Monday, October 9, 2017

Monday holidays are a great opportunity for working patrons to attend the temple, and it was open until 2:00 p.m. today--Columbus Day.  We had early assignments and had to be dressed and ready by 6:10 a.m.   It was a busy day and the sessions were fuller than we have seen since being here.  At the beginning of each shift—and often the night before via email—we receive a printout of our assignments.  I love knowing exactly where to go and how much time I’ll be spending in each situation. 

My assignment ended earlier than Glade’s which gave me a chance to go to the stake center and do some organ practice for Sunday.  I happened to be talking to Tracen on the phone and was standing near a window for better reception when I saw Glade walking up the hill.  I waved him inside and then finished my practice.

  

As we were leaving the parking lot, a young Latino named Saul approached us asking for help with his car.  He was doing his best to speak in English, but Glade finally started talking to him in Spanish so we could understand exactly what he needed.  It turns out that he was actually from Honduras and was here living with his brother and driving his car for Uber.

[Glade is writing now] His car battery was dead and his jumper cable was no good so I used ours and the car started.  (That’s the second time we have used our new jumper cables in the last two weeks!)  I talked to him about the Church and the temple. He knew some Mormons in Honduras and had visited both the church by the temple and the Temple Visitors Center here. He gave me his name, address and phone number and agreed to talk to the missionaries.  I called the Washington DC North Mission, gave them the referral, and told them to call and make sure that he was home before going to see him because his brother was “kind of a bad dude and would probably slam the door in their faces.”

I know the Lord wants to use us in His work in more ways than just in the temple. He provided the way for our paths to cross with Saul from Honduras through a series of unusual events today.  There are a lot of Spanish-speaking people here.  Saturday was Spanish day in the temple.  In the priesthood room on the seventh floor more the 600 Latinos met and, either before or after the meeting, participated in ordinances.     

[Back to Bev] It was rainy and very humid again today so we didn’t walk this afternoon/evening.  Glade did go to “The Sweat Shop” for a while, however; and then we stopped for a few groceries.  It seems like we need something different every day.  Groceries are very expensive here!  We are glad we are not shopping for a large family right now, or everyone would have to get jobs and we would definitely have to depend on a garden!

We have to serve early again tomorrow--and Wednesday, so it's off to bed!  

 

   

Sunday, October 8, 2017

One senior missionary couple is leaving next week and we were able to purchase their printer.  Hooray!  Our next-door neighbor is a computer expert and came to our rescue when we needed help connecting!  So, we are set.  

Glade went to choir practice this morning and enjoyed it.  His mother would be proud of him.  I had to stay at home and prepare a Relief Society lesson for next Sunday.  Our block of meetings starts at 2:30 p.m. which makes for a very late schedule.  After the meetings today, the entire ward went to the temple grounds where someone had arranged for a ward photo session in front of the temple.

It is cloudy and a little rainy and the humidity is so heavy it is hard to breathe.  We hope it doesn’t last too long.  We are so not used to that.

And I learned today that I can’t burn a scented candle in our apartment—or anything else with a flame.  It is a church-owned building and the same rules apply apparently as to meeting houses in that one cannot have an open flame at any time.  So, we’ll make a trip to Bath and Body Works and get some fragrance plug-ins—oh, they’re Wal-flowers!  They will work just as well and probably last longer.  We only have an inch in the bottom of our big candle since we have to burn it every day.

The temple is open tomorrow, Columbus Day, and we have an early schedule.  Time to “hit the hay” and try to sleep.

Love and hugs to everyone in our fantastic family!!!

Our beautiful temple one this overcast Sunday evening.  It took a while for me to notice that the spires are gold.  On sunny days it's harder to identify.

Saturday, October 7, 2017

The temple was flooded today with members of two Spanish-speaking stakes.  We served a long shift, but it was so good to help with the Spanish ordinances.  It felt so comfortable and took us right back to Tegucigalpa and the temple and people there we loved.  English work is great, too, but we loved the Spanish tonight.

