Days of '47

28 July 2017

It’s been a full week. We’ve had several people in our zone with some serious health and other concerns, so have spent some time checking on them and seeing that they have what they need. I guess you get more of that when you are mostly working with senior missionaries.

Since Monday was Pioneer Day, it was a state holiday, and we enjoyed some of the festivities.

I went to the Days of 47 Parade that morning. President Uchtdorf and his wife led off the parade, seated on the back of a red convertible. (Of course, surrounded by several security guards who walked along beside.)

Days of 47 Parade Collage

That evening Bob and I saw our first rodeo. It was the finals, so we also got to see the award ceremonies following each event. There was bare back as well as saddle bronco riding; individual and pairs cattle roping; barrel racing; bull riding; and several exhibition events. Every first-place winner won $50,000! President Uchtdorf presented the awards for one of the competitions, and Elder Ballard presented them for another. It was fun to see them in their western attire.

Bob got a new hat, shirt and belt for the occasion, so he fit right in, too.

I didn’t get as many pictures at the rodeo, but, enjoyed watching everything. The picture on the right (above) shows how they start their kids in the rodeo. This little girl, riding a sheep, is only four years old. Her riding technique was quite unusual! :-)

On Thursday, we, and other zone leaders and their wives, were invited to have lunch with President and Sister Fenn. Bob and I were even seated at their table, so it was a great opportunity to get to know them better. There’s no question the mission under President Fenn will be very different than it was under President Tate, but, I think it will be good – and we’ll learn a lot.

A Surprise Visit

22 July 2017

It’s been a good week. On Wednesday, we enjoyed a pot-luck Pioneer lunch and social with everyone in our zone, at an old, restored home here called the Devereaux Mansion. It was built in 1857, survived a few iterations as a home or business over the years, and the current owners have restored it, and rent it out for wedding receptions, etc. However, these owners like missionaries, so they let us book it for free.

The Devereaux Mansion, Salt Lake City, Utah

After lunch, some people told stories about some of their pioneer ancestors. Then, those who wanted to stay played a rousing game of Reverse Charades. It was lots of fun.

We also got two new missionaries assigned to our zone yesterday (Friday)! We’re so excited to have them!! They come from Broken Arrow, OK and we think they’ll be just perfect for replacing Elder and Sister Howe, who are leaving next month. Plus, we heard some great remarks by President Fenn at the Go Forth meeting. One story he told was about something his father-in-law, Bruce R. McConkie, said to him fairly early in their marriage. Pres. Fenn was complaining about a calling he'd just received and Elder McConkie kind of threw up his hands and said, "Oh, quit your bellyachin'! The Lord knows what he's doing with you." (I can almost hear Elder McConkie saying that.) :-)  

Also, yesterday, we got a nice surprise phone call from our nephew, Brian Wade. He, his wife, Randy, and their kids were in the area and asked if they could stop by. (They were driving home to California from a trip they took into Canada.)

​Sydney, Porter, Brian, (their puppy, Marley) and Randy Wade

They arrived around 5:30 p.m.; we visited in our apartment for a while; then, we walked around Temple Square (the grounds are absolutely beautiful this time of year!); got some pizza at our favorite spot; had some gelato at another place; and, enjoyed a leisurely stroll back. It couldn’t have been a more perfect summer evening! It wasn’t too hot, and, there was a pleasant breeze. Their daughter, Sydney, is 12 and their son, Porter, is 11 – so, of course, my husband teased them mercilessly. . . We had a great visit!

We’re also excited for our daughter, Heather’s, visit in less than three weeks! Can hardly wait. . .

MoTab Concert + Another Grandbaby on the Way!

15 July 2017

It's been a full and busy week!

Our talk in the mission devotional on Monday went well - and, we also enjoyed a great mission conference on Wednesday with President Fenn and his wife. They are both excellent teachers.

President Fenn doesn't evoke the kind of warm, fuzzies that President Tate did, but, we are warming up to him. :-) It will be good. . .

Bob and I read a great article this week. We must have been asleep / really not paying attention when this article was published in the Ensign ten years ago. It's a wonderful article about the symbolism of the Atonement in the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Makes me wonder how many other things I've missed over the years!) I’ll include the link to the pdf here: https://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/02/the-good-samaritan-forgotten-symbols?lang=eng

You only see the text with this link, but, if you download the pdf you can see all the cathedral windows he references in the article.

We found out this week that one of our daughter's will be having a (surprise) baby around Christmas-time. (She thought she was done.) We're excited for Susy and her family and look forward to hearing about this baby's arrival in December and to meeting him/her after our mission.

Last night we got to attend the Pioneer Day Concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square. Of course, it was great! Christopher Jackson, who was in Hamilton on Broadway, and, is now in a TV series, was supposed to be the guest star, but there were some unexpected, last-minute scheduling conflicts and he had to cancel. Instead, Alex Boyé took his place. He's very talented and entertaining and we enjoyed his performance! 

We look forward to other pioneer-centered events, as well, in the next week or so.

Meeting the New Pres.

8 July 2017

It’s a bright, sunshiny day here in Salt Lake City and we’re taking advantage of a lazy morning where we can take our time getting ready for the day.

This week we unpacked and settled into our cubicles on the fifth floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. But, it may take us a while to fully acclimate to our new location. Funny how just moving next door completely changes your orientation to things. . .

We enjoyed a relaxing 4^th of July and heard a lot more fireworks than we saw. J

On Thursday, our new mission president, President Jerry Fenn, his wife, Sara, plus his counselors, the training zone leader and all their wives came to our zone to get a feel for what we do. They talked with some of our zone who are located in the JSMB – then on Friday, they all visited the part of our zone that’s in the Church Office Building (COB).

They were all interested to learn about the different aspects of what we do – but were especially impressed to learn missionaries in our zone processes more than 2 million images of data a week as part of the camera-capture program. When the operators around the world send their images to Salt Lake, our zone is where they come. Then, they are processed for quality and either sent on to be processed so the records can be made available on line, or, if they haven’t met specific standards, they’re sent back to be redone.

Anyway, it was nice to have a little one-on-one time with them and to feel like they “get” what we’re doing.

Monday morning, Bob and I will be speaking to the whole mission as part of our weekly mission devotional. We tell a bit about ourselves, but then we also talk about the kind of experiences missionaries in our zone have, and, the various assignments we have.

This evening we’ll be driving to Midway, Utah (I think it’s about a 45-minute drive.) and will attend Jordan Rawlings wedding reception. It will be fun to see his parents, Danny and Christina, as well as a few other Cary, NC folks who will be there.

We’ve had temperatures in the 100s this week, and the forecast is for more of the same next week. Although it is hot, it doesn’t feel as oppressive as those kinds of temperatures do in NC. We both laughed the other day because the humidity was 5%! I don’t think we’ve ever lived anywhere with only 5% humidity, until now.