From the far reaches of the mission and all points in between!  What a week we have had.  Mondays are always hectic just because they are.  We took Sister Rothman out for her birthday dinner to her favorite place, Mellow Mushroom.  It's a pizza place and her favorite.  The pizza was really good and it's a very fun place.  It was Sister Rothman's 77th birthday!

After dinner we went with her to her apartment and had family home evening together reviewing a conference talk together.  The sisters that she lives with had made cookies and left us a plate of them.

Sister Rothman received some flowers and was generally well loved on her special day.

On Tuesday Doyle and I held down the office as every one else was gone to zone conference in Augusta.  It sure was quiet, but we accomplished much.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were spent opening new apartments.  Each morning the Chapin and Dutch Fork Elders came to help us load the furniture in the trailer.  It certainly makes it much easier to get things done when we have the strength and enthusiasm of our young elders.

Elder Brannan, Elder Korth, Elder Olsen and Elder Hawkes.

 

I love taking pictures of our adventures and was more than a little distressed when we got to Conway and I tried to take a picture and couldn't so we decided it was time for a new camera, so we stopped at Wal Mart and purchased one.  It has a zoom lens and facilitated lots of pictures since.  The first one I took was of Doyle inside the store.

 

We started Wednesday with two apartments to open.  One was in Conway, SC and the other in Tabor City, N.C.  We knew it would be a long day.  A little over 6 hours in driving time alone.  At Conway we had Elders come and help us unload the trailer.  We opened a townhouse for sisters here.

When it comes to the camera...the elders are always very ready to get their picture taken.  When we finished moving in we took our helpers out for Subway lunch.  And then off to Tabor City.  What a surprise this little town was!  Very old fashioned looking, small town with some very lovely homes.  We found the address of our next apartment and were in for a jaw dropping "Oh my gosh" experience.  This is the pool house that elders will move into Wednesday.

And yes, we had the TV box removed and no they can't use the pool. 

I had been looking for a place in this community for quite some time without success.  I finally found a realtor who had some rentals but they all had extensive lawns to upkeep, so they did not work for us.  Then the realtor said he wanted to rent his pool house.  I asked the local senior couple to look at the three places and they recommended this one so I moved forward with it.  We were amazed when we opened the door and just looked at each other!  We moved in the things the elders will need and met with the realtor and his wife.  What a sweet little place!

  Thursday we opened a senior apartment in Sumter which is about an hour and fifteen minutes from the office.  We had the four Sumter Elders help us, but I didn't get any pictures.  When we got there we discovered we didn't have electricity or water, so I was on the phone trying to get everything taken care of.  Very nice apartment with a garage.  The new couple actually just flew in tonight and will drive there to spent their first night.

Friday was to be our short day so we could get back to the office and do paperwork.  It didn't turn out like that.  We opened our mobile home for sisters in a little town called Pelion and then at request from the President we headed to Augusta to move some elders totally out of an apartment and into an existing apartment in Harlem with two other elders.  We moved everything out including the much sought after washer and dryer.  As the apartment in Harlem has no hookups we brought them back with us.  Then we moved a vacated senior apartment furnishings into a newly refurbished one right next door.  We also took two mattresses to put into it for temporary housing for sisters until our new senior couple arrives. 

In the top picture is the Elders who helped us.  They always like to pose in candid shots.  The second picture is a more typical set up than the furnished pool house.  The third picture is Doyle doing what he always does so well...repairs!

This is Elder Young who grabbed the camera, took a picture of himself to be a surprise for me later.

Doyle took this picture for me in Harlem, Ga.  On the left are the Elders ( Luvalo and Dixon) that we moved and on the right are the Elders they moved in with.  Elder Olsen who is to my right in the picture is leaving to go home on Wednesday.  He's from Canada and was one of the AP's when we arrived.

More Elders mean more beds!

Today we had the pleasure of taking that washer and dryer that we picked up to our local Elders who had been without theirs for about two or more months.  They were very happy indeed!!!

 

And tonight a nice dinner with our good friends the Mihlbergers.  Wow what a week!!  So many new missionaries coming into our mission.  About 30 of them will show up tomorrow and about as many next transfer.  It's so wonderful to be serving at this time.  I know I've said it before and you'll hear it from me again...I Love My Mission.

  Tune in for next weeks stories if you have the energy. 

Love y'all.  Have a blessed week. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday in South Carolina!  Simply wonderful!  It was a leisurely morning for us as sacrament starts at 11am.  Great sacrament talks which we really enjoyed.  After our last meeting, Doyle was standing in the hall talking to the missionaries waiting for me.  Then he asked them if they had a dinner appointment and they answered that they did not.  He looked at me...I said sure!  Lets have the missionaries for dinner...even though I had no idea what I would fix them.  Thankfully we had some Costco lasagna in the freezer along with some of my spaghetti sauce and some extra hamburger in the refrigerator.  Three hours later we all sat down to a meal of lasagna, spaghetti, green salad and a red velvet cake for desert.  The missionaries were very happy,we were happy that they were happy.  They ate every bit of the food and took home the leftover cake.  All is well in our world.
We Love Our Mission!!!

