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| The Lawsons with Sister Heninger |
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| Diane and Brent's cute family |
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| 4 missionaries during a blizzard at the Fort |
Elder and Sister Heninger
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Family Visitors and More Family Visitors
We have had another good week. We had a busy day yesterday with a number of special visitors. It started in the morning with a visit from RoLayne's sister Jacque and Carl with son Steven. They were on their way from Parker, Co to Provo 's for grandchildren graduations.We took them on a tour of the fort and had a nice visit. Later in the afternoon Diane and Brent Glenn, Jacque's daughter, and their family stopped by on their way from St. George home. We had a great visit and another family tour. Finally, about 5:00PM RoLayne's brother Dave and his wife Mary stopped by on their home from their mission in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. It was a wonderful day. We look forward to many of you stopping by as well.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Still no letters from home......
It has been almost two weeks since my last post. We have been very busy and when we come home we are very tired. It seems like what we do most is work and sleep We had some very busy days followed by some very slow days.
Yesterday I did back to back tours during my entire shift. The day before I did one tour. When it is slow it gives us a chance to get to know the other missionaries and to study more about Cove Fort and all that happened here.
Last Wednesday, April 12 we were on the late shift and it was a little slow. A large 18 wheeler pulled into our RV parking area and was just sitting there idling for about 30 minutes. I decided to walk down there and see what was going on. As I got down near the truck, a gentleman jumped out and walked over towards me. He was very apologetic saying that he was trying to get to the rest stop at the Chevron station about a mile down the road but that he had run out of time and had to stop. He asked if it would be ok to stay where he was until about 1:00AM when he could drive again. I told him that he was fine there. We struck up a conversation and I found out he was a Muslim from Nigeria. He said that he believed in Christ. As we talked, I found him to be incredibly nice and a very interesting person. I said to him, since you are stuck here for the next several hours, would you like a tour? He said yes he would like that. I gave him the full tour. We talked about some of our beliefs, including the Book of Mormon. When we finished, I offered him a book of Mormon which he gratefully accepted and said he would read it. As we walked back to the offices, he said, I think God sent me here! Below is a picture of Bella, my new friend. He told me, you will be hearing from me. I hope we do. We often have some very spiritual experiences with both members and those not of our faith.
Last week Lisa, Eric, and Jensen stopped by for a tour as well.
The weather here is very unpredictable and changes frequently. The wind blows a lot and very hard.
We are having a great time here. I got my hair cut yesterday in Beaver. The barber was a wonderful man named Doug. The shop reminded me of the barber shop on the Andy Griffith show in Mayberry. He did a fine job and the cut was only $10.
Below are the mailboxes for the missionaries. We check them every day but still, no one has written.
Yesterday I did back to back tours during my entire shift. The day before I did one tour. When it is slow it gives us a chance to get to know the other missionaries and to study more about Cove Fort and all that happened here.
Last Wednesday, April 12 we were on the late shift and it was a little slow. A large 18 wheeler pulled into our RV parking area and was just sitting there idling for about 30 minutes. I decided to walk down there and see what was going on. As I got down near the truck, a gentleman jumped out and walked over towards me. He was very apologetic saying that he was trying to get to the rest stop at the Chevron station about a mile down the road but that he had run out of time and had to stop. He asked if it would be ok to stay where he was until about 1:00AM when he could drive again. I told him that he was fine there. We struck up a conversation and I found out he was a Muslim from Nigeria. He said that he believed in Christ. As we talked, I found him to be incredibly nice and a very interesting person. I said to him, since you are stuck here for the next several hours, would you like a tour? He said yes he would like that. I gave him the full tour. We talked about some of our beliefs, including the Book of Mormon. When we finished, I offered him a book of Mormon which he gratefully accepted and said he would read it. As we walked back to the offices, he said, I think God sent me here! Below is a picture of Bella, my new friend. He told me, you will be hearing from me. I hope we do. We often have some very spiritual experiences with both members and those not of our faith.
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| Bella and me. I am not very good at selfies |
Last week Lisa, Eric, and Jensen stopped by for a tour as well.
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| Missionaries with the Wood Family |
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| Lisa showing her skill with the stick and ring |
Below are the mailboxes for the missionaries. We check them every day but still, no one has written.
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| Add caption |
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
An amazing Place
Well, we have been at Cove Fort for a week now and we have already discovered that this is a very special place. We have had a number of really spiritual experiences that have uplifted us and helped us go forward.
First things first. We arrived here last Tuesday evening after finishing a wonderful experience at the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC).
