amazing autumn

Fall colors have peaked in Palmyra, at the Temple (flowers) and at the Joseph Smith farm.

 

So grateful to be serving in this beautiful place.

Here is the amazing view from the Hill Cumorah, where just three months ago, thousands gathered to watch the Pageant.

With no more summer tourists,  we were pretty much by ourselves in the Sacred Grove, where we stopped after a long day of inspecting some of our missionary apartments.

 

 We surprised Bambi as we walked around a corner. He stood still and stared at me until I walked away.

The most amazing of God's creations are the people we have grown to love out here.

Sister Raines, is one of the many missionaries we have gotten to know and love.   She is so talented and sang one of her original songs her last evening with us, before she was transferred.
We love all the missionaries in this mission! They are very special young men and women who have chosen to devote 2 years (1 1/2 for the young women) of their lives to serving the Lord. In a few more months, we'll get many more missionaries due to President Monson's announcement lowering the ages at which they can serve. Things will get especially busy as we scramble to find more apartments and furnish them.

We sure do enjoy being with these young missionaries.
This Saturday, a few of the missionaries in the Rochester Zone participated in a 5 K run benefiting the House of Mercy, a homeless shelter helping more than 4,000 people a month. It was so much fun running with our missionaries through scenic Genessee Valley State Park.

Elder Larsen, Elder Ivie, Elder Perkins, Elder Robertson, me, Elder Ellis, Elder Worsham, Elder Jones, Sister Wall and Sister Raines

Other missionaries from the Rochester zone helped cook the pancake breakfast we enjoyed after the run.  Our church is a major sponsor of this race benefiting the House of Mercy.

some nice breaks

Things have been quite busy in the New York Rochester Mission. 

A busy few moments before the start of our Monday morning staff meeting. (from left to right -- Elder Servoss, who handles all finances, Sister Christianson and President Christianson)

We've been dashing here and there and everywhere, carrying out our assignments. So, we really have been appreciating a few of the breaks we've had. This month, I had a fun break attending the annual Women's Conference broadcast from the Salt Lake City Conference Center. What a great evening it was, enjoying a  pre-conference dinner at the church with the wonderful ladies in our Rochester Stake, followed by uplifting messages from our Relief Society Leaders and President Eyring.

(from left to right: Linda DeGraff--my biking buddy from our Brockport Ward, and my girls--Sister Raines and Sister Wall)

We also had a fun little birthday break with our little missionary "family". (We love our missionaries.)

Before the big chill roars in from Canada this weekend (a predicted low of 37 degrees Sunday morning), we spent an afternoon at Hamlin Beach State Park, just 20 minutes down the road from us, where we enjoyed a perfect autumn day riding our bikes along the shore of Lake Ontario.

The best break will be this weekend, as the inspired words of our prophet, apostles and other leaders are broadcast around the world during the semi-annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You  can watch and listen to it here  or here.


Presidernt Thomas S. Monson

Elder Perkins, who visited our mission recently, will be one of the conference speakers. He gave us some good advice, saying that we can receive answers to questions we have, as we listen to our inspired leaders. The key is for us to think of a few questions that we would like to receive answers for. He promised us that if we prepared this way, that any church  meeting can be a revelatory experience for us, as we are certain to receive answers.