Elder Olsen, Elder Hawkes, Elder Korth and Elder Brannan were our dinner guests this evening.

We love our missionaries. 

Have a great week everyone!

 

 

Today was a lovely Saturday.  Not too hot, but beautiful sunshine.  We had a leisure morning and did a few things around the fifth wheel.  We moved to a different location in the park and we have been doing things to clean up and organize our new spot.  With the heat of the summer around the corner, we decided that shade under the trees would be better than sitting in the direct sunlight.

The owners buy gravel that has crushed concrete in it, which leads to lots of sand being brought into the house and into the car.  We bought some of the pine needle bales and spread them around and then used some carpet to lay under where we park the car leading up to the door to try and stop the mess.  We'll see how it works.

Our little walks around Crossbow Lake have allowed us to see lots of different wildlife.  I love the turtles and finally got a few pictures.

This little otter was trying to be very sneaky, but I got a picture of him anyway!

 

While we are all challenged with the escalating demands on our time, the little things that help to make our days very sweet continue for each of us.  The next pictures are case in point.  We all enjoy the humor in the sketches we find on the white boards.

Our trio of AP's find time to leave their mark.  I finally found out which one was the artist and then teased him that he must not have enough to do.

 

 

On Friday we opened two new apartments.  One was on a third floor and the other was on a second floor.  Thankfully we had four elders who worked with us through both of the move-ins.   We took them out to lunch as a thank you!  Next week I have three more apartments to open and probably a fourth if all goes well. 

 Transfers are May 1, and the numbers of incoming missionaries are far exceeding the numbers of outgoing!  There are so many wonderful new missionaries to meet.  It is an exciting time.  Missionary conversations often revolve around all of us being in the field during this time of incredible expansion in missions and in numbers of missionaries. We are so thankful for the privilege of being a part of it.

Finally, I would like to leave a scripture with you.  Doyle and I are currently reading the New Testament.  This verse caught my attention and gave pause for reflection.

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."  Colossians 3:2 

Hope everyone has a great week filled with love, smiles and hugs.

Love Y'all.

 

What a delightful way to spend a weekend.  In Charleston, South Carolina with all the sights, sounds, fragrances and beauty that the south  has to offer.  And very nice weather today to top it off.  I managed to take almost 100 pictures over the last three days.  Where do I begin?  Well, the wisteria has been blooming everywhere and that makes me think of Bill and Margie and the beautiful wisteria that blossoms all along the trellis outside their patio door.  It grows wild here and takes over other trees.

 

Doyle and I both had a very busy week with everything that is going on in the mission.  The number of missionaries coming in is crazy.  We will increase our missionaries by more than a third.  When President Holm came out about a year and a half ago there were 125 missionaries in this mission.  By the time the big surge is over we will have 274 or more.  Office work has increased proportionately with records, cars and apartments.  I'm spending lots more time in the finding mode.  I talked with many people about what will work best and go to many towns to check out potential leads.  I try very hard to narrow down the leads in the office first.  Last week I went to a small town, met the local police, the mayor and his wife and the local land baron.  Eventful day, but no apartments for rent...in fact there are no apartments or duplexes in the town.  With the help of the local relief society president, I have a lead and an appointment on Monday.  This month alone, I will open up six new apartments and set them up for missionaries for next transfer.

Coming to Charleston was a last minute decision.  One of our senior couples who went home last month lived in Goose Creek which is about 12 miles from Charleston.  The apartment is vacant and President Holm told us that we could come down and stay while it is empty.  I'm keeping the calendar for it's use and it was not being used by anyone else, so we decided to use it. It won't be long and it will be too hot to do long tourist days, so now is the time.

Yesterday was pretty cloudy and windy, But we went to Patriots Point to see the battleship, submarine and carrier that are there.  All day!  Three ships!  Doyle loves it.  If we go anywhere that has a carrier to visit, we go.  This picture shows a member of the local SWAT team rappelling down the side of the USS Laffey.

This little plane is one that the Japanese used in WWII for kamikaze pilots.  It was very interesting, with the emphasis being on WWII, but at one point when we were way down in the ship in small, cramped quarters, claustrophobia got the best of me and I had to go out to the car for awhile.  It's an awful feeling.  This next picture gives you an idea.  Doyle could not stand square shouldered and get through the passageway!!

 

Yep, that's me in the pilots seat!

Doyle's message here was "Baptize and confirm!"

 

After a full day of being blown around like crazy, we went down to King Street for dinner at Joe Pasta.  King Street is a very busy place with lots of people going out for dinner and special events including sorority dinners.  Lots of dresses and high heels.  Doyle and I talked about the world and how there are so many things to tempt us to step off the straight and narrow path.  We dined outside and it was quite nice.  We had a very nice waitress who took our picture and then talked with the two young men who were setting up the valet service for the evening.

