Wow, this has been one exciting week!  I had Monday off like most of you readers.  I went out with one of my new sister friends.  We took the Trac (trolly) and went to the planetarium.  It was fun.  We saw "The Ultimate Wave, Tahiti" on the Dome screen.  It was just like we were surfing.  The weather here has been up and down the thermometer.  We have had quite a bit of snow, too.  It is amazing how quickly they clear the roads and sidewalks.  The biggest concern our leaders have for the senior missionaries are falls.  I was told there are "Two Rules" for the mission.  Of course this is not official but it sounds good.  Rule one is that we are not allowed to fall down.  Rule two is that "there are no coincidences."  Wonderful unexpected things happen all the time.  It is the Lord and his work and He is giving us lots of help!  I began training in the zone that I will be working in for the remainder of my mission.  I am located on the 6th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  It is right next to the temple.  Imagine my delight when I went to get a paper from the printer and I looked out the window.  The next day I brought my camera so I could post some pictures here.

In this second picture you can see the Tabernacle.  It is the domed shiny roofed building.  For my non- Mormon family reading my blog this is the building that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform the weekly "Music and the Spoken Word."  Since I am talking about the choir I will tell you that I went to today's performance.  It was wonderful.  The BYU singers performed with the choir today and the selections were beautiful. Among the selections were "Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee" and "I Love the Lord."  And I do love the Lord and His work so much.  I feel so blessed every waking moment of every day to have this experience.

In these pictures you can see the choir after the program was over.  They then turned to the audience and sang "God be with you til we meet again."  It was so sweet and meaningful for all.

On Tuesday the temple reopened after being closed for several weeks for some renovations and deep cleaning.  Everyone was so happy to be able to enter this sacred building.  On Wednesday after work I went to the temple to participate in a sealing session with other members of my Branch.  After-wards we went to pray and meditate  in the Celestial Room.  What an absolutely beautiful room.  It was so peaceful and inspiring.  As our stake conference is next weekend we had a stake designated day at the temple this week.  It was all day on Friday.  I went to the four o'clock session and it was full.  At seven our stake held a meeting in the third floor chapel.  I have never before had the experience of a meeting with music and speakers in the temple.  Right in front of the room is a huge, floor to ceiling picture of the Ascension of the Savior.  What an inspiring picture to be looking at when I was listening to the speakers.  Our stake president spoke first and it was almost a farewell as he is being released this next weekend.  He and his counselors stood outside the chapel doors as we all were entering.  They took the time to shake the hand and have a short conversation with each person.  The other two speakers were President Edwards and his wife.  They are serving in the temple presidency and assistant to the matron.  I left the temple walking on a cloud.  I was so spiritually fed.  To top the day off 3 other sisters and I went out for a snack and congenial conversation.  Afterward we all walked home together.

I forgot to mention that some of my friends and I went to a lecture at the Church History Museum on Thursday evening.  The speaker was a renown medical doctor and author - Dr. Anne Osborn Poelman.  It was a very stimulating talk titled "Our Genes, Our Selves: Is There a 'Believing Gene?'"

Packed into this busy week was the task of learning my new job.  My trainer is from Melbourne Australia named Sister Bignell.  She is a great trainer and sweet patient woman.  I have my own cubicle with two computer monitors.  I use multiple programs and go back and forth between the two monitors.  I am so grateful for a husband that very early embraced computer technology and he taught me well.  Those skills are serving me well now as I learn to help patrons having problems with FamilySearch and Family Tree.  There is a huge backlog of requests for assistance and everyone is so happy to have two new missionaries to join them.  Our zone has the nickname of  The Happy Zone and it is.  Everyone is more than willing to pause in what they are doing to answer a question.  Well that is all for now but I will be back next Sunday to tell all about my stake conference and other bits and pieces of my week.  May the Lord richly bless you and your loved ones this week.