Ranching and Baptizing

Panoramic view of part of the Bishop's ranch

Sometimes I think our weeks can’t get more exciting and then I am proven wrong.  This week has been one of those.

We’ll start with the more down to earth type of excitement.  On Monday, we finally got to do some ranching.  Walt has been waiting for that for a long time.  We got out to the Bishop’s ranch about 10:30 am (per their request).  The Bishop gets up at 4:30 am, but Becky (his wife) wasn’t going to be there until later.  When we got there the Bishop was on the phone trying to find a spring for his planting tractor.  It’s a monster of a machine. His had come off that morning in the field somewhere.  The closest one was in Sundance, 2 hours away.  Nothing is close to a ranch, except another ranch.  He asked us if we would be willing to take the 4 wheelers and search for the missing spring.  (it’s about a foot long)

Planting tractor.  Walt and Bishop are behind repairing the spring

I have never ridden or driven a 4 wheeler in my life.  It seemed a bit daunting, but I didn’t want to look like a wimpy city girl.  Bishop Checketts showed me the basics and then said not to give it gas too quickly or it would buck me off.  Good to know.  Well . . . I did it!!  It was good to start off in a relatively smooth field since we ended up riding all over one of the pastures later.  The Checketts have two dogs - Sassy and Jake.  While waiting for Walt to start up his 4 wheeler, Jake jumps on the back of mine.  Crazy dog!  I kept trying to get him to jump off, but he wasn’t budging.  I figured he must ride often.  So off we go, starting at one end of the field and scanning as we went up and down the field together to cover it throughly (the field is about a mile long)  At one point, we stopped to take a picture of the antelope so close by.  Jake jumps off the 4 wheeler and starts to chase them, I mean he was gone in a shot.  Great - I am thinking.  Now I’ve lost their dog.  But as soon as he had chased them off, he was after me for a ride back.

Me and Jake on the 4-wheeler

Walt on his 4-wheeler with the antelope in the background

About half way through the field, Walt spotted the spring.  I knew he would be the one to find it.  He has hawk eyes for sure.  Before we started to look, I suggested we pray and ask for help in locating this crucial piece.  A big storm was coming (snow) and the Bishop needed to get his planting done before it came.  This lost spring was costing some serious time.  Immediately after Walt found it, I gave a prayer of gratitude.  It seemed like a miracle to find it in such a big area.  Blessings!

Fixing the spring.  Walt was the perfect ranch hand!

Our next job was to ride around the North pasture and check on the heifers.  That’s what they call the first time mother cows.  They keep them separate so they can check on them more easily.  It’s usually only the first year they birth that there can be complications, since they are inexperienced.  So there were currently 5 calves and all of them were tagged.  We were to count the tagged ones to make sure there were still 5, and then look for any calves that were not tagged (they would be new ones).  That pasture was huge, and it’s just one of 7-10 pastures (not sure how many).  It took us a while to find the majority of them.  There was one that was hanging out in the corner alone.  That was a sign she might give birth soon.  We kept checking on her several times for signs but she didn’t have it until the next day.  I really want to see a calf being born.  There are only 13 more to give birth.  So we’ll see.

A momma babysitting two other calves.  Love those blue "earrings"

After lunch, we headed off with Becky in the work truck to do the “chores.”  We checked the water pumps, started 2 generators, checked other water spots, and moved some salt licks from one pasture to another.  It took nearly 3 1/2 hours to do it all.  That ranch is so big.  It’s 55,000 acres.  We asked her so many questions about the ranch and how things are done.  We’re learning a lot.  We love it.   So this was one of the best days - especially for Walt.  He is ready to go back every week.  He could easily do those chores for the Bishop without Becky and would love doing it.  Maybe soon - before calving season is over.

Bishop's ranch.  Very small part.

Since we didn’t get to serve lunch on Monday at the Sr Center, we decided to help them serve breakfast.  They only do breakfast once a month.  It’s a free  Veteran’s breakfast.  There were twice as many people as we’ve seen at lunch.  Walt was excited about the biscuits and gravy.  It was pretty darn good.  We started at 8 am and had until 10 am before we needed to be somewhere else.  So after we cleaned up, we helped take inventory.  Boy, working in the freezer gets super cold.  Doing the canned items was so much warmer and easier.  It was nice to be able to be so useful.  Afterwards, we were off to our weekly thrift store run.  The suits I had gotten Gary were too small, so I needed to look again.  No luck on that, but were successful at finding a comforter to lay on the ground to star gaze.  We can see the stars so well here.  No ambient lighting to interfere.   It’s amazing how many stars there are out there.

Then home to pack for Sheridan.  We had a Zone Council meeting in Buffalo (30 minutes from Sheridan) on Wednesday morning.  We have our wonderful family, the Baileys to stay with in Sheridan.  In only two visits, we’ve become the adopted grandparents to their 4 children.  So cool!  I think they love us visiting as much as we like it.  They spoil us rotten, and Sis Bailey is always telling us to just sit and relax.  Crazy stuff!  I like being able to help - clean up after dinner, pick up toys or even just sit with the children.  They always feed us so well.  Spoiled!  

