The Spirit of Christmas is all around.

Christmas is getting closer.  Everyone is busy rushing around to decorate their homes, and buying the perfect gift for their loved ones.  I hope everyone of you who read this blog have taken 2 minutes to watch the wonderful video "He is the Gift" posted on:
http://www.mormon.org/christmas
It is a very special experience and will bring the true meaning of Christmas into your holiday.
The missionaries in the Tennessee Nashville Mission have been handing out pass-along cards to all they meet to encourage everyone to view the video.
This picture on the left is from a Nativity Festival that the Clarksville Kentucky Stake put on last weekend (Dec 5th, 6th and 7th). This first picture is by a local photographer in the ward,  Isn't it lovely? They had one room dedicated to art work....all extraordinary. We happened to be in Clarksville delivering a couple of study tables and an I-Pad to the missionaries there.  We stopped by the church and found this festival.  I was blown away.  I will attach a couple more pictures

so you could get the feel of it.
This is the 5th year for this festival.  We had the opportunity to speak to the area public affairs director, Rosemarie Kline, who has headed up this effort since it began.  She told us of her struggle to get other churches to join in with the LDS Church in this activity.  Finally after 4 years, this year they have some choral groups coming to share their music. As you will see in the other pictures, they had the large cultural hall filled with about 150 nativities and a live nativity on the stage.  The animals  were large painted cutouts....(which I adored).  They used to have the live nativity outside until one year when they almost froze to death.
The picture above is one of the rooms they furnished for that period.

Isn't this picture beautiful.  Sorry for the light spot....I tried with several shots, but I was unable to get rid of it.  You can see from the texture that it is on canvas,

Here is the best idea (well one of the best) that I saw.  They drew this picture on a large chalkboard and invited children to draw their own star in the sky.
The festival was a hit.  The evening before we were there they had about 650 people come.  They had the front page article in the community section of the newspaper.  One of the high school choral groups came and sang the entire "Messiah" while people looked through the wonderfulness of this festival.  On Sunday evening they showed the Church's Christmas Devotional while people came.

On our way to Clarksville we got to catch lunch with one of my favorite missionaries and his companion....Elder Hansen and Elder Peery.  Elder Hansen in on a bike now.  Well, 50% of the time....they share a car with some other Elders.  It is cold (Well, I think it is cold).  He is missing Pikeville.

Last Thursday and Friday we had Zone Conferences.  One in Hopkinsville (about 1 1/2 hours north into Kentucky).  We had a visiting Authority from Salt Lake City so we were on our good behavior. (when are we not?)  He was super and inspired us all.  Thursday evening we met with him again back in the office in
Brentwood.  He spoke with each of the office staff and thanked us profusely for our service.  During his talk during the daytime session he told us and the missionaries that there is a reason we are in Tennessee-Nashville Mission.  We were sent here by prophecy.  If we don't know why, we have a right to know why and we should pray until we have that answer and then we should write it down.  I do know why I am here and why I am in the office.  Someday I will tell you.  I have received that knowledge.

Elder Dunn just received that knowledge this week and he feels very comfortable with it.  But he does still miss his pickup truck.
These sisters are Sister Tagilala (Olimaipa Suzanne Viladai Tagilala) and Sister Tangataolakepa (Munaloto-Ki-Waikato Anglique Lupeeva Tuifua Tangataolakepa).  Say that 3 times fast.  Sister Tagilala has the softest hair. She is quite a bit shorter than me so I love to go over and lay my head on her hair.  She is one of my favorites.
Anyway, On Friday we had our second zone meeting in Mulfreesboro Tennessee (1 hour south of the office).  We (the office staff who attends both meetings) heard the same talks again......but they were so different in many ways.  The missionaries participate a lot in the discussions during the meeting.  Elder Renlund (a member of the 70s) is inspiring and funny.  He was a cardiologist and his wife an attorney.  They are both great.  That evening we had a dinner at the mission home for all the senior missionaries in the mission with Elder Renlund.

