What a busy week we have had. Usually, Monday is our p-day (preparation day for the rest of the week) where we are free to do things like laundry, go shopping, sleep in! But, this week we had special visitors. Our Area Authority 70 who is over our mission, Elder Durham, and his wife, came to visit and gave each of us missionary couples a "get to know you" interview, starting on Monday afternoon and ending on Tuesday morning. We fixed a big turkey dinner, with all of the fixings, on Monday night. Our first face-to-face interview with a general authority went well--at least we didn't get sent home! They just wanted to get to know us. After they heard we were full-time RVers and we told them some of our adventures, Sister Durham told us were were spoiled and she was envious! What great people they are! We will get another visit from them in August, with a more serious interview. Hope we pass!
It seems we clean the freeway exit and our entrance road quite often--especially when we have important visitors like Elder and Sister Durham. It looks like Sister Peart really likes this little task!
Sister Cowen also kind of likes it, especially when she has to pick up bottles full of urine! Yes, that is a common thing to find each time we clean. Thank goodness for rubber gloves and grabbers!
Elder and Sister Barton are our lawn experts. Elder Barton is getting the lawn nice and spiffy for our special company!
Elder Howard and I had the responsibility of cleaning the Depot this week. It is always nice to see him with a broom in his hands. This is the room where our interviews were held so we made sure it was in tip-top shape!
As we were coming and going from the interviews, some of the missionaries congregated under our awning. I am sure that our snow cone machine is the attraction, and maybe the good company!
The Evanston Stake Presidency, President Platt, President Smith, and President Lester (the Stake President) came to our turkey dinner, after which we had a fireside with Elder and Sister Durham. I think they came prepared to wash dishes because they had some awesome aprons with them. We love our stake presidency and their wives!
Last week we and Elder and Sister Walker trekked with a great group of about 150 people from Lakeside Stake in West Point UT. They had 19 carts and slept under tarps. The camp we were scheduled to go to on the first night was at Crane. None of the other missionaries had gone there for a couple of weeks because the cows had been there and had left quite a mess! Well, we knew our group was up for it! They come from cow and horse country (well, kind of.) We had looked the camp over a couple of days before and didn't think it was too bad. Oh, my gosh, when we got there you had to really look where you were stepping. There was a big bull on the hill above us, pawing up a dust storm with his hooves, and he had his group of cows with him. We camped near his watering hole, which he wasn't too happy with.
They got the kitchen area all set up and as I walked back to where all of the tarp/tents were, everyone was in good spirits.
They didn't seem to mind all of the cow pies. In fact, some of them said they just made more cushion under their tarps to sleep on! What good sports they were. I told them that this would be a really memorable camp for them.
We even had a great hoedown and danced in the cow pies. I only saw one boy step in a fresh one. He just looked down, shook his head, and went on dancing.
They started their hoedown by using a CD and tried to learn the Virginia Reel with it, but it didn't work too well. They came to us and asked if we could call the dance for them. Well, Sister Walker was more than willing to do that for them, but she said she didn't have her music. Elder Walker reached into his pocket and pulled out a thumb drive with all of her music! He said that when he left home early that morning, he saw it laying on their counter and just picked it up and put it in his pocket for some reason! We call these kinds of things "coincidences," but we missionaries know that they are just little miracles that happen daily on our mission!
After the hoedown, the trail boss was complimenting me on the job that Sister Walker had done. I just happened to mention that she was also a cowboy poet. He asked, "Would she do a poem for us?" I told him to go ask her. She never volunteers, but when asked, she will usually gladly do one. So, Sister Walker recited the cutest poem about a young cowboy who fell in love with a young cowgirl. It just fit the occasion, what with all of the cows around us.
The second camp was very nice (only a few dried cow pies) and they had fun playing pioneer games and going to other various stations. They tossed rings and rolled hoops with sticks and played catch with beanbags in cans tied on the ends of either side of a short board.
