March 23, 2013

My "Almost" Mom, Charlene Kent passed away on March 14 last week. She had heart and kidney problems and told me when I talked to her the week before that she was still trying to hang on and be there when I get home, but her heart wouldn’t let her. She passed away happy with her two surviving sons with her and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren at her bedside. All the Super Knitters and Sister Morris dressed her in her temple clothes and said they felt my spirit and prayers with them. I’m okay now cause I know she is with her husband, son, daughter, and parents. Isn’t the fullness of the Gospel divine??? Holly and her family placed flowers in our behalf. Thank you so much for that.


That's Mom Kent with Yontz and Kaydence

The new President has asked President Wilkey to ask us to extend. We are going to call President Stoker today and tell him that our release date is July 23 but we are willing to extend to August 3. Pres and Sis Wilkey asked me to put together a manual for Pres Stoker and to copy the entire book for Pres Wilkey also. It has everything our mission does from reports to meetings to medical to transfers to……. When Pres Stoker reads it and finds something he wants to talk to Pres Wilkey about, he can just tell him what section and what page he is on and they will be seeing the same thing. Pres Wilkey loves it so much that he is taking his home as a keepsake. Anyway, I think when Pres Stoker looked at that book he about had a coronary!!!! It’s all in a 3” binder. Now Sister Wilkey wants me to make up a medical book for Sister Stoker. Sister Stoker is thinking about having the second senior sister in the office to be a nurse so she can do a lot of the medical stuff. Sister Wilkey has worked her heart out on that stuff and spends untold hours every week working with missionary medical issues. President Wilkey told us the other day that he wished we could have been with him throughout his whole 3 years! That was a nice compliment. But, we have kids and grandkids who are wanting us to be home. The renters in our house are moving out on April 27 and headed to BYU Provo so our house will be empty for 3 months. I’m not too excited about that. A couple from our home ward went over to look at it and to decide if they want to buy it, but the problem is that they want us to carry a contract for 2 years for them. We are just not going to get into that. We want to sell it outright.

We have 26 new missionaries coming in on Monday. We have to take 3 or 4 cars to the airport just to pick them all up. And housing them is interesting in about 4 places also. Tuesday’s transfer meeting will be the largest in the history of our mission with about 130 coming in. Pray for us!!! Transfers is my favorite meeting. I love the training from Pres and Sis Wilkey, the testimonies of the missionaries who are going home, the new assignments, the Temple, the dinner. It is so great! You should see our office. We have bedding for 26 missionaries stacked up all around the walls and piles of new area kits in the corners. We will be opening 9 new apartments that Mike has been working day and night to lease and to furnish. What a job that is. And we have created 2 new zones with more on the way in the next 3 months. We have 155 missionaries and will be at about 215 when we are done this year. Wow, I’m getting tireder and tireder just typing this all up!

On P Day, March 16, we went to Boston to listen to Elder Ballard. We all got to shake his hand. That was cool. He said that when the Church opens the 58 new missions, there will be 401 missions world-wide. Can you believe it? In the introduction to the King James Version of the Bible there is a phrase that says, "...that the work might be hastened." Well it surely is.



We will miss being here and miss our new friends. Mike got to baptize one sister and she and I will probably be life-long buds. She’s from Nepal and doesn’t speak English very well but she is just the sweetest person. I just love her. And of course we are still in touch with missionaries who have gone home. We love that also. We will be leaving here on Aug 4th. Then driving home and we will probably take about 10 days to drive from here to IDF to visit with Diana, Ian, and Payton, to Utah to visit with Tony and family, Kurt, Paul and family, the Larsens and the Hymases, and to Calif to visit with my brother, Tim and family. Then home to Washington to see Andrea and Holly. Paul and Kortni are driving to Washington about Aug 15th and we want to be there for their 2 week visit with everyone. Leona and Henry are anxious to see us, and Cèlin is going to spend a week with us, Lilly and Eli want to jump on Grandpa, and of course I have to take Ryker around to see if our cows and horses and rivers are still there!!!! He still talks about all of that every time I talk or FaceTime with him. He jumped inside an empty disposable diaper box, shut the lids down around his neck, and said, “Mom, I be package for Grammie.” So precious. Thank goodness for writing, phone calls, Skype, and FaceTime! We are able to keep in touch with all our kids and grandkids. Don't you just love technology?! We surely do! Actually, with everything involved, we couldn't survive without technology!!!!

Bye for now. I hope to write again soon, but we are so busy I just take time when I get it. We love you all and look forward to a very happy reunion in August!!!

February 16, 2013 Gettin' ready for the onslaught!

What can I say more--we are busy. Elder Benjamin has been working all week and P days as well. He is in the office now and has been since early this morning. He's putting the finishing touches on the last apartment lease needed for the new missionaries coming in on Monday--22 in all. So far that is the biggest group since we had 12 coming in a few weeks ago. In March we are getting 26! Six in May so far, and 15 in June that we know of at this time.

We love staying busy, and we have been told that it will be like this until we leave the first of August. We haven't heard who our replacements are going to be, but the news is coming soon. President and Sister Wilkey are holding up very well. They never get a day "off", ever! I can't believe the number of missionaries who get home sick, or just plain sick-physically and emotionally--that they have to take care of. We pray for them and the missionaries constantly.

The missionaries who are going home on Wednesday are very dear to us. We have served with them for over a year now, and we get very close to them. Tuesday is transfer day, and after transfer meeting we will be attending the Boston Temple with the nine missionaries who are going home. That is always a special treat for us senior couples.


