Another fantastic week behind us!  For those of us who are older, we understand more clearly the swiftness of the passing of time, and how time really does gather speed the older we get!  Of course staying busy and purposeful makes a big difference.
Last Sunday we travelled about an hour and a half to the town of Union and spoke there.  President and Sister Stowell from Wenatchee are serving there and they wanted us to come up and give talks and have lunch.  As you might well imagine, we both gave talks on missionary work.  It was a great day and we were able to visit with some of the people of the branch and see new territory.  The church building is very small and sits on land outside of town.  The branch has 125 members, but most don't come on a regular basis.

 

On Tuesday, Doyle and I headed for Charleston to pick up 90 chairs from the stake center there.  They got new ones and wanted to get rid of the old ones.  Together we loaded all of the chairs and were full to capacity!  We told facilities maintenance that we needed all of them for missionary apartments.  Some of the missionaries saw them when we got back to Columbia and wanted to know how they could get some.  We do have a current need, but we will need lots of chairs for new apartments when all of our new missionaries start flooding in.  We also had 50 new twin beds delivered on Monday, so needless to say, our storage sheds are very full.  Doyle and I will start deliveries this Thursday of the needed furniture items to apartments in Augusta and surrounding areas.

 

 

 

 

We drove a Chevy Silverado pick up pulling a trailer.  The trailer was completely filled top to bottom thanks to Doyle's excellent organizing skills and the bed of the truck was stacked full also.  I took a short break to supervise once we arrived back at our storage sheds.

 

Thursday was our anniversary, so we worked until 2pm and then left for Charleston for a little get-away.  Doyle had booked a room right on Folly Beach about 10 minutes from Charleston.  What a delightful place.  And what an incredible view!  We were not disappointed.  We took pictures off the balcony as soon as we got there. 

This is a view of the hotel from the beach.

 

For dinner we found a little hole in the wall sushi place.  It was more a bar and grill, but she did sushi also.   It was a fun place, only a couple of blocks from the hotel and the people were very friendly.  She gave us a couple of stickers and I took a picture of them. 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunrise was most spectacular!  I loved watching the dawn of a new day!  The next two mornings were not nearly as clear and colorful, so I'm glad I got up and took pictures!  For those of you who know me well...early mornings are not my best hours!

First thing Friday morning we went to see an old lighthouse a couple of miles from the hotel, wandered the beach and picked up a few sea shells.  We were amazed at the lack of waves here on the Atlantic.  Whenever we go to the beach on the west coast, the waves are pretty high, but here it is a gentle rolling in of the sea. 

Our next stop of the morning was the Angel Oak Tree.  It's on Johns Island a little off the beaten path, but well worth the drive.  What an unbelievable tree.  One of the most spectacular things I've ever seen.  It's between 300-400 years old, 85 feet high, 25.5 feet in circumference and has 17,000 square feet of shade.

 

 

  While in Charleston we went on a tour of the city, enjoyed the beauty of some of

the very old homes and did a tour of one of them.  We went to Battery Park, went to the City Market, ate lunch at Bubba Gumps, seafood of course! 

These are some exterior pictures of the house we toured.  It is the Edmondston-Alston house and it sits right across from Battery Park with a view of the water and Fort Sumter not too far in the distance.  It's not a porch, it's a piazza!  They loved them then and they still do here in the south!  This house was built in 1825, with the kitchen in a building to the rear of the main house and quarters for the slaves behind that.

Below are pictures of Bubba Gump's where we had lunch.  Heavy on the seafood and the hundreds of sauces that can be used.  The décor was all about the movie and the memorable lines by Forrest along with the clothes and different props used.

 

"Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what your gonna get."

 

On Saturday we went to Fort Sumter where the opening shots of the Civil War were fired in April 1861.  This place has fascinating history.  It is operated and maintained by the National Park Service and requires a half hour boat ride out to the man-made island where it sits.  It was originally 3 stories high, but the shelling during the Civil War reduced it to the one level that can be seen today.

