed out for the short hike (about 1 1/2 mile round trip) to Devil's Gate. We will go back later in the year when the water gets lower so we can go further in and see the signatures of the pioneers who wrote on the rocks. Here are a few pictures.

                Looking West from Devil's Gate toward Rattlesnake Pass where the pioneer trail goes.

After our hike we came home and did a little housekeeping, washed the car and got ready for Sunday. We grilled steaks for dinner and had a relaxing evening.

What a blessed day this Easter Sunday was for us. We were scheduled to serve in the Visitor's Center from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. When we first saw this assignment and knew we might not be attending Sacrament meeting on Easter Sunday I felt a little sad thinking it would not feel like Easter, I couldn't have been more wrong.

We got our first visitors shortly after 10:00am, a couple around our age driving back to California after visiting their daughter. They had driven by many times and this time decided to stop. They were very interested in the stories of sacrifice and faith we told but didn't have time to stay for the film. They left just about the time we would have been heading for church and as they left another couple came down the walk. As we visited with them we found that he was in a Stake Presidency in Brigham City, Utah and he had taken his wife on a business trip to the Black Hills and they were now heading home. Because of business meetings in Caspar yesterday they were not able to make it home for Easter so decided to stop and learn about the trials and triumphs of their pioneer ancestors.

The tender mercies of the Lord surrounded all of us as we walked through the Visitors Center and told them the stories of the handcart pioneers. We all felt the whispering of the spirit as we honored their sacrifice. A sacrifice we all realized that we are the beneficiaries of. We were then able to find several names of their relatives in the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies on the boards.

We finished our time with them by watching the new Easter video the Church sent out to visitors centers. It is beautiful and it touched our hearts. As they left Elder Lindsey and I agreed that this Easter, though different will be remembered by us as a gift, a tender mercy from our Heavenly Father.

We love you all,
Elder and Sister Lindsey

Many Hands Make Joyful Work

Our first full week as missionaries at Martin's Cove was a busy one. First a picture.

                         This is the gate that will welcome you when you visit Martin's Cove.

Most of the week we were on work crew and continued to get Missionary Village ready for the new missionaries who arrived on Thursday. We got eleven new couples. Elder Lindsey and I also learned the process for when we have RRA which is restroom cleaning. Pretty much up my alley except in my past life I assigned the job to a crew! Here we missionaries see to everything, even the restrooms!

On Wednesday we had a school group from Caspar come. They were all 4th and 5th graders studying Wyoming history. The sisters dressed in pioneer dress while the brothers wore trail dress. We wore our name badges but told them to call us Mr. and  Mrs. instead of Elder and Sister.

                                                    Ready to greet the school kids.

They were a great group of kids, very well behaved and polite. We showed them the bunk house, wash room, sewing center, the blacksmith shop and the Fort. We took them in the Visitor's Center but only to the first two rooms, the Sun Family room and the room depicting the trails West. We don't go into any of the rooms that tell Church history. We do however encourage them to return with their families. Here are some more pictures of our morning with the kids.

   
                                      They loved pulling the handcarts around Prairie Park.

   
                                   Telling the legend of Devil's Gate...I'm the scary monster!

                                                   We made some new friends.

                                              A fun morning with some great kids!

We sisters spent allot of time this week putting together the training materials that we all study in our free time so we know the stories and histories that we tell at different times. On Thursday the men and some of the sisters spent the afternoon welcoming the new missionaries and helping them set up camp.

On Monday after our shift we did some exploring. The following pictures tell the story of the trials of settling the west.

Saturday was our "P" day. We attended morning correlation meeting at the Homestead then headed into Caspar. It takes just under and hour to to get there. We picked up our work shirts then hit the Walmart. After getting groceries we explored the city and then had lunch at a local diner before heading home.

On our way home we took a side trip to Bessemer Bend. This is the location where many of the pioneers that came West camped after crossing the North Platte River for the last time. To me if you concentrate your sight just to the river and the close surrounding area it looks much the same as it must have in the 1850's,  beautiful, wild and peaceful.

This is what we woke up to this morning.

It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow but I don't think warm is in our forecast for awhile. Yesterday the high temperature was 60 degrees and today the high was 24 degrees. Welcome to Wyoming! Oh, and did I mention the wind blows. It blows so much that when it stops we all panic thinking something is wrong! One of the Elders that was here last year mentioned that this same weather happened last year right after they arrived. We just hope the temperatures move above freezing before we need fresh water!