Found this picture of us with the Wilkeys one month after we arrived here in the mission. Picture was taken March 21, 2012.



Two of our Elders modeling Elder Benjamin's hat. Those missionaries can have fun with any kind of prop!


First big snow in Goffstown NH on January 27, 2013.

Our friends and roommates at Education Week, Dave and Marge Larsen, are going home today from their mission in the Florida Tallahassee Mission. They started on May 15, 2011 and are going home now. We are going to visit them on our way home in August.


This is my favorite tree in Manchester NH. It is on Main Street and we pass it every day going to the office. This is in the fall.


Snow day February 9, 2013 in our apartment complex parking lot. Not our van under there!

Another shot of what Storm Nemo did to us here in Goffstown NH.

Burrrrrr!


You'd think that these trees are in New England. Not so! They are on Schurman Way in Woodland WA.

We are busy, but we are happy! Serving an office mission here has been one of the best times of our lives. We are lovin' it. Seeing the church grow here in New England has been so rewarding to us. And with 80 more missionaries the work will roll forth at a much faster pace. There were 225 convert baptisms here in 2012, and there will be more than that in 2013. My prediction!!!!

We do miss our children, grandchildren, parents (Mike), siblings, and friends. We do love you all. We feel so fortunate to be able to serve Heavenly Father and our Savior at this time in our lives. Having been "set apart" to serve here has been a real joy to us.

Finally! December 30, 2012

Well, what can I say? I'm a flake for sure! We have been busier than a 16-year old with a new car!!!! I'm just going to start posting pictures and talk about them.

You'd think that this sign would some how be associated with our mission, right? But, no. It is posted at the end of the driveway of a church in Bedford NH. But it is such a cool sign, I'm going to pretend that it belongs to us!!

The Bedford Town Hall is just down the street from the Mission Field sign. Bedford was established in 1750 and this building sits on top of the hill with many other buildings of the town.

Thanksgiving Day we worked in the office. Got a lot done since we were there alone most of the day. We came home and had soup! We got to talk with our kids so that made it a really special and different Thanksgiving for us.

On Sunday, December 23 (Joseph Smith's and Diann Hokanson's birthdays) we were invited to a Nepali wedding by Suk. She is from Nepal and being taught by 2 of our Elders. She is about 44 years old and just the nicest lady you would want to meet. Her husband is still in Nepal and should be arriving in the US in about 6 more months. She has had us over for dinner twice--first time was goat meat and second time was mostly vegetable dishes. Anyway, we arrived at her apartment, and it was crammed with relatives--wall to wall. When we got there (Elder B, 2 Sisters, 2 Elders, and myself) it was standing room only. The bride (Suk's daughter) and groom were seated on the sofa and everyone else found room around them.

You can see the red dish on the table? That is sticky rice and food coloring. The relatives say things to the couple, paste the rice on their foreheads, and give them gifts or put cash in the grooms hand. All the while there is loud Nepali music going on all over the apartment. I took a video of many of the guests dancing with Suk including the Sister missionaries who really looked like they knew what they were doing. I got up and participated, but I sure didn't take a picture of myself doing that!

The little 5-year old on the left is Suk's niece, Shearyea, pronounced like sheedia. She loves to come to church with Suk, and she just loves Primary. She is one of the happiest little girls I have seen in a long time. She's happy about everything and so good natured. And she loves dark chocolate! Needless to say we have bonded.

This is Suk and Shearyea at Stake Conference. Shearyea sat very quiet the whole 2 hours, so when there was about 45 minutes to go, I gave her a Dove chocolate and and wipe! She loved it.

After attending the Nepali wedding, we and the four missionaries drove to Bishop and Sister Dickson's home for a prime rib dinner that was delicious. I have to admit though that I think Elder Hatch has a hollow leg. I couldn't believe how many kielbasas he put away. And that was part of the appetizer! Then he ate dinner. And all of that was only 2 hours after the Nepali wedding lunch!!!!

Christmas morning we picked up our 4 missionaries and drove to Deerfield NH for Christmas breakfeast (sic) with the Lahr family in our ward. They do this every year. We were so fortunate to be there. They had sausage, bacon, french toast, cinnamon rolls, yogurt, and juice. They gave each missionary a stocking with goodies in it. So sweet of them. They have 3 children, Elizabeth 17, Eric 14, who looks like Hoss from Bonanza, and Jake who is 8. They live the farthest out in the ward. Brother Lahr has a transmission repair business and said that he is keeping very busy because he pays his tithing. Great family.

Christmas Day after Skyping and FaceTiming with most of our children and grandchildren, we went to President and Sister Wilkey's home for an 8-course French dinner. There were 12 of us--Wilkey's, Stake President Anderson, his wife, and two children, Elder and Sister DeLoach (senior couple doing records preservation in Concord NH) and 2 sister missionaries, and ourselves. It was great and delicious fun. President Anderson's 17-year old daughter, Mary Alice, played a beautiful arrangement of Silent Night on her violin. We chatted and talked about the Savior and his love and left all warm and fuzzy. It was a wonderful day!

December 27 was the first big snowfall and the next day there was even more snow. We are not supposed to get anymore snow for about a week. We are amazed how the plow trucks just stay busy and keep all the streets clear. Almost every house has a snow blower. On the way to church this morning, many people where out clearing their sidewalks and driveways. Normal course of events here in New England in the winter.

It is hard to believe that we have been out on our mission for 11 months already. Time is flying by. Salt Lake is sending us a bunch of new missionaries. Many of the Elders are 18 and some of the Sisters are 19. We are excited to have them come here. We have been very busy making preparations for them. Elder Benjamin is scouting out new apartments in all three states, and I have been doing all the paper work for 32 new arriving missionaries over the next 3 months. Wow, it is fun though. We love staying busy serving the Lord here.