It’s really warm and muggy outside—I guess “humid” would be a better description.  It’s supposed to rain this week.  We heard there is another tropical storm on the East coast some place, but we don’t get any news so we are definitely out of all the loops and hope that if there is a big storm, it misses us.

It’s Eloise’s birthday today!   

Friday, October 6, 2017

Nothing extraordinary today, but we are getting into a sort of comfortable routine.  Walk—perhaps some laundry--maybe practice at the church—work on Relief Society lesson—study a little—and then get ready and go to the temple.  The weather is just beautiful and I realize that it will eventually change and we won’t be prepared for that.

We both were able to help with Spanish ordinances in the temple today and it was really fun.  Many Spanish-speaking people are expected tomorrow and we have been asked to go from 2:00 until 10:00-10:30. We hope to maintain our stamina and hope to rejuvenate on Sunday.  The temple will be open Monday, Columbus Day, until 1:00 p.m. and it is expected to be a very busy day.

I love this beautiful temple and all the great, great people we are meeting and getting to know.  The temple presidency members are very spiritual leaders who are overtly patron-oriented and determined that each one who comes to the temple has the best possible positive experience.  We are all striving to become more Christ-like and feel His presence in the temple.  Our prayer is that our family members will make time when possible amidst busy family, work, and school schedules to attend each of their respective temples and search for spiritual knowledge, confirmation of truths, and personal direction.  Love to each one!!        

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Another great day is behind us and it was filled with new experiences, more training, and the opportunity to meet more temple workers and sweet patrons.  Each day has a different shift coordinator and they all do things just a little differently.   The secret to success is to focus on each one and then REMEMBER how they want things done.  😊

I briefly helped a sister today who spoke Portuguese and since there was no card there at the time in her language, she listened to me present in Spanish and we seemed to connect just great.  

We had an invigorating walk this morning and took a little different route.  There is a long leg of the original walk that goes along a very busy street which makes for lots of noise and makes it less safe.  It’s just beautiful everywhere we go, however; so, we adjusted.  Here is a picture of another gorgeous house.  I tried to imagine what it looked like when it was new and wished I knew the story of who lived there and its place in history.

  

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Today was the first full day of working our assigned shift and we were assigned to a variety of areas, really getting an initiation!  The best part of the day was when Glade and I got to work together to help some Spanish patrons finish their session.  I loved it and it brought back so many memories.  I presented in Spanish and English from memory and felt that I had filled a need.  There is so much more to learn, but we’re in the boat and paddling fast!

Two friendly couples invited us to go to lunch with them as we were leaving the temple.  The drive was delightful and wound through narrow tree-lined streets bringing us to a Chinese Restaurant.  We saw two beautiful young deer grazing in someone’s yard very close to the street.  They were too big to be fawns (and it isn't spring) but were too small to be full adults.  They seemed really content and very tame.  I was sad that I couldn’t get to my phone fast enough to take a picture.  It would have been a much warmer and more pleasant photo than yesterday’s catch of the spricket!!

The temple grounds are so beautiful and it was hard to walk by the flower beds without taking more another photos.  

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

There was more training today so we didn’t start our regular morning shift.  After we walked, we went to the temple early to study the ordinances in English 😊 and then spent the afternoon in more training meetings.  The experience is much more complex here than our temple in Honduras because it is so big!  We’ll get comfortable eventually, but it will take a while.  Glade helped with some baptisms and a couple of other things, and then we finished our day with a session to see firsthand how it is done here.  We are meeting new people and making lots of special friends.  It was a great day!

Alas, we have unwelcome critters in our apartment that have caused me to shriek and scramble!  I looked them up and discovered that these leaping long-legged skinny-feelered insects are jumping spiders, also known as camel crickets or sprikets!  They look like a cross between a spider and a cricket and they are not little!  They jump at least a foot high and a foot forward when you try to smash or whap them.  Ugh!!  And we have mostly seen them when it is or has been dark.  Just what you don’t want to encounter when you get up in the night for a drink.  You can imagine my reaction. 