Today was our first regular Sunday at church. Our meetings start at 11:00 am with Sacrament Meeting. We then have Sunday School followed by Relief Society and Priesthood. Today was Elder Lindsey and my turn to teach relief Society and Priesthood. Since the brethren didn't want to blaze a pioneer trail out into the snow to their class room we met together and team taught. We had studied and planned together and we enjoy teaching together we enjoyed the experience. Since it was Fast Sunday we didn't have our usual pot luck dinner but instead had a break the fast breakfast out here at Missionary Village. I made French toast and there were lots of yummy things to try.

All is well at our little home on the plains. Having this weather and being tucked in so warm and cozy causes us to reflect on the pioneers who traveled through here and the trials and hardships they endured and we ponder again on how blessed we are.

Love,
Elder and Sister Lindsey

Visitor Center Training/Tender Mercy's/We're Here!

Dear Family and Friends,
What a wonderful but varied week. On Monday we started our Visitor Center training by driving to Temple Square. I was able to wave my friend Allison down from her office and visit for a few minutes and she in turn took a letter and some maps to Ernie. After meeting Elder and Sister Morgan (our trainers) we broke into groups and took a tour of Temple Square with the Sister Missionaries. As many years as we've lived in Salt Lake and as many times as we've been to Temple Square we've never taken a tour! It was interesting to observe and learn from the experts.

Of course we had to take this picture!

This is our Martin's Cove/Sixth Crossing group at Temple Square.

After making it back to Provo for lunch at the MTC cafeteria we had our first class with Elder and Sister  Morgan. The Morgan's have served as Mission President in Canada and then they served as Director of the St. George Visitor's Center for two years. Shortly after they completed that assignment they were ask to train the missionaries going to the Visitor's Centers of the Church. They trained us bringing with them a wonderful spirit and a great love for the work along with just the right amount of humor. 

                                                      Brother and Sister Morgan

Before we knew it it was Wednesday and we were saying good by to the MTC and the many special people we met there. For 10 days we actually felt like we were in the world but not of the world and that was an amazing experience. We headed for home making a couple quick stops along the way. After hitching up the trailer to the motor home we pulled out of our driveway just before 1:00pm. We had an uneventful trip to Fort Bridger and when we arrived there we received a tender mercy when the Fort Bridger RV Park told us that since we were on our way to our mission there was no charge! 

Thursday morning we headed for Martin's Cove. We arrived about 12:30pm and in between meeting lots of great people we spent the day getting set up.

                                 Note by the heavy coat and hat that the cold Wyoming wind is blowing!

 By 9:00pm we were exhausted! Friday morning we followed our District Leader over to The Homestead (what they call the Martin's Cove Site) to have correlation meeting and meet more of the missionaries. After finding out where our mail box is and a brief tour we headed back to Missionary Village to use our "P" day to finish getting set up. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here is our little missionary home.

                                                               Our living room.

                                                                   Dining room

                                          

                                                                       Kitchen

                                                                           Bedroom

                                                                      Bedroom/Office

                                                  Bathroom, the shower is on the right.

                                                         Our view outside our window.

                                                                    Wyoming welcome

                                                           Wyoming flower garden

                                            The welcome mat is out and the garden is planted!

Saturday started with correlation meeting and then the three new couples started our Visitor Center training. We watched Conference but when visitors arrived we went with our trainers to greet them and show them around the the visitors center. We ate lunch and got to know some of the other couples then did more training. We watched about 40 minutes of the afternoon session of Conference before more visitors arrived and we were able to help show them around. Our trainers are kind and patient and  fun to be with.

At 4:00pm Elder Lindsey and I headed home for a quick supper before he headed back with the other men to attend Priesthood Session of Conference. I took the time to do laundry and a little house cleaning. As I walked to the laundry house I heard coyotes howling and witnessed one of Wyoming's beautiful sunsets...we are feeling very blessed!

Today we arrived at the homestead in time to watch the Tabernacle Choir broadcast followed by Conference. The missionaries serving at Sixth Crossing joined us. It was fun to see our friends from the MTC that are serving there. Between sessions we had a pot luck dinner in the "barn". It was great to visit and get to know each other better. After lunch Elder Lindsey and I helped show two guys through the visitors center which allot of help from Elder Williams (a second year missionary). Great practice. We watched the afternoon session of Conference then headed for home.

Sitting and watching Conference was a new experience for me and I LOVED it as did Elder Lindsey. So many of the messages touched my heart and it felt like living close to Heaven to be watching as missionaries. Next week we are teaching Relief Society and Priesthood respectively so after getting home we studied our lessons. Elder and Sister Moench visited us this evening to get to know us. They are the Director's of MHHS. They are a great couple, very warm and welcoming and we have enjoyed getting to know them and know we are going to love serving with them!

That's all for this week. We send our love and prayers to all of you.

Elder and Sister Lindsey