 

Another work week is right around the corner and we are grateful for the things we have been able to see and do this weekend.  We look forward to many more explorations of the old south while we are here.  We only scratched the surface in Charleston.  We didn't make it to the museum, aquarium, the battleship in the harbor, and so much more.  We will be more careful where we park next time.  Signs are deceiving and we returned from Ft. Sumter with a ticket on the windshield of the car.  I thought...well we already have a ticket so why move?  Wrong!!!  They issued another ticket every two hours!!  We ended up with three of them neatly stacked under the windshield wiper.  A valuable lesson...park at the Visitors Center for $10 or less and then take the free trolley!  Learned that one to late!

Looks like we are members of a different ward as of today.  Boundary adjustments on the wards at home have moved us from Rocky Reach to Eastmont.  Not surprising at all.  Doyle had mentioned many times that he was just waiting for the lines to be drawn along 15th.  Now they are!

 

Have a wonderful week everyone!  We love our mission and we love all of you! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chili table.
 

What a p-day we have had!  A day off?  No way!  Up at 6:45, put on work clothes and go to the church to help clean the building.  Back to the RV for the mission conference call at 9:45.  This happens on the last Saturday of the month and everyone in the mission gets on the call.  Some people are asked to speak about different things and the President always has a message.  Now, it's time to change into church clothes for a baptism...actually 4 baptisms.  Mission wide there were 27 baptisms today alone which is very exciting.  After the baptisms we came home and changed back into jeans to run errands.  Then we came back and did some laundry, housework, and a variety of other things. Doyle replaced the batteries in the truck and sprayed weeds. I've been slow cooking chili for the last 2 days for the big, first annual chili cook-off tonight, and at 5:30 we changed back into church clothes to go to the cook-off.  What great fun!  All the chili was marked and voted on.  There were lots of deserts as well, but no cook-off there.  First prize was a wooden bowl made by Bill Lee to be passed around from year to year.  There were about 15 crock pots of chili.  Lots of different varieties of chili.  I had no idea!  All runner-ups got a ladle with some neat saying on it.


First prize.

Bill Lee, the maker of the bowl and our Relief Society President who won the cook-off.

 

First runner-up, yours truly!!

Our four baptisms this morning included two children and two adults.  Robert and Cindy Saunders are pictured with our Chapin Branch missionaries Elder Olsen and Elder Ward.

 

 

 Last Thursday we spent two hours at our storage sheds, cleaning, organizing and donating things we no longer need to Habitat for Humanity.  What a splendid piece of work with the help of two of our newest senior missionaries, Elder and Sister Mihlberger.  I've been wanting to get the sheds organized for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the purchase of 50 new beds.  They will be delivered on Monday, so we got that job done none to soon.  The driver of the Habitat truck talked with us about the church.  He said he had met with the missionaries before and had been doing a lot of reading in the Book of Mormon.  So, we got his information and referred him to the elders in his area.

 

Tomorrow we are going to Union which is about 68 miles from here.  The Stowells from Wenatchee are there and they asked us to come and speak.  We are looking forward to it!  Afterwards we will stay to have lunch with them and then head back for home to get ready for the new week ahead.

 

Doyle has been continuing his clean-up and repair at the office.  I got a candid picture of him on his knees with screw gun in hand.  Some things never change.  Today he cleaned carpets here at home.

What a guy!  All that and he makes me laugh too!  

 

 

Thursday is our anniversary and we are going to Charleston for the first time to celebrate.  We are both really looking forward to going there.  I have a list of the 10 best things to do in Charleston.  We'll see how many of those we can explore and enjoy.  Everyone tells us it is really beautiful!!

Doyle is also looking forward to some of the local cuisine.  I'll get lots of pictures to publish when we get back. 

 

Have a wonderful week everyone!  We love y'all!