November 3, 2012

After President Monson's announcement about the age option of missionaries at General Conference last month, a lot has been happening here in New England. President Wilkey told us that we will be getting ready for about 80 to 90 new missionaries after the first of the year. Now I know why I have been organizing and streamlining all the paperwork for incoming missionaries. There will not be one dull moment in our office! Elder Benjamin will be finding new apartments and furnishing them. Elder Davis will be dealing with new cars and cell phones. And Sister Davis will be stocking more supplies and filling more orders. She also takes care of new referrals and baptism records. I really like my job cause I get in with the new and out with the old!!!! I'm also happy to tell all of you that my 66-year old brain works just great!

Zone Conferences are Nov 12 and 14. Elder Nash of the Seventy will be visiting. You may remember that he spoke in the October General Conference. There are lots of grooming protocols for the missionaries when a General Authority visits. Everyone will be all polished and shined. We decided on sack lunches for the zone conferences and we have to stick to 30 minutes from start to cleanup. Zone Conference is very nice for all the missionaries including the seniors. The two wards take care of everything so we don't have to prep and serve and cleanup. We get to eat and partake of the spirit and not worry about how everything is coming along in the kitchen.

Six really good missionaries went home last month. We loved them all and will miss them here, but we already know that they are moving on in their lives. We sure wish them the best!

We weathered Hurricane Sandy without any problems. The electricity stayed on here in our apartment and in the office. We put in some extra food in case we lost power, but thank goodness we didn't lose the power. Thursday we visited a sister with the Elders. She is inactive and has to work on Sundays so she can't come to church. She was baptized in 2006 in the other ward here and the church just lost her. We see that a lot here. The RS pres made out the visiting teaching routes a couple of weeks ago. This is how it went: An active sister gets a route with 2 active sisters on it and about 6 to 8 inactive sisters. The VTer visits the 2 active ones every month and then has to play detective to find out what has happened to the inactive sisters. The ward is so spread out-probably about like Woodland Ward. Last Sunday Sacrament Meeting started with about 10 people in the chapel and that included the bishopric, pianist, and chorister! The meetings here always start about 5 to 10 minutes late. The mission is stressing "real growth." Baptizing people who will stay active. It's a challenge here, but we're working on it.

We are so happy for Lexie! She got her mission call to Australia Sydney! She is so excited. She checks into the MTC on Wed., March 13. That will be a switch for her. She works in the MTC cafeteria and has been serving the missionaries for about a year. So now they get to serve her!!!!! There were about 30 of us on FaceTime and Skype and the telephone watching her open her call letter. Here is a picture of her call letter.

We love you all and miss you. We are half way done with our mission and from what we understand and knowing that we will be busier than ever, the next half will fly by and we will be home before you know it. Be happy and safe and stay true!

October 13, 2012

We have been busy getting ready for transfers next week. There are 12 new missionaries coming in and 6 going home. We work for 4 straight weeks getting all the paper work and processing done. Then the new ones get here and we take a week to process them in. We have another week to recoup and then we start all over again. It is great work and we enjoy it thoroughly. We feel like it is our contribution to moving the Gospel along in New England. The people here are great. Very standoffish until you get to know them and then you have friends for life. On the sad side--two more missionaries have gone home. One because he said he was "done" after three months here and one for a repentance issue. It is very hard on us when a missionary has to go home. We are excited about the new option from President Monson for 18-year old Elders and 19-yr old Sisters. They don't have to go at that early age, but they do have the option to if they want. We are so proud of Alexis for starting the process the day after the announcement!!! Way to go Lexie! Wouldn't it be great if they sent her here? We would love it and she said she would love it too!!

General Conference was wonderful. I may be partial, but my 8th cousin, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, was absolutely dynamite! He makes me want to get up and get going. I love his talks. I came across this the other day and thought that each one of these could add meaning to a person's life. Or they could make a fantastic Sacrament Meeting talk.

Faith is the power.
Love is the motive.
Obedience is the price.
The spirit is the key.
The restoration is the message.
The members are the means.
Christ is the reason.
Baptism is the way.
Joy is the reward.


Last Saturday we drove up the Kancamagus highway to see the leaves in color. I guess the peak was the week before. So we headed south and found lots of color still there. So beautiful when the sun is shining on the trees. Takes your breath away. Heavenly Father sure has created a gorgeous world for us to live in, especially in America.

We are well and happy and consider ourselves lucky to be able to serve a mission now. Thank you to all our family and friends for supporting us in this time of our lives. We are so very grateful. We love you all.

September 23, 2012

I has been an interesting couple of weeks. Seven new elders arrived on September 3rd and on the 18th they and their trainers attended the new missionary training. The 4 elders from July 23 and their trainers also attended. The senior couples go over to the Manchester Chapel and set up lunch, eat, and then clean up and go back to the office. I get to have fun at lunch because I bring the mail in. After I eat I walk among the tables and call out the missionary's name and let them all know who got the most letters or the biggest box. They all seem to love it, even the ones who don't get any mail that day.

On the 12th I went to the doc for teeth cleaning to find that one of my fillings next to a crown had fallen out and of course, the only way to fix it is to remove the crown and get a new one. Well, it's a lot more expensive here in New England. At home about $1100 and here $1600. Ouch!!! My haircuts cost more here also. Eleni, I sure do miss your wonderful haircuts at home. And getting a pedicure here is a feat in itself. If you want a full spa pedi it's $60. I can get the same thing and a much better job at home for $25. I miss my shop at home, Nails 4 U. Oh well, on October 23rd we will be at the half-way mark of our mission. I can hold out till we get home.

