Memorial Day week

After we came home from a Memorial Day run, we had breakfast with the two missionaries who now live in our apartment complex.  I had planned to cook breakfast for them, but they beat me to it, by preparing waffles and scrambled eggs (from scratch!).

Elder Garcia from Arizona and Elder Schow from Canada.

Besides making good scambled eggs, Elder Garcia also loves to draw and is quite the artist.

Our Ward had a Memorial Day picnic in the park. Brother and Sister Zollweg are stalwarts. In spite of health problems (cancer), they are in church every Sunday.  Sister Zollweg plays the piano in Relief Society, after having had a stroke which left her partially blind and in a wheelchair. 

After the picnic, Elder Ellis and I headed to the Palmyra Temple, where President Christianson and his wife met with the mission office staff and took us for a hike along an ancient Indian trail which winds around the outside of the temple grounds.

President Christianson always has the most interesting things to share with us about these historical places.

The trail also follows the boundary of the Joseph Smith farm. On a large part of the hike, we walked beside the very well preserved stone fence built by Joseph Smith, his brothers, and his father.

After the hike, the mission president changed clothes and gave a presentation to the temple missionary couples, while we headed off to a "home evening" with several senior missionary couples at the Martin Harris house, where two of the couples live.  After such a busy holiday we felt like "senior" missionaries when we got home late that night.  But it was so much fun!

The rest of the week was busy, including moving furnishings into this house in Penn Yan.  It took a lot of effort and definitely the help of the Lord in finding this bottom floor apartment. This rural town is quite small, with almost no decent places to rent. We were so happy to have found this place and get everything moved into it except the senior couple, who will be arriving from Utah next week.

This apartment also has central heat and air which is a rarity for an old house in New York.

old Victorian style fireplace in front entry room

Cute little kitchen and quaint dining area

It's been interesting, traveling from one end of upper New York State to the other, on our housing assignments, either finding them, or checking them. It's been interesting talking with real estate agents and property owners.  We've met some very nice people, and have had prayers answered in our search for apartments for our wonderful senior couples, as well as  younger missionaries.

What a week!

What a great week it was, as our mission gathered for zone conferences at the Sacred Grove in Palmyra.

Within the shady stillness, our hearts are filled with peace, joy, and gratitude for all our many blessings, and especially for the knowledge that the Father and his Son appeared in this place to usher in the restoration of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days.

Each morning, zone conferences began within the Grove. On Saturday, the final day of zone conference, we were joined by Alex Boye, an LDS recording artist and singer in the Tabernacle Choir. He bore powerful  testimony of  Jesus Christ, the restoration, and of the joy it has brought to his life.

He was in town for a young single adult conference. On Friday night, he sang, following a presentation by our mission president about the powerful influence of music in our lives.

Alex Boye and his amazing pianist

For an hour each morning, President Christianson sent his missionaries out into the Grove, where we were encouraged to have our own sacred grove experience. What a sweet thing it was, as I was walking along the path (to find my own bench), to pass by young missionaries, with  heads bowed in meditation and prayer.

For the  remainder of the day (spent in the basement of the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center )we were  taught by zone leaders, the assistants to the President, President Christianson, and by Elder Duncan of the Seventy (he was the general authority who spoke to us when we were in the MTC in January).

Elder Duncan greeting all the missionaries in one of our zones

On Sunday evening, we finished an amazing week with a "fireside" at which Alex Boye told his inspiring conversion story and powerfully sang gospel songs, with a lot of heart and soul.

the end of our 4th month in New York

Each week flies by at a very fast pace. Every day is filled with something new. We are enjoying Spring in New York.  On Monday night, we had a social and pot luck dinner for senior missionary couples in Mendon at the John Young (father of Brigham Young) home, where Elder and Sister Servoss reside. Before dinner, we visited this very old cemetery . (how come us old folks are drawn to cemeteries?)

A few people in Church history are buried here, in the Tomlinson Corners Cemetery -- Solomon Kimball, great grandfather of Spencer W. Kimball,  and Brigham Young's first wife, Miriam. She died of tuberculosis at age 26, soon after she was baptized. The old original tombstones are embedded on the backside of the newer granite slabs.

We passed by this very sad looking old barn, dating back to the 1800's. (great place for Halloween)

We revisited this site also -- so much greener and warmer than our visit in the winter.

The next day, it was back to apartment duties, moving some Elders to a new apartment, with the help of the A.P.s (Assistants to the President).

Now, you"d think a guy that tall wouldn't have to stand on a chair. The little orange tree on the right belongs to Elder Simmons. He grew it from a seed, and it goes with him each time he is transferred to a new apartment.

On Wednesday, during our weekly district meeting, we  said "Good-bye" to our district leader, Elder Bowman (such an awesome missionary) who is going home tomorrow morning.

