Lots to Do
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| Flowers at the Pathways to Spiritual Sanctuary |
Monday, we were in Sheridan for a dentist appointment, a seminary meeting and a Zone council meeting. President Bailey (he’s in the Stake presidency) is a pediatric dentist - so Dr. Bailey. We were teasing him about being one of his patients and he said it was fine. So we had a cleaning and x-rays on Monday morning. I went first. I leaned back in the chair, and there was a TV on the ceiling. What!! These kids have it made. The hygienist said they had Netflix and I could watch whatever I wanted. Since I’m a missionary, I felt sticking to a Disney movie would be appropriate. I watched “Coco.” I am hooked. We will definitely be getting all our cleanings done there.
We met later that day with Brother Reid. He is the CES (Church Education System) leader for this area. He explained about Seminary, gave us some material, and answered any questions. We didn’t have a lot to ask since we are so new. We have more now that we have looked over things. It feels a bit daunting to do this. Teaching youth is a challenge in itself. This will be early in the morning - not everyone’s favorite time, and possibly half asleep. So we need to keep their attention. Plus it’s 5 days a week. Thank goodness for Walt stepping up and being willing to teach two of the five days. I know it is a calling with many blessings - think of how well versed we will be with the scriptures. I just need to get a positive attitude and trust the Lord will help. I know He will!!
Our Zone Council meeting, that was originally in Buffalo (30 minutes from Sheridan) got moved the night before to Gillette. Unfortunately, we didn’t read that message and were there (in Buffalo) at 7 pm. We did get the message that it was changed to 7:30, so we waited. At 7:30, we got a call asking where we were. Outside in the parking lot, was the reply. In Buffalo! Oh - it’s in Gillette came the response. Guess we weren’t making that meeting.
Tuesday morning, we headed home. On the way, we stopped by Gary’s to check on the garden. He wasn’t home, but we picked any way. There was plenty! I did get those beans and ones picked the previous week frozen on Friday. 9 quart bags! Those beans just keep coming and coming. We are enjoying them as well.
Next stop was the Smith’s. Renee had a catheter put in on Monday, and was still recovering. We shared a message about the blessings of the temple. It is truly the House of the Lord. I feel so close to God and Jesus Christ when I am there. It is so peaceful. We and the Smiths are all so grateful for their opportunity to be sealed in the temple in June. Renee has not been doing well recently. Things seems to be progressing at a faster rate. It feels helpless to watch it happen and not be able to change things. We try to be there for them as much as possible. We might increase our visits from just once a week.
Our Tuesday ended with an adventure. The Willadson’s have been telling us about this place called Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary. Here’s a link to their website
So we arranged to go with them and see this place. It is truly a peaceful place. There is a path to follow and there are wonderful quotes along the way. It winds through the woods and a large meadow. The highlight are the huge wind chimes. There are three, with the largest one being about 20 feet tall. There are benches along the path where you can write or draw or whatever in these notebooks they keep in tins, to keep them dry. At the chimes there is a swing. I could have stayed there all day, just swinging and enjoying those chimes. What a wonderful person created this place. To make it even better, it was a perfect weather day. The sun was shining, but not hot; as well as, a wonderful cool breeze.
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| Statue at Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary |
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| The Chimes |
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| Note the comparative size to us |
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| Jim and Me |
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| The path through the meadow |
Afterwards, we went to Deadwood to see a museum. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we got there. The Willadson’s wanted to treat us to dinner at a place there that has the best prime rib in the area. They are so generous and kind to us. The place was called “The Legend” and lived up to its reputation. It was a pretty fancy place and the food was excellent. That prime rib was huge. Both of the men ordered it and took half of it home. While waiting for our seats, we were able to witness a reenacted gun fight. That was pretty cool. It was a long and full day, but a really good one.
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| Sherif at the shootout in Deadwood |
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| The Outlaws |
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| Shoot 'em |
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| The outlaw on the ground was only wounded. He lived and was found not-guilty in a trial due to lack of evidence. True story |
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| That's some big Prime Rib! |
Wednesday was our Senior Center lunch day. We have a couple of people that we have gotten to know quite well. There are two gentlemen that I have been feeling like we should ask to visit them at their home. So we put on our braveness and asked. The first one seemed a bit surprised and wasn’t sure what to say. He lives alone and was worried about the mess. I told him not to worry - no rush on the visit. By the time we asked the 2nd guy, the first one decided he had some cool things to show us and made an appointment for Saturday. The 2nd one said he would check with his wife. It’s nothing formal or pushy. We just like the opportunity to visit and get to know people better. Our visit Saturday was quite nice. It was a bit lengthy but he warned us half way through that a truck driver never gets tired of talking. Too much time spent alone over the years. He’s had quite the life - military, truck driver and other occupations. Hopefully we get the chance to visit at his home again. I think he’ll be ok with it; especially since we brought cookies. I made two batches of cookies on Friday while freezing Gary’s beans. So we took cookies to every appointment on Friday and Saturday and still had some left for us.
