Liberty, Utah

This has been an incredibly busy week.  It is now 8:56 PM and I just got home to start my blog. I don't know how long I will last before my eyes begin to droop but here goes.




On Monday I started with a great devotional and then on to work my 7.5 hours for my job in Data Quality.  In the evening we had an Activity Group meeting with all the senior sisters and senior couples that all started when I did.  The mission puts us in a Family Home Evening group for the remainder of our mission.  The activity for this meeting is to come up with ideas of things we wanted to do when we get together.  All sorts of things were suggested.  On the 1st of April we will have our first activity and will also finalize some plan for the future months.  We will take turns hosting.  Of course we always have food at these events and Monday was no exception.  There was way too much!  Tummy's were all full when we went home and some people took leftovers.

On Tuesday I went to Sonic with Sister McKnight and did some running around.  Wednesday was my half day to work so in the afternoon I did my laundry and then I attended a 5:00 PM sealing session that my branch organizes.  The temple was very busy.  I had my own great grandparents sealed.  That was special.  A group of us senior sisters went to the Assembly Hall on Thursday.  The speaker was Julie Beck, the former General Relief Society President.  She talked about many experiences she had while traveling around the world visiting Relief Societies in many countries.  Some statistics are that she headed Relief Society which has 6 million members in 175 countries with about 35,000 grassroots organizations.  She told these statistics to a special (high ranking women from Africa) group of women at the United Nations.  She told them we have a "buddy system" where the sisters visit other sisters and find out what they need and then figure out ways to get those things. They were so surprised and impressed at what was done and how effective it is.  She said that because the church is so large and diverse she had to think globally.  She came up with a simple platform of 1) Faith 2) Family and 3) Providing Relief.  Everywhere she went to taught these three themes.

On Friday several of us sisters got together for potluck taco salad and then a movie.  We watched
"The Prince of Persia."  Good thing it was a action movie or we would have all gone to sleep.  We get up so early but we all want to make the very most out of our missions.

There is a couple in my zone who are both in their 80s.  About two years ago Elder McDonald proposed to his wife so he could have a wife to serve a mission.  They had both lost their spouses and he wanted to serve a mission.  They will be released next month and they can't decide where they are going to live.  He wants to go where he is from and she wants to go to her home prior to the mission.  I don't know the details but what I know is that Elder Mc just celebrated his 89th birthday and they are so cute together.  They seem like a long time married couple and it is obvious that they adore each other.  Wow, they wanted to serve so bad at that age and they really are productive.  In fact, Elder Mc is the assistant to the Zone Leader.  Hope I am like that at 87-89.  Come on people who are out there reading my blog - Do you have a burning desire to serve a mission?  Now is the time to prepare.

Saturday morning dawned clear and promising.  The sky was blue and it was warm.  Must have gotten to the 70s but I didn't hear.  I called Sister McKnight to ask if she wanted to take a ride out of the city.  She was game and suggested we drive up to the Ogden Canyon area.  She lived there many years ago and could give directions.  I told here I wished to escape the city for awhile and that I needed to see some wide open spaces.  We parked on a gravel dead end road facing a beautiful mountain with snow capped peaks.  Heavenly Father sure made us a beautiful world.  We watched a Blue Jay in a bush and saw elk up the side of a high hill.  There were some men target shooting and it felt like home.  We really enjoyed ourselves.  That is where I took this week's pictures.

On the way home we stopped at a huge gift shop and lunch place.  It was lovely with lots of greenery and ice cream pallor chairs and tables.  I had a delicious Reuben sandwich in honor of St Patrick's Day.  I was even wearing green!

I am late starting to write this blog because I went to a very special fireside tonight at our chapel.  A brother W. Todd Knowles from the Family History Library was the speaker.  He is a full time employee of the library and is an expert on Jewish genealogies.  He travels the world giving talks and helping Jewish people trace their roots.  It is such a strong instinct to find out where and who you come from.  /The Church has what they call the Knowles Collection and it is full of thousands of Jewish names and families.  I couldn't take very many notes because his presentation went from story to story telling the "tender mercies" or miracles that have occurred during the course of his work.   His interest in genealogy began when he was a young boy and he said he is so grateful that he gets paid for work he would do for free but he needs to make a living for his wife and seven children.

Well, it is getting late and I have to get up early so I must close.  I can't absorb all that I see and hear to write it on paper or the computer.  My mind needs to process for awhile.  I can only say I am so happy that I accepted the call to serve the Lord and that I was so blessed to come to this mission.  I know that the work I do is important and that I am needed.  It is nice to be needed.  I love the Lord and I know he loves all of you.  This work is so important!  Until I write next week I will now say good night.  Please ignore errors as I am too tired to proof.  I love you all and may the Lord pour out his blessings upon you.