What an enjoyable week this has been, filled with fun and great surprises! The best part was hearing from and talking to my family. I love them all and miss them. (I'm so thankful for electronic devices!) The best surprise was a call from my grandson, Colter, announcing my very first great-grandchild who will be coming January/February! I am so happy for Jaycee and Colter! I can't believe I'm old enough to have a great-grandchild!!! Wow!
The week started with an unexpected flight for Rod to Idaho Falls accompanying a sick missionary. While the church was making last-minute flight arrangements, Rod learned that his return flight from Idaho Falls to Atlanta was going to cost $1,700. He offered to drive a rental car to Tremonton, sleep in his own bed, and drive to SLC the next morning to fly to Atlanta. They liked the idea, so it was done. It was wonderful for me, because Rod was able to pick up a few items I had left behind. He also gave me a live feed on how the yard was doing. A picture is worth a thousand words. Rod had breakfast with Christian and Shelbie and made a surprise visit to my Mom and Dad. What fun!
It felt like my birthday lasted the entire week. I had a birthday lunch with Sister Clayton and Sisters Rice and Williams, both from our District. They were so sweet. Sister Rice was transferred out of our District this week. I will miss her.
We had District Council in our apartment with lunch and birthday cake. I am so sad that all but four were either transferred out of our district or going home. I have grown to love these elders and sisters. They have good hearts and strong testimonies and love the Lord and love missionary work and they work hard. It makes my heart ache to see their faces in this photo.
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| Fayetteville District Council Front Row: Sister Williams (staying), Elder Dunn (transferred), Elder Bailey (staying), Elder Rushton (transferred), Sister Rice (transferred) Back Row: Elder Garrett (going home), Elder Hopkins (transferred), Elder Smith (transferred), Elder Merrell, Elder Sillito (staying), Elder Phipps (our new DL), Elder Kohler (going home) |
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| Transfer Day with Sister Hulce from Tremonton 13th Ward and her companion,Sister Winder (a cousin of our Wynn cousins) There were only 5 companionships not affected by the transfers. Sisters Hulce and Winder were one of them. President Clayton invited the entire mission to come to transfers this time. What a gathering! There were over 180 missionaries present. |
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| Transfer Day Pre-ordered bikes for the new missionaries coming in |
Laurie Stoker, our ward Relief Society President took me to lunch and shopping. It was so nice to just chat and shop with her. She is so friendly and kind. We went to a material store, so I could pick up some thread to mend a few items for the missionaries. She told me when her son was on a mission, he wrote home about a nice lady in his ward that mended his pants. Laurie smiled because she had mended a pair of pants for an Atlanta missionary that same week. "Cast your bread upon the waters.. ."
We also shopped for blouses. I found several cute ones and wondered if I should buy them all. Laurie had a profound thought, "You don't need to buy everything today. You can always come back." Having lived in Tremonton most all my life with the only shopping 35-45 minutes away, my thoughts have been, buy it now because it may be a long time before I come shopping again. How nice to have stores 5 minutes away!
Our weeks are busy and my heart is full. We are so blessed. I love it here. I love being a missionary!
I went to a pool party for our Relief Society Activity and enjoyed getting to know some fun and "crazy" sisters in our ward.
We had dinner with the Campbell's. I found a soul sister, Ruth Campbell, who loves Family History as much as I do!
Rod and I worked in the Food Bank, served Meals on Wheels, attended the temple, had an enjoyable dinner with Thomas Dorsey and invited him to church. We were disappointed that he didn't come. Maybe another week.
Rod has medical calls about poison ivy, bike crashes, bug bites, etc. etc. One of the most unusual medical situations Rod has encountered so far, happened to Sister Stephens.
Sister Stephens was bitten by a giraffe while on a wild animal safari park drive-through. When the bus she was on stopped to observe the giraffe, the giraffe decided to find a free lunch or two. It stuck his head inside the bus and wanted Sister Stephens lunch sitting on her lap. The giraffe bit her thumb in the attempt to eat her lunch. She quickly moved away from the giraffe and watched not thinking about her thumb until she looked down a little later and saw all the blood. Her reaction was to throw-up and then faint!
We've gotten to know Sister Stephens. At the time of the giraffe bite, she was in the Georgia Macon Mission. That mission is now closed and Sister Stephens has been transferred to our mission. She shared her pictures with us and gave us permission to tell the story. She is lots of fun!
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| Sister Stephens and Giraffe at the Wild Animal Safari Park in Georgia |
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| Sister Stephens after fainting |
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