That evening, the ladies and young women did a sewing service project. I gave Kay a ride. The projects were rice bags for seniors at the Manor, pretty pillow cases for youth in crisis centers, and draw string bags. It was quite the set up. Kay and Abi had a great time and learned a lot about measuring, cutting, ironing and sewing - all new to them. The three of us and some other ladies worked on the rice bags. It was quite fun. Walt was happy working on projects and lessons at home.
Thursday was planning and preparing lessons during the day. The Farmer’s Market is on Thursdays, so we went for corn. We were able to get grape tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches and corn! There aren’t a lot of options or large quantities available, so we get there a little early to scope it out. No one is allowed to sell before 5 pm. Oh - we also got a cherry pie!! So yummy and Walt’s favorite.
Next was Bingo at the Manor. We really enjoy calling Bingo. We have made lots of friends there. We even had some people win that usually don’t. They are always so grateful for us coming, plus we have gotten good at helping to put the place back together afterwards.
Instead of Missionary Correlation, we had a rare opportunity to visit a family that doesn’t really come to church. There have been some personal issues that we have been involved in (helpful with) and were so grateful to be able to visit with them. We shared a touching video and then invited their teenager to come to Seminary. This person was excited when we said it would start with the Four Gospels in the New Testament. They were also excited about breakfast treats on Fridays. We’ll see.
In addition to freezing and baking, we made some visits on Friday. We shared a video called “I Stand all Amazed”. I’ve put the link at the bottom of this paragraph. One sister had a friend over when we got there, so we shared it with both them. This lead to a great conversation about how Jesus Christ is always there for us. He suffered and gave His life for us to have the opportunity to repent and live with God again. It is quite a touching video. Both of them really liked it.
Saturday was our appointment with the gentleman from the Senior Center, FaceTiming with Emma and a visit to the Pithans. We haven’t seen them in quite a while. They have some teenager chickens and some brand new baby ones. We got a couple the new chicks from the barn and brought them in so Pat could see them. She has a very hard time getting around. They were so adorable. She and I each held one for quite a while. Mine was only hours old. (There is a video on my FaceBook page). While we were out getting the chicks, the clouds were beginning to look quite menacing. A storm was coming. Here, you can see one from a very long ways away. Brother Pithan remarked that he didn’t like the way that storm was looking. He was right. The storm came and so did the hail. We were already on our way back to return the chicks to the barn when it started. At first it wasn’t that bad, and it seemed like I was dodging them. On they way back, it really ramped up. One hit me square on the top of my head and it really hurt. My first time for that. It really got going and the hail got bigger and bigger. They said they’ve never seen it hail like this where they live. Everyone says the weather has really been unusual this year. It’s crazy weather - that’s for sure. We’ve never seen so many hail storms as we do here. Fortunately, it passed by the time we left for home.
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| Cloud at the Pithans before the storm |
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| Here comes the hail! |
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| Not a golf ball, but the biggest we've seen here |
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| Adorable little chick. Not much bigger than the hail. Only hours old. |
Cash (our grandson) is really into birds. He has been doing a lot of research on birds that we might see in Wyoming. The last letter he sent us included a very detailed list that he wrote by hand. Bless his heart. Walt has been wanting a telescopic lens attachment for his phone camera and it arrived on Tuesday. He was able to take some decent pictures today while enjoying the very nice weather. In the morning there are more birds, but we were able to see a few this afternoon.
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| Birds in our yard- taken with new telescopic lens. |
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| We think this is a woodpecker. Cash will have to identify it for us. |
It was really nice being able to FaceTime with grandchildren this week. Emma finally got her LOL surprise package that we ordered (with Abe, Anya, Kate, and Drake) for her birthday. We thought it would be there soon, so we had it mailed to our address in Greencastle. We were there for the reception. It didn’t get mailed until July 29th, but still wasn’t delivered as it claimed, on August 12th. Very frustrating. Then on Thursday, it showed up on our porch, here in Wyoming. The post office had forwarded it!! Seriously! I mailed it within 10 minutes directly to Emma and she got it on Saturday. Thanks to technology, we were able to watch her open it. She did really like all the goodies inside. Today, we were able to FaceTime with Ace, Cash, and Heidi. The other grandchildren were visiting their dad. They are growing up so fast. I didn’t realize Heidi is going to middle school this year. By the time we get back, Cash and Morgan will be getting ready to go to high school.
It was a busy week as usual. Sometimes, it is back to back visits and other times, just lots of preparation. With Seminary starting this week, our lesson preparation time will really increase. We will still be able to visit and teach. Guess we’ll get good at scheduling and being efficient with our time. The Lord always blesses us whenever we do our part - without fail.
We have loved getting letter and cards from the grandchildren and have written back to each one of them. Not sure if they will keep it up once school starts. Hopefully! We love you all and we keep you in our prayers.
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