I ordered a new iPhone 5 and it should be here this week. I'm excited for all the cool stuff it can do that my iPhone 4 can't. Especially Siri. I downloaded the new iOS6 on my iPad3 and now I have Siri on that. It is so fun to tell her what I want her to do! I love bossing her around!

Today is Kaydence's 2nd birthday. Diana and Ian and Payton drove down from Idaho Falls to Pleasant Grove for the weekend. We FaceTimed yesterday and Kaydence was having a great time opening presents. She's really into princess books, so we gave here "Princess of the Potty."

My 66th birthday was so nice. I loved hearing from all my kids and friends. When I got into the office on Monday, the Assistants (Elders Esplin and Baker) had decorated with a princess motif. The poster on the door said, "Happy Birthday Princess." I had a really good laugh over that. Sister Davis made a delicious carrot cake for me with candles (only 8 cause we didn't want to have to call in the fire marshall) and everything. Great day.

Tomorrow is Mom Kent's 85th birthday. And her sister, Barbara's 84th birthday is on Wednesday. Both of them are in poor health now. They are such wonderful people and I love them both.

Yesterday, I finally got around to start knitting Leona's Mitered Jacket. It will be a long project since I don't get much time to knit-mostly on Preparation Day on Saturdays. Here are a couple of shots of the start of the jacket.

Today at church we had a talk from Brother Nimmo who is on the High Council. His talk was about prophets. One thing that really snapped me to attention was what he said about President Hinckley--The story goes like this: Someone met President Hinckley and said, "Oh, President Hinckley, you will be remembered for building so many temples." And Pres. Hinckley said, "No, I will be remembered for the prophet that no one listened to." Wow, that really hit me and made me want to go back and read all that he has counseled us to do. It would be a great exercise for all of us.

We had another missionary leave the mission. Really, I don't know the details, but some of the ones who have gone home have said that they just can't cut it any longer. I remember when Elder Ballard announced that the bar had been raised and that only worthy young men should apply for a mission. After 2 years here, President Wilkey has seen 36 missionaries go home for health and worthiness and laziness reasons. So I guess my counsel to young men is that they should not bother applying for a mission if they have any doubts about being able to cut it and keep the schedule and forget about all the distractions at home. Sometimes I think that some youth are pushed out on a mission by their parents when the youth isn't ready or mature enough to go. He or she needs to gain a strong testimony of the restored gospel and the Savior before they even apply. I really do feel very sorry for those who go through all the interviews, apply, go to the MTC, arrive in the mission, get trained for 12 weeks, and then say, "I don't want to do this anymore. I'm done." I just don't understand it.

We are getting ready for fall here. The temp is dropping down to a high of 60 and some of the leaves are changing already. We have a couple more weeks to go before we really see all that beautiful color. I can hardly wait.

All our love to our children, grandchildren, siblings, Dad and Mom Benjamin, nephews, nieces, and all family and friends.

September 6, 2012 After Transfers and some before

We just finished transfers! We received 7 new Elders on Monday, and three Elders and three Sisters went home on Wednesday. Elder Benjamin and I really enjoy transfer meeting. All of the missionaries who are going home bear their testimonies. President Wilkey has them talk about one thing at the podium--On my mission I learned this one golden truth that will change who I am forever. We always cry when we hear these testimonies. The spirit is so strong. Dad/Grandpa starts the tears coming before the first missionary starts talking! Three sister missionaries that I have gotten close to went home. We took a lot of pictures and promised to keep in touch.

We went to the Boston Temple with the returning missionaries.

I'll just post some pictures that we took there with my iPad!!!!

Angel's Trumpets at the Boston Temple.

Sisters Wilkey, Horton, Benjamin, and Huntsman at the Boston Temple

Sisters Wilkey, Horton, Benjamin, and Huntsman

Elder Benjamin and Elder Ward

What are they doing?

President and Sister Wilkey with Elder Tirrell Ward

President and Sister Wilkey with Elder Stephen Adams

Davises, Benjamins, President Wilkey, and his assistants, Elders Sommerfeldt & Esplin

Elder John Sommerfeldt and Elder Kaleb Esplin (Assistants) eating Diana's Creamy Mushroom Chicken and Rice, and Watermelon.

President's Assistants like candy!!!! Elders Esplin and Baker

September 2, 2012 Bar Harbor Maine

We just got home from a 2-day trip to Ellsworth, Maine to pick up 2 missionaries and take one to Damariscotta, Maine and the other back here to Manchester, New Hampshire. Since it is a 5-hour trip each way we left yesterday and drove up Highway 1 along the Maine coast. The weather was gorgeous, and since it was Labor Day weekend, we ended up bumper-to-bumper in a few coast towns like York, Maine and Kennebunkport, Maine. We spent last night at our favorite motel in Bar Harbor (mainly cause there were not any other vacancies)-- the Bar Harbor Motel. We went to dinner at the Union River Lobster Pot and had some really delicious clam chowder and Maine blueberry pie. This morning we attended church at the Ellsworth Maine Branch. The attendance was low because of holiday weekend, but the building is very nice and so were the members. A sister I sat with in Relief Society said that everyone has about 3 callings. One thing that was said in the lesson was "Families first because families last." I like that!

Here is a picture of the moon over Bar Harbor. So pretty.

