Mount Magazine--Arkansas' Tallest Mountain

The middle of September we had an assignment to teach an inservice lesson in Russellville. It is about 80 miles away and so we decided to make it a three fold trip. We were going to visit the Institute Class on Wednesday evening, stay over night and visit early morning seminary on Thursday and teach our Inservice lesson on Thursday evening. We decided to leave early on Wednesday and spend a good part of the day at Mount Magazine State Park. Mount Magazine was about 30 or 40 miles from Russellville. We arrived at the Visitors Center at about 11o'clock in the morning. As we pulled into our parking spot, I noticed the car next to us was from Utah. Now that is very unusual. There on the sidewalk in front of us was Elder and Sister Smith, the Danville missionaries. We had planned to visit them on Thursday and were going to call them when we got back into Russellville. We were both pleasantly surprised. They had just arrived a few minutes before us and so we decided to see the sights together. It was fun to visit and get to know them better. They arrived in the mission in July. We had a fun and relaxing day and ended at the Lodge for lunch. We had window seats and could see out over the valley.

Even though Mount Magazine is Arkansas' tallest mountain it is only about half the size of Mount Timpanogas. It is covered in trees and is very green and beautiful. It will be awesome in a few weeks when the leaves change colors. We saw a hint of fall with a few colored leaves here and there. What a great afternoon we had. The rest of the evening proceded as planned. We had a great Inservice meeting even though it was small. We felt like we accomplished much and got to know the teachers better. It was late when we arrived home, but we felt good about what we had accomplished.

We have been extremely busy these past few weeks visiting classes, teaching inservice and preparing things for our replacement couple. It has been hard as we have experienced our last YSA planning meetings, last Institute classes in the outlying areas, and so forth. We have been invited to eat with some of our friends here and have enjoyed spending time with them. Walter and Tanya invited us over for a Ukranian Dinner. Tanya is an amazing cook and it was very delicious. The Walker's took us to dinner at a nice restaurant. We have many friends and have been so blessed to know and love the people here. They hold a special place in our hearts.

We have a difficult time thinking about telling our Young Single Adults Good-by. We keep putting it off. We are having an Institute Party--Good-by Party on Friday. We love these young people and we will miss them.

We do not know how to put into words the way we feel. We feel so greatly blessed from our Heavenly Father to have had this opportunity. We have learned many things. We have been stretched out of our comfort zone, which brings growth. We take a part of Arkansas back with us in the memories we have had here. We love this place and these people! They are dear to our heart.

Life in the Mission Field. . .

We seem to get busier and busier as we get closer to the end of our mission. We have been busy with seminaries, as they start the new school year. We have some amazing teachers and it is exciting to start a new year. The course of study this year is the New Testament. The classes that we have visited, have been awesome.

We are teaching Serena, who is from Beijing, China, with the missionaries. She is great! Everything is so new to her and it is hard for her to understand. We have been teaching her about God, faith, and prayer. She told us that a window in her heart has been opened and she wants to learn more. She feels the Spirit when the missionaries are around her and likes that feeling. She has been to Church two weeks in a row. That is really exciting! We continue to call and to meet with her. We are getting some better at communicating with her. We have grown to love the people we meet and get to know here in Arkansas. They enrich and bless our life.

We had Jessica, Caleb and Robin to our house for dinner on Sunday. It is fun to cook for others. We look forward to cooking for our family and visiting with them. We had a great afternoon and enjoyed visiting with them. Jessica gave her first talk in Sacrament Meeting. She was asked to speak with a High Councilman in our ward. She told of her conversion and bore her testimony. She did amazing! She has come a long way in a few short months. It is so fun to watch the growth of new members. She is like part of our family. We love serving a mission. It continues to be a great experience.

The Arkansas Queen

We are keeping very busy and enjoying our mission. The time is going so fast, it seems like the weeks just fly by. We have much to do, especially with Seminary starting again. We will be on the road again, visiting classes and holding training meetings.

Saturday, August 19th we had a Senior Missionary Social. We all met in North Little Rock and carpooled to the Arkansas Queen, a river boat. We boarded, had a picture taken as a group and began our journey up the Arkansas River. We had a great lunch on the river and then just wandered around the boat looking at the sights as we went up and down the river. It was a beautiful day and not too hot. We had great company and really enjoyed ourselves.