 Some of the seniors had hours of travel in order to get home after the dinner; but it was so fun and I

really have found a new sisterhood with a couple of these ladies.
On the lighter side, we ran into 3 of the most unusual Salvation Army bell ringers at the local

Wal-Mart Store.Who knew that you could be a bell ringer and also a Ghost Buster, a Storm Trooper or whatever the other guy is.  I guess the South is not much different than Hollywood where I grew up.  There were also wierd people walking the streets there too.
Today we had Stake Conference (the meeting of 7-8 Wards or congregations).  The Nashville Stake does not have a Stake Building; neither do several other Stakes around here.  They hold their Stake Conference in the MUSIC CITY CENTER in downtown Nashville.  It is large and beautiful, but we had one of the smaller theaters.  Dean Davies was a visiting authority for that.  He is in the Presiding Bishopric of the Church.  He used to be in charge of finding and securing the land for temples.

 He told Elder Dunn and I that he was involved in selecting Ina Road for the temple site. He said just late this last week they got the interior plans for that temple okayed by the city.  He wouldn't tell me what the outside will look like.  We have had such a busy week.....and one that was exciting and very sacred to us.  We learned a lot and our testimonies of Jesus Christ has grown even stronger.  Didn't think that could happen.  We are so lucky to be here.  I wish each one of you could experience the joys that we feel each day while we work with these wonderful missionaries.  They are amazing.
This next week will be another great week because........Monday is December 15th........the day to make sure the rent is paid!!!  I am ready.
One more thing.  We bought a new GPS for the car!  It is a long story, but if you know me very well you have already guessed that it is because I got lost.....again.  This time major lost in the dark with Elder Dunn waiting at a car dealership,  Ask Emilee...she will tell you.

We love you all!  We think of you so often and laugh at some of the good times we have had with each of you.  Do we look tired?  Well, most days we are!  But we are so happy!  We wish that same happiness to all of you!

How did December get here so fast?

Here it is the 6th day of December and I am still in August.  Well....except it isn't hot, but my brain says that we have not been in Tennessee for 5 months; but my body says we have been here longer.  How could one body get so tired so fast?  But don't read into that the idea that we don't love what we are doing.....well, most days.  I will tell you about my last 2 weeks and then you will understand.
Have you ever had a job that was challenging to learn, but finally you think you are on top of it.....only to find out you really are not.  That is a humbling experience.

My responsibility involves setting up new apartments for missionaries (both senior and young ones), including utilities etc; paying the rent for those apartments (all 140 of them)  and the utilities; being sure the missionaries are funded each month (they get a whole $125/mo...sisters $135...try living on that!); paying all other misc. bills for the office.  Also I get to talk to the Elders/Sisters who have lost their debit cards (that hold their $125) or have ruined them by some really remarkable means; or explaining to those who are sure their account balance is wrong that really you can nickle and dime yourself into debt.  This month many of the missionaries have decided to play 'chinese fire drill' where they all run out of their apartments and decide they need a new one.  The other day in the period of 1 hour I had 3 missionary companionships call to say they have found a new apartment and would I hurry and make the arrangements.  Are you kidding me? No!  To be fair, the President has asked many of them to find new apartments for diverse reasons.
I am really not complaining......well, a little maybe.  But the last 2 weeks have been challenging.  Isn't that why we go on missions.....to be challenged?
Anyway, back to finding out that you really don't know your job.  When rents are to be paid there is a process I have have to go through to submit the order to pay.  I had a question about the procedure so I called Salt Lake and asked them......to obviously a person who thought they knew their job, but didn't.  Because of that information I didn't submit the order to pay when it was due.  Only 1 week later did I realize that the rents where not paid.  Now that was about November 25th....which would have been in time if the checks were written in Tennessee....however, they come from Salt Lake.
Now....there is a gospel doctrine that says if you repent of your sins the Savior's atonement will cover you.  Obviously that does not work quickly or does not cover dumb moves in paying the rent.  I have atoned for that sin for the last week.  140 telephone calls from landlords who did not receive their rent payment on the 1st.  The thing is, the rent is usually paid about 10 days early, so they are really expecting that check the week before the 1st.  When it doesn't come they are sure it is lost in the mail. I have developed a whole dialogue in explaining how sorry I am.....it is my fault not the churchs'......you can take my picture and throw darts at it is you please....but please forgive me.  Then I include MERRY CHRISTMAS ....just to remind them it is the season to forgive.  Other than that......things are great in Nashville.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Mission Home with the President and Sister Anderson, all the office staff (6 of us) 2 young missionaries who serve in the Young Singles Branch (who find it difficult to feed them....or most went home for Thanksgiving), and one other fellow.  All the senior missionaries brought side dishes to compliment the wonderful turkey Sister Andersen prepared.  This picture is everyone (but me) at the long table.