It was Fast Sunday today so we bought some cheese and crackers and bananas last night and broke our fast with the 2 Elders in the car. It was a beautiful ride home.

Tomorrow we are receiving seven new Elders from the MTC. Tuesday is a large Transfer meeting (about 110) and a trip to the Boston Temple. Then on Wednesday we have 4 missionaries returning home. And then it starts all over again in 6 weeks.

Well this is a short one. We love all our kids, grandkids, and friends. And we are so sad to lose Bishop Driver, but we are already in love with Bishop Heath.

August 19, 2012 First Disappointment

Today was to be Tanya's and Josiah's baptisms. They passed their baptism interviews with the Zone Leaders just fine last Saturday. We picked them up for church last Sunday as usual and everything was good except that Tanya told us that her boyfriend, Eric, had gotten on the internet and told her some anti-mormon stuff that he found there--like we have horns and tails and that we were going to change her name and junk like that. We assured her that what he was reading was garbage, and we had a good Sabbath with her and Josiah. Tuesday she was supposed to meet with the Elders and Elder Benjamin, and she wasn't there. We have been calling all week. Finally when Elder Benjamin couldn't get her to return calls or texts, he got permission for one of the Elders who taught her (but he got transferred) to call her. She returned his second call and said that she hadn't been feeling well and that Eric was in the hospital. We haven't heard from her since. She has not returned any calls from any of us, nor does she answer her door. So two Sister missionaries and I dropped by to pick her up for church this morning and no answer. So we just don't know what to think. We are praying for her and hope that there is some really good explanation besides a very negative one. Eric asked her why she was giving up things she likes to do--like smoking, coffee, and him! She asked him to meet with the Elders and he did once, but he didn't seem very receptive. Eric's son who is 11 sat in on the discussion and said that he wanted to be baptized, too. Well, anyway, we were very disappointed that the baptisms didn't happen today. We hope to hear from Tanya about all this.

On a little happier note: We and 2 Elders took Tanya and Josiah to the Joseph Smiith Birthpace Memorial two weeks ago. Had a wonderful time with them and they loved the spirit of the place.

Josiah loves Primary (he is 8 but looks bigger) and loves to read the Book of Mormon. Last Sunday he was at church with a white shirt and tie. He looked so spiffy.

Paul sent me this picture of Ryker and Kaydence. Paul called it "The General and His Homey!" I laughed forever!!!! Thanks Paul for that one.

Tony and Annette and all 5 of their children were here for a visit. It was so good to see them and to see someone that we are related to! We took them to the JSM as well and had a nice picnic there, looked around, then drove back to Manchester for dinner and ice cream at the world famous Puritan Chicken restaurant. They have the absolute best chocolate almond frozen yogurt!! Everyone loved dinner and the ice cream. Sunday they all came to church with us and then here in our little apartment for a cozy spaghetti dinner and more ice cream. It was wonderful. I guess I got a little homesick after they left, but I'm back on track again.

Zone Conferences this week on Tuesday in South Royalton, Vermont and Thursday in Augusta, Maine. Such fun to be with all the missionaries.

Bye for now. We love you all--children, grandchildren, parents, and friends.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

It has been a crazy week with 4 new elders arriving on Monday, transfer Tuesday, 2 returning home, and New Missionary Training on Wednesday. The Boston Temple had been closed for 2 weeks for remodel and cleaning, so we were fortunate to go to the temple on the day it opened back up--Tuesday. It was a wonderful time with an endowment session, dinner at the temple afterward, and hugs and "I love you" from the Elders going home. Elder Brown wants to be a teacher and thanked me for some advice I had given him a couple of months before on his education and future. He asked for my email address so he can keep in touch. He's a wonderful young man and has a beautiful singing voice. He loves children and will be an awesome teacher. I am so glad I got to serve a mission with him for even a few months. I see great things coming from him in his future. Elder Todd also went home. He wants to be a chef. He wanted to make some garlic chicken for us before he left, but it didn't work out. I would have loved to taste that chicken.

Sister Davis and I spend a lot of time getting meals ready to feed the missionaries. On Mondays she and I do a lunch for the office staff including President, his 2 assistants, and the two office couples. It is fun on Monday after the lunch to be talking about what we are going to prepare for next Monday's lunch. Last Monday we had Diana's and Annette's Creamy Chicken over rice that I made. Sister Davis brought in frosted fudge brownies with ice cream and watermellon. Yummy. The Assistants are bottomless pits for sure, but we love to feed them. Our motto: When it's gone, it's gone! Next Monday Sister Davis is making lasagne and I'm making caesar salad with Kortni's mom's cesar salad dressing. I'm also bringing a fruit salad of mellons and fixings for maple syrup milkshakes per request from Elder Baker, the new assistant. Elder Sommerfeldt, who was made an assistant two days before we got here, got transferred to Maine to train one of the new missionaries. I sure will miss him. He is so much fun and likes to try to scare me--usually it doesn't work!!! Here is a picture of him with me and Elder B and Elder Esplin. Elder Sommerfeldt is the second from right. He wants to be a heart surgeon and go into business with two other returned missionaries--one wants to be an orthopedic surgeon, and the other wants to be a brain surgeon. So I came up with an acronym of HOBs which stands for Heart-Ortho-Brain surgeons. Elder Sommerfeldt loved it!!!!

Also, the Manchester sisters get to come in the office about once a week. We love having them visit. Sister Chantry had to answer the phone for me one day for about an hour and has now decided to be a receptionist when she gets home from her mission. Sister Huntsman is always upbeat and happy to be around. I love both of these Sisters. Here is a photo of me with Sister Davis, Sister Huntsman, Me, and Sister Chantry.

