Viewer Discretion is Advised

Welcome...

As the title suggests some of the content of this post may be a little creepy and a little long, but please remember (Janie) they are only pictures :>

This week was a particular busy one in the mission field as Elder Busath and Elder Gebs attempted to locate numerous apartments for the incoming missionaries. The fun part is always outfitting the apartments with the necessities.  Beds, dressers, table, chairs, white board, dishes, etc.  Once the apartments are approved and secured then we reach out to the neighboring wards (congregations) and ask the members for their help in donating the needed items. It's exciting to see all the pieces of the puzzle slowly come together.

I am in the midst of office cross training so that when Elder and Sister Gebs are released in September I can take care of anything that might arise in the office. We haven't been advised of another couple being called to serve as their replacement yet, and it's still early, but it is always better to be prepared just in case.

Monday night we learned that our good neighbors, the Gebs, had their front door damaged by a thwarted break in attempt. Fortunately the bad guys didn't gain access into their apartment, but it's sad that we have to constantly be on guard from now on.  Ignorance was truly bliss. On a lighter note we actually heard of the attempted break in while we were doing some price comparisons for the new missionary apartments at Lowe's. So after hearing the news Elder Busath immediately purchased some long screws, drove to the Mission Office and grabbed a drill and then proceeded to knock on all the senior missionary doors in our complex (after 8:30 pm I might add) offering to secure the dead bolts on their doors with longer screws.  He looked a little like Rambo as he toted his drill like a firearm and I can tell you he was definitely in his element.

In the book of Enos 1:12 in the Book of Mormon it states, "And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me; I will grant unto thee according to thy desires because of thy faith." I had been concerned that we still had too much time on our hands and wanted to do more...well be careful what you ask for.

Late Wednesday night our Bishop texted us and asked if we would be willing to speak in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday.  The topics being the Restoration of the Gospel and the Priesthood.  We readily agreed and scurried around excitedly to locate just the right reference materials to use in preparing our talks.  Just when we thought we had a handle on our various subject material, late Thursday night the Bishop texted us again and asked if he could change our assignment so that I would speak on the Apostasy and Elder Busath would speak on the Restoration. Like a good sport I handed over my notes to Elder Busath for his review and started over.

Friday night we had the awesome opportunity to meet at the Mission President's home for dinner with all of the senior missionaries. In our mission there are 10 senior missionary couples, including the Mission President and his wife, and two senior single sisters. It was great to meet some for the very first time and to get better acquainted with those we had met briefly before. The activity also served as an informal farewell to the Crismon's from Orem, Utah who will be released the 6th of May, and to one of our senior single sisters, Sister Grant, who will be released in July. At the meeting the President gave us an update on the status of the mission, the news about the bigger leadership roles sister missionaries would be playing, timely advice about NOT "mothering" the missionaries because we will be denying them the opportunity to struggle, learn and grow and then announced that he would be creating a new Senior Missionary District. 

In the past the senior missionaries met with an assigned district composed of 6 to 8 young sisters and elders, now we would have our very own district specifically to address our needs. Everyone was so excited to hear the news and immediately began asking questions of the President.  It was at that time that the President also announced that Elder Busath had been called to serve as the new district leader. Elder Busath was actually called late Thursday afternoon so we spent some time Friday morning putting together a roster of the senior missionaries and a proposed calendar for their review. We plan to meet once a week and rotate locations.  We also plan to schedule monthly temple trips and a monthly excursion to a local tourist trap. A few of our senior couples live quite a distance away so we hope to get their help and plan activities in their neck of the woods from time to time. We have an Area Seventy visiting the mission on Thursday morning and we are all invited to attend a meeting he is presiding over so we hope to get together briefly after that to firm up our dates. I am so excited to help Elder Busath make this new district a time for strengthening testimonies and building eternal friendships.

 

This is a view from across the street of the Mission President's home. Five big fat turkey's munching on the lawn, one ran into the street and then he was gone.  Four big fat turkey's...

 

 

Okay so be warned. On Saturday, our "Preparation Day" we decided to play tourist.  After finishing our exercise routine of walking around the high school track a couple times, cleaning the apartment and washing clothes we ventured out to Gatorland (just down the street and around the corner) to see real live alligators up close. Fortunately for us, our utilities bill qualified us as official residents so we got in for half price! The other good news is that our camera decided to die just as we tried to capture our first Kodak moment. Who knew that cameras were afraid of alligators? Luckily I had my new iphone handy so basically it paid for itself today.

 

 

And you thought I was kidding...

 

 As you can clearly see alligators come in all shapes and sizes. They appear so calm, almost harmless, but don't let those toothy smiles fool you.