 

 

 

We had our first baptisms in the branch since we've been here.  On Saturday January 19, Bill and Sue Lee were baptized.  The Dutch Fork Ward had a baptism at 9:30 and ours were at 11am.  Next week another couple will be baptized and 2 children are also ready.  So many people are ready to hear the gospel and our wonderful missionaries are finding them and teaching them. We were able to attend the baptism at 11:00 and then go to the home of our new members for a luncheon with other branch members.  They are retired and Sue is very much into genealogy.  She'll definitely find her niche in the church! 

Bill and Sue Lee

Bill's cousin, Tedde Harrod,  from Moses Lake came for his baptism and we spent some time talking with her.  We made many connections not only from Quincy and Ephrata, but also with a wonderful couple that we know from our year living in Toppenish.  Bob and Maurine Winters are friends we met there.  They served a couple of missions on Temple Square in SLC and also witnessed our sealing in the Salt Lake Temple.  Tedde and her husband also served a mission in SLC and are friends with Bob and Maureen.  It is a very small world in the church!  We have never failed to make similar connections in our travels across the United States and at church sites.  It's amazing!  (We took this picture just for you, Maurine!)

Tedde Harrod and I

Elder and Sister Ripley with President and Sister Holm

On Friday we had a lunch date with a senior couple, the Ripley's, that will be going home on the 23rd.  They have served for the last 6 months and will return to Idaho.  We have a new couple coming very soon who will move into their house and serve in the Barnwell Branch.  A six month mission just flies by.

It seems that there are two things that you can really count on while on a mission, first is meetings and second is luncheons, dinners and other functions where food is present.  So, to attempt to balance this food thing...we try to eat carrot sticks and celery, or my homemade soups for lunch during the week.  We know it's healthy and portions are controlled.  I'm hoping that will be enough, because some of the food that we are served is wonderful and of course where would a wonderful meal be without some scrumptious chocolate desert?

Today was a beautiful day and Doyle went outside to take a few pictures.  The campground where we are staying has a reader board out on the highway and they change the message frequently.  These are the current messages:

 

 

 

 

And finally, our home, sweet home!

Another week in the office..plenty to do and many wonderful missionaries to keep us on our toes, talking with them, helping them, enjoying their wonderful spirits. We love the missionaries.  They work so hard to move the gospel forward.  Next month the surge begins with 17 new Elders and Sisters coming to our mission.  And so it goes.  The Lord's work moving forward to all the world through Elders and Sisters in cars, on bikes and on foot.

On Tuesday we were able to enjoy all of the senior missionaries in the mission.  Once every quarter we get together with the President and his wife for training (3 hours) and then dinner at the mission home.  There's 13 couples, plus one single sister.  So there's quite a few of us.  We always enjoy getting together and visiting with them.  It makes for a very fun afternoon and evening.  The President and his wife always have such a wonderful meal for us at their home.  They even decorate for us.

Sister Holm with our newest senior couple, the Mihlberger's from St. George, Utah.

Elder and Sister Stowell from Wenatchee.

Sister Mihlberger, Sister Rothman and I.

The Ripley's have served a six month mission and are going home on the 23rd of January. 

President and Sister Holm

On Friday night we had dinner with the Mihlberger's and then drove about 12 miles to a theater to see Les Miserables.  We've seen it on stage and in another make of the movie.  Seeing this one on the big screen really brought the story line home to me. Powerful and deeply touching!

 

This weekend was our Stake Conference.  Last night we went to the stake center, which is about 10 miles from where we live for the adult session and today we went to our building and watched the conference via satellite.  This is the first year that they have done  it this way and there were a few glitches with the sound, but other than that it worked out fine.

 

The weather was warm again today.  It's been in the 70's.  Tomorrow it's supposed to get up to 80 degrees...on the 14th of January.  Unbelievable!!  

 

Speaking of the 14th of January, it is our oldest granddaughters birthday tomorrow.  She will be 15 and of course that means a drivers permit.  So hard to truly comprehend how swiftly time passes by!  Happy Birthday to our beautiful granddaughter!!