I took a picture of the letter and bracelet that Sister Windley sent to me after she had to go home early from her mission here with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. It is possible for her to recover from this illness, but it will take some time. The Lord gave her a reprieve from it before she got on the airplane with her mother to fly home and then after she got home she had a relapse of numbness on her body. Our prayers are with her every day.

Tanya and her son, Josiah, have moved their baptisms back two weeks so that Josiah can get all the lessons in before he is baptized. Elder Benjamin and the two Manchester Elders are teaching them both. We are going to take all of them to the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial in Sharon, Vermont next Saturday. We are looking forward to that as are Tanya, Josiah, and the Elders. It should prove to be a very nice day.

We are having a great time working with President and Sister Wilkey. We sure do love them. They never rest however. Go, go, go. Some nights President only gets about 4 hours of sleep. So we in the office try to do as much for them as they are willing to give us. One of the things we are doing is designing a Christmas tree ornament with the JSM on it to give to each missionary for Christmas. One of the brothers in the Bedford ward does stippling and he is working on the JSM right now to be imprinted on the brass ornament. It will be very beautiful when it is done. I found a company online that will make them up for us. We will get a velvet drawstring bag for each one. It will make a lovely gift and keepsake.

I've got to say that most of the members in the Manchester ward are being very good missionaries and fellowshippers to the new converts. I'm so happy to see that happening. Elder B and I are going to attend the ward Bible study on Tuesday evening. Investigators attend that also.

Well, gotta go. Elder B is taking me out to dinner. This is our "P" day after all. We haven't been out to dinner for many weeks now. I mean a really nice dinner. We send our love to our children, grandchildren, and friends. Hard to believe that we are 1/3 done with our mission. Wow, time is flying now.

July 22, 2012 Sunday

Another Baptism today! Arlene was baptized today into the Manchester ward. Her husband is not a member, but he came to her baptism. Very nice couple. We are so happy for her. Many of the ward members were there to support her. The spirit was just wonderful. Tanya and her son, Josiah, were there as well. We had them over for dinner and dominoes Friday evening. Josiah is eight years old and loves brownies and dominoes! We got it right for him! Tanya will be baptized in two weeks, and we are hoping that Josiah will want to be baptized also. Tanya is letting him choose for himself. He loves Primary and totes his Book of Mormon everywhere he goes. He has a yellow highlighter and during Sacrament meeting today he was looking for the word "baptize" and marked each one. Very sweet boy who wants to be a police officer some day. The two Elders who have been teaching them told them today that they are both being transferred on Tuesday. Tanya and Josiah cried. I took a picture of the four of them and assured them that they will grow to love the new Elders just as much. We are planning to take Tanya and Josiah to the Massachusetts Boston Temple for a tour of the grounds. I have been doing genealogy research for her and discovered that someone in her family has been doing temple work for her ancestors. She is going to talk to her mom about it. Both sides of her family are staunch Catholics!

Our sweet Sister that went home early from her mission with Guillain Beret Syndrome, wrote me a beautiful letter with her testimony and thanks. She enclosed a Forget-Me-Not bracelet with the letter. I sat at my desk and cried. We just get so close to our missionaries is such a short time.

Tomorrow four new Elders are coming in from the MTC. Then on Tuesday two are done with their mission and flying home. We get to go to the temple with them. That is one of the nicest things we get to do. Tuesday is transfer day and President has said that it will probably be a small transfer. That means about 50 instead of 100. Nice.

Dad and I are so happy that the doctors have finally gotten to the bottom (or should I say top) of Celin's condition. Her sphenoid sinus is infected and swollen and pushing on her brain causing headaches which in turn cause stomachaches. She is on meds and the prognosis is good. Our prayers are working! Much relief for Andrea and Blair, too.

We are looking forward to Tony and family coming for a visit next month. We will make a trip to the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial in Sharon, Vermont. It is so very beautiful there. The town of Sharon is still very tiny and quaint. I love it there.

We miss our family and friends very much, but we know that this is where we are supposed to be for now. It is hard to believe that tomorrow we will be 1/3 into our mission with 2/3 left. We love it here and love the people. There are a couple of older sisters in RS that I dearly love, and I'm getting to know a sister who is a masseuse!! She gave me a neck massage all through the baptism last week. Divine!!!!

Take care. Hugs and kisses to all the grandkids--Grammie and Grandpa love you!!!!

The last two weeks have not been too busy. We had a wonderful baptism today after church for Ken. The Elders have been teaching him for a few months and he had a hard time getting off of tobacco, but he did it! It was a beautiful baptism with many of the ward members and the bishopric all there. The closing hymm was The Old Rugged Cross, a hymn I haven't sung since I was little and sang with my mom and my sister. It is not in our hymnbook, but the words were printed on Ken's program. One of the President's Assistants played the piano and did a fantastic job. He is very talented and wants to be a dentist with a minor in music after he goes home.

We have been working with Tanya, an investigator, and her son. They are scheduled for baptism on July 29th. We are sure looking forward to that day as are they. Tanya was golden right from the moment that the missionaries passed her on the street and turned around and went back to talk with her. The ward members have really welcomed her and treated her right. I am pleased at how well the ward does with missionary work. They are all so dedicated to these new members.

Another two missionaries had to go home last week for health reasons. One of them started having major problems because he has had 9 concussions in his young life playing LaCrosse. We've had several missionaries go home for various reasons. Two of the sad ones had to go home, one for lukemia and one diagnosed with Guillain Beret Syndrome. (I don't know if I spelled that right.) It is pronounced gee-on baray though.