We had Wednesday to shop and get unpacked and it took the entire day to get things organized. We drove to Richfield, about 37 miles away for groceries.
Thursday was our first day at the Fort. We had lunch with the site director and his wife, along with six other new couples. They were so busy that we cut the lunch short and had to go out and help with tours. RoLayne and I each shadowed someone for a couple of tours then we were on our own starting Friday. Thursday, there were more than 840 guests through the fort. That is more they we usually get on a summer day and we are not yet fully staffed. It was really crazy all weekend. They have already had more than 5,000 guests through the fort this month and it is only the 11th of the month. The best month in the summer is usually about 12,000. Things are looking like it will be a busy summer.
Thursday is our P-day for April and I can tell you we are looking forward to it as we come home tired every day. Our shifts are 6 hours but everyone has been working extended hours the past few days, some a lot more that us.
We have also had a bit of excitement. Saturday night it snowed about 4-5 inches. Sunday night it looked like it was going to freeze so I left a small stream of water running in the kitchen sink. I thought about opening the holding tank drain, but checked and found it was empty so thought I had plenty of capacity. WRONG! I woke up about 6 am and heard water on water instead of water on the bottom of the sink. I got up and the sinks were full and had run over and soaked the carpet. We spent several hour sopping up the water and then used a rug doctor from the fort to get more water out. We then put a big fan on for the day and night. We are almost back to normal in the trailer.
Sunday they had a pot luck at the fort with all the missionaries to break our fast and last night one of the missionary couples fixed a southern meal for the entire group for FHE. It was really fun and we are getting to know all the great missionaries here.
A couple of interesting experiences:
Saturday, there was a lady who got out of the car and raced to the bathroom. One of the supervisors tried to query her about a tour. The supervisor got the impression she was only interested in the restrooms. Her husband got out of the car and started strolling around waiting for his wife. I said, I will go out and talk with him. The supervisor said, I do not think they are interested. I approached the husband and said, Good Morning, I am Elder Heninger. He shook my hand and said, Hello, I am Elder Pilz, an area seventy from Germany. Needless to say, they were interested in a tour.
Today, I took two grandparents and their three grandchildren on a tour. They live in Richfield and came over to let their grandchilren see the fort. As we talked, I discovered that he had served in the air force at the Air Force Academy and they had lived in Colorado Springs for 30 some years. They moved back to Richfield just a couple of years ago. I told them that we had a daughter who lived in Colorado Springs for a few years. The wife ask what their last names were. I said Schoonmaker, the wife immediately said, Kim and Ben. They lived in our ward. It turns out that Kim also knows the parents of the grandchildren. Coincidence? I don't think so. We have too many of those here.
RoLayne has done really well and is enjoying the experience. She even gave away her first Book of Mormon yesterday to a lady from Ridgefield, WA, about 15 miles from our home.
We have both had some real spiritual experiences here with folks as we share our testimonies. We would love to see you if you have some time. We hope that you are all doing well.
I will include a few pictures for your enjoyment.
First things first. We arrived here last Tuesday evening after finishing a wonderful experience at the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC).
We had Wednesday to shop and get unpacked and it took the entire day to get things organized. We drove to Richfield, about 37 miles away for groceries.
Thursday was our first day at the Fort. We had lunch with the site director and his wife, along with six other new couples. They were so busy that we cut the lunch short and had to go out and help with tours. RoLayne and I each shadowed someone for a couple of tours then we were on our own starting Friday. Thursday, there were more than 840 guests through the fort. That is more they we usually get on a summer day and we are not yet fully staffed. It was really crazy all weekend. They have already had more than 5,000 guests through the fort this month and it is only the 11th of the month. The best month in the summer is usually about 12,000. Things are looking like it will be a busy summer.
Thursday is our P-day for April and I can tell you we are looking forward to it as we come home tired every day. Our shifts are 6 hours but everyone has been working extended hours the past few days, some a lot more that us.
We have also had a bit of excitement. Saturday night it snowed about 4-5 inches. Sunday night it looked like it was going to freeze so I left a small stream of water running in the kitchen sink. I thought about opening the holding tank drain, but checked and found it was empty so thought I had plenty of capacity. WRONG! I woke up about 6 am and heard water on water instead of water on the bottom of the sink. I got up and the sinks were full and had run over and soaked the carpet. We spent several hour sopping up the water and then used a rug doctor from the fort to get more water out. We then put a big fan on for the day and night. We are almost back to normal in the trailer.
Sunday they had a pot luck at the fort with all the missionaries to break our fast and last night one of the missionary couples fixed a southern meal for the entire group for FHE. It was really fun and we are getting to know all the great missionaries here.