We stopped at Safeway on the way home on our walk looking for Ortho indoor spray and sticky traps, but came home with only a can of Raid!  Hope it works until we can find some sticky traps.  I took this picture but didn't have anything for a size reference.  It is like encountering a giant hobo spider.  I'm probably going to see this image in my sleep now.  

Monday, October 2, 2017

After a beautiful, chilly walk first thing this morning, (we try to go about three miles each time) I went to the church to practice the organ and Glade went to “The Sweat Shop” to sign up for a membership so he can get more cardio and have access to muscle building machines!

There was an activity this afternoon and evening for all the missionary couples, temple presidency, and full time regional temple workers at a place called Foulger’s (folger) Barn.  Another couple invited us to go with them for which we were grateful since we don’t know our way around very well.  Anyway, it took just under an hour’s drive from here and was located in a farm reserve.  A counselor in the temple presidency built it for his family and now includes invitations to Scout groups, all sizes of church groups, firesides, etc.  There are sleeping areas in a loft and It was never used as an animal barn.  It sits out in the middle of a big field, but has trees around it and is in a beautiful setting close to Sugar Loaf Mountain—only in the East can they call a hill a mountain!

Grilled chicken, pulled pork, and ribs were provided and the missionaries brought pot luck to round out a very nice meal which followed a “hayride,” games, and lots of visiting.  This outing is a traditional activity called a “Hail and Farewell” and newly arrived missionaries and those who are leaving to go home are invited to introduce themselves, or to say their good-byes.  It is not always at the Foulger’s Barn, but it was a treat for us tonight. 

Now, the fun is done and the work in the temple begins.   We will train again tomorrow and then start working in our shifts.  Saturday is expected to be a big day for Spanish speakers in the temple and we will probably work more than one shift.  Monday is Columbus Day and the temple will be open as it usually is on Monday holidays, so the next two weeks are going to be very busy. 

Here are a few pictures from our “Hail and Farewell” activity.  

 Sugar Loaf Mountain

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Kensington presented a beautiful Fall day for General Conference although we heard there was snow in Rigby!!  We took a long walk this morning while we waited for Conference and actually needed our sweatshirts.  It is such a blessing to just turn on the computer and have these meetings come right up at our finger tips since we don’t have cable TV.  Conference was definitely spiritually invigorating.

Between paragraphs here, the Relief Society Secretary called and asked me to teach the Pres. Hinckley lesson on October 15, so preparation will fill any spare time that may have lurked in corners after organ practice and extra study hours at the temple.  It’s good to participate, but I haven’t taught for so long that I’ll be pretty rusty.

Another couple arrived last evening from Gilmore, AZ; and they know friends of ours from dental school days.  It is amazing how many connections we have with the missionaries here even though we are so far away from home.  It’s awesome.

Below are a few photos of our apartment.

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Well, we’ve been here for a week now and it has flown by incredibly fast.  Today it was time for the usual Saturday chores—laundry, cleaning, vacuuming, and a little grocery shopping for next week.  We walked early and everything still looked gorgeous.  I’m a little worried about how this community will look when all the fallen leaves have left the trees bare and hope it isn’t melancholy. 

In this time zone, we can’t watch the first session of Conference until Noon since we can’t see it before it airs live!  😊  So, it’s 10:00 p.m. and the Priesthood Session just ended.  We drove to the Visitor’s Center to watch the first session and it was shown in a huge auditorium on a gigantic screen.  It was mostly missionaries who attended.  Near the end the satellite signal kept failing, so there were interruptions.  However, there immediately were devices all over carrying the speaker until reception on the big screen was restored.  We decided to watch the afternoon session and Priesthood session in our apartment on my laptop which has great speakers and a good-sized screen.

The Conference messages were inspiring as usual, but we really missed seeing and hearing from Pres. Monson.  His absence definitely left a void.

Pretty soon I’ll tire of showing cute squirrels if perchance the sightings lose their novelty.  This little critter keeps coming up onto our patio. 

