Mission News-

This week has been one of our busiest yet.  In the last two weeks we have delivered about 45 Christmas goodies with a card and message to military families.  We also delivered our sub for Santa gifts to six families on the 23rd at night in deep snow.  Dad waded through to each house and never got caught.  On Christmas Eve we had a small wedding in the chapel and then we furnished refreshments.  Earlier in the week we went with this couple to pick out a bouquet and help them find a Christmas tree stand.  On the way home we saw the sisters in the freezing cold and picked them up and took them to get some dinner.  It was a fun, unplanned evening.  Christmas Day we had the Elders and Sisters over in shifts for brunch and then in the evening we went to dinner at the home of the Petty family.  They have 6 children and it was great to be with a family for Christmas.  Their whole family was in Pageant last summer.  We missed the family and all of the usual things, but we kept busy and did fine through Christmas.  The next evening we went to visit the Ortega's again to take them a DVD of their temple trip and some consecrated oil for him to take to Afghanistan.  His mother was visiting and wanted a blessing because of migraine headaches.  He helped dad give the blessing and was thrilled for his first time.  We are now letting down a bit and getting back on our normal schedule.  We send our love to all! 

Palmyra temple

Hi everyone, These are two pictures are from our busy Saturday. One is of the Ortega family from Texas.  He will be deployed on the 28th of Dec. to Afghanistan with the 3rd Brigade as a medic.  They have been here just about a month and wanted to get married in the temple before he left.  I think we told you the story of their busy Sunday. On Friday, in a major snow storm, (Mom was a nervous wreck}, we drove them down to Palmyra. We left on Friday because we were worried about not being able to get there Sat. morning because of the storm, this is the only window they had.  The Ortega's had a 7:45 appointment at the temple for endowments and sealing.  We stayed over night at the Palmyra Inn and got up to more snow but the temple was less than 5 minutes away. It was a great experience to be with this faithful young couple fulfilling their righteous desire.  They were so excited.  It was still snowing when we got out of the temple. We quickly showed them around the sites and then raced home to a baptism in Watertown, the other picture. Mom was doing the refreshments for after the baptism social.  Sister Santiago is also a deploying soldier in the 3rd Brigade.  Her finance, in the picture is in the second phase of Special Forces training and will be gone most of the year anyway.  They decided to get married before she left. They are going to be married by the Bishop on Christmas eve.  Mom will help with some light refreshment, ya right. I was asked to baptize and confirm her, it's what the mission calls a white Christmas (clothing). It was a very busy but a spiritually uplifting day for all involved. We could not have done the temple thing without Melissa's help on the temple clothing.  Everything fit perfectly and the Ortegas were very happy.  The Lord really wanted them married in the temple because of how things worked out.  Only in the mission field!  It has been snowing all week.  Today after church I took the Elders to Syracuse and then to Utica, one is going home tomorrow. I went alone because Mom was just not up to another nervous storm run.  It was a good thing too because the roads were snow packed all the way down and on the way home things got really bad fast. I drove for 20 miles in almost white out conditions, snow packed roads with temperatures in the low teens, talk about a prayer in one's heart.  Our car has been super, it has really been snow tested, I can't imagine driving conditions being any worse.  We are loving the work, especially the people.  We love and miss you all, have a great Christmas and at some point read the Bible story in Luke of Christ's birth.  Mom and Dad      

This Weeks News From NY

Hi everyone!  We started our busy week by driving a sister missionary down to the Syracuse Airport at 4:30 Monday morning.  That's the story of mission work. We had a wonderful couple of days with Mark and Mel and kids.  It was so much fun to meet Cael and know his sweet, happy personality.  The weather isn't the greatest here, but we had fairly good travel conditions.  They met the Mission mother down in Palmyra and came to the Watertown Christmas party with us and met lots of the returned soldiers and their families.  This picture is at Sackett's Harbor which is now ice.  It was cold, but fun.  We shopped at H&M (eat your heart out girls), and saw the sights at Palmyra.  At the Watertown Christmas party one of the soldiers who is home on leave for Christmas gave us an American flag that was flown over the Multi National Corps- Iraq Headquarters in Bagdad.  It had a certificate with it signed by a general and a thank you to us for our support.  We were thrilled and honored and will treasure it.  Mark and Mel left about 1:30 on Saturday and we went on to the Carthage Ward Christmas party and followed that by two baptisms for which we furnished the food and programs.  It seems we get busier and busier.  This week we have half mission Zone Conference in Utica, taking the Elders and Sisters bowling for their p day (8 of them), taking a couple down to the Temple to be sealed and trying to visit everyone to take our Christmas goodies around  and do our volunteer work.  Tomorrow night we are wrapping up our sub for Santa presents at Young Adults.  It is a busy, happy work.  We send our love to you all at this holiday season!

News from the north country

Hi gang, this has been one of those fantastic weeks to be in the field.  First to explain the pictures.  The Family is the Da Silva's. The oldest son was baptize several weeks ago.  On Saturday he baptized his father and younger brother and on Sunday he ordained his father to be a priest. The mother will be baptized this coming Saturday, the twins are 4 years.  The other picture is of the YA group at the monthly dinner.  Sister Larsen is setting a pretty high standard here for dinners, with table cloths and center pieces.  The soldiers love the food and so do the Elders. Sunday we had just an amazing day.  It began with a big lake effect snow storm, we crawled over to the Watertown Ward for PEC meeting and learned they were canceling church.  After the meeting we decided to make the trek to Carthage because the Stake president was going to be there for deployment blessings.  It was a heavy storm with snow packed roads all the way but well worth the drive.  A couple who has just been here from Texas 2 weeks wanted to go to the temple for endowments and sealing before he is deployed on the 28th.  We had begun to teach them the temple prep. lessons just this week.  Their records had not arrived yet and he was still a priest. No way right, but this is the mission field.  After sacrament meeting the ward clerk was checking the computer for something else when their membership records showed up.  Since the Stake Pres. was there all the interviews were done and Brother Ortega was ordained an elder by the Stake Pres. with the rest of the presidency assisting. To get all that done while church was going on was a real miracle.  They also got their temple recommends completed.  He even called the temple pres. to make an appointment. We were in a meeting with some of the Ward members and the Stake Pres. kept coming in and having the men sustain the ordination and then he came back in the meeting and the men joined in the ordination with lots of hugs and handshakes afterward.  To get their temple clothes in time we called Melissa and she is going to mail them this week.  We also set apart a serviceman group leader for the 3rd Brigade. All this during a raging lake effect snow storm. We taught the Ortega's two more temple prep. lessons and topped off the day by watching the Church Christmas Program via satellite at the Watertown Ward with the Sisters and Elders and 3 investigators.  What a day! Love this work, take care, we love and miss you all.  Mom and Dad