Today we attended the stake Pioneer Day Celebration. They had a number of fun activities and a large number of folks attended. We got the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the members of the stake we did not previously know. The weather was wonderful and the children excited.
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| Children's tug of war at the Stake Pioneer Day Celebration |
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| FT missionaries competing in but not winning the three legged race |
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| Stick pull is always a favorite for all |
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| Sister Heninger counseling the missionaries on something |
This week we received a call from the couple who will be replacing us. We know that he is retired army and they are from Mapleton, Utah. They will be finished at the MTC September 12 and we expect to see them early the next week. We had an interview with President Passey this week as well and talked about the transition. We will plan to spend a day or two orienting the Millers when they get here. Our plan is to be out of our apartment the day before they arrive so that they can just move in. We will probably stay at Lori's in our trailer and commute for a day or two. It is only a 70 minute drive.
It is hard to believe that our mission is coming to a conclusion so quickly. It seems we just really got settled and into a routine. We do look forward to seeing family and friends again. The family members already have lots of requests for reunions, travel, and visiting that we will need to do.
The work here is ongoing. We continue to receive a trickle of new soldiers and we really do not have any more graduations for a couple of months. The challenge right now is getting some the soldiers out to our activities. We scheduled a temple trip to the Mesa temple for today and had some soldiers excited to go. Last week we realized that the temple is closed for maintenance until August 4. We would consider visiting the Gilbert or Gila Valley Temple, except they do not have clothing rental or a visitor center. There are often non-LDS soldiers who go with us. They are able to linger in the visitor center while we are in the temple. We will try again. I am just glad that we found out before driving the 3 hours to the temple.
Last week, RoLayne and I drove to the the only sizable body of water within a 100 miles or more from Sierra Vista. Patagonia Resevoir is about 50- 60 miles from Sierra Vista. It has some RV parking, campgrounds, and a beach of sorts.
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| The beach at Patagonia "Lake" |
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| Not much water by Washington standards, but the most we have seen in a year |
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| With the rain last week, the desert is beginning to blossom |
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| Beautiful desert flowers around the perimeter of our apartment |
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Today is our oldest son's birthday. I cannot believe that he is so........ old. That makes RoLayne and I so very..................OLD. That is ok, he is a great son with a wonderful family and we love him. Happy Birthday son.
Today in church a brother told an interesting story. His grandfather and 2 great uncles went off to World War II. One of the uncles was the pianist in the small branch. Since he was gone, his sister had to play for the branch. She only knew one hymn, Sweet Hour of Prayer. She played it every week. When the soldier came home, he found that the parrot that lived next door to the small building where the branch met started to sing Sweet Hour of Prayer every time the piano started to play. I thought that was a cute story. It apparently was a Spanish speaking branch because the parrot would sing in Spanish.
We hope that this posting finds all of you well and prosperous. We are still enjoying our mission and would not trade the experiences or time we have spent here.
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