September 2014!

Ready or not - September is here!  Labor Day one year ago we entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, to prepare for our mission. What a fun, exciting, growing, learning, frustrating, amazing, fulfilling year we have had.  You'll be happy to know that this past week was better than the week before...  Still grieving with my sister, but impressed with her strength and attitude.  I have visited with her often.  And it's been nice to receive numerous emails from cousins as they respond to Mike's passing and reconnect.  Also had wonderful chats with our newly-turned-16-year-old grandson Dakota and our awesome son Dylan (congratulations on your selection to the Idaho Bar Association Leadership Academy - and I probably got that title wrong, but you can correct everyone in your family email, whatever it's called, it's an honor and we are proud of you...). Also enjoyed a long late night chat with forever friend, Linda Wilde. We love phone calls, emails, and letters from family and friends - they really help encourage us and keep us going.

Van Horns, Ortons, Lewises - MTC Buddies

So the week passed pleasantly.  We had dinner Monday evening with our good friends Johnny and Janet, recent convert, Sonja, plus Elders Hall, Lyon, and Moore.  We had great squirrel gravy and biscuits, and home grown tomatoes.  Then the guys all played horse shoes outside until dark while Janet, Sonja, and I talked.  Tuesday we had District Meeting in the morning and lots of visits in the afternoon, then service at the nursing home.  Wednesday was a long day as we left at 7 am and drove to Frederick, Maryland, for a Senior Couples Conference with our mission president, Mark Richards, and his wife.  Fun to see the other couple missionaries in our mission,  they are awesome and our good friends.  They have diverse assignments and it's nice to share experiences and also receive instruction and

Elder & Sister Van Horn - heading home

encouragement from our mission president.  We went through the MTC with the Van Horns and the Lewis's.  The Van Horns were filling a 1 year mission copying records at the State Archives for FamilySearch.  They are done now and will be heading home to Bountiful next week.  We will miss seeing them.

Maryland Baltimore Mission - President & Sister Richards with Senior Couples,  3 Sep 2014

After the Conference we made a brief stop at the Frederick Costco - what a treat!  Could stock up on a few necessities that are difficult to find or too expensive around here.  We made a slight detour on the drive home to visit our friend Woneda, who used to live in Moorefield, then in the Baker Nursing Home, and now is living back in the hills with her son.  She was so glad to see us,  I took her some of her favorite pretzels, a loaf of banana bread, a note from one of her favorite Elders, and a Church News issue that had an update on the Philadelphia Temple - she is interested in the progress of that temple.  We got back into Petersburg just in time for Wayne to drop me off at the church Family History Room - I go there every Wednesday night to be available to ward members needing genealogy help or to index.  Anyway, made it home about 8:00. Tired.

Janet & Johnny

Thursday and Friday we made more visits, did apartment and car inspections for the Elders (because transfers are coming up again, next week), helped clean the church, and Wayne sang at the nursing home. Our big day was Saturday. Such a great day - another trip to the Washington, DC, Temple. It was a lovely day.   There were 18 members of the Petersburg Ward in the temple together for a sealing, then an endowment session.  The Elders and the non-member 14-year-old son of the couple that were being sealed were in the Visitors Center next door to the temple, along with another ward member and his granddaughter.  We took Janet & Johnny, and Sandy & Baxter with us, none but

Baxter & Sandy

Janet had been to the temple in a long time.  Our testimony meeting today was mostly about the wonderful experience of being in the temple and the blessings of the temple.  Even Johnny bore his testimony - maybe for the first time, that was unexpected and special.

Next week already looks very busy. We are waiting to hear if any of our current Elders are being transferred - if they are we will be making the 3-hour drive to Comumbia, Maryland with Elders, luggage, and bikes...

Our love.

A favorite little valley we admire on our drive between Moorefield and
Wardensville.  We are going to try and take pictures of it in the four seasons.