They walked on stilts. Some of them did very good, but I kept holding my breath, hoping they wouldn't fall and twist an ankle or break a bone. I would have kind of liked to try (I used to be able to walk on stilts when I was a kid) but I knew I would fall and break something!
In another station, they had to write down four things in five categories, each on a different piece of paper. The categories were: four of the most important people in your life, four of your most valuable material possessions, four of your best memories, four of your favorite places, and four of your most important goals. Then, as they "traveled" from England, there wasn't enough room to take everything with them as they traveled by boat, trail, wagon, and then handcart. So, along the way they had to give up some the the 20 papers they had written. By they time they got to Zion, they only had three papers left. Some of them shared what was written on the three papers they had left. It was a very good activity.
There was a lot of musical talent in the youth, so there were some really good musical presentations during their devotionals.
The trail boss, Brother Stewart, did a good job. The kids seemed to really like him--I thought that he must be a youth leader in his ward. He said that he was the Gospel Doctrine teacher for the adults! I asked him what they were doing for the Women's Pull the next morning. He said that the boys would take whatever they could carry out of the handcarts and then walk to the top of the hill where they would have a devotional with one of the Bishops. I asked him who would be talking to the girls at the bottom of the hill and leading them up as they pulled the handcarts. He had forgotten to assign anyone to do that. He asked, "Do you missionaries ever do that?" I told him that we didn't, but that I just happened to have some stories of the women handcart companies in my bucket. I put them in at the beginning of our treks in case I needed a fast story to tell. (Another "coincidence.") After assigning his wife to do it, the girls devotion turned out great and they had a really good Women's Pull.
Their last night's camp was a really nice spot. It is as the base of an old ranch building. The bottom is made of rocks and is built into a hill. We missionaries call it "The Dancehall of the Dead." We tell the kids what it is called and then don't tell them the story for a while so they can ponder on why it might be called that. We don't let them go up there, but sometimes the temptation is too great and they try to sneak up there without being caught. We had a few who did, including their leaders! The real story goes that one stormy night, about 25 sheep got into the basement when the wind blew the door open. Then the door closed on them and they were unable to get out. They all died and their bones are still in there. Maybe we should name it something else and then the kids wouldn't be so curious about it!
The last leg of their trekking journey--almost three miles and they will be back to staging and on their way home.
Elder Howard is leading the way as they go over the last ridge.
They are usually pretty happy to see all of the support people with the porta johns and water buffalo for the last time. Sometimes
we are just as happy as they are! It was a great trek.
When we got home on Saturday afternoon, Sarah, Ryan, and their four kids came to spend the night and Sunday with us. After we took them on a 4-wheeler ride up the hill to check the well (Elder Howard's responsibility every Tuesday and Saturday) Elder and Sister Cowan brought out the pioneer games that we have at the Depot. Luke, Ryan, and JT got pretty hooked on throwing the hatchets. I think that JT was the only one who finally set three in a row! I think that some day there may be some throwing hatchets at their house.
Jenna and JT got pretty good at walking on the stilts.
But, I think their Mom outdid them all!
Lindee tried the stilts, but she preferred the beanbag toss. She got really good at it and beat both Grandpa and me.
Because both Addies (our little hotel rooms) were being used, everyone slept at our motorhome, with the boys sleeping outside on cots, the girls on air mattresses on the floor, and Ryan & Sarah on our couch. We raised the storage doors and made the boys a little roof so they wouldn't get so much dew on them. Their sleeping bags only got a little wet!
The boys spent part of the night stacking rocks in the moonlight! It was fun to see them in the morning.
The next day, after Church, we packed the picnic lunch that Sarah had brought, into a handcart and covered it with a tarp. We pulled it to the nearest campsite and had a nice picnic.
We made a nice little shade--enough for Elder Howard to take a little nap before we pulled it home.
It was so much fun to show them around our mission. I hope they could feel a little of the spirit that we get to feel every day.
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