Friday, September 29, 2017

This was the last day of cleaning and things really came together as tables, plants, chairs, couches, benches and all manner of decor found their way back to assigned places.  Everything looks fresh and so beautiful.

We returned to the temple in the afternoon for our first formal training meeting.  We saw a touching new training video we haven’t seen before that left us wanting with all our hearts to be more Christ-like in how we treat all of Heavenly Father’s children and to become sensitive to the whisperings of the Spirit as we officiate in our responsibilities.  We also toured the entire temple (except for the engineering and electronic floors).  There were only three senior couples plus the trainers so it was very personal and was a great afternoon of learning and spiritual uplift.

The temple is big enough that we are going to be lost for a while and be a little intimidated.  However, it will come a little at a time.  I was happy to see clips from the training videos that I had seen in Spanish for 23 months, and to hear the words in English.  I really learned a lot and realized that I had missed verbal training although visual training seemed to work just fine! 

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Today after our morning cleaning shift, we were set apart by Pres. Colton as temple ordinance workers.  The prayers were beautiful and included the promise of great blessings.  Our shifts will be Tuesday Morning, Wednesday Morning, Thursday Mid-day, Friday Evening and Saturday Evening during the five work days.  The Spanish sessions are Friday and Saturday evenings and any other time by appointment or demand and we will be available for those shifts as well.  We are really excited to get started!  I took the pictures below from the Visitor’s Center as we left the temple today.  The pictures of the grounds aren't the best and don't show how beautiful they are, but maybe I can get a few better ones later.

Volunteers are putting up Christmas lights.  They told us that this temple has one of the most spectacular Christmas displays in the Church.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

After the morning of cleaning in the temple, I went to the stake center with Sister Sudweeks—her husband is related to Natalie Peterson’s husband Lawrence Sudweeks—for an orientation on the organ.  I have been called to serve as a ward organist in the Rock Creek Ward.  It is a pipe organ and will be a challenge taking lots of practice.  But I am grateful to be able to use my music in service. 

We walked around our neighborhood again to get some exercise and loved the ambiance created by the old houses, narrow streets, and grand trees. There are already crunchy leaves on the sidewalks and streets although not from new fallen leaves.  It was still fun to stroll through him except for the fact that they were laden with allergens!

We stopped at the Safeway on the way home to pick up a few more items like cinnamon, cocoa, Honey Crisp and McIntosh apples, and granola bars—you know—necessities!!

There are lots of photos from our walk, but I couldn’t help myself!!  There are many more wonderful houses!

Looks like a charming library, and who would name "Noyes"!  Very Clever

So much fun to walk these streets every day.  

There are lots of squirrels everywhere!   Have you ever seen black ones?

There is a normal colored cutie sitting at the base of the tree, too.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Our first assignment in the temple was to help with the cleaning.  It has been closed for two weeks for the semi-annual cleaning and there is one week to go.  All of the missionaries help for one week of the closure.  Upon our arrival, we were given a white jumpsuit to change into and assigned to a team.  Our job today was on the second floor and we cleaned the chapel, the massive hallways, and some private offices.  It meant dry dusting all the walls, paintings, fixtures, and vacuuming.  It was a very unique experience to be in a temple in that aspect.  And now, we know our way around that floor!  We will continue cleaning from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. through Friday.  

This is the North end of our apartment building.

Monday, September 25, 2917

Glade accepted an invitation and played pickle ball this morning.  He liked it better than he did the first time he played in St. George, but the techniques are so different from racquetball that it takes quite a bit of adjusting.  He had a great time, though, and made new friends. 

We went to the temple to get a locker and take our clothes.   Since there was no one else there except the secretary and a few painters and engineers, we were privileged to get a personal tour that no one else got.  It is a magnificent temple and so beautiful.  There are seven floors and it is probably the largest temple in the world as far as square footage goes, and third largest in actual usage space.  (The secretary told me that this morning 😊).  It is definitely going to take a while for us to find our way around without getting lost. 