 

 

 

 

This is a picture of two gators being fed chicken parts, and let me just say that they (the alligators)didn't hesitate for one minute and ate the chicken in one maybe two bites.

 

These workers were trying to convince the alligators to jump for their food.  Unfortunately the alligators didn't feel like showing off so they just lurked in the water making us all even more uncomfortable than we already were.

 

 Not sure if this picture is fuzzy because it is Elder Busath's first attempt at using my iphone camera or if he is actually shaking in fear. I am please to report that I really did hold a live alligator and had a python wrapped around my neck. I have a better picture of a picture as you can see below ... 

 

 

I hope my grand kids are proud of me because I normally would not have even considered holding an alligator let alone having a snake wrapped around my neck if it wasn't for them :)

 

 

Poisonous snakes are plentiful here in the wild kingdom.  The strange thing is that no one seems to be too concerned about it.  They advise caution and suggest wearing hard soled shoes when hiking, but hey this is Florida the flip flop capital of the world.

 

A white alligator!  He isn't an albino as originally thought. He actually has blue eyes as opposed to pink eyes found in albinos and is one of a species that are born white and tend to be even more dangerous than most. In fact he is so grumpy that he doesn't even play well with others of his own kind.

 

This alligator was captured in a local neighborhood pond and brought to Gatorland because he kept eating the neighborhood dogs and cats!

 

We got to see even more exotic pets at one of the shows at Gatorland. Jealous right?

 

The python is just sitting in a little lean to off the main walkway minding his own business.  Seriously you would miss seeing him if you weren't looking out for other creepy crawlers.

 

 

 

 

He even looks like a swamp adventurer, right?  Kind of a cross between Indiana Jones and Quigley down under.

 

 

Look closely in the water and no it is not a stick. They warned us not to venture off the beaten path of the walkway and for good reason.  This is a water moccasin we happened upon as we walked through the swamp on the property.

 

Thank goodness for hard shells.  These turtles happily share the water with the alligators.  I guess an alligator would have to be really hungry to want to eat a turtle, shell and all.

 

 

 

 Alligator wrestling anyone?

 

 

Pretty birds of a feather obviously flock together.

 

 

Okay so maybe it's not lions and tigers and bears oh my. 

It's more like huge tortoises and huge boa constrictors, oh no.

 

 The Orient Express it is not, but we didn't have to sit in cages like at Disneyland either.

 

 

 

Feeding time!!!

 

 

I am not sure what this poor little bunny is doing in Gatorland. Obviously lunch for someone if he isn't careful. I was tempted to pick him up and put him in my purse for a quick escape, but what would I do once I got him safely home?

 

 

It's a little strange, but the larger birds don't seem bothered by the gators.  In fact many of them just swoop in a take the food right in front of their noses.  Maybe the gators are allergic to feathers.

 

 

 

 I wish you could see this picture better.  The one in the water is a crocodile with a  long snout. The one on land is an alligator with a more rounded snout. I actually learned something today :)

 

 

Say cheese!

 

You can all take a big breath now because our adventures to Gatorland is now behind you, but our adventures for the week are not quite at an end. 

 

After Gatorland we raced around finishing up our Saturday errands, hair cut, check, car wash and gas, check, brief shopping spree at Target, check. (Hey it's in the same shopping center of the haircut place so we couldn't resist.) And who doesn't need towels that actually dry between uses, a cheap printer to print out sacrament talks and another magnet to hold up our calendar on the refrigerator? The other magnets are busy holding up pictures from our grand kids.

 

Anyway we raced home, changed clothes and had the privilege to attend the convert baptism of Richard Kalleo.  Sister's Allen and McLeod met him while tracting in his neighborhood and the rest is history.  We then met with Elders Jackson and Ames at Wendy's to discuss the differences between Red Robin's speckled lemonade and Wendys strawberry lemonade and of course the status of many of our hard to locate members and they were pleased to report that they had great success in locating some of the missing members. We are truly blessed to associate with such dedicated missionaries, only 4 more names to go out of the original 60.

 

But wait we are not quite done.  It's Sunday and as I write this I am enjoying the sweet peace that comes from "enduring to the end".  The week is almost over and so are our talks.  It's surprising to realize that even giving talks in Sacrament Meeting is easier as missionaries. I normally would have been a basket case, but today I felt calm and confident. Elder Busath even printed out a copy of our talks to give to the Spanish translator to make his job a little easier, or to prove the worth of our new printer, not sure which.  But in any case I think our talks were well received and as a missionary I would be remiss if I didn't share a little of what I learned in my preparation.