A couple of interesting experiences:
Saturday, there was a lady who got out of the car and raced to the bathroom. One of the supervisors tried to query her about a tour. The supervisor got the impression she was only interested in the restrooms. Her husband got out of the car and started strolling around waiting for his wife. I said, I will go out and talk with him. The supervisor said, I do not think they are interested. I approached the husband and said, Good Morning, I am Elder Heninger. He shook my hand and said, Hello, I am Elder Pilz, an area seventy from Germany. Needless to say, they were interested in a tour.
Today, I took two grandparents and their three grandchildren on a tour. They live in Richfield and came over to let their grandchilren see the fort. As we talked, I discovered that he had served in the air force at the Air Force Academy and they had lived in Colorado Springs for 30 some years. They moved back to Richfield just a couple of years ago. I told them that we had a daughter who lived in Colorado Springs for a few years. The wife ask what their last names were. I said Schoonmaker, the wife immediately said, Kim and Ben. They lived in our ward. It turns out that Kim also knows the parents of the grandchildren. Coincidence? I don't think so. We have too many of those here.
RoLayne has done really well and is enjoying the experience. She even gave away her first Book of Mormon yesterday to a lady from Ridgefield, WA, about 15 miles from our home.
We have both had some real spiritual experiences here with folks as we share our testimonies. We would love to see you if you have some time. We hope that you are all doing well.
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| Sunday morning at our home |
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| Sunset at the fort |
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| Sunday Afternoon at the fort. Much of the snow has melted |
I will include a few pictures for your enjoyment.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
The MTC
Monday morning, March 27, 2017 we entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah for training to prepare us for our missionary service at Cove Fort, Utah.
To say it has been an inspiring experience would be an understatement. We have been treated to an spiritual experience that we will not soon forget.
The instructors here are all young returned missionaries and they do an awesome job. They are powerful teachers and teach with the spirit. We have learned many things during our stay here.
We were divided into districts and I was assigned as the district leader. Our districts met together all week in training, so we got to become well acquainted with each couple during the week. The other members of our district were; Summers, Gunthers, and Whitakers. They were all wonderful folks.
One of the most inspiring moments of the week was the opening song on the very first day. A young Elder, who was called to serve with his parents, lead us in "Called to Serve". He was so enthusiastic as he stood supported by his father and conducted the song. He suffers from Cerebral Palsy but was so delightful and his parents are wonderful people.
In addition to the above great missionaries, we met 5 other couples that are going to Cove Fort. We have also had the opportunity to visit with some of our own family while here at the MTC.
We will be leaving here Tuesday after class to drive down the Cove Fort.
We hope that all is going well for each of you.We miss you and love you, but we are happy and grateful for the opportunity to serve our Heavenly Father.
Here are some more photos for your review.
To say it has been an inspiring experience would be an understatement. We have been treated to an spiritual experience that we will not soon forget.
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| Our Morning Instructors Sisters Anderson & Peterson |
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| Our Afternoon Instructors, Sister Pugsley & Ritchie |
We were treated to a devotional given by Elder Palmer of the Seventy on Tuesday night. Tuesday through Friday we attended classes during the day learning how to share the gospel with all we meet. We had a special opportunity to get to know one other couple especially well as we were asked to sit with them during meals and get to know them. We then had the opportunity to teach and be taught by them. It turned into a wonderful experience and opportunity to make some long term friends. We worked with the Thompsons from Snowflake, AZ. They are a wonderful couple that are going to the Utah Salt Lake South Mission as record retention missionaries.
We were divided into districts and I was assigned as the district leader. Our districts met together all week in training, so we got to become well acquainted with each couple during the week. The other members of our district were; Summers, Gunthers, and Whitakers. They were all wonderful folks.
One of the most inspiring moments of the week was the opening song on the very first day. A young Elder, who was called to serve with his parents, lead us in "Called to Serve". He was so enthusiastic as he stood supported by his father and conducted the song. He suffers from Cerebral Palsy but was so delightful and his parents are wonderful people.
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| Elder and Sister Coates along with Elder "Markie" |
In addition to the above great missionaries, we met 5 other couples that are going to Cove Fort. We have also had the opportunity to visit with some of our own family while here at the MTC.
We will be leaving here Tuesday after class to drive down the Cove Fort.
We hope that all is going well for each of you.We miss you and love you, but we are happy and grateful for the opportunity to serve our Heavenly Father.
Here are some more photos for your review.
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| Our District at the MTC |
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| The Thompsons, we taught each other |
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| Our Room at the MTC |
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