We left Rosebud about 8:00am Monday morning. The school bus was just picking up the children and they all waved goodbye as we pulled out of the church parking lot. The first part of our trip brought back some great memories of a motorhome trip we took with the Hendriksen family many years ago as we stopped at Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff.
Chimney Rock
I remember being totally freaked out by these signs on that long ago trip and Brian Hendriksen laughed at me. After a season at Martin's Cove I take snakes much more in stride. Not sure that's a good thing.
We had lunch in a picnic area at Scotts Bluff. It was a beautiful day to travel, warm, sunny with a bit of wind.
Next stop on the Oregon Trail was Ft Laramie. The sign Elder Lindsey is pointing to says this is also the Mormon trail.
Barracks at Ft Laramie
More Barracks at Ft Laramie
Our last stop on the Oregon Trail was the Guernsey Ruts. These are the actual ruts made by the wagons of the pioneers. Elder Lindsey is standing on the road his great grandfather would have walked pulling his handcart in 1859.
Since it was still early afternoon (we gained an hour) we decided to drive on into Casper so we'd only have to set up and take down the motorhome once. We arrived around 6:00pm and after setting up had dinner and spent a much needed lazy evening.
Tuesday was spent shopping, getting a haircut (Sister Lindsey...just a trim) and having lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Wednesday we headed out early for Martin's Cove and except for a tiny bump the trip was uneventful. We had decided that I would pull the trailer with the Tahoe on this leg of the trip so Elder Lindsey pulled the motor home out and I backed the Tahoe to the trailer and Elder hooked it up and we were off. Just outside the RV park we stayed at was a set of railroad tracks and as I went over them the trailer hitch came off the receiver. I wasn't going very fast and was able to radio Elder Lindsey and pull off the side of the road quickly. Thankfully there was no damage to either trailer or Tahoe and I had pulled into the lot of a business whose people came out and offered a forklift to connect the trailer to the hitch. Tender mercies.
These guys were very kind to help us...they said we were the third people this week to have this same issue....once is enough for us!
We arrived at the homestead shortly after 9:30am and were greeted with hugs all around by our friends. It was so good to see everyone.
Sister Grover served us a very special April Fool's Day breakfast of bacon, eggs, brown E's and juice!
We then headed to Missionary Village to get set up. Elder Lindsey worked on hooking up the electrical, water and sewer and I put the inside back together and did laundry. We invited Elder and Sister Mellor to join us for lunch and had a great time catching up with them. The Mellors served an 18 month mission several years ago on the Reservation at Eagle Butte, South Dakota so we now know many of the same people.
When we went to the Homestead for correlation meeting Thursday morning we witnessed a miracle and I knew I needed to take this picture...for a few hours we had absolutely no wind. That's our wind sock in a position that is almost never seen!
Elder Lindsey and I will be in charge of the kitchen this year so after correlation we spent a little bit of time checking things out. Our first big dinner is on April 24th so we need to hit the ground running. We then headed back to missionary village to tackle the trailer. We emptied it out, found the things we need while serving here then repacked it. It was very cold and we even worked in some snow flurries but we persevered and got the job done. At 6:00pm we got together at the Pavillion and had a fun dinner served by the winter missionaries.
They tied yellow ribbons around the old oak tree.
Sister Mellor and Sister Jensen sang their version of the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon". All of us returning missionaries felt VERY wanted and loved. We are still 14 couples short for the season which made those of us returning for a second year even more appreciated.
When we left the dinner we found that the snow had started in earnest and there was about 1/2 inch on the ground. It was beautiful and very cold!
This was the view of the sunrise on Friday morning. This picture was taken outside the door of the motorhome. We are still marveling at our peaceful surroundings.
We started Friday with an 8:00am meeting for a little tweaking on our training as second year missionaries. We learned some new ways to interact with visitors in the Visitor's Center as we testify of Christ in all we do. We are so excited for all that lays ahead and feel these changes will only improve our missionary experience...if thats possible.
After our meeting we packed a lunch and headed over to the Homestead to work in the kitchen. While Elder Lindsey got the ice maker working I worked on wiping out all the drawers and cupboards and washing everything in them. We are not completely finished but we got a good start on getting things in order. Before we headed back to Missionary Village for dinner we stopped off at the Visitor's Center and ended up taking a couple on a tour and talking to two other couples. We are getting twice as many visitors this year than last and that is very exciting.
Friday evening is date night so several couples met at the Pavillion and we watched the movie "The Ultimate Gift." If you haven't seen it we highly recommend it. Next week we will be watching the sequel; "The Ultimate Life."
Saturday was spent watching General Conference with the other missionaries. Between the sessions Elder Lindsey made three pies for tomorrows Easter dinner potluck. After the second session I mixed up the roll dough and put it in the fridge until morning. We baked a pizza and enjoyed dinner and a visit with Elder Stimpson. After dinner I headed back to Missionary Village while the men went to priesthood meeting.
Maybe it is because of all the years of working Conference,(an experience which I really loved) but being able to sit and listen to Conference now is a sweet experience...a tender mercy even.
I looked out the window just as I finished writing and this was what I saw. I opened the door and took this picture from inside the motor home. Tender mercies and beautiful things are all around us.
Happy Easter everyone. How blessed we were today to listen to the Lord's chosen servants as we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was a wonderful day. The missionaries from Sixth Crossing came over and we had potluck between sessions. We had delicious food and wonderful company as we celebrated being together again.
We have some very creative Sisters here...and yes it tasted as good (or even better) than it looks.
We pray that your day was filled with the Spirit as you celebrated Him this Easter Sunday. Our love and prayers are with you always,
Elder and Sister Lindsey
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