Monday, Aug. 13, 2018

Farewells

Farewells....this week has been full of them !  We performed our last Sunset by the Mississippi on Friday and today we had a mission dinner to say farewell to all the YPMs as well as 10 senior couples who are leaving this week.  It will be so quiet around here!!  Whatever will we do with all of our time!  I have a feeling that we will be kept busy filling into the holes that they leave because we are only receiving 2 senior couples at the end of this month.  Every mission in the church is begging for senior couples to serve and ours is no exception !  Believe it or not, there is alot that each couple contributes just by sharing their light and service to all of us.  I will be posting some pictures of these special people:


I'm not sure what the thing above this picture is...but...this is our mission president.  President Mark Lusvardi.  He surprised us all on the last night and was the dancing / singing cow in a number called "You Stomped on my Heart".  It was always my personal favorite because they would pull people out of the audience to help out with it.  Usually, the cow was done by one of the YPMs. 
Elder and Sister Ercanbrack from Utah.  I served with her in the Family Living Center this week.  They both are kind and alittle on the reserved side.
Sister McNeil .  She is a widow who came out and served with her sister..Sis. Shumway (who also is a widow)   They are both the sweetest and most fun to be around.  They like to invite people over for supper and play games.  They are very competitive !
Sister Warner....our cast stage manager.  We gave her a referee shirt and whistle on this last performance because she was constantly saying "Clear the aisles !"  backstage so that the YPMs could barrel through in between numbers.  She shared her husband who was the dancing partner for Sis. McNeil and Shumway so that they could perform onstage during Sunset.
Elder and Sister Pettit from Utah were our zone leaders.  He worked in FM with us everyday and she served in the sites.  The kindest people ever !!
Elder and Sister Hipple from Oregon.   She was the assistant to our choreographer director (Sister Oldroyd) and ended up with knee problems but didn't let that slow her down much.
Elder and Sister Williams from Utah.  He serves as a councillor to Pres. Lusvardi and she works in the mission office.  He thought that it would be funny to take our picture at the same time as we took theirs.  They have been so warm and friendly towards us and we have felt a real concern from them for everyone.
Elder and Sister Dare.  They are not going home yet either but both work at FM with us and are enjoyable to visit with.

We are blessed to be surrounded with so many amazing people who show Christ-like concern for everyone around them.  I have learned alot from each of them.

And....last but not least!!  We (wives) were given permission to go out front and video our husbands as they performed "Stouthearted Men"  So here is proof that Jim actually did get on stage and eventually enjoyed himself.  Look to the right side on the back row (of course!)






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019 Goodbye Quincy As the end draws near for our time & service here in Nauvoo, I have been trying to "soak" up each and every opportunity for memories.  We attended our last meetings in Quincy today.  It was fast and testimony meetings as next week is General Conference.  I fully intended to bear my testimony and say goodbye BUT the meeting really was full with the ward members who were giving the same thoughts as I .  I soaked up strength from their testimonies and bore mine in my heart and to my Father in Heaven.  My testimony has strengthened by our service and I love those that we have come to know in our Quincy 2nd ward.  I love watching the horses do their run each Monday morning from pasture to barn. So here you go....again! Look at the soother hung on the fence post....quircky and odd...haha! We conducted our last zone meeting on Wednesday morning and although I was relieved when it was over, I , also will...
Read more
Image
Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019 A great week The weeks have been so busy that they are literally flying by.  I will give you a quick review. MONDAY :  we attended our regular prayer meeting at FM compound at 7:00 a.m. where we receive a "thought for the day"  This week's theme is diligence.  I always appreciate these thoughts because it elevates my thoughts for the day beyond the temporal tasks that must be attended to. Immediately after prayer meeting, Jim and I attended a mission leadership council meeting which includes all of the zone leaders and mission staff.  We correlate activities and policies within the mission.    In the evening, a bunch of us missionaries went over to the theater in Keokuk where they were showing a movie entitled "Overcomers"  It is a Christian produced movie similar to Courageous but whose theme was about overcoming adversity and becoming better.  We all enjoyed it!  It was recommended by some fellow missionar...
Read more
Image
Monday, Oct. 21, 2019 We're Home Although we are home, we find that we left a piece of our heart in Nauvoo.  There is not a day that goes by that, we do not think about Nauvoo!   The last week in Nauvoo was a whirlwind of activity as we wanted to soak in everything that we could.  We attended the temple one last time and never tire of the view of the Mississippi valley as we exit that sacred place.   These two oxen were just babies last summer and look at them now!   They are pulling a bigger wagon (not full size, yet) with people inside.  Their trainer takes them out every evening and I really enjoy watching them ! There is also another team of little oxen that are being trained to follow and pull.  They were just born this summer. Our FM group had a weiner roast down at the end of Parley Street to say goodbye to us and look what they did!   They made a funny bouquet with the vase being made out of "min...
Read more