Later, we finished our shopping and I added a touch of Fall to our apartment with little orange lights and leaf garlands.  Glade told me to buy fresh flowers for our table and I found a Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin candle at Bath and Body Works in the mall, Now it looks and feels like home!  We just need cooler weather, taco soup, fresh rolls, and maybe a little hot chocolate.

Just about dusk we took a long walk through our neighborhood.  It feels rather quaint and quite old fashioned.  There are beautiful old homes that are huge and must have been mansions in their glory days.  The yards are big and filled with old plants, trees, flowers, and a few rustic fences.  Most things are neat and tidy and it has such a comfortable feel.  I just love it!  I can’t wait to see it in the fall.  Almost nothing is dry which is due in part to the humidity here and heavy dew each night/morning.

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Fast Sunday was an opportunity to have a “grateful” fast.  We have had so many blessings in our family and in our lives that it felt like a good time and way to thank Heavenly Father for His goodness to us.  Sacrament Meeting was at 2:30 p.m. and included 60 senior missionaries and district workers.  Every fast day, each apartment building holds a break-the-fast potluck meal together with couples, and single sister missionaries, taking a turn to host.  The food was delicious and everyone stayed after for an hour or so to visit and get acquainted.  There are lots of new couples and so many of them are from Utah!

Saturday, September 23, 2017 -- Jeff’s Birthday

This beautiful morning coaxed us out early for a walk around our neighborhood.  We came upon a Farmer’s Market where we bought corn on the cob, a tomato, huge Honey Crisp apples for only $1.99/lb., a pint of rich expensive chocolate ice cream for Glade, and two loaves of the best Great Harvest Bread.  There is a franchise nearby and they sell fresh breads and baked goods every Saturday morning at the market.   These gorgeous red flowers appeared next to the Farmer's Market.

Our walk to the Safeway Grocery takes us right through a section of little antique shops across from an enchanting train track that is camouflaged by heavy plant overgrowth.

Shopping was next on the list and we found our way to a nearby mall and grocery store to get stocked up for a couple of weeks.  And guess what—the mall has a JoAnn’s Fabric Store!!  It made my day.  Glade was a very patient shopper and it was a great day. 

 

New friends invited me to attend a soup and bread dinner and the Women’s Session of General Conference at the stake center.  Powerful messages, strong testimonies, and sweet sisters to share it with, all made for a wonderful evening.  I thought of all my eight daughters and maybe seven granddaughters who were gathered in other places hearing the same beautiful messages and it made me happy even if we couldn’t all go together physically.

Friday, September 22, 2017 – We have arrived!

Today’s drive was again so beautiful.  The countryside was covered with leafy deciduous trees all bunched together and interrupted now and then by green meadows and small tidy farms.  Fall officially began about 4:02 this afternoon, and Mother Nature’s pallet is already spreading its autumn glory through the foliage.

We arrived in Washington DC about 2:30 p.m. after only one freeway construction hold-up where we advanced two miles in about 45 minutes.  Our prayers for the proper functioning of our car were answered and it experienced no other incidences since our prayers yesterday.  We feel very blessed and recognize many tender mercies on our behalf since we left home.  There is a feeling that comes over you when you are set apart as a missionary and you can see the Lord’s hand in your life and feel at peace. 

We were met in the parking lot by sweet missionary couples who helped us unload our car.  Luckily, our apartment is on the bottom floor so it wasn’t too taxing for these kind seniors.  People just kept coming and when they finished, several said, “Is that all?”  I said that we had been encouraged not to bring too much “stuff.”  So, we complied!  I think we have enough for six months, however.  Our winter trips to St. George initiated us as to how little it takes to live.  I did manage to bring my sewing machine, a three foot by two foot cutting mat, a large acrylic sewing machine accessory, a bag full of Fall fabric, and all the usual tools and notions. 😊

The apartment building is old but spacious (except for the small bathroom) and stocked with necessities.  We have Internet service and air conditioning so we are set!!  The view from our large living room windows/patio doors looks out on a pretty green yard with trees and plants that will soon be changing colors and dropping leaves.

View out our back windows and patio doors. 

