How It All Started May - August 2015

August, 2015

In May, we started North from sunny Arizona and went up through Colorado, ending up at our daughter's (Jill) home in Burns, WY.   

We grabbed our two grandkids (Boe and Kamber) and went to Martin's Cove, which is an LDS historical site where the Martin and Willie pioneer handcart companies came through.

Later, Jill and her husband, Dan, met us there.  We stayed several days in Missionary Village and went on a little mini handcart trek.

There is a lot of pioneer history in the area. What a great time we had there!  We had been contemplating going on an LDS mission, but didn't quite know what we wanted to do.  We felt the spirit strong at Martin's Cove, but never made it to the Mission President's office to visit with him.

A few weeks later, we were camping in the Wasatch mountains in Utah and we went to visit the Brinkerhoffs (friends from Emmett), who were serving a mission at the Deseret Land and Livestock Trek Mission in Utah, just over the border from Evanston WY.  As soon as we drove into Missionary Village, we knew why we hadn't made ourselves go talk to the Martin's Cove Mission President--we were supposed to serve at Deseret Land and Livestock Trek Mission. 

We got home in July and started the paperwork for our mission.  We had an interview with Elder Lynn Sumerhays of the 70's, then an interview with our Bishop.  Everything went through and all of a sudden, we were set apart as missionaries! What a great blessing Bishop Buck gave us--everything we needed in order to have a wonderful mission.  This is a two-year mission, but we are only active for four months, during the summer--April-August.  The rest of the year, we wear our missionary badges to Church, the Temple, and other appropriate times and places.  Otherwise, we just live regular lives (which is traveling in an RV for us) and behave ourselves!

Because we got everything done and were already set-apart missionaries, we got to go to DL&L the end of August and participate in the training of the youth leaders who would be bringing their groups to trek the following summer.  What great training we got, also.  We will be so much more prepared for next summer.  This is a picture of Missionary Village.  All of the missionaries are required to have some kind of camp trailer or RV to live in.  There will be 11 couples serving our first summer.  We have all of the hook-ups and conveniences there, even washing machines and two kitchens with extra freezers and refrigerators that we share.  We told them that we would be the only missionaries serving from our home (since we live full-time in our RV!)

This depot building was moved to missionary village and restored.  lt has a really nice kitchen in it, with a living room where they hold family home evenings, an office area, and a laundry room.  When visitors come, they are allowed to use this building to eat and gather in.

There is a two room "motel" that our friends and family are welcome to use to come visit us on the weekends.  It is close to the depot.  These are both used when we have our "family trek" weekend the end of the summer.  Tents are also allowed on the lawn around the Depot.

Up a small hill from the depot is the Trek Center.  This is a large building that is two stories on half of it and a tall ceiling on the other half.   The upstairs has a sewing area and some storage and the downstairs has a nice kitchen, laundry room,  and a meeting area.  The other half of the building is used for building and repairing handcarts,  mechanical work, and other projects.  The leadership training is also done there.  The pickups and some of the side-by-sides are stored under the roof overhang.

The handcarts and some of the side-by-sides are stored in the big room of the Trek Center for the winter.  We got to help put all of them away in August,  after the training.

When the groups come to trek (5 groups each week with usually 100-600 in each group), the mission supplies 4 missionaries, a water buffalo, and porta-johns for each group.  They have to provide pickups to pull the water buffalos and the porta-johns (and all of the TP!)  The youth groups show up on Wednesday and trek until Saturday afternoon.  They camp in three different sites and travel from 25-30 miles, total.  The missionaries meet them each morning, walk, eat, and play with them until bedtime.  Then we get in the side-by-side and go home to shower and sleep in our RV until the next morning.  We keep in touch with them by radios in case of any problems.  We have to know the trails so we can guide them, but we don't have to push or pull the handcarts--just maybe teach a few square dances, sing a few songs, tell a few stories,  and enjoy being with them.

We got to have a Family Home Evening with the missionaries last August.  Here is Terry sitting with Elder and Sister Brinkerhoff.  (We will have to get used to calling each other "Sister Howard and Elder Howard.)

Elder and Sister Johnson will be with us next summer for their second year of trekking.

Elder and Sister Peart will also be back with us for their second year.

Elder and Sister Cowen are our Mission Directors.  This will be their third and last year on this mission.  They are already special people to us.

Elder Higginson is a really fun missionary.  We will enjoy serving with him and Sister Higginson (didn't get a picture of her.)

  

Elder Nordgren (on the left) and Sister Nordgren finished their 2 years, but it was nice getting to know them.  Elder Higginson's (on the right) wife went home early to welcome a new grand baby, but we got to know him during the few days we were there. We will serve with them.  The two newbies in the middle look pretty official with their missionary badges on, don't you think!

Just before we left a few of us had a chance to go to the Logan Temple and dinner.  It was really nice. This is Elder and Sister Peart, Brinkerhoff, Cowen, and Howard!  Can't wait to see them all again on April 21, 2016.