Elders Majzer, Peterson (who took his bridge for his front teeth out...just for fun because he came late and didn't eat with us) , Danielson (who came late), Pres & Sis Andersen, Elder Moore.  Love them all!

Sister Godfrey (the nicest woman in the world), the daughter of the Huntzingers, who are standing next to her, Joe Booker, The Dunns and Sister Crawford who they always seem to position in front of Darryl so she will look even shorter.

This is my plate of food.....doesn't it look good?  Notice the wonderful yams and apples in the upper left-hand side.....yummy!  Then there was a selection of many different pies.  We actually tasted a genuine minchmeat pie.   I prefer pumpkin.  

Which reminds me....I made some of my famous (notorious) lime jello with avocados and grapefruit salad a couple of weeks ago and took it into the office.  The seniors all really liked it.  The 2 young elders tasted it and.......as one put it......I won't be eating that again.  I guess it is a generational thing!

Today is Saturday so it is our day to play.  The Assistants are letting us use their truck again so we are driving to Clarksville TN to deliver ipads, then to Hendersonville (where the Oakridge Boys have their office.....just a note for interest) to deliver some packages, and to White House TN to deliver a rent check to a woman who couldn't wait.  I may have to include some flowers for her.  

Next week we have 2 zone conferences to go to.....one in Hopkinsville KY and another in Murfreesboro TN. We will have a General Authority from S.L. visiting (Elder Renlund) and he will also interview us.  Then about 2 weeks later we have another transfers day when we will be saying goodbye to some missionaries and saying welcome to some new ones.....including Joanne Hendrick's nephew (I think it is a nephew).  We are excited about that.  

And believe me.....on Demember 15th....I WILL BE PAYING THE RENT!

Love you all and wish you great success in your holiday plans.  Hurry up and get that Christmas tree up.....and don't forget the Nativity.  Be sure to go to Mormon.org and watch the wonderful videos on 

"He is the Gift".  There are a bunch of videos there.

Love you all!

happy thanksgiving

We hope everyone has a great day of family, friends and lots of pumpkin pie.

150 years ago

On Saturday, November 15th, the town of Franklin, TN sponsored a re-enactment of the Battle of Franklin.  This is a bit of the history:

"After failing to destroy John Schofield’s Federal army near Spring Hill the previous morning, Gen. John Bell Hood led his 30,000 Confederates to the outskirts of Franklin, Tennessee on November 30, 1864. Determined not to let Schofield reach the safety of Nashville, Hood unleashed a precipitous frontal assault against the entrenched Federal defenders. Despite nearly breaking through the center of the Union line, Hood’s forces were driven back with heavy losses. The bloody assault cost Hood more than 6,000 casualties, including six dead Confederate generals."  

So, on the coldest day that we have seen so far we wrapped up in our snuggies and headed out to the town of Franklin (less than 10 miles).  It is

held at the Carlton Plantation, which is very big and nice.  There were many true-blood southerners there to cheer their side on......some dressed in period costumes (kinda like when a new Batman or Star Wars movie comes out and all the enthusiasts come dressed up in costume).  You can tell this lady is not part of the re-enactment....by the cell phone in her hand.
There were many, many spectators who brought their lawn chairs and placed them along the side of the battlefield.  We even had our own lawn chairs.  After securing a good spot to view the war we had a good time visiting the soldiers' camp.  I have included some pictures.













This young man is getting into the spirit of things at a very young age.  These costumes are not cheap, but to a southerner they are priceless. (I guess)

This was a group of slaves who were singing spirituals.  They were really good. I tried to record some of their music on my phone, but they were just too far away.

Even Abraham Lincoln was there.  He looks like he is holding his nose, but I don't think that was a commentary on the whole affair.

This is the Doctor's wife.  Poor lady.  In order to see her husband she had to go out to the

battlefield.  He just was so over-worked and she comes to give him comfort and a good meal.

These ladies are the cooks for the camp.  They took a few minutes and give me a lesson on how to make these meat pies.  She said to use Pillsbury Grands (heaven forbid if you use Walmart....they just don't work as well).  You roll each biscuit out into a circle, then place some meat or other filling at one side.  You then pull the other side up over the meat and seal around the edges.  These are then dropped into a hot vat of grease.  This is the southern delight.....deep fried pie.

I would love to say this was the
prayer meeting before the battle.....but that wouldn't be true.  They are passing out books, rations, and whiskey.

