November 13, 2011
This has been such a fun week! We usually spend Monday planning the rest of the week (which ward we will work with which day, which sisters to visit, etc.) The problem we have is that our mission cell phone shows up as "unknown" when we make calls, so of the 18 calls we made for visits on Monday, only two answered and one was available for us to come and see her. Elsie is an 85 year old sister who has lived here all of her life and loves the Washington Redskins. She is as sharp as a 20 year old and even used an i-pad for her scriptures.
We spend Wednesdays in the temple. We leave our apartment about 11:30; our shift is from 1-7pm. We leave the temple about 7:30 and arrive home about 9:45pm, taking time for evening traffic and stopping for dinner. It makes for a long, yet very satisfying day. I am working in all areas of the temple now, trying to learn all of the different parts that there are to learn. It's challenging, but enjoyable. On the way home this week, we were driving through a park on the way to the freeway, when all of a sudden I yelled "deer, deer, deer"---there was a fawn right at the side of the road; then just a little bit further down the road on the other side, I yelled "deer, deer, deer" again...they're within touching distance of the car! Apparently they're in 'dating' season.
Thursday we had a Zone Conference with President and Sister Matsumori and Elder Patrick Kearon of the First Quorum of the Seventy and his wife, Jennifer. Before the conference began they had a receiving line so we could each shake their hands and hug Sister Matsumori and Kearon. We all stood and sang "Called to Serve". It was amazing to hear 150 young men, 14 young sisters, and the Senior Missionaries sing that wonderful song. It really chokes me up every time I hear it. Then President and Sister Matsumori and Elder and Sister Kearon spoke giving us guidance to help us with our missions. Afterward, Sister Kearon asked to speak with the Sisters to give us special advice, then we all had a picture taken together. It was fun also, because I met my nephew, Bryce Salisbury's, niece, Lindy Miller, who had arrived in the mission just the day before as a new sister missionary. She is a darling girl and will be a great missionary!
Friday, we put new goals into practice and decided to go to Indian Head about 45 min away to visit sisters we hadn't met before. We were able to reach everyone on our list for the day. Two that especially stood out were:
Stephanie Drake just returned from Afghanistan a couple of months ago. She repairs medical equipment and hopes
to be able to keep doing it here instead of being deployed again. Her husband is in special forces and is on call to make sure the President is safe when he is leaving or coming to the White House. He was home when we came to visit, so they both told us stories about their jobs, and about the Marine Corp Ball that they had attended the previous weekend.
Rachel Onines is a darling girl with a new baby girl named Elizabeth. They live way out in the woods in a fabulous log cabin, she doesn't have a car, and is there alone all day with a new baby. She seemed really happy to have us come and of course we were both happy to get our "baby fix's".
Saturday I went to Ft. McHenry in Baltimore with the Senior Missionaries. This is where Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star Spangled Banner". It was a beautiful fall day and we were able to learn a lot of history about the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Afterward, we went over to the Harbor for lunch at Uno Pizza (yum), then we walked around the Harbor front. The tall ship Constellation was moored there, which was really fun, and we even saw a wedding. On a serious note, there is a memorial honoring 9/11 by the Baltimore Trade Center. There are pieces of the Pentagon and huge pieces of twisted medal from the twin towers as well as a list of the men and women who perished on that horrific day.
Today we attended the baptism of Jasmine and Michael Wallace, the children of a family who is just becoming re-activated. It was so exciting to see the support that this family received from the ward members, knowing the distances that many of them would have had to travel to come to the baptism.
Once again, I express my love to each of you for your love and support and testify to the love our Father in Heaven has for each of us. He knows us better than we know ourselves--if we have problems or doubts, all we have to do is turn to Him for the answers...He is earnestly waiting for us.