 

I wasn't going to write this week as I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Next Sunday I teach Relief Society for the first time ever and then on the 27th we are going to Union to speak in the branch at the invitation of President Stowell.  Today I was asked to speak at a baptism this Saturday.  So..I have much preparation ahead of me.  Then Doyle asked if I was going to blog.  When he told me that I really should do it, but just write a little...I thought to myself...sure...just write a little.  Then I reminded myself, "I love tough things, I am the first to do tough things, I do tough things first, I am a finisher.  I love my mission!"  This is the mission motto and I love it! 

 

 I had to come back and put this in!  Another reason we love our AP's...they entertain us with their art!  Self portraits that do resemble...somewhat!

 

 

Welcome 2013!  We are off to a very busy start with so much going on!  Even though Tuesday was a day off from the office, the week has been full to overflowing!
Monday was, well, Monday.  Very full day at the office and then we (the office staff) got together with the newest senior missionaries in our area and had a very fun evening of food, games and conversation.  We were safely tucked in our 5th wheel by about 8:30 and listened as lots and lots of fireworks went off.
Tuesday was a shopping day for me.  I had a few things to pick up for the office and then off to Dillard's.  A lady in our branch works there and she told me about their once a year sale that is crazy good and crazy full with shoppers.  I got there at a few minutes after 10 and went straight upstairs to check out the suits.  I had been in there a few days earlier to look only with this sale in mind.  I found the particular suit I liked and it was on the front of the rack saying, "Take me home!"  So..I did..at 85% off the original price!  I found a couple other items at similar savings.  By this time, the lines at the cash register were about 6-8 people deep and they were serious shoppers!  One woman brought a box that she had filled up and was scooting it along on the floor.  I decided it was time to go...besides my feet hurt!  Doyle had finished his repair man issues at the office and he was ready to go home.
Wednesday we said goodbye to an excellent group of 11 missionaries.  We always go to the temple with the departing missionaries and then go to the mission home for dinner with the President and his wife.  It was such a wonderful experience.  We had gotten to know a few of these Elders and it's hard to say good-bye.  They were such a great group.

Departing Elders and Sisters.

 

Columbia South Carolina Temple. 

 

 The next day was transfers, which is by far my favorite thing to do.  The incoming missionaries are all assigned to their trainers and exchanges are made with the other missionaries.  The love and enthusiasm in the chapel is overwhelming.  The spirit is there so strong and the singing is incredible.  Thursday was a move day for a senior couple to a new area.  On Friday there were so many baptisms to do that Doyle worked on entering those all day.  I went out to find furniture for a new apartment that we rented in a new area. It was far more tiring than I thought it would be.  Furniture has gotten very expensive and it seems hard to find just those specific items that we need. 
Today we helped to move missionaries from the Augusta area into the new apartment in Barnwell, SC.  I was very excited to go and see new areas we haven't travelled to yet, plus I didn't have to drive.  I really liked that!

This picture shows the long moss hanging from the trees.

The apartment was great!  Older townhouse style, but it had a built-in vacuum system!

These trees are right across the street from the apartment and behind them is a lake.  It's hard to see, but there's long moss hanging off the trees.

 The Elders love to pose for pictures and needless to say, I love taking them!

From left to right, Elder Lash, Elder Ultra, Elder Billiter, (who are the new residents), Elder Cardon and Elder Olsen.

 

A brief trip to the local Walmart to pick up a couple of items for the new apartment and off we go to the missionary food of choice.....pizza!!  It was very good.  Doyle's favorite is Pizza Hut, stuffed crust pepperoni, so he really like their decision.  

 

 It was a wonderful day with beautiful blue skies, wonderful company, and delicious pizza.  We are grateful for the opportunity to get to know these wonderful young men better!  They are remarkable!

WE LOVE OUR MISSION!