Much of the rest of the week was spent in the Finger Lake region of our mission.  It's been very difficult finding a decent apartment for a new senior missionary couple in the little village of Penn Yan (don't know where they come up with these funny names).  We drive through the most beautiful scenery.

When I hopped out of the car to take this picture, I forgot the cell phone was on my lap. It flipped out into the field. Twenty minutes down the road, when I couldn't find the phone, we headed back to the field, and luckily it hadn't been run over by the car when it was backing up.

Another day, we stopped by Seneca Lake. The Hobart and William Smith College rowing team was out practicing.

On the drive home on Friday, we visited the Peter Whitmer Farm in Fayette. Two of our lovely sister missionaries gave a wonderful tour of the place where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized in 1830.

Sister Crook (born in Houston) and Sister Jones (from Dallas)

This is the room where 60 members gathered on the day the Church was organized. We now have about 14 million members throughout the world.

And here is tired, worn-out Sister Ellis at the end of the tour and a very long day. I'm grateful these young, pretty, and smart (as well as very spiritual) young women are giving the tours, and not me!

Elder Ellis in front of the visitors center on the Whitmer Farm.

The Whitmer log cabin is on the left under the trees. We could have stayed here forever in this very peaceful, beautiful site surrounded by a hundred acres of lush green farmland. All we needed was a hammock to string up between the trees, and we'd never leave.

The first two weeks of May in the New York Rochester Mission

A great way to start a month off is by meeting new missionaries, who come in every 6 weeks from the Missionary Training Center (MTC). They leave Provo, Utah at 4:00 a.m and end the long day with dinner at the mission home, followed by an orienation meeting with the Mission President, his wife, and the office staff (of which we are part-- handling missionary housing).  At this point,  they have to prop their eyelids open with toothpicks to stay awake.

This is part of the group of  8 who came in (2 were sister missionaries).  Elder Olsson, 3rd from the left, is from Sweden.

The next morning, at transfer meeting, the new missionaries were teamed up with their trainers and several new companionships were formed.

After transfer meeting, Elder Ellis and I enjoyed some time at the Palmyra Temple.

Beyond the fence, you can see the Sacred Grove

We love taking a stroll through the Sacred Grove after going to the Temple.

Every other Wednesday, District meeting is held at our apartment.  After the meeting, they have "missionary mom" muffins.  Here they are enjoying lemon poppy seed muffins along with viewing something off the church website.

Another day was spent setting up the apartment in an old school house in Cattaraugus that was built in 1850. A new senior couple moved in the next day. As I was setting up the kitchen, I imagined little childrens' laughter on the lush green lawn that used to be their playground. Just hope that couple doesn't hear  childrens' laughter in the middle of the night. (I'd be out of there faster than you could say "haunted".)

This was probably the principal's office.

Another day, we headed to Canandaigua to check out a mold/mushroom problem in the elders' apartment. Mushrooms were growing through the carpet due to a major plumbing leak. All the landlord did was to cut a hole in the wall, and place the elders' box fan in front of it. It took him way too long to order and install the part, and he wasn't doing anything about the wet carpet and all the wet insulation behind the walls. We found a new place for them right away.

On a lovely day, we opened up a new missionary apartment in Lewiston, near Niagra Falls. After the missionaries got all their stuff moved in, we went for an awesome hike along the Niagra River.

Canada is on the other side of the river.

This is the Gorge -- the point at which the waters from Niagra Falls enter the Niagra River.

It was it a very steep hike going up and down.

A big "Hello" from Niagra Falls to all the folks back home (and especially those sweet grandkids!)

After that nice  break, it was off to work again. We discovered this little gem while doing part of our monthly apartment checks. The five sister missionaries who live here each painted part of an old beat up chest of drawers and turned it into a work of art.

This week, at the mission home, 10 of us senior missionary couples gathered for a lovely dinner which was followed by an hour of  training by our awesome mission president.

The sister missionary on the far left is the twin sister of the Primary General President of the Church.

The week ended with another big move -- setting up an apartment in Batavia for a new senior couple. We couldn't do it without the help of the young elders who are Assistants to the President. Here they are chillin' for a few minutes before loading some items from "the shed" into the moving van.

Two of the local elders dropped by to help and to test out the new furniture.

After our moving helpers left, there was still lots to do,such as hanging blinds and curtains,etc. etc. We didn't get home til 11:30 that  night. Next morning, we were too tired to get up early for the Palmyra 5K run. Guess we're getting a little old. There's always next year.

So, we have been a bit busy, but love every day being out here (except for missing those grandkids!). We take time to smell the "roses".  I was so excited to see my first lilac in bloom -- takes me back in time  to my childhood home in Rhode Island where my mother had planted lots of lilac bushes. The smell is Heavenly. Lilac Festival in Rochester starts this week. Hope to make it there.