So the battle begins.....after much practice beforehand.  This is the cannon brigade. They were loud!  They were selling ear plugs, but we were too cheap to spend the dollar.

This is what they were shooting at.  Notice that they are running the wrong way!  They did that a lot.  It was surprising to me that sometimes they got to within 20 feet of the berm and yet the cannons and guns couldn't kill them.  No one was dropping.  I heard later that they did not have as many actors as they wanted so they told them not to die too quickly.  But in the end they did have to die......as least until the bugle sounded and they all got up and walked away.

After we won the war we were ready for another week of Missionary work.  Things were busy at the office with 17 new missionaries coming in on Monday, and 10 leaving on Tuesday.  On Thursday it became necessary for Darryl and I to take a run down to Baxter, TN (about 100 miles east of Nashville).  We had to go because we were setting up a new apartment for Elders there and the Water Company and the Electric Company would not sign us up for service without the Lessee (me) coming in person to sign on the dotted line.  That is a small town thing.  But we

did find a town that is actually smaller than Pikeville.  This is a picture of the only store in the town.  We met with Mert (the landlord) who didn't mind if I called him Bert (of Bert and Ernie).  He was a delightful man.

On Saturday we were able to drive up to Bowling Green, KY, to deliver a washing machine, bike and bike rack to some sisters up there.  The best part was that Elder Dunn got to drive this pickup truck.  It seemed like old times.  He really enjoyed that.  After Bowling Green KY we went to White House TN, which is just north of Nashville by about 30 minutes.  There we delivered this box spring mattress and a bike.  These lovely ladies are Sisters Traughber and Squire.

They have the cutest little house that is behind the home of some really nice people.  They are the landlords. He had just come home from deer hunting where they had bagged their second deer of the season.

Here is a selfie we took this morning so that you will know that we are still alive and well.  We have aged some while trying to keep up with all these 18-21 year-old missionaries.  Today is our 46th anniversary and we look forward to the eternities together.Happy Thanksgiving to you all.  We miss every one of you and think of you all often.  Sometimes when we are doing certain things I remember doing them with one of you.....and then I smile.  Love you all!

Paducah Kentucky

A couple of weeks ago (yes, it has been a while since I posted) we took about a 2-1/2 hour drive to Paducah Kentucky.  It was our Saturday activity.....not suggested by Elder Dunn.  We went to the National Quilt Museum.....well, I went to the National Quilt Museum.  One of us opted to not go in.  But he was sorry later because it was absolutely inspiring and awesome.  I could
have spent hours there, but actually only got about 45 minutes as they close early on Saturday.  What I learned is that I need a lot of practice to make my quilting stitches

smaller and straight.  This is my favorite quilt.  I had to load this pic from the internet as they do not allow you to take pictures, so I will describe it so you can get a better idea of how awesome it is.  It is actually purple with gold metallic thread.  It was done with a long-arm quilting machine.....but I don't know how because it is spectacular.  I wish you could see how great the hair on the bride is stitched.  The guide told me that local math teachers like to bring their students in so they can appreciate how math is used in unexpected ways.  I just stood there remembering how over my head I was when I was using the baby-sized quilt pattern to make my king-sized quilt. I think I re-figured that about 100 times,  Anyway, if you ever find yourself in Paducah Kentucky, be sure to attend the National Quilt Museum because the $10 it costs is cheap compared to what you will find.
Also in Paducah we saw the long wall

that protects the city from flooding of the Ohio River.  This wall runs about 2 blocks long and on  each section a very talented  artist, Robert Dafford, painted portraits of Paducah's past.  There are small plaques explaining what is depicted in front of each picture.  Each picture is a piece of history of Paduch Kentucky.  Here is a link that has more information and photos:

http://www.quiltingpathways.com/paducah/mural-wall.html
The trip to Paducah also gave us the opportunity to have lunch in Paducah with two of our favorite sister missionaries,

