Burk's Garden

An overview to Burk's garden, Tazwell, VA.

Cathy McClanahan, a retired school teacher that has become a good friend. She was born the daughter of a coal miner, grew up in southwest Virginia and joined the church about five years ago, after a long search for the truth. She knows the history of the Virginia people, the culture and the land.

Cathy loves to be in nature...close to God...and is taking me on occational day hikes.

One goal is to visit Burk's Garden and hike along the Apalacian Trail to see the beauty of

"God's thumbprint" in all four seasons.

Not bad for a picture taken through the front window of the car,

driving to Welch for District meeting.

So far the roads have not frozen, and the snow only lasts a couple of days,

so I think it offers the beauty of a winter wonderland.

Christmas Zone Conference "A minute to win it" games!

Karl is trying to get an oreo from his forehead into his mouth without using hands.

It was hilarious.

Gingerbread...

On "P-Day"...Personal Preparation and PLAY day...

we invited the young Elders over to build gingerbread houses.

Karl joined in the fun and started to build an Arizona hogan.

Which turned into a chief's Ermine tee-pee!

Tons of fun.

Zone conference

We love our mission president and wife: Bruce and Linda Pitt.

They have eleven children and are from Centerville, Utah.

President Pitt is a retired dentist and former institute teacher, bishop and stake president.

He is a very spirital man, and we love feasting at his feet.

This month we have enjoyed zone conference with in-depth doctrinal instruction

on the atonement. Sunday President and Sister Pitt visited our small branch and were Sacrament Meeting speakers. Following, the branch gave all of us missionaries a luncheon,

and President and Sister Pitt came home to our apartment.

They wanted to see our living arrangements and make sure we are well cared for.

(We have one of the nicest apartments in the mission, and are very grateful.)

Every two weeks a semi truck brings commodities from the Bishop's Store House

in Roanoke, VA to our branch building. Within an hour we set up tables and sort food

and household supplies for distribution to families.

The feeling is the same as when we have worked at the cannery in Mesa.

"Providing in the Lord's Own Way!" It is a good feeling.

Early morning sunrise...out my kitchen window the day we left for zone conference in Pembroke.

Thanksgiving...

Bill and Betsy Newton hosted Thanksgiving Dinner in Honaker, VA.

My contribution was the pumpkin and chocolate pies and homemade rolls.

However, before dinner...

Elder Butler split wood...

Last week our young Elders "hucked" trees down the mountain.

Brother Newton sawed them into chunks preparing for today.

Elder Moore sorted and stacked smaller pieces of firewood.

Indoors, this is the "wood box" next to the refrigerator, ready for the winter storms to begin.

Betsy taught me how to make New York style cranberry sauce:

Dissolve 1 cup sugar in 1 cup water.

Add 16 oz. washed whole cranberries.

Stir constantly over medium-high heat until the berries "pop"

Stir in 16 oz. orange marmalade.

Chill.

On the way back to Raven, we stopped at various homes to visit new members and investigators.

For some, Thanksgiving brought hunting success.

Here, hunters sit in "tree stands" waiting for the deer to come by!

First they put out food under the designated tree...example...corn...

to feed the deer for a period of time prior to "the hunt!"

A "tree stand" is a platform built high in the tree..sort of like Collin and Tara's treehouse.

Changed behavior...

"True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior."

President Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17.

The changes we have seen in this family, and the changes in the spirit of their home is phenomenal. Some days Angie (mom) will study scriptures and writings of the apostles all day! All five of her children have different dads....and finally life is coming together for her!

Back: Brandon Easter, Angie Marcum and oldest daughter, Tiffany.

Front: Zane Carroll, Ian Oswald, and Brayden Gower. Baby sister, Kayleigh, is not in picture.

First baptism...

November 12, 2011: Zane Carroll and Ian Oswald were baptised by our Branch President, Mike McClure. I've never met a kinder or more loving Priesthood leader. It has been such a priviledge to assist Elder Butler and Elder Moore in teaching this family. Younger brother Brayden could pass the baptism interview...just isn't old enough yet. As soon as the Mom and boyfriend are married, and Brandon is off probation, he too will be baptized. We'd love to see this family go to the temple during the time we are in Richlands Branch. It's a great goal.

Around town...

Not many trees have leaves remaining...but we marvel at this Chestnut tree every time we are at the Church. You can see shades of green, yellow, orange and even burnt umber..all mixed together. The chestnuts look like "porcupine eggs" with stiff, sharp, spines. It's awesome!

A local artists does historical scluptures on brick walls. This one, "Souls of Freedom" is outside the Richland's police station. We have found others at the community college, that I hope to photograph next time we are in that area.

Autumn decorations are everywhere...this one is on the portch of the Richlands Library. Our daughters will be proud of us...we find the library a great resource for locating area maps and sending faxes. The young Elders go here to use the computers and email their families on "P-Day." So far it is our best resource for a copy machine. Upstairs is a wonderful children's reading room...and although I haven't found Bill Peet books yet, this title caught my eye: "Big Brothers Don't Take Naps!" Of couse, I thought of Jonah.

It's a Friendly Place!

If the eyelashes painted on this jeep don't give you the message, then the license plate will.

Everyone is so friendly and kind here. One young man we are teaching takes Karl's elbow and helps him out to the car every time we visit.

We are teaching a family...couple with four children. It's looking like they will all be baptized on Nov. 12th. One hitch: We have to get them married first. So now I'm into wedding planning on top of young women lessons and missionary activites. We do like to keep busy!