After the cruise we went to President and Sister Drewes home for dessert. It was great to visit with the missionaries. President Drewes asked us when we left to go home and we told him. He then asked us to reflect on our mission experience and bear our testimony. We had some new couples, who also bore testimony. It hit me when I stood to share that we will be leaving soon. I had to fight emotions and some of them just wouldn't be held back. We have had some great experiences here in the mission field and look forward to sharing them with you when we arrive home. We have truly been blessed by the Lord. We love the people we have met in Arkansas. They are GREAT!

The meeting ended and we all went our separate ways, strengthened and blessed for the experience. What a great day and a great memory!

Our Missionaries!

Today was the last District Meeting before transfers. Elder Josephson, our next door neighbor, will finish his mission and return home. We get pretty attached to our missionaries and we hate to see them go. We do love to see the growth that comes to them from the time they first arrive until they leave. It is amazing! We actually get to see them grow up, right before our eyes. Elders Josephson and Weight have been fun to be around. They are positive and upbeat and keep us smiling. They helped to save a young man's life who was going down the path of drug addiction. They helped him get into a drug rehab center. We played a small part in this--we were the ones that drove them to where they needed to go. It was fun to get to know Randy. He has made some great changes in his life. He now has a job. He looks better, feels better and loves these two missionaries like brothers. They were an answer to his prayer. We have been with them as they have taught investigators and we see them work hard every day!

Missionary work is great and the young missionaries are AWESOME! We love them and feel so blessed to be here among them. (Elder Josephson is shorter and has dark hair and Elder Weight is tall and blonde.)

Fun In The S U N !!!!!

August in Arkansas spells H O T !!!!! The Little Rock YSA's planned an August activity which was supposed to have water, sun, and fun!!! It definately had sun and fun but the only water we had was in the Arkansas River. It was an extremely hot day with temperature at the 100 degree mark not factoring in the humidity which usually adds 7 to 10 degrees. The heat didn't stop the YSA's and they played sand volleyball at noon in the sun. They seemed to have a great time inspite of the heat. They went through a cooler of water and the water balloons for water balloon volleyball ended up put to better use in a water balloon fight. There was plenty of food and the pavillion gave us shade from the sun. We were also blessed with a breeze that helped. I don't think I have ever been hotter. We came home hot and sweaty and exhausted! After a cool shower and a short nap, we were ready to go. We had dinner that night with a part member family and had the opportunity to talk about religion with Doug and Serena. Serena is from China and knows very little about Christianity or God. We are up for the challenge--along with the missionaries we are hoping to be able to teach her.

North Carolina Memories

We were blessed this past week to be able to see Bryce & Brandi and the kids. We received permission from President Batchelor to go to North Carolina to be with Bryce & Brandi for Cassidy's Baptism and Travis' Ordination to the Priesthood. An added blessing that we didn't expect, being there for Bryce's setting apart in the Elders Quorum Presidency.

We traveled from Arkansas, thru Tennesse to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. We met Bryce & family in Western North Carolina and traveled together to Fleetwood, NC to a cabin that they had rented for a few days. What beautiful country! The weather was great and it was fun to be together. The cabin slept all of us comfortably. It was great to be together and to visit and have fun. The next day we traveled to Emerald Village and were able to mine for gems. The kids really got into this and found many semi precious stones. The pictures will show them all at work. The gems that were found were, topaz, emerald, amethyst, moon stone, quartz crystal, and these are only a few that I remember. It was fun! Before we left the mountains we went to the cheese factory and grandpa Ernie bought all the kids ice cream. They sat on the bench in front of the little store and enjoyed!!

The highlight of the trip of course was Cassidy's baptism and Travis' Ordination to a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. We loved being there with them. We know that being on a mission there are important family things that you have to miss. We would have loved to be with Justin, Britnee, and Kamryn on their baptisms also, but were unable to at the time. It was special to see Bryce baptize and confirm Cassidy and to ordain Travis. I love seeing the Priesthood in action. Cassidy was excited to be baptized and looked so beautiful in her white dress. I love the look in the eyes of newly baptized members. They shine with purity and happiness. Cassidy was truly beautiful inside and out.

Travis was prepared and ready to recieve the Priesthood and was excited about it. He wore his new suit and looked like a future missionary. In Priesthood after the Bishop had made the announcements and asked if there was anything he had forgotten, Travis raised his hand and said, "Bishop, this is my first time in Priesthood and you forgot to welcome me." The Bishop smiled and welcomed Travis. He was very excited. It was great to see Travis receive the Priesthood with his Dad and Grandfathers in the circle. I love these tender moments that the Lord gives us in life. I am grateful for my family and love them all dearly. It was great to be in North Carolina! We are now working twice as hard on our mission, because our time is going fast and we haven't long to do all that we need to here in Arkansas.

