Honeymoon ride for Cade and Erica?

January 13, 2012

Today is Sunday and it is a good day.  It was ward conference so with all of the Stake leaders there we had 101 people in attendance and that is a record during the time we have been here.  There should have been more but many are sick with the flu.  It seems to be an epidemic, not only here but all across the country.

We got permission to go to Washington DC to attend Cade and Erica's wedding on the 29th of Dec. and that was a real treat.  Missionary work was slow at the time and it was good to get away, travel and see family members for a couple of days.

The wedding was great and the DC Temple is beautiful.  Neither of us have been there since right after it was completed.  We drove our car (700 miles) and took 2 days each way so it was not a difficult trip.  We were very happy to witness the wedding and to meet Erica's family.  They are very nice people.  And it was good to spend some time with Win, Leslie, McKenna, Lance and Kara.  We were blessed to be able to be there.

We tried to see some things in DC before coming back but Sharyn was not feeling well, the wind was blowing about 40-50 MPH and it was really cold so we just drove around town for a while, then started home after taking a few pictures.

We are continuing to sort through the Branch list to determine who is and who is not here.  It is not an easy task but we are slowly whittling it down.  We stopped by another address recently where the people listed moved from there over 6 years ago!  The records are a bit out of date.  Sometimes it takes several trips to the same address before we find anyone home and most of the telephone numbers on the list are not correct.  But it is coming!

We have recently been working with three great younger couples that we have high hopes for.  But on one day everything seems to be going well and the next there is great disappointment but that seems to be the nature of missionary work.  Some people we meet are not at all excited to see us, especially when they see the badge, others are accommodating but not interested, some don't even know they are members of record and there are a few that are interested in becoming active again.  All in all there are currently 4-5 families that we feel have potential for reactivation.

We were able to (finally) dedicate the chapel today.  Construction on the addition was completed over 2 yrs. ago so it is great to be meeting in a bldg. that is now dedicated to the Lord.

The weather is interesting.  It had been cooler (in the 60's) but the last few days it has been over 80.  The bugs and ants are more active now and the grass is growing plus the days are already getting a bit longer.

Tomorrow is our P day and since that is kinda between our birthdays we are going to go to either JAX beaches or to St. Augustine.  We just found out today that we have a great looking timeshare in St. Augustine.  We won't be staying there anytime soon but hopefully before we leave we can do that.

We have seen some pictures of home recently with lots of snow and icicles and we are glad that old man winter is doing his thing in Utah.  But it is kinda nice to be here for now.

Service project with the Elders this week.  Removed a long wheelchair ramp and built a hand rail at a sister's home.  The ramp was about ready to fall down.

We send our love to everyone at home and thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  God bless you everyone!