Here in Newcastle

 We finally made it to Newcastle Wyoming yesterday.  





Love that Wyoming wind!
We left Fort Collins, Colorado, Saturday morning.  We weren't happy having a little room in our already packed car, so we made one last stop at Costco.  It's one of the closest to Newcastle.  We stocked up on paper products, meats, and of course, a rotisserie chicken.  Walt did great on that choice - it was our dinner last night.

It was soooo windy on the way there.  Thus the great hair in the above picture.  There were signs about a high wind advisory - 50 plus mph.  It was like wrestling the steering wheel for 2 hours.  Thank goodness is subsided half way through the trip.  By then we were just driving in the middle of no where, with an occasional town ranging from a population of 4 - 600 or so.  Newcastle is huge in comparison - 3,500.  

We arrived in Newcastle around 3 pm and were greeted with some mule deer.  (Hidden in the trees behind our house). We found out they can be quite aggressive, they will go after our neighbors dog.
The Elder's Quorum president came to help us unload.  That was so wonderful.  He even came back with his wife later and brought us food for dinner.

Mule deer greeting us, in the trees

We found out that food can be quite expensive here.  So we just got enough for a couple of days and will go to Gillette tomorrow (90 minutes away) where there is a Walmart.  

We did see a beautiful sunset last night.  It made it all worth it!  It will be the first of many :)
Amazing Sunset






View from our kitchen window


After dinner, we started the fun task of unpacking and finding a place for everything.  Overwhelming.  We worked until about 8 pm before giving up for the night.  I was happy that I got the kitchen in order and having my touches from home.  


Even brought placemats from home









Our mantel over our fireplace.  The tile missionary thing is a gift from Anya.

 Today was quite the experience.  The Bishop called us last night to ask us to meet him before church (8 a.m.) and discuss plans for us.  Not sure that sounded so good.  He went over the roster of members and let us know who could use a visit from us the most.  I better get baking those cookies.  We also will get to go to meetings with leadership each week.  (7 a.m. for Walt and 8 a.m. for me).  No sleeping in for us on Sundays. 
 
 We found out that the Bishop and other ward members have been praying for a Sr Missionary couple for 9 months!  So - we are an answer to their prayer.  Makes us feel a little pressure to measure up to expectations.  They didn't say that, just feel that way a bit.  We promised we would give it our all.  There were only about 40-50 people at sacrament meeting.  Lots of people wanted to shake our hand and meet us.  Felt like a celebrity.  Of course, we were asked to share our testimonies and a little about ourselves.

 The Bishop invited us for lunch (it was more like a dinner).  He has a wonderful family, and is very humble and kind.  The meal was so delicious!!  I'm still full now.  We got a call from another member just a bit ago, inviting us for dinner tomorrow night.  Love it!  It will be a great way to get to know the members.

 We have our work cut out for us!  But we have enthusiasm and a strong desire to serve.

 Funny Fact - It's much colder in Greencastle, PA than here.  Boy are we blessed!

 Thanks for reading.  We love you all!







Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 20, 2019 at 7:41 PM

    Joann and Walt, I'm really excited to read your posts about your mission. I'm sure your testimonies will grow as you serve and rely on Heavenly Father to guide and direct you. I'm also sure that everyone you meet will love you and want to hear what you have to say. I love you both and will pray for your success.
    John Karl

    ReplyDelete

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