mission News 6/28/09

This week we lost 7 of the departing families. They have moved on to other posts. We will really miss them. It seems so sad that we may never see those people again. The Army people say that we will all have a big reunion in Heaven. As part of our week we took a newly baptized girl up shopping for a shower curtain, etc for her apartment she has rented. It is so amazing to see the change in lifestyle the gospel brings. She drank and smoked, was a bartender and said that she always drowned her depression by getting drunk. Her sister joined the church and she watched her life change and so she decided she wanted what her sister had. She had done drugs, had to quit smoking and drinking, had to give up her friends so she quit her job because they were mad at her for the changes she had made. Some of them brought anti Mormon literature, etc. She applied for a new job and started until a background check came up with past drug charges. She had put money down on a small apartment and now had no job. She found another job at a gas station, but had no money to buy the things for the apartment. We helped her with some of the things and the Ward members rounded up furniture for her. She is so great and so grateful for her new way of life. We spent most of this week visiting some of the people we had not visited for awhile. We have made friends with so many and it is fun to visit. On Saturday we took our p day as there is a big annual air show on the airfield every year at this time. It was an amazing undertaking. It is free to everyone and has all kinds of displays where you can go inside all of the aircraft. The pictures show dad in front of an old B-17 called the Memphis Belle and then in front of a Chinook. The air show had jets, old fashioned planes, all doing acrobatics and amazing tricks. They had food tents and military displays and lots to see. There were thousands of people and then they have a country music concert and fireworks that are also free in the evening. It was a fun day! The Wards and Stakes around here are busy getting things set up for Pageant. It is getting exciting! Our new mission Pres. comes tomorrow and we meet him next Saturday. We send our love to all!

North Country News 6/22/09

Hi everyone, We had a great week with lots going on. At Zone conference Pres. and Sister Eckersley said goodby to us. They leave on the 30th of June with the new Pres. and his wife arriving then. It was one of those bitter sweet things. It will be great for them, after 3 years they deserve a break, but it is hard to see them leave we have become good friends. This mission is full of people coming and going. We aren't enjoying that part of it. It will be interesting to see if things change with a new mission president. We also got a chance to go down to see the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. We took the Elders from Watertown down to the mission home and there was no one to bring back so we drove the 1-1/2 hrs from Utica to Coopertown. The one picture of Elder Larsen standing in the Hall of Fame at the beginning. It's a great little town with all kinds of shops selling baseball memorbilia. There were lots of Little League teams roming around shopping. It was almost more fun watching the excited kids enjoying the shops. Engraved bats seem to be the hot item. The Hall of Fame itself was very interesting and historic. It beat the Boxing Hall of Fame all to heck. It is worth seeing even with the long drive home. Anyway we crossed of another need to see item from our list. We had 4 of our active military families leave for other Posts this week, it was hard to see them leave. There will be 3 other families leaving soon also. They take it all in stride and look upon it as a upward and onward change. June and July on military Posts are fun times for the soldies there are lots of 4 day weekends and the soon to be deployed have block leave. Lots of the families go home to see their families so both the wards suffer for attendance. We have a Brigade deploying in Oct. so from here on they will be taking leave and doing hard core training. This will be the third brigade we have been able to watch deploy since coming here. It's guite a process to watch unfold especially with the soldiers and families. The soldiers are pulled two ways, they look forward to being down range (deployed) and doing their thing but at the same time don't want to leave their loved ones. Seeing this part of the process makes one realize how much of a sacriface the soldiers are making. It is a uplifting
thing to watch. We love you all and miss being with you. Thanks for all the calls, cards and the picture was fantastic where did you ever find it. How appropriate for our situation. You are all great. Hug all the little ones for us. Mom and Dad

New From Up North 6/14/09

Hi Gang, We had a great visit with Bob and Molly and Megan and Luke. We picked them up at the airport and went to Palmyra and then the next day we visited the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario and the sites close to them. We had a great time together and enjoyed the visit. They took a boat trip over from Alexandria Bay to a small island to a place called Bolt Castle. We also visited a small lakeside town called Clayton and then onto Sacketts Harbor which is a historical site from the War of 1812 and is on Lake Ontario. On Monday before they came we had a miniature golf activity with our Young Adults. We had 18 attend, a record for us. One of the soldiers who had not been coming for a long time came with a new girl who is in his unit. We have had quite a few new ones show up lately. We are also losing about 5 great families these next two weeks. They are moving on to other posts. It is difficult to think that we might never see them again. We will try to keep in touch. Another amazing thing happened this week. We ran home between visits on Saturday and Adam Lindsey was waiting outside our apt. He is at Cambridge which is fairly close and came by to see us. We had a geat visit and it is always so good to see someone from home. We are never bored here! We lost the Elders in the area last week and now only have Sisters in Watertown and a set of Elders in Carthage. This should simplify things a little for us. We send our love to all! Mom & Dad

News from the field 6/8

Hi Gang, It has been another busy week up here. It seem like the work is increasing all the time. The pictures are from our last trip to Palmyra the past weekend. We took Jessica our YSA leader in the Carthage ward to the temple for her endowments. She has been a member for 7 years and the only member in her family. Her father is still opposed to it. She works as a librarian in Carthage, is very faithful and dedicated to the church, which has become her family. We were blessed to teach her the temple preparation lessons and help her get her clothing ordered. It was another great day to be in the temple. Several of the ward members were there to support her. They had a testimony meeting in the grove after for the Relief Society sisters there, Mom said it was very special. We are so blessed to be able to go to Palmyra so often in line with our calling. Last Sunday I picked up 6 soldiers from Post for church, it was max for our car. We don't know what we will do if others call next week. Our most recent soldier is from Clinton, Utah, he has been here for 2 weeks and just called the ward Sunday morning. It is exciting for everyone when new members just show up with out having to search them out. The weather is slowly warming up, but still cooler than last year when we got here. I think there has been alittle less rain also. An end of a era will happen this week in Watertown as far as missionary work goes. The Elders are moving out so there will be just Sister here for the time being. Elders have been in Watertown as far back as anyone can remember. It's sad in a way our mission was the top baptizing in the northeast last year and we are going from 110 missionaries to 90, this is the first round of decreasing areas. In the future there will be just one set of missionaries per church unit (ward/branch). It's a combination of fewer missionaries coming out, the raising of the bar and the economy thing. We will take the Elders down to Utica on Wednesday for the last time. The sisters will be here with a car which should greatly help us in giving rides. They will have a large area to cover and the ward members will have to step it up a lot. Sister Todd (her husband was a KIA in Iraq) was here to gather up her belongings and move home. We spent a couple of days helping her clean and fixing some plumbing problems, it was good to spend some time and serve her. She is putting the home up for sale and going back home in Washington to family. We love the work and the people here it will be hard to leave. If and when that every happens. Mom and Dad