Whenever people choose to disregard, disobey, or distort any gospel principle or ordinance, whenever they reject the Lord’s prophets, or whenever they fail to endure in faith, they distance themselves from God and begin to live in spiritual darkness. Eventually this leads to a condition called apostasy.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has proclaimed to the world consistently since its beginning that there was an apostasy of the church founded by Jesus during his ministry and led by his Apostles following his ascension.   If there had not been an apostasy, there would have been no need for a restoration.

Although there will not be another general apostasy from the truth, we must each guard against personal apostasy by keeping our covenants, obeying the commandments, and following Church leaders.

As our Prophet Thomas S. Monson was once quoted as saying, “There is no resting place along the path of faithfulness.  The trek is constant, and no lingering is allowed.  It must not be expected that the road of life spreads itself in an unobstructed view before the person starting his journey.  He must anticipate coming upon forks and turnings in the road.  But he cannot hope to reach his desired journey’s end if he thinks aimlessly about whether to go east or west.  He must make decisions purposefully.

Decisions determine destiny!

 

We are happy, healthy and blessed to be here doing the Lord's work.

We love you and hope all is well with you and yours!

Until next time...

 

 

 

 

Our first official alligator sighting

Just when we thought it was safe to walk near the water, we actually spotted a real live alligator near the Mission President's pond around the corner!  Of course he was just a teenager, or so I am told, but an alligator is an alligator, right? Fortunately his dad was nowhere to be found or these pictures would be even harder to see.

 

 

The fun just never ends here in the Wild Kingdom :)

April 6th through April 13th

Greetings from the sunshine state!

 

If you recall I mentioned in our last post about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints semi-annual General Conference that was televised last weekend.  Well Elder Busath and I had every intention of watching conference at our local church building, but were invited to watch conference with some of the other Senior Missionaries at their office. This is a picture of Sister Grant and the classroom we camped out in.  Fortunately for me and for Sister Moline, no one minded having the close captioning on so we didn't miss a single word :)

Each conference address was incredible as I am sure you would agree, but I can't resist sharing some of my favorite highlights:

 

Sister Elaine S. Dalton-Once as a young college student traveling in Scotland, following the recent death of her father, feeling alone and discouraged she saw a stone with these words etched in it: 

 

"What e're thou art, act well thy part"

 

That simple statement renewed her vision that Heavenly Father knew her and had a plan for her life and the spirit she felt helped her to understand that her part mattered.

We are all children of a Heavenly Father who knows us individually and loves us. We matter to Him.

 

Elder Enrique R. Falabella-"In order to contend you need two people, and I will never be one of them." Words to live by!

 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland-"All things are possible for those who believe, no matter how small that belief might be. Even faith the size of a mustard seed has power to move mountains.  When problems come and questions arise, individuals should not start their quest for faith by saying how much they don't have, leading with their unbelief. He suggests that we be true to the faith we do have." Hold the ground you have already won and move on from there.

His message gives me hope and reminds me that we all are expected to walk by faith, that God will always send us help, but we need to humble ourselves and ask.

 



Well I have good news and bad news about the egg pictured above.  I was so excited that spring had finally arrived and to learn that in a few short weeks we would be enjoying a flock of baby ducklings because the eggs are everywhere.  That's the good news. The bad news is that I heard from other residents here that last year at this time they had over a dozen baby ducklings and very few made it to adulthood. Just when I was beginning to think that alligators were a myth in this wild kingdom I now discover that there are hawks that swoop down and carry away the baby ducklings!!! I definitely plan to carry a big rock with me when we go walking to help defend the baby ducklings against predators.  Where is Goliath when you need him?

This naughty duck thought it would be a good idea to go for a swim in the big people pool. Maybe he thought it would be a good place to hide from a hungry hawk.

 

While Elder Busath and I were out and about dropping off a new vacuum cleaner and cleaning supplies to two missionaries at their apartment this week we noticed this cute little squirrel having a picnic.



Allow me to introduce you to our newest family member. His name is Lenny Lizard and he lives in our enclosed patio.  I am not sure how he got in and I am not sure if he can get out, but he is there every morning to greet us when we go out to check the temperature of the day or to water the plants.

 

 If you look really close (to the right) you can see our new friend Lenny peeking through the leaves. It is not even a real plant, but he doesn't seem to mind.

 

 Since we are rarely at home in the evenings and although I hate to admit it, Elder Busath and I have been taking full advantage of fast food coupons and sharing meals to save money. As a result we haven't done a whole lot of cooking lately.  But since we recently received a box of chocolate cookie mix in our Easter care package we thought it only appropriate that we celebrate having access to an oven by baking cookies.

 

  As you can see Elder Busath agrees!