The front of our apartment building

Our host couple had put fresh fruit in a bowl in the kitchen, clean linen on the beds, groceries on the counter, and milk and sandwich meat in the fridge.   They brought us a meal of chili and cornbread and then showed us how to get to the Safeway grocery store, the stake center where we will attend church, and the temple.  The temple—the 3^rd largest in the world—is spectacular and the grounds are beautiful.  Its appearance is stunning!

We put a few things away and were just starting some laundry after our ninth day away from home, when there was another knock on our door with an invitation to a surprise birthday party for one of the missionaries.  Glade went in his Star Wars PJ bottoms, but it was a fairly casual get-together and we met lots of people including a couple from Jeff and Emi’s ward in Salem.  It was a delightful, welcoming, and very friendly group.  It has been a great beginning!

Wednesday, September 20, 2917

After more three-lane truck and construction trauma, we stopped for gas in a little town in Indiana called La Porte, to get gas.  The Phillips 66 station ended up being about five miles off the freeway; but we found it, put gas in the car and were ready to roll again.  When Glade tried to start the car, the warning lights flashed and a message said "brake pressure low."  When we tried to drive forward, the warning notices wouldn't stop. So, we searched the owner's manual which said in this instance to call the dealer. 

Glade called Chris at our Lexus dealer in Utah for advice who instructed us to have it checked at a Lexus dealership.  Roadside Service dispatched a tow truck, but Glade told them we were in La Port, Iowa when we were actually in La Porte, Indiana!  We waited four hours for the tow truck.

Very nice people in a Chiropractic office next door let us wait there out of the heat.

Glade called and cancelled our reservation in Toledo, Ohio, for tonight and the good-hearted  man waived the cancellation fee.  The Triple A driver finally arrived and loaded our precious car onto the back of his truck and took us 40 miles to Mishawaka, Indiana, where thankfully and miraculously there was a Lexus dealership!  (One of many tender mercies)

En route we entered another time zone, arriving at 6:00 p.m.--closing time--instead of 5:00 p.m.  However, one salesman remained who set us up for service in the morning and helped us find a Hiatt two blocks away where we could spend the night.  At 7:00 a.m. Glade was there and they started the computer check of the car.  Guess what they found--absolutely NOTHING!

We were prepared to have to wait days for parts and major repairs so we feel very blessed that we were able to get back on the road by 10:30 a.m.  Although we had to back track, we made good time and were able to keep our reservation in Pittsburgh, PA tonight. 

We were on the Ohio Turnpike near Cleveland and stopped at a truck stop to top off the tank and get a sandwich.  After getting the gas and starting the car--the warning lights and flashers came on again!  We parked, had a sandwich at Panera, and got back in the car.  We prayed with all our faith over our car, pushed the ignition, and wallah--prayers answered--no warnings flashed and we drove on making it to our destination by 5:00 tonight just ahead of rush hour.  The traffic going out was bumper to bumper, but we cruised right in to the Courtyard Marriott in Cranberry Woods in our Eastbound lanes.  We are feeling very blessed and watched over!!

 Loading the car for the 40 mile tow.

 A place to stay at the Hiatt

 The trees are turning!!!  We had a great walk around Misawaka

September 14, 2017

Glade and I have been called to serve as missionaries in the Washington DC Temple.  It has been a flurry of activity getting ready to leave our home again, but not nearly as difficult as it was to leave for two years in Honduras.  Our call is to serve for six months until the temple closes for major renovation in March of 2018.  We are thrilled with this new assignment and will be able to assist with the Spanish ordinances.

Our first stop was in Utah to visit a few family members, get the car serviced at the dealership in Lindon, and attend a BYU football game.  On Sunday, September 17, we went to Church in Provo, Utah, and then began the long drive across the country to Maryland.

For the most part, the drive was uneventful, the roads were good, and we stayed on schedule.  Along the way we stayed in Rawlins, Wyoming; Kearney, Nebraska; Bettendorf, Iowa; Mishawaka, Indiana; Cranberry Woods, Pennsylvania; and then on to the final destination—Kensington, Maryland.