Sister Hochstrasser (who was in our District while in Pikeville) and Sister Cotton (who we made German Chocolate Cupcakes with while living under the mission home). It was such fun and the lunch from Panera was terrific.
On our way home to Nashville we were able to connect to three other sister missionaries, Sister McDonald (also known as Happy Meal) and her two companions Sister Rokowitz and Oldroyd.  Sorry, no picture of them.  We had a fun time at Fazoli.  This is a threesome because Sister Happy Meal's companion went home early.  It was a sad time for Happy Meal, so I hope we cheered her up a little.  This threesome serves in Clarksville Tennessee.  It was such a fun day.
Since that  time we have not done much travelling. Last Saturday was the Stake Roadshow.  Each unit (Ward) has prepared a 20-25 minute show using the youth and ward members.  They write and perform a story.  The performances here in Nashville were way above average, which is not surprising because of the ample supply of talent residing in this city.  One of the wards pre-recorded. the sound for their show so that you could hear every line and musical number.  The costumes were out of this

world....some mothers spent a lot of time at the sewing machine, and some were obviously rented costumes.  The judges were pretty professional too.  Several of them were employed by well-known bands or performers as technical assistants etc.  The mission office had it's own representation in one of the shows.  Elder Huntzinger (Mr. Finkel) played a small part (very small.....without a line) in one of the roadshows.  We did give him a big ovation for his performance.  One of the Branches (smaller than a ward unit) who only has 80 members had 40 people in their roadshow.  I happened to be sitting next to their Branch President and he was over-the-top proud of his group.

Well, not long ago I had flash-back moment.  about 30 years ago (not long after we had moved to Tucson), I was in charge of delivering baked potatoes for a Seminary Graduation.  I loaded them and the kids in the car to take them to the Stake Center......only to find out the meeting was not there.  I drove all over town trying to find this place, only to arrive in time to serve the potatoes for dessert.  ....... Well, Sister Godfrey, Sister Crawford (in the picture) and I were delivering the lunch (Subway Sandwich box lunches) for about 40.  The building we were going to is the building I go to church in.....but we were going from the office (a completely different direction).  We had two phones with GPS guiding us......and we got so lost.  We knew we were in trouble when we saw the street sign where the office is.  But we re-couped; but not before the President called to see if we were alive.  We actually were only about 10 minutes late.  I think that was the last time they will trust me to drive.

This is Elder Dunn trying to explain to Elder Shiner what was wrong with his gas receipts and mileage log.

 Yes.....Missionaries do take selfies.  

Okay....it is now getting cold!  Thursday when we drove into the office it was about 25 degrees.  This Tucson girl is not fond of COLD.  I am now dressing with 3 layers and a heater at my feet in the office.  Some people in the office insist on the thermostat being at 70 degrees.  I am only agreeable at 75-80 degrees.  I do have my own office, so it is the warmest room in the Tenn. Nashville Mission Office.

This is all the news I have for now.  Today we went to the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battle in Franklin Tennessee.  I will post about that next week after I thaw out from sitting in the outside cold weather for 3 hours.  I was thankful for the handwarmers my children gave me for Christmas.

Life is a PumpkinI guess

Pumpkins and gourds are everywhere in Nashville.  Large pumpkins and small pumpkins.  I guess when you don't have to worry about them rotting in 95 degree heat you can have pumpkins sit on your doorsteps and lawns for weeks on end.  Last Saturday it got quite warm (in the upper 80s) and it was very humid, but it really cools a lot in the evening and the mornings are quite chilly.  I would be very comfortable here, except someone in the office keeps the air conditioner on 70 and it gets cold. I already have my little heater on at my feet in my little office.      
For our Saturday adventure we first

went and found a winter coat for Darryl.  We are very fortunate to have a great mall 5 minutes from our apartment.  After we spent all of our money at Men's Warehouse, we headed to Hermitage.  Not far...it took about 30 minutes to get there.  However in the early 1800s it took about 5 hours by horse to get from Hermitage to Nashville. Hermitage is where Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the US (1829-1837), built his Beautiful home and plantation.  However, his wife, Rachel, died a couple of weeks after his election. He built his home in Hermitage in 1803.  It eventually grew to 4,050 acres where he grew cotton.

He started with 8 slaves and eventually had  as many as 150. The house is beautiful and the land around it gorgeous.  It was a warm day when we were there, and it was really humid.
 

  This picture shows Darryl looking over the vast acreage of the Hermitage wondering just how long does it take to mow all this grass? As I said, it was awfully humid that day so we spent a good chunk of time sitting on those benches.
 Inside the home, the walls are covered with a mural/wallpaper in very vibrant colors.  All the wallpaper in the home is original (restored).  The beds all have dark drapes surrounding the bed to keep out the light.  It must have been hot a lot of the time because even when the temp is not high, the humidity is.

