Winter Months

We had a great time over the Christmas season. Our fifth wheel was filled with presents and wrapping paper. It was delightful to be able to deliver some of the presents. Most people didn't know they were coming.

We had a great baptism for Fay Wald. She has been studying for several years and it finally happened. She had been taught by lots of Elders. Since she was a single sister, we acompanied the Elders a few times. It was fun to see someone we had helped teach be baptized.

What a joy to be able to work with the wonderful folks at the Bishop's store house. Some of them have seen senior missionaries for years. They love the work and always try to make sure food orders are filled quickly and correctly. We loved being able to work with this group of people.

The opportunites for service never seem end. this lady had been living in her motor home for several months and then was told she had to move. We helped her haul a bunch of things she didn't need any more.

Elder Trahan loved to service. I think his favorite part wah taking stuff to the dump so he throw and break as many things as possible.

Christmas Season

This is the primary group that sang at our Ward Christmas Party.  They were so enthused and sweet they had everyone captivated. I couldn't heat them but I think they are shaking little bells.

Sitting next to Sister Curtis is Cynthia Marie. She is a dear sister who joined the not too long ago. She is in our temple preparation class and hopes to go soon.

This is Debbie. She is single working mother who works at a nursing care facility long hours and then comes home to take care of her boys. She is a great examople of sister who just makes it work somehow!

 This is Tom Mumford who is amember of the Bishopricand sang a great song about Christmas in trenches during world war I. He is great member and works so hard to make our ward work well. He speaks spanish and spends a lot of time with our Spanish Group.

We went down to the Mission Home to help the other Senior Couples put together Christmas Packages for the younger missionaries. It was great fun and nice to be able to do something for the younger missionaries. I think Christmas is much harder for them,

The lights next to the mission home were wonderful.

We also attended the Mission Christmas Devotional. These are the Elders from the northen half of the mission. It was great to see them all and really nice to take time to listen to the musical talent they have.

It was also wonderful to see some of the other Senior Couples. These are the Hunters from Mud Lake Idaho. They are really fun to be with and are doing the same sort of mission we are. It is always good to seem them

Party Time

  We had a wonderful Harvest Festival/ Halloween Party. It was fun to see all of the kids. They were supposed to do a trunk or treat but since it rained (normal for Bellingham) they went from room to room inside. We had a lot of inactives and non members come so for us it was a great success. The ward members worked hard to get people there.

There was lots of food and was supposed to be a chili cook off as well but nobody ever got around to judging the chili.

The Elders had their own unique sort of party. One of the local restaurants has a hamburger challenge. If you can eat everything on this plate in 20 minutes you win a really nice guitat. If you don't finsih it you have to pay $20.00 for the meal. It has 6 onion rings 2 buns 6 hamburger patties and 3 lbs of french fries.

Elder Meaherts said it would be easy. he has won several other eating contests.

Here he has 4 minutes to go and just a few fries left. He had to quit with a little over 2 minutes left and just a few french fries. So close!!! The elders had a great time

Fall is arriving

This Nola Otter and we were able to go to the temple with her on her first visit. It was wonderful. We and many others talked to her about the blessing of paying her tithing. She was skeptical at first but finally did it. She is now a staunch supporter of paying your tithing. It is amazing to see how the temple has blessed her life.

 What beautiful temple we have in Vancouver!!!!!

The fall here came slowly. A few trees here and there and then a few more. It was relaxed and peaceful.

This is Matthew and his parents. We have been working with him for some time. Once he got involved in scouting he really loved it. He receved his first class in these photos and has only been goinfor about 6 months. It was great to see he and his Dad pass the Sacrament a couple of weeks ago.

Amazing People

We continue to spend time at the Stake Garden. the cucumber crop is truly Amazing,

The father of one of the families we visit has lukemia and takes lots of medication. His wife calls for us to mow the lawn but Steven Insists on doing as much as he can. I walkalong beside him and when he is done I do the rst. A truly wonderful man.

 

 

This is Cynthia Marie. She is actively working to go to the temple. She is priceless and really fun to work with.

 

We are Blessed to work with some great people

We have been blessed to work with some really wonderful people. This is Steve Baker. He is 45 and has Lukemia among other things. He can barely walk but insists on trying to mow his own lawn.  He mows somes some and  then I or one of the elders mow some. His wife says he is in bed for two days afterward.

This is Cynthia Marie. She is sucha sweet lady and is in the temple preparation class we are teaching. She loves the gospel and can't wait to go to the temple.

We were able to go to the senior missionary training last week and meet some of the other senior couples that are serving. This is a couple that work at Camp Cascade. This is open for girls camp and lots of ther camping. He said they spend a lot of time on the ATV. What fun!!

These are the Hunters and they are member and leadership support missionaries like us. They came out about the same time we did. They work hard and are having great success. We really enjoy the time we get to spend with them.

This is Prsident Wilson, the Mission President, talkingto sister McKay who is serving with her husband as a senior couple on San Juan Island. President Wilson is great. He keeps everyone motivated and headed the right direction. He emphasizes the need to convert people not just baptize them. He is very kind to us and has a great sense of humor.

It didn't look like much from the outside but this diner was a fun place to eat. We took the elders on P-day to see the peace arch and this is where we stopped for lunch.

This is the hamburge one of the elders had. It is called the quadruple by-pass. It has 2/3 lbs of meat and a lb of french fries. The other elder had a, ooey gooey bluee bacon cheese burger. Sister Curtis went light with a 1/2 lb hot dog.

Elder Sellers just couldn't stand it. He had to step over the line into Canada without going through customs.

The Peace Arch Park is in both Canada and the US and as long as you stay in the park you can go over the line into Canada without a passport.

It is a beautiful park and we enjoyed being there with the elders. We finished the trip off with Ice Cream at the Edallein Dairy. It is a huge dairy that makes it's ice cream on site. Everythign is really fresh.

Matthew & the Armor of God and Snow Day

One of the wonderful families we have been working with is the Bensons. Monte is the Dad and Matthew is the 12 year old son. Matthew has become involved in scouts and loves it. We have been having family home evening with them. In this lesson Matthew put on the whole armor of god including being girt about with truth, having the breatplate of righteousness, being shod with the preparation for the gospel of peace, taking the shield of faith, wearing the helmet of Salvation and weilding the sword of the Spirit. It was a fun lesson and I think we all learned a lot.

Since our daughter and her family came to see us , we decided to take a snow day. This is Nooksack Falls on the way up to Mt. Baker. We cac see it often but neven had been there before. I think we'll go back after the Mission

This is quite a group with varied interests, energies and talents. It is always fun to be able to be with them.  It was a little cooler that we thought it would be but 50 degrees with snow in August isn't bad.

It's hard to tell which is whiter the snow or the hair. We are loving our Mission. It was good to go to the mountains but it will be nice to be back and doing missionary work too.

Everybody seemed to have a great time. Before long everyone cold wetand hungry so it must have been a successful trip. Even Christopher was cold down to his toes.

The grandkids said since Grandma and Grampa were on a mission the would do some service for them. The all worked really hard. It was amazing how much they were able to get done. We appreciate all of their help. We also are grateful for all of the cards letters and pictures they send.