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