 The gardens are beautiful, even in the fall.  This picture shows daisies and pansies, but there is also a very large herb garden that they used for cooking and medicinal purposes.  Apparently in the spring they plant a lot of tulips.  It seems to me, however, that just about anything could grow here in the south.  As Jennifer Crotts said when she was here..."these houses are beautiful but they sure wouldn't look the same in the Arizona desert."  Same with the flowers.  ..... Another point of interest I found here.  The Democratic Party adopted the logo of the Donkey because of Andrew Jackson.  During his campaign for President the press often referred to him as a 'jackass' so he decided

to adopt it as his own.  I don't know about the Republicans, but I will tell you when I find out.
  This is a slave cabin.Each slave family occupied a 24' square room with 1 door, 1 window, a fireplace, & an attic loft. One of their slaves, Betty, was the Jackson cook for more than 50 years.  Her son stayed at the Hermitage after the Civil War with his family for decades, and is buried in the family garden near the family cemetery.

This is a Dogwood tree.  Who knew?
It looked almost like a Christmas Ivy tree.  Darryl mistakenly called it a bush when we asked one of the employees at Hermitage about it. I won't tell you what he said, but he obviously had no sense of humor and needed to loosen up.

On Sundays we go to church at the Young Single Adult branch in Nashville.  We must seem very immature because we keep ending up with the single adults at church.  This would make it the 4th time we have been assigned there.  The kids (18-30 yrs old) are very nice.  Many of them are in Nashville seeking careers in the music business (singers, musicians, or song writing).
      Well, last Sunday we had a special treat for our meeting.  The Ward (congregation) who meets in the building before us is a family ward.  They had presented their Primary Program (by young children) and consented to give an encore performance for our Branch.  It was great, but the best part was a young boy, about 4-5 years old who stood in the front row and absolutely yelled the songs so loud he was all you could hear.  Sometimes he even put his hands up around his mouth to make it louder.  He was singing....but just very loudly. He didn't know all the words, but he could sure boom out the chorus.

The whole congregation just giggled during each song.  He was so cute and trying so hard.  I felt anxiety for the adults who were supervising this group because it was like herding a group of cats.  It was the best sacrament meeting I have been in for quite a long time.

This is Alek Garcia.  He is one of the Young Adults in our YSA Branch.  We met him the first time we went to Church there.  The thing that endeared him to me was that he was born in Phoenix and had lived in Blythe, California.  I told him we were meant to meet.  We picked him up and took him to the David Archuleta Fireside, even though he warned us that he lived in the Hood!.  Yeah....if the hood is in the honors dorm of Tennessee State College.  Because of his good grades and his difficult beginning in life he has been awarded a $100,000 scholarship for college.  He is very shy, but very charming.  He told me he has his genealogy done back to Adam and Eve. I told him that must mean we are related.  He believed me.

This is Denny Burton.  I am putting his picture here in case he ever becomes famous so I can say I knew him.  He is a songwriter from Canada.  He is a young man who knows his priorities and is a shinning example of "good".

Okay, you knew it was coming....... more tractors.  The bonus is that they are John Deere.  It was a special request from Darryl that we took this picture at the Hermitage.

I had to include this picture I found just because it reminds me of those dirty little mud wrestlers we left behind in Tucson.

We are finding great joy in serving here in Tennessee.  It is not easy, and actually, sometimes it is hard, but that is what brings the real joy and satisfaction.  We work with 240 of the most delightful young men and women you ever want to meet.  They have given up 2 years of their lives in order to serve others and bring truth to them.  As part of my work here, I speak with many apartment managers where our missionaries are renting.  Never has one of them ever had any criticism of them, and in fact when we have to close an apartment when they are moved, they request that we remember them in the future because they love renting to these honorable young men and women.  I love it when they come into the office because they just bring a lot of happiness with them.  Of course by the time they leave again they have eaten anything left in the kitchen, the candy bowl etc.  Yesterday they came in and we made them grilled cheese sandwiches with the homemade bread Darryl had brought it.  They were delighted.  The kitchen in the office has a toaster oven, a George Foreman grill, a microwave and a refrigerator.  If you ever have a chance to serve a mission--it is worth every minute of sacrifice it takes to get here.

We still think of you all......except now it is with a southern accent.  We'd love to have you come out here and help to rake up all the leaves that have fallen on the ground.  I guess I had forgotten about leaves from having lived in Tucson for so long.  Every morning we have to swipe all the leaves off of the car so we can drive to work.  Bye for now.