Goodbye Rosebud

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been mostly one of preparation. Or maybe I should say unpreparation because most of what we did was undo everything we did last fall so we enjoyed a warm comfortable winter.

First step take down the plastic skirting from around the motorhome. The toughest part was removing the huge 18 inch nails out of the wood that had swelled when it got wet. We were very tired at days end and we slept very  well Monday night!

Tuesday while I did laundry Elder Lindsey worked on packing the trailer making room for the wood and the stairs. We have a lot of stuff but it sure does make living in such a small place so much easier. Tuesday evening was Relief Society. We celebrated the 173rd birthday of Relief Society with lots of great food and a movie. We watched the film "Emma Smith, My Story". If you haven't seen it you should make it a point to watch it. She truly was an "elect lady". Before the movie I gave a short presentation on the beginnings of the Relief Society. We have many more non members who attend our Enrichment nights than members so it was a chance to teach them a little about the organization they love participating in.

Thursday afternoon I spent several hours in the church cleaning. I've used the kitchen as my own these last six months so I wanted to leave it spic and span. It has been a tender mercy to be able to use the church kitchen. It has made living in the motorhome so much easier.

Friday we decided to treat ourselves to lunch out in Valentine...Mexican of course. We invited Patty Bush to come with us and we had a delightful time. We love Sister Bush and look forward to times together when she visits family in Salt Lake City. 

Saturday was moving day. By that I mean moving the motorhome off its space on the lawn and onto the parking lot.

First all the hoses and lines had to be unhooked and the blocks under the levelers and tires removed and the trailer moved out of its winter home.

Next we backed up so we could come off the lawn by going over the sidewalk and off the curb.

After hooking up the trailer Elder Lindsey backed it into our temporary home in the parking lot.

You might wonder why I post some of these pictures which could be considered a bit lame. Truth is this blog is our mission journal and someday when we get really old we will look at these pictures and they will help us remember the details of our mission life.

While Elder Lindsey worked on things that need to be done before we hit the road on Monday like washing the car and the windows of the motorhome and checking the awnings I baked a cake for a wake on Sunday for an elderly Sister from our Branch who passed away this week in a care center, and cooked a dish and made rolls for the potluck we were having after church on Sunday. In the afternoon I went over to Barker's to do a quick load of laundry. I will miss my Tuesday's with Laura (and the kids). I have loved having "girl time" once a week and will treasure the time we spent together in my heart always. It is wonderful to know the Barkers have family in Salt Lake also so we will be able to maintain our friendship with more than just the internet.

Saturday evening Laura, Savannah, Jennifer and I met at the Church and watched the Women's session of General Conference. What a wonderful meeting it was and I felt especially blessed to share it with two women I love like daughters.

Sunday was Fast Sunday and we were blessed to hear some powerful testimonies of the Gospel born. We are excited to watch the wonderful things that will happen in this area as the people come to know Heavenly Father's plan for them. As a parting gift to us everyone fasted early yesterday so that we could break our fast together and enjoy potluck. 

Patty Bushe made one of wonderful cakes.

Angel, Jacob and Tyllis all had birthdays this week so we celebrated.

Rogan Barker handed me this note in Sacrament meeting and I will treasure it forever. It says For you from Rogan. That's Rogan on the left plus Sister Lindsey equals a happy face. Love this boy.

As our time in Rosebud comes to an end we are eternally grateful for the sweet tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father for giving us the opportunity to be here and serve the people of the Rosebud Branch in small ways. Our lives have been blessed by each one we have come to know and the friendships we've made are forever.

We love you all,

Elder and Sister Lindsey

Party Time!

Dear Family and Friends,

Our work here in Rosebud is winding down as we prepare to say goodbye to our friends here and head back to Martin's Cove in another week. Monday was a long day as I had committed to myself to finish our blanket project that we (the Relief Society Sisters) started in January. I was able to get 30 newborn size blankets completed and ready to donate to the hospital.

Here is a sample of how we did these blankets. We pieced the tops then used larger pieces for the bottoms. I sewed them together right sides then turned them inside out and top stitched the edges.