Fourth of July--Arkansas Style

I'm a little behind on my blog. We seem to get busier as the weeks go by. The Little Rock Ward has a tradition each year on the fourth of July. They go to Pinnacle Mountain State Park for breakfast together. Some of the ward members hike to the top of the mountain (actually it is big hill, but the closest thing to a mountain they have in Little Rock) which is about a mile hike. It was a beautiful day, not too hot and we enjoyed visiting with the ward members. We had to have a picture of Jen's baby, she was the picture of the 4th of July Spirit. And Matt McWilliams plays the bagpipes and came to breakfast after playing in a parade. We had to include a picture of him in his kilt. I'm visiting with Jessica and Robin, new members who are awesome!

We even had the opportunity to do some missionary work with a part member family in our ward, Doug and Serena Franklin. Serena is from China and had lots of questions. We talked with her for quite some time. She doesn't trust young people and isn't sure about having the young missionaries teach her. We connected with her and so we will be involved in her teaching. It was exciting and we look forward to meeting with her and teaching her the gospel. We are grateful for this country that we live in and for the freedom which we enjoy. We know that it comes at a great price. We appreciate our heritage and the men and women today who protect the freedoms which we have. We hope you all had a Great Fourth of July!

3-2-1-BLAST OFF!!

Yesterday was a little bit out of the ordinary as far as missionary work goes. We had helped the missionaries next door with an investigator when one of our YSA's , Nicci, called. She is our rocket scientist--anyway that is what we call her. She is doing an intern for the summer testing rocket fuel ratios in regard to the amount of oxygen to fuel. She called yesterday and invited us to watch the test where they fire the rocket. We thought that would be fun and so met her at UALR where the test was being conducted.


They explained what they were doing and that the rocket would just be firing not flying. We were given our headsets because of the noise and were ready to go. The count down began and went but no rocket fired. This happened three times with the same results. They had to make some adjustments which would take a while, so we left. Nicci called us a couple of hours later and said that they had fired once successfully and that they would be firing again in about 1/2 hour. So we headed back with the missionaries next door. This time the rocket fired. It was fun to watch and support Nicci. She has been accepted next summer for an internship at NASA. She is so excited about that. Nicci was baptized in March. She is an asset to the Young Single Adults and we enjoy knowing her!

The Sweet Fruit of a Mission-- Baptisms

When I started blogging, I planned to enter a new post each week on our P-day, but as you can see it has been a while since we have updated. We have been very busy the last three weeks. We have been busy with the North Little Rock Stake and Little Rock Stake Seminary/Institute graduations. We were busy making sure that the teachers had all the kids make-up work recorded, attendance rolls were in, and those who were lettering would be recognized. Both graduations went well. It is good to have a year of seminary and institute finished. We learned so much that we didn't know about these programs and especially their workings in the mission field. It is a lot different than Utah. We have a great love for the students, teachers and parents who are so diligent in getting up early everyday and going to seminary. Great teachers who prepare a lesson a day along with working jobs and taking care of their other responsibilities. What a great program for the youth of the Church. We have seen it bless lives.

The week of May 18th to 25th was an awesome week in the Little Rock Ward. We had three baptisms! They were all awesome. They were all three young single adults. We were really involved with one of these--Jessica Workman. We went with the Elders to most of the lessons. We heard her questions and concerns, we were there when she recognized the truth of a gospel principle and saw the light in her eyes. We were there when she returned from telling her family of her plans to join the Church and have them threaten to disown her. We cried with her and were touched by her testimony and strength, and courage. We were with her on her baptism day, her confirmation day, and this week when she taught the lesson at the Young Single Adult FHE. What a blessing this has been in our lives. We have felt the Spirit through the lessons and have felt the witness that the missionaries that taught her were prepared by the Lord to teach her. We have seen the Lord's hand in her life and in each one of the lives of these recent converts. I don't have the words to express the joy that I feel. Those of you that have served a mission know how we feel. We are so blessed and priviledged to be part of this great work! Our testimonies are strengthened in the truthfullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We love the Lord and love serving our brothers and sisters here in Arkansas!

Pictures of Us and Jessica. Jessica and the Elders. Courtney and her family and the Elders. Chris and the Elders.

Dancing, Eating and MORE. . .

May seems to be getting very busy. We seem to have more going on as the month goes along. On May 10th we had a very busy day. We had our monthly training meeting for the Seminary and Institute teachers. We had a celebration of a great year and ended with serving lunch. It was really fun. We have some awesome teachers. They are so dedicated and diligent and really love the young people. It was great! Brother Blain our supervisor from Memphis was here and also gave us a run down on our responsibilities for Seminary Graduation. He will be in Memphis at two graduation programs, so we will represent the CES at the North Little Rock Seminary/Institute Graduation.