 

The young man on the right is Ryan who is working his way through college.  He is studying business and math.  He wants to be in business for himself some day.  I'm sure he will.  Very capable young man.  In the meantime he works as a valet attendant.

We really had no intention of getting desert until the waitress told us they had bread pudding and we both love that, so we split one.

Today was plantation day.  We went to the Boone Hall Plantation.  I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves.  This is still a working plantation and they grow many crops, make many tourists happy and have lots of weddings and other functions on the grounds.  Three different movies have used the plantation for some of their scenes.

These are 300 year old Live Oak trees that line the driveway.  They are covered in Spanish moss.

This is the plantation home, but not the original one.  This one was built in the 1930's.

This Gullah woman was making sweet grass baskets.  These people have a fascinating history and a unique language.

The oak trees are huge and amazing! 

This is one of the nine remaining original slave quarters on the property.  These homes were built for the favored slaves who worked in the house.  The field slaves lived in far less desirable quarters that are no longer standing.

Behind me is a 600 year old Live Oak tree.  It is the oldest on the property.  This really is spectacular and we are so fortunate to be here serving a mission with some flex time to enjoy it!

Doyle could not resist this one.  We were talking about the Spanish moss and he thought that this could qualify him for ZZTop!  I do not think so, but it was funny!

This is a view of the plantation house from the left garden area.

 

We know that we are so blessed to be here in South Carolina at this time.  It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us.  We shall not pass this way again and we are so thankful to Heavenly Father for this very special time in our lives together.  The south really does have a very special charm that is very different from anywhere we have ever lived.

We love our mission!!

And we love y'all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring is definitely in full swing around here.  So many trees and plants blooming.  Pollen everywhere. The grass has been mowed, the birds are there to help wake me up each morning and the sun is with us more.  Temperatures getting up to mid to high 70's which I love!  Today and yesterday we are home enjoying the 5th wheel and watching sessions of conference.  Here on the east coast the first session doesn't start until noon!!  Doyle had his priesthood meeting last night from 8-10pm.  That's past his bedtime!
Tuesday we worked in the office in the morning and then had Senior Training and then dinner at the mission home.  We lost 2 senior missionary couples this month.  Our senior training days are the only times that we all get together.  All seniors come in from their areas and spend the day here in Columbia.  For lunch the President took the office staff out to Atlanta Bread for his traditional goodbye luncheon with departing senior couples.

 

Elder and Sister Berry, who are sitting by Doyle, served in Augusta for 18 months and return home to LasVegas where they have lived for the last thirty five years.  He's originally from Mississippi.

Our dinner that night had an Easter theme and colors.  It's always so much fun!  This time we were even entertained by Elder Decker who brought his guitar.

After our meal and our entertainment and testimonies from our departing seniors, we all went outside to take a picture on the front steps.  Several people have cameras with timers and they were trying to get them set up.  After several minutes we did manage to get everyone on the steps.  I don't have that picture yet, but I will post it soon I hope.

 

Wednesday was Zone Conference for Columbia-West Columbia zones.  We went all day over to the stake center to help inspect the missionaries cars and be taught by President Holm, the AP's and other missionaries who gave mini training sessions.  So much of what we do is directly out of Preach My Gospel. By 12:30 everyone was ready for lunch which the Relief Society had prepared for us.  After lunch, they got the basketball out and everyone was asked to take shots.  Not being athletically inclined I tried to get out of it, but they insisted!  I just wanted to take pictures of everyone else!

The President has a close eye on me..so I tried and guess what?  I actually made a basket!!  That meant, I had to do it again!!

Doyle also tried his hand.

In the end, we had the most unlikely winner of the shoot-out.  Sister Terry is a new missionary who just arrived in our mission and is officially the shortest at 4'10"!!  She is such a sweetheart!

All those Elders in the background can't believe it!

 

Sister Rothman, who works in the office with us, was the shortest person in the mission.  I had to get the two of them in a picture together.

 

On Friday we set up a new apartment for sisters and had help from the sisters who are living there, plus the two elders in the area.  They were so excited about their new apartment and we were all excited to have the elders there, especially when we saw that it was a second story apartment.  Carrying furniture up and down stairs is not something we look forward to doing!  After we finished moving them in we all went out for lunch at Subway.

We had another delivery and a pick-up from a lady who had some donations.  When we talked to the Elder Aguilar, who needed the mattress, we found out that the elders who live about 12 miles down the road didn't have a dining room table, so off we went to WalMart to see if they had the kind we've been buying.  As luck would have it they had one in stock.  We bought it and took off to Elgin for another delivery.

 

Elder Smoot and Elder Davis are pretty happy to have a dining table!  We went up to their apartment to do a quick inspection and discovered a most unique paper towel dispenser. The missionaries sure are creative!!

Well, conference is about to start and I need to wake Doyle up!  In parting today, I would like to share a scripture.

"And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not"

Galatians 6:9

Until next week...love y'all!