30 blankets done.

This project has been filled with sweet tender mercies from the beginning. Starting with my friend Jan Harris being given all this material and her being impressed to contact me to see if we had a need for it here. Then the first night we worked on the quilts and blankets at Relief Society we had 12 non member Sisters join us in making them. Then there was Wanda whose parents are members in Puerto Rico who has graciously done the finish work on all of the quilts we've made. And lastly there will be more than 30 newborn babies who will be wrapped in blankets of love. 

Tuesday to celebrate St Patricks Day I made an Irish dinner of corned beef and cabbage (or a New England boiled dinner).

It was delicious. When the Elders came by later in the evening we shared with them too!

Wednesday we took a road trip to Mitchell SD the home of the only Corn Palace in the world. 

All these pictures are made with corn cobs and they really are beautiful. Every year in August the Palace is redone with new pictures inside and out using new corn cobs.

We enjoyed a fun day visiting Cabela's, having lunch at Red Robin and we even found pellets for our Traeger at a local farm store. On the way home we visited our favorite meat market in Winner and stocked up on a few items for the freezer. We arrived home in time to attend our Cub troops Pinewood Derby and Green Dinner. 

Elder Lindsey enjoying his Green Dinner!

Savannah thinks Elder Lindsey is funny!

Savannah was a big fan of the green cheesecake!

Remember the baby shower in January...meet Greysen Jaden. He came with his beautiful mommy Shannon and his Grandma Maxine to watch his big brother Conner participate in the Pinewood derby.

Saturday Elder Lindsey and I threw a western themed party for our friends here in Rosebud. We wanted to say thank you for all the love and support they gave us while we served here. We served sloppy Joe's, macaroni salad, and baked beans and others brought chips, salad and dessert. After dinner Elder Lindsey showed a short video of our first year on our mission. The kids loved seeing themselves in the movie. After the movie we cleared the tables and taught the square dance Oh Johnny Oh. I could write more but pictures tell the story better.

Elder Lindsey and I waiting for our guests to arrive.

Annette and Angel enjoying dinner.

Grandma (Maxine) with Greyson

Keaton enjoying dinner. Love this guy!

I said "can you give me a smile?" Conner is going to be a heartthrob in a few years!

Jack will turn 3 on Sunday so we had a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday with cake and ice cream for dessert. He was very excited about his tractor cake.

Sunday was another spirit filled day with a great Relief Society lesson, excellent talks in Sacrament meeting plus we had the blessing of sweet baby Greyson and his big brother Conner who will be baptised next year. Elder Lindsey says I'm just getting old and forgetful...aren't we all because I forgot to post this blog last night! Any way I want to close with a couple more pictures that I took on Sunday.

Annette and Angel have been caring for quite a crew recently. Bless them for blessing the lives of these sweet children who have seen way to much heartache and pain in their short lives. Each of these little ones love and adore their Aunties.

In the afternoon Sister Barker and I took the quilts the Relief Society made for Annettes kiddos over to them. Hayden loves his...Hayden is usually the only boy in a house full of women but he manages to keep them on their toes!

Unique snuggling with her new quilt.

Hope all is well with everyone. We love you much,

Elder and Sister Lindsey

Warm and Sunny!

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday was a busy day. First thing in the morning I baked oatmeal cookies to take to Kay and Randy Kari. They share boxes of oatmeal with us so I like to return the favor with a plate of cookies once in awhile.

Kay loves to crochet and is very very good at it. Here she is showing off her ducks inside eggs for Easter. She has taught several of us Relief Society sisters to crochet but I can't even hope to match her level of skill and talent.

While Elder Lindsey did some chores around the motorhome I went into the church and put the last quilt on. After lunch I was able to get it tied and ready for Wanda to bind it.

This is the last baby quilt, all I have left now is to finish the blankets. 

This one is for Annette's daughter Heaven.