So the winter storm came as predicted.  Just Monday, it was 62 and sunny!  Wyoming weather!!  Some people said it has snowed in July before.  Hopefully not this year!  It was iffy, but the Elders in charge decided to go ahead with the meeting.  The snow wasn’t bad in Sheridan, but the roads between Newcastle and Sheridan weren’t all that good.  Some of it was pretty sketchy.  Poor Elders that had to drive it there and back.  At least we only had the drive home.  So glad Walt did all that driving.  Some places were plowed but the wind had blown most of it back on the roads.  Fun!

Thursday was winter weather again without the snow.  It was back to a heavy coat, boots, and fleece lined tights.  We left our house at 11:45 am and didn’t get back until nearly 9 pm that night.  It was none stop between appointments.  At least we were smart enough to take some sandwiches with us.  There really aren’t any places to stop and grab something to eat.  We enjoyed a visit with the Smiths, Gary, Bingo at the Manor, and finally our Missionary Correlation meeting.  We had supper at 9 pm.  What a day!

Friday was catch up day.  We got some long over due laundry done, prepared some lessons, and worked quite a while on changes to our ward directory - updating addresses and such.  It’s one of the goals this year for our ward to have a totally correct directory.  That is especially difficult when 75-80% of the members don’t attend church.  We were also preparing for Haley’s baptism on Saturday.  Lots of details.

We had dinner at the Pizza Barn with the Aylesworth.  It is the tradition now to have dinner and then teach one of the temple preparation lessons.  I either cook, or they like to take us to Pizza Barn every now and then. We enjoy it.  The Elders had been over just before it was time to meet them to plan lessons and found out their dinner appointment cancelled on them.  So we invited them to come along with us and we would pay their way.  It was a good time.  They had not really gotten to know the Aylesworths very well before then.

Elder Kerr, Elder Glover, April and Keith Aylesworth, Me and Walt

Part of the menu at The Pizza Barn.  Check out the Peanut Butter and Jelly!!

Saturday was the best ending to a week.  Haley was baptized.  It was our first and so exciting.  I had taken baptism clothes to their house to try out for sizing.  We found something that worked well for both Haley and her dad.  So I took them home to iron and look good.  I ironed them Friday night.  As I was ironing, I was thinking about how wrinkled and distressed the clothes looked.  With each push of the iron, the fabric would look renewed and refreshed.  Much different than before.  It made me think of the people we are working with.  Life is changing for them and for us.  It’s like having freshly ironed clothes.  It felt like an honor to be the one to get their clothes ready for this special occasion.

Baptism Clothes

The baptism went well.  It was just a small intimate ordeal.  That is how Haley wanted it.  Her dad was ordained to the office of Priest (not the same as a pastor in other religions) just before her baptism.  That in itself was a special moment.   Haley’s mom helped her get ready and then wanted to watch from the other side of the font.  So I had the privilege of standing with her at the door that leads into the font.  Walt was on the men’s side doing the same thing for Richard.  We help them out and then had a towel ready for when they are done.  When I opened the door just to show Haley what it looked like, Walt had done the same for Richard.  So both doors were opened at the same time and they just smiled at each other.  Totally unplanned.  Her dad went into the font first and then Haley went down the stairs into the font.  When she got to him, he just grabbed her up in a big hug and both were grinning from ear to ear.  It was such a tender moment.  The love was palpable  I loved my view.  All I could see was the two of them, in this special and life changing moment.  Just the eternal perspective.   The Smiths are so special and we are so blessed to be part of this journey with them.  The best part is that this is just the beginning for them.

Elder Kerr, Elder Glover, Renee, Richard, Me, Walt and Haley (in front)

The Smith Family!

We also are making great progress on getting church clothes for Gary.  After the success of white shirts and ties (we found the perfect one in Sheridan), finding pants was proving much more difficult.  The suits we bought a week ago, did not fit.  Gary suggested we just measure to get the right size.  We weren’t having any luck at all finding the size.  So I looked on Amazon (best thing ever) and found some his size that were $26 with free shipping.  So when we went to visit, I told him.  He gave me money for 2 pairs.  I guess he is serious about coming to church if he is willing to invest $52 for pants.  They will arrive tomorrow or soon after.  So it looks like Easter Sunday will be his first one back to church in probably 20 years.  We are so excited!  I can’t wait to see him all duded up for church.

We have such a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Following the Savior changes our lives into something amazing.  We feel his love for us and for those we visit.  I like to think of what we do as “shepherding” or “ministering”.  We serve these wonderful people of Newcastle and Upton.  We love them and want to do all we can to bring more joy into their lives; to bring them closer to Christ and feel of His love for them.  We couldn’t pick a better thing to do with our lives right now than this!

We love you all and appreciate your prayers and support.  We pray you all look forward to this upcoming Easter Season and the significance of what Jesus Christ has done for all of us because of His love for us all.

The first think I have seen in bloom!!!