Cèlin has been very ill for a few months now and will undergo a battery of tests this week. Our prayers and thoughts are with our sweet granddaughter. Hopefully the doctors will be able to determine the problem so Cèlin can go forward and feel well.

And Mike's mom, Grandma Nini, fell in their home and broke 3 ribs. She is convalescing at home now after a few days in the hospital. She is in a lot of pain, as one can imagine, and is managing with medication. Grandpa is doing all he can to take care of her with Tootie's help. Grandma is healing, but it is kind of slow.

We are gearing up here for transfers again next week. Four new elders coming in and two going home. Transfers is a really fun time for office missionaries! But if we didn't work hard, we would feel like we weren't doin' nothin'!!!!

More next time. Our love to all our children, grandchildren, family, and friends.

June 29, 2012

This has been a sad week in that two missionaries had to go home. One because he didn't want to follow the mission rules, and the other because she contracted some sort of virus that made her so weak that she couldn't walk. Her mom had to fly here to take her home. Thank goodness her mom is a nurse so that made it easier. I was told by Sister Davis that annually about 7% of missionaries in the field go home early for one reason or another. Well, we have had 6 so far this year. That is 6% for us right now. Those are the bummer stats, but the good news is that we have 93% of our missionaries who are wonderfully dedicated missionaries. I love being in contact with them every day. We have become close to them and love them for their desire to serve.

The assistants to the President come into the office regularly. At the last transfer Elder Adams was made a traveling assistant, so we got another assistant to take his place. Whenever there is a new assistant assigned, we have a candy shower for him. This is basically--he walks through the office door, and we throw a bowl of candy on his head. One of the office staff takes pictures of this,and the pictures are included in the Messenger (the quarterly mission newsletter). Great fun and the new assistant loves it. I'm amazed at how missionaries love sweets!!!!

With two of the Elders, Elder Benjamin has been teaching a woman who has an 8-yr old son. Tanya and Josiah. She was in an abusive relationship and got out after losing most of her teeth because of beatings. She almost lost her life when her ex tried to set her on fire. She has totally turned her life around and is one of the sweetest and most open people you could meet. The Elders were out walking one day and passed her on the sidewalk and started talking with her. She agreed to their visits and was "golden" from the beginning. When she attends church, I stick to her like glue. I introduced her to as many of the sisters in the ward as I knew. I'm amazed at how the Relief Society sisters rallied around her. One of them rode her scooter to Tanya's house and sat in on a lesson from the Elders (Elder B also). Tanya was invited to attend the ward Relief Society Bible study on Tuesdays. She is going. Yesterday, the Elders taught her the lesson on the Word of Wisdom. Elder B noticed that she had 2 coffee makers in her apartment and she told them that she still smokes once in a while. Josiah hates it that she smokes. He has begged her many time to totally quit but she hasn't been able to do it. The Elders told her about the Church's Stop Smoking Program and she has agreed to do it. She told them that the next time they come over, the coffee pots will be gone. Elder B and I pick her up every Sunday for church and ward members have volunteered to give her rides to church also. Her baptism is scheduled for July 8. We are so excited for her and Josiah. Josiah loves Primary. Elder B and I gave him the picture Book of Mormon stories and he loves to read it. It is so wonderful to see people grab onto the gospel and change their lives to follow the Savior.

Elder B had a great Father's Day. He got calls from all 6 of our children. That made him very happy!!!!

President Wilkey asked Elder B and me to develop a mission blog. One that only the missionaries could access. He will post a weekly mission update on it with a link to the church site so that they can write their weekly letter to the president. We had a great time developing the blog and we sure learned a lot about domain names and blog set-up. Great fun. It is almost ready to go. First, we have to train the President on how to make a weekly post. He's not the quickest learner when it comes to technology, but his heart is in the right place so he will be okay. I'll laminate a wallet-sized cheat sheet for him and he'll be all set!

Father's Day June 17, 2012

We spoke in Sacrament meeting this morning. MIke's topic was The Importance of Good Fathers, and my topic was The Blessings of the Priesthood. There were many who said they enjoyed our talks, and Bishop Dickson thanked us for sticking to the topics he gave us.
We have just been through another week of transfers, and it is getting easier. We are almost on auto pilot now. But we have about 14 more transfers to go through before we return home so we should be very good at it by then! We were able to attend the Boston Temple last Tuesday with the 6 missionaries who were going home. I've got to say that they are an inspiration to us--such dedication and diligence in serving. The weather was gorgeous with some wind on the top of the hill where the temple is situated, so if my hair makes it look like I'm ready for take-off, oh well!!!


After the temple we all went back to the mission home for ice cream sundaes. That is always a fun time to just talk and visit with the missionaries who are going home. We talk about their plans for education, work, and marriage. One of the elders, Elder Tannin Cash, said that he didn't have any plans at all when he got home. So he proposed to me!!!! He got down on one knee, too. We all had a great laugh over that. He is always kidding around. What a great personality he has and will succeed at anything he wants. He loves to play golf, so he and Dad had a lot to talk about. We don't know if we will ever see Elder Cash again or even talk with him, but it was so fun to get to know him better.

Sister Shaunelle Holyoak went home. She was one of the sisters serving in Manchester and was assigned to attend the same ward we go to. She was such a good teacher and dedicated missionary. We just end up getting close to some of these missionaries. Can't help it.

This picture shows me with the Bedford sisters--Sister Rykowski on the left and Sister Johnson on the right. Sister Johnson got transferred on Tuesday, but Sister Rykowski stayed.