In the late afternoon Elder Lindsey and I ran a couple of errands in Mission then went to Subway for an early dinner before heading to Okcreek to watch TJ and Jase Allen play basketball. There were two games the first for the 3rd, through 5th grade boys and the second for the 6th through 8th grade boys. Unfortunately both teams lost their games but they were fun and the boys played hard and the sportsmanship shown by both schools was excellent. 

President and Sister Allen with Jase.

TJ was a scrappy player, always on the move. I thought he did as great job handling the ball.

The school gave parents roses and the boys gave one to Sister Bush and I too.

One thing we'd never seen before was that before the National Anthem was played the Lakota Flag Anthem was played. The reservation itself is a Sovereign Nation inside the boundaries of the United States. In some ways it's a bit like living in another country with traditions that are different than we are used to. It has been a wonderful adventure to be able to immerse ourselves in a different culture and learn different traditions.

This is one example of the Lakota Flag

Wednesday we had last minute cancellations from our regular Addiction Recovery participants so we called the Barker family and Annette and her girls and we all had a fun lunch together at the church.

I spent much of the week working on baby blankets and got the last one pieced on Friday afternoon. Next week I will back them and our humanitarian project will be completed. 

Thursday evening we took soup and rolls to the wake for Annette and Angel's father. The Native tradition for funerals is to have a wake for one or two days before the actual funeral where family and friends gather to pay their respects. In the evening they have short programs and after the services they have a luncheon that often includes buffalo stew, bologna sandwiches and macaroni salad. No funeral potatoes I'm sorry to say. After the service is also when they give away items to close family and friends. Among the things given are beautiful  handmade star quilts.  Because I wasn't feeling well Thursday and Friday we didn't stay for the evening services. 

Friday evening President Gilson and Wyatt spent some time visiting with us while Averie attended Rogan Barker's birthday party in the church. Wyatt was really excited when he saw himself in the closet door mirrors. 

Saturday and Sunday was District Conference in Pierre. Because this is a farming area conferences are not held every six months but instead are held in March before planting and in November after the harvest. We went up in the early afternoon to do some shopping at Walmart and to explore the park next to the Missouri River. We saw some beautiful scenery and some South Dakota history including a restored version of the first schoolhouse in Pierre.

The mighty Missouri.

The railroad bridge across the Missouri connecting Pierre to Fort Pierre.

The first school house in Pierre.

Elder Lindsey taking in the river view.

Averie and Jack...I sure do love these kiddos!

Saturday before the first season of  conference we met the Gilson family for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. We had good food and great company and as you can see from the picture the kids and I had a great time!

 Conference was great. We received good counsel and training from our leaders. Elder Lindsey and I are excited to follow the growth of the Pierre District as it grows into the Pierre Stake. Sunday after conference we drove home enjoying the beautiful weather. We BBQd a steak for dinner and had a relaxing afternoon.

We went from snow on the ground last week to high fire danger this week. It was 80 degrees today but tomorrow is projected to be back down into the 50's  The weather here changes so quickly we can hardly keep up so stay tuned! We count as a tender mercy that this winter has been a fairly mild one with temperatures not falling lower than 10 below zero when 35 below is often common. I remember when our friends at Martin's Cove expressed great concern about us living in our motorhome through the South Dakota winter and I felt great peace knowing Heavenly Father would help us accomplish what he asked us to do.

We love you all,
Elder and Sister Lindsey

Fry Bread/Sloppy Joe's and Meet the Mormons

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday we started another Temple Preparation class for a Sister who plans to take out her endowments in the Bismarck Temple in April. We love Maxine and are so happy for her that she is taking this important step in her progression in the Gospel.

Tuesday the much touted storm arrived. Snow in South Dakota is strange. Big piles 18 inches deep in some areas and hardly anything in others because the wind blows all the snow as it's falling up against something so around the motorhome and the church we step over piles but on the wide expanse of the lawn you have almost nothing. It was REALLY cold though, in the teens with the wind chill making it sub zero.

For the 13 weeks we have been having our ARP classes I have been developing and perfecting my fry bread recipe and I finally have the recipe and process that I'm going to stick with. It got high approval ratings at lunch on Wednesday...actually no ones ever complained about any of the versions but I think this one is the best. I'm now going to share my recipe and my process with you.