One side note: I think 80% of the cars and trucks we see on the road here are RED! Very few white cars and a big difference from Arizona.

Autumn in Virginia

These roadside pics document autumn in Virginia. They are taken through the car window while driving our 85 miles to stake conference in Pembroke yesterday and today.

It's miles and miles of rolling hills and winding roads. There is no north or south in directions given by local residents. Example: "Go two far-sees and turn at the barn with three dogs." A far-see means drive as far as you can see, the road will turn, and you drive as far as you can see again.

I especially like the trees that are yellow-orange. In real life the colors are so vibrant they almost look florescent.


This morning as we left our apartment we could see our breath. For desert dwellers like Karl and I, this was exciting. I'm sure the new will rub off very quickly, but for a moment today we were sending each other puff signals and having fun.

Drive across America...

Karl and I left the MTC on Monday morning, Oct. 3, 2011 and drove east towards Moab, Utah. We left the open skies of the west and traveled our first day to Colorado Springs, CO and spent the night with our daughter, Teri. The vibrant yellow aspens mixed with tall green pines and rugged rock was a stunning view as we passed through the mountains of Aspen, CO.

Day Two: Our drive across Kansas--

Wheat farms, wind harvesting, and oil fields. Surprisingly, we did not see sunflowers and windmills as I expected. Lots of flat land...strong, gusty winds...and images of Dorthy and OZ everywhere. Second night in Kansas City, KS.

Day three: Nauvoo, IL
All of Illinois seemed to be one huge corn field. We arrived in Nauvoo just in time for the last session of the day and were invited to be the witness couple. Following, we were given a tour of the entire temple, looking down (and up) the five story spiral staircase was awesome. The assembly room, baptismal font, and sealing rooms were all wonderful. The most unexpected treasure was one hallway of framed artifacts with one of Joseph Smith's swords! He had three... a battle sword (Lt. Gen of Nauvoo Legion), parade sword, and a practice sword. We saw the practice sword and other artifacts from this period of history.

Day four we drove all the way to Charleston, West Virginia wanting to be rested for our offical first meeting at the Mission Home. The biggest surprise of our cross-country trip for me was the amount of trucks we passed on all highways. I started counting them in five minute increments...and on average I can honestly say we passed between 300 and 600 trucks per hour...day or night! Another new encounter was the toll roads...$2, four different times.

Our new home:

We are in a lovely two-bedroom apartment above our landlord's garage. It was totally clean, with plenty of room for the two of us.

Our mailing address is: PO Box 1216, Raven, VA 24639-1216.

The colors and smell of autumn are all around us. Elderberries and blueberries grow here. Moss grows on top of blacktop and tree trunks. Everywhere I look I think I am walking into the page of a calendar with all the grandeur of America the Beautiful at harvest.

Go Forth With Faith

As we depart our time of training at the MTC and begin our drive across America, this is the message of our hearts:

Go forth with faith to tell the world of Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Bear witness he is God's own Son; Proclaim his wondrous word.

Go forth with faith and courage strong, to spread the word abroad

That people of all nations are children of our God

Go forth with love to tell the world, the joy of families

That we may be with those we love thru all eternity.

Go forth to serve and do our best, with no thought of reward.

Then we shall know the boundless joy, of serving Christ, the Lord.

...Ruth M. Gardner

Provo Temple

President Monson announced the Provo Tabernacle, recently severely damaged by fire, will be rebuilt and modified to be a temple! It's a happy day for Provo.

October 1, 2011

Wilford Woodruff

Along one wall in the MTC are pictures of all the prophets with a brief biography and quote. I especially like this teaching of President Wilford Woodruff. [1898]

"Do not be discouraged because you cannot learn all at once; learn one thing at a time, learn it well and treasure it up, then learn another truth and treasure that up, and in a few years you will have a great store of useful knowledge which will not only be a great blessing to yourselves and your children, but to your fellow man."

Gems of Thought

Inspiring quotes from our training at the MTC:

• "What is written in your heart, no one can take out."

"If you want to feel the arms of the Savior around you, be obedient."

Our days at the MTC were long, but the week went by fast! We begin our drive across America on Monday and for the next 23 months, we will be MLS...member and leader support to a branch in Raven, Virginia.

• 
  

The MTC

There are 2,000 young missionaries on the MTC campus. Senior couples are housed at the Provo Marriott. At every group meeting senior couples have reserved seating...front and center. We are always recognized and thanked for our commitment to serve. Young missionaries treat us with so much respect and kindness. They often "leap" ahead of us to open doors and offer to carry our lunch trays.

It all began...

It all began in October 2010 when our then 7th Ward Bishop, Bryant Ridgway called Karl and I to serve a senior mission; and challenged us to get our affairs in order. Bishop Ridgway opened our lds.org senior mission online application account and we went to work.

March 14, 2011 our official application was electronically sent to Salt Lake. In June our 7th ward was disbanned and Karl and I had not yet received our official call from Salt Lake, but our membership moved to Casa Grande Second Ward. June 28th Salt Lake mailed our packet to Casa Grande, but upon investigation later, we found it was returned as "undeliverable." We waited soooo long...but finally it came.

Quintin was visiting us in Casa Grande and was on his way to the airport to fly to Minnesota for Molly's sister's wedding. While backing out of the driveway, he said to Dad; "Let's check the mail, just in case it has come!" Amazingly...it was there! Putting himself at risk of missing his flight, Quintin and Dad quickly drove to where I was (scrapbooking with Diana Uhrich)...and we opened our call. It was so exciting to have Quintin with us.