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.

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