When I first started 13 weeks ago I used a very basic recipe that was said to be original to the Natives. Then my Native friends said no we add this and that and we like it much better. That's what I did added a bit of this and that and I have to agree it is better.

Fry Bread
4C all purpose flour
2T baking powder
2ts salt
2T quick acting yeast
1/2C sugar
1/2C powdered milk

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add 2 cups of hot tap water and mix. Then add up to 1/2 cup additional hot tap water until you have a firm but somewhat sticky dough. Oil your hands and knead the dough in the bowl for a minute or two. Cover with a clean cloth and set aside to raise anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

After the dough has risen oil your hands and take 2 1/2 to 3 oz pieces and roll them into a ball. With a well oiled rolling pin roll the piece out quite thin and use a butter knife to make a 1 inch slit in the center (this helps with even cooking of the centers). Drop the pieces into hot oil. I melt my Crisco on high heat and then turn the burner down to medium high for the remainder of the cooking time. If your oil is too hot the outside will be too dark and the inside will be doughy. You will need to add oil to your hands and rolling pin throughout this process to keep the dough from sticking

Serve warm with butter and honey or jam or use them as the base for your Indian Tacos. This recipe makes about 17 good size pieces.

My version of the perfect piece of fry bread.

The first three ingredients plus the hot water are the only things called for in the original Native recipe I first tried.

Friday was District Meeting and this week all the Missionaries came to Rosebud including the Zone Leaders so Elder Lindsey and I made homemade sloppy joe's and potato salad doing most of the prep work on Thursday. Elder and Sister Olsen came over from Chamberlain and brought ice cream and cookies for dessert. We had 13 of us around the table and Elder Hildreth did a great job of teaching and leading a discussion on helping investigators learn how to receive revelation from the book of Mormon.

Pierre District Meeting.

Friday evening we had a movie night at the church. We had purchased and downloaded a copy of Meet the Mormons to our computer and were able to connect it to a projector and show it. The Elders took flyers out as they tracked this week inviting people to come and we had a good crowd. Most of our active Branch members and 20 to 30 non members. We served popcorn and soda and others brought candy and treats so we had the whole movie experience. We received good feedback after the movie. It felt nice to know that we were able to expose more of the people of this area to positive things about the Church and it's people.

Sunday in Sacrament Meeting the four Aaronic Priesthood holders in the Branch each took a different part of the fourth article of faith to talk about. They all did a good job and then President Gilson tied it all together with some nice closing remarks. In a Branch the size of ours the members get frequent opportunities to talk in Sacrament meeting.

Our friends Annette and Angel lost their father last night and we would ask that you remember their family in your prayers. They were sitting a vigil at the hospital today so we took lunch over to them. Since we were going to the Barker's for dinner I mixed up a batch of rolls and steamed some broccoli. We had a great meal and visit. Savannah and I are going to miss each other a lot! She enjoyed the broccoli but the highlight was the chocolate fudge lava cake and ice cream Laura made for dessert.

We went from winter to spring in the blink of an eye. Tuesday we had snow and by Friday the temperature was in the 50's and today was beautiful. This week is supposed to be lovely and we are more than ready for the warmer days ahead.

Our love and prayers to each of you.
Elder and Sister Lindsey

This and That

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday was supposed to be a fairly quiet day but instead we were reminded of John Cooper and his saying "we can't expect everything to always go smoothly." We were having lunch when we lost all power to the motor home. When the temperature outside is cold that quickly becomes the temperature inside a motor home when you have no power. After firing up the generator Elder Lindsey started checking all the breakers. When he found no problems there he went to the power cord itself and found that it was fried at the connectors...yes fried. We headed into Mission to try to find a new 30 amp plugs but alas no one had what we needed so we headed back home and Elder Lindsey cut off the damaged plugs and spliced the two power cords together. With power back up and running he then ordered two new plugs on line.