The evening of May 10th was the Little Rock Stake Gold and Green Ball. We hadn't been to a Gold and Green Ball for years and so we were excited to attend. Robyn Harmon, one of our YSA's is the Stake Cultural Arts Director and was over the Dance. We helped decorate and were excited to go and support her.

We left our apartment and noticed that it was cloudy and may rain, so grabbed our umbrellas. As we got closer to the Church it rained harder and harder. The wind blew and we realized we were in what the weather men here call Severe Thunder Storms. We thought as we drove along, that we should have checked the news for the latest weather report. It let up a little as we got to the Church, but we saw only a handful of people there. Everything looked lovely. The decorations, the food, those who were there. It soon started raining really hard and we heard that there were hail stones the size of quarters. Next thing we knew we were asked to leave the cultural hall and into the hall. There was a tornado warning, one had been spotted south of the freeway and they weren't sure if it would cross the freeway and head our way. About 20 minutes later all was clear and we went back into the cultural hall and had a great time. More people came and it was a lovely night. Certainly one to remember.

Time goes by quickly and we had our last District Meeting with this district. Transfers are next week and we have some Elders who will be going somewhere else, Sister Zarbock leaves to go home after completing her mission and so we could have alot of changes. We have a great District!! We have had the opportunity to go with most of them as they have taught. They are Great! Elder Jorgenson from Bakersfield, California has been in our District for 9 months. We will miss him. He has been in Little Rock almost as long as we have and lives in the apartment next door to us. We love the missionaries! They are AWESOME! We are still going with the missionaries to teach Jessica and she has committed to be baptized next week. We are really excited!

We just got home from the Greek Food Festival here in Little Rock. Our friends, Walter and Tanya invited us to go. It is sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Church, which is where they go because there is not a Russian Orthodox Church. We tried some new food which was very good and watched some great folk dancing. Little Olya is getting big and will turn 1 year next week. We had a fun time! It was great to spend some time with them, they are amazing young people. We also went for about 2 hours the night before with a couple of our young single adults. We had a P-Day split over two days. It was great and we have a few pictures to share.

We have been so busy with Seminary graduation that it was nice to get a break and do something different. We have spent most of our week working on that. We love what we are doing. We have met some great people who have touched our life. Our testimonies continue to grow in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have more to do and our time is going fast. We have a great family who we loved hearing from on Mother's Day! We love all of you! Life is GOOD!

Toad Suck Daze and Cinco de Mayo

The first activity we did when we arrived in Arkansas the 1st of May, 2007 was attend Toad Suck Daze with the office couples. This year we have new office couples and decided to treat them to their first Toad Suck Daze in Conway, Arkansas. We went with Elder and Sister Coffey, the Allen's were unable to go. We enjoyed the Toad Suck Parade, Toad Racing, wandering around and checking out all of the many booths, listened to the singing groups and just enjoyed a relaxing and unique day.

The legend of toad suck goes like this. . . Long ago, steamboats traveled the Arkansas River when the water was at the right depth. When it wasn't, the captains and their crew tied up to wait where the Toad Suck Lock and Dam now spans the river. While they waited, they refreshed themselves at the local tavern. The dismayed folks living nearby were heard to say: "They suck on the bottle 'til they swell up like toads." Hence, the name Toad Suck. The tavern is long gone, but the legend and fun live on at Toad Suck Daze. We don't care much for the name, but all of Conway come out to enjoy the celebration of Toad Suck Daze. They also have many sports events associated with it and some of the proceeds go to scholarships and education. It is a one of a kind celebration!

We meet every Monday night in Family Home Evening with the Young Adults. This Monday we were all invited to Wally and Nancy Goddard's for a Cinco de Mayo Party and Family Home Evening. We had a great time, great food, and enjoyed being around great young people. The Goddard's yard is quite unique with a zip line and fire pit. Everyone had a good time.

The highlight of our week has been meeting with the Elders as they teach a Young Single Adult, named Jessica. She is awesome and we love being there and seeing her get excited as she learns. She is an amazing young woman and she asks some pretty deep and tough questions. We are all learning. It is a great opportunity and testimony building experience for us. Our prayers are with her, that she will get the answer to her questions and have witnessed to her the need for a restoration, a testimony of Joseph Smith, and also understand Priesthood authority. Missionary work is great and challenging!