Sister Rykowski makes chocolate chip cookies for me once in a while, so tomorrow she and Sister Huntsman and Sister Chantry are coming in the office for banana cream pie that I am making. One of the President's Assistants, Elder Stephen Adams, is going to be a traveling assistant. Tony did that as part of his mission in San Jose, California. Elder Adams will travel around and stay 3 or 4 days with a set of elders to teach and help. He's pretty excited about it. So we are having a bon voyage lunch for him tomorrow. He wants Sloppy Joes and Banana Cream Pie. He is from Yakutat, Alaska and just a fine person.

I've been so busy in the office that I have not had any time to knit. I'm sorry Leona, I might not get your jacket done until after I get home. We'll see. Sister Davis finds time to quilt; Elder Davis finds time to fish; Mike finds time to golf (very little); but, I have the flossing and brushing and rubber tipping thing that I have to do every morning and night. So, it's a choice between knitting or dentures! You guess what I have chosen!

President Villinga, who will be the Cleveland Ohio Mission President on June 23 called the office to talk with President Wilkey last week. When I told him that President Wilkey was out of the office, Pres. Villinga asked if he could pick my brain about a few office things like letters and procedures. I told him that I had rewritten the procedure manual since I got here in February, and then he asked me when I would be done with our mission here and then asked if I would come to Cleveland for another mission right after!!! I laughed. The cool thing about the Cleveland Mission though is that Kirtland is part of it. We stopped there on our way here and saw what used to be the Kirtland Temple and it is so sad cause it is not a temple and looks kind of sad sitting there in the town. The Community of Christ church owns it and they use it for a meeting hall.

Thank you Sister Ives for writing to me every month. I love getting your cards. And I love you. Being on a mission we do not have home or visiting teachers so it is nice to be visited by card or email. Thank you Sister Harder also for keeping in touch.

We miss our children and grandchildren terribly, but we know that Heavenly Father is watching over them, and we all know that he does a better job of that than we could.

Take care family and friends until next time. We love you all.

June 3, 2012

I realize I haven't written for a couple of weeks and got an email from Pat Beazer asking why not? I guess I don't really have much of an excuse except that missionaries are very busy people! My goal was to write every Sunday. Let's see, where do I begin? Last Sunday I taught the Teaching for Our Times lesson in Relief Society. It was taken from President Uchtdorf's April Gen. Conf. talk "The Merciful Obtain Mercy" sometimes known as the "stop it" talk. I was so nervous-mostly cause I hardly know anyone in the Manchester Ward yet. But it went okay and the sisters were very nice and complementary in spite of my deficiencies. And then today at church, the bishop asked us to speak on Father's Day. Actually I'm not as nervous about that as I was teaching Relief Society. Mike is right now out with the Manchester Elders Rodriguez and Morgan teaching a lesson to an investigator from Nepal. This whole New England area is quite the melting pot. There are many different nationalities here. One amusing thing about our ward--Sacrament meeting is supposed to start at 9 a.m., but almost never starts before 9:10 and then even at that, about half of the ward comes in after the Sacrament is served. Every week. Interesting.

Last week, May 29-30, was Missionary Leadership Training for all the District Leaders. They come from all over the mission (Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire). They have to stay with other Elders that are close by and also in the mission home. The office couples set up dinner for them on Tuesday and then on Wednesday the Manchester ward did a pizza lunch for them. This week is transfer planning, which means that we are getting ready for all the new missionaries coming in from the MTC and those returning home. I do enjoy the whole process although this time one of the sister missionaries that I have gotten close to is going home. I will certainly miss her. She is Sister Holyoak from Lyndon, Utah. What an awesome missionary she is.

Next week we will be able to go to the Boston Temple (as we do every six weeks) with the returning missionaries. We do an endowment session, have dinner in the cafeteria, and return to the mission home for dessert. The days are long and busy but very nice.

All the missionaries were asked to set up a profile on www.mormon.org. You can see mine at www.mormon.org/me/8Z8B if you want. I listed as Karen Snipes Benjamin. Mike hasn't done one yet. Don't know why he's dragging his feet about it. Anyone can post a profile there and I encourage everyone to do it. Those investigating the church can see what members have to say and to read their testimonies.

A couple of weeks ago we had Zone Conferences. May 15 was in Sharon, Vermont and May 17 was in Augusta, Maine. I took a couple of pictures of the missionaries.

The missionary on the left is Elder Niebergall. We have taken a real liking to him. He is such a humble person and was just made a Zone Leader in Bangor, Maine. After the Augusta zone conference, Elder Benjamin and I drove home in the "Moose" 4 elders to Lawrence, MA. The 4 of them live in a large apartment there. But the tradition is that when we drive them home, we take them all out to dinner. The Davises were with us also and the Elders wanted to go to Margaritas for mexican food. Elder Evans loves habanero peppers and ordered something that was so hot it made him perspire. But he loved it anyway. We certainly do enjoy being with them. We have driven many elders and sisters all over the mission and have enjoyed each one of them. I am impressed at their devotion to Heavenly Father and our Savior. They have incredible testimonies and they never give up.

I took a picture of President Wilkey in the office one day. He was a good sport about it, huh?

I took this picture with my iPad. I have all of the scriptures and hymns on it. It is much lighter than my quad so it's easier to carry around everywhere.

I am sure missing my children and grandchildren. Thank goodness for Kortni and Diana and Holly making sure we get pictures and art work. They are posted all over our apartment!

We are enjoying our mission very much. The Lord has been blessing us.