Before our unexpected issues we visited our friend Kay and she showed us her latest crocheting projects and donated a king size flannel sheet set to our blanket making projects. She also supplied us with boxes of oatmeal and I promised some cookies on our next visit. When we got home we got the quilt frames out of the shed and Elder Lindsey cut us a new board to replace one that had been damaged. Then while Elder Lindsey did a temporary repair of our electrical problems I set up the quilt for Tuesday's Relief Society activity and cleaned the building.

Ready to be tied.

Tuesday was Relief Society. We got the quilt tied, made shorting candles for our emergency storage (said to burn 100 hours) ate a lot of great food and enjoyed visiting and getting to know each other better.

Patty, Wanda and Lindsey showing off their quilt tying skills.

Angel working on her candle.

Today on Facebook a young man who I worked with at LDS Food Services wrote about "tender mercies." His post caused me to reflect on a sweet tender mercy we have had since coming to Rosebud. The Barker family has opened their home to us to do our laundry every week since we arrived here. The one week Sister Barker was out of town Sister Gilson had us over to their house to do laundry. This has been a financial savings of at least $10 a week but more importantly it has given us (me especially) an opportunity to know these wonderful women and their sweet children on a more personal level. We consider laundry on Tuesday's as our weekly tender mercy.

Wednesday we woke up to very cold temperatures and some snow but it didn't dampen anyones enthusiasm for our ARP class and lunch. Because of the weather school let out early so we had a couple little ones join us. They sat at the lunch table and colored quietly while we held our class then joined us for lunch.

Angel and me with Memphis and Heaven heading out in the snow!

Thursday dawned clear and VERY cold. Laura and Annette picked me up and we went to Maxine's and had our Visiting teaching lesson. Maxine was watching her brand new (three weeks old) grandson so I got some baby holding time which I love. Elder Lindsey and I then took Annette home and went out to lunch at Subway. 

Thursday evening our little group of ladies who are doing a 30 day program to live a more Christ centered life met. I love these ladies and the two hours we spend together talking about our lives and how we can improve by focusing on our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ is the highlight of my week. It doesn't hurt that we have chocolate in some form either!

Friday Patty Bush and I did a Visiting teaching visit to Emily Two Eagle. I love the Visiting teaching message this month. Jesus Christ;living a sinless life. He is the only mortal to have done so and yet because he did we, through repentance on our part and the atonement on his can become sinless. It is wonderfully amazing to me. 

Thursday and Friday afternoon we worked on quilts. On Thursday Elder Lindsey and I tied a quilt and on Friday we put together a twin size quilt for Annette's new foster son and then got it tied. We then treated ourselves to a pizza from the only store in Rosebud. It was really good! Annette brought the kids over for a visit and everyone helped us polish off the pizza. Hayden was excited when we told him the quilt we were working on would be his.

Thursday's quilt.

Saturday the last part arrived in the mail for our electrical system repairs so Elder Lindsey was able to get everything fixed. I was able to finish the new quilt and make rolls to take to the Barkers for dinner.

Hayden's new quilt.

The Barkers invited us along with Wanda (head ER nurse at the hospital) and Doctor Jaatoul who is a family practice physician  from Salt Lake City who comes to Rosebud two weeks out of every month to work at the hospital here. Both ladies are single and have had very interesting careers. We had so much fun. The food as always was delicious but sitting around the table visiting, telling stories and laughing felt great. Savannah had dinner sitting on my lap.

Savannah loves to hang with Sister Lindsey around the table because I feed her things her mother never would! She loved the cake, especially the frosting (a girl after my own heart).

The time is flying by. March 1st already. It was our last Fast Sunday here in Rosebud. Elder Lindsey took the opportunity to bear his testimony to our friends here who as he said "will always be in our hearts and minds."

We got an email from our friends at Martin's Cove today. We have only 34 couples committed to serving this coming season. We need 60. Last year we had 58 and we were busy all the time. Anybody out there feel an urge to get away from home this Spring and Summer? See the Bishop and start the paperwork. We need YOU!

We love you,

Elder and Sister Lindsey