 

 This is a picture of the missionaries in the district we are assigned to. Standing from left to right, Elder Coe, Elder Baugh, Elder Holtz-Zone Leader, Sister Higley and Sister Bolton.  Seated are Elder Buckmiller, Elder Clement, Elder Christiansen and Elder Olsen-District Leader.  Our District Meetings are held every Tuesday morning.  We meet together, receive instruction and role play different situations to help us each feel more comfortable in teaching others. This past week Elder Busath and I had the opportunity to present a brief 10 minute mini lesson on teaching with unity and meeting the needs of others. I decided to go first and used an object lesson comparing teaching as companions (Doctrine and Covenants 42:6) with baking cinnamon rolls.

Plan, prepare and delegate, mix your ingredients carefully, allow time to process, enjoy the results of your labors...

Elder Busath shared some of his experiences while working on the Governor's Protective Detail. He reminded us that we need to be flexible in teaching. That at any time things can change and that we will need to make the necessary adjustments to accomplish our goal and most importantly to meet the needs of the individual.

 

"The difference between "unite" and "untie" is where you put the "I"

 

As missionaries if a lesson is to be effective we need to forget about ourselves, unite, and focus on the one being taught or the lesson will become unraveled. 

We are teaching people, not lessons.

 

I think it went well, all things considered, but obviously the best part of any object lesson where food is involved is eating the cinnamon rolls at the end!

 

Thursday night we went to the temple to take care of some family names. The poles pictured are actually lightening rods on the roof top of the temple to protect those inside during a severe storm. Mother Nature has quite a sense of humor in Florida. Sometimes it's cold, sometimes it's hot, and at other times it is raining all on the same day! The sky is routinely lit up by lightening, but we rarely hear the thunder.

 

Today was our "P" Day.  We decided to take a run (okay a fast walk) on the outdoor track across the street for a change. I think seeing all the duck eggs is depressing Elder Busath :( We then cleaned our apartment taking a total of 5 minutes, did our laundry and then met a set of missionaries for lunch at the local McDonald's. We discussed the progress of locating some of the people in our Ward (congregation) whose addresses have been found to be incorrect. The missionaries, Elder Jackson and Elder Sanford, are awesome and have accomplished in one day what has taken us weeks to do. We revised our original plan and will update the Bishop of our progress tomorrow. 

 

We also had the privilege to meet with one of the Senior Couples, the Crismon's, who were previously assigned to our ward before the big boundary realignment and are now serving in a small branch. They made an appointment with one of the single sister's in our new ward and they invited us to join them.  The Crismon's, from Orem, Utah,  are due to be released from their mission the first of May, and they wanted to be certain that the people they have worked so closely with for the past 18 months will not feel abandoned. It was kind of like passing a torch and I feel humbled that they trust us to take care of those people who have become so precious to them. We had a wonderful visit and I look forward o getting to know the single sister better.  I hope she now knows she has a friend in me.

I only wish that we had met the Crismon's earlier because in the short time that we have known them we have grown to love them. They will be missed!  On the bright side, one nice thing about living in a small world is that the Crismon's live in the same ward as Elder Busath's cousin's Jan and Greg Wright so if we are ever in Orem again we now have two places to visit :)

 

We love being missionaries!  We hope all is well with you and yours and please know that you are in our prayers!

 

Until next time..........

 

 

 

 

Welcome to our new home!

Monday April 1, 2013 through April 5, 2013

 

What do you call an alligator wearing a vest? An investigator!

Okay so enough of my mission humor. Now on with the show...

                                           

In the Book of Mormon it states:

1 Nephi 2:20, "And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye

shall prosper."

     We have been truly blessed and have so much to be thankful for as you will see.

                                                   

                                                       

 Below is a picture of Elder Busath purchasing dinner at a local Subway after a long day at the office.  (Thanks to the generosity of LaRee and Tony Bermudez).  It has been so nice not having to cook lately that we are seriously considering buying Costco ready to eat meals for two just to save on time and money. Of course we haven't done the math yet so we may very well have to see what we can do with Top Ramen if need be.

Tuesday night we borrowed a van from the Mission Office (used to transport incoming and out going missionaries) and loaded it up with some of our belongings in preparation of our big move Wednesday morning.  Unfortunately the Value Inn isn't located in the best of neighborhoods so we had to wait until the last minute Wednesday morning to pack up our valuables. You know, clothes, shoes, scriptures, the laptop computer, the camera anything we couldn't do without.          

The plan was to wake up, shower, get dressed, study the scriptures, pray, pack up, clean, check out and be in the Mission Office and ready to work by 9:00 Wednesday morning.  Then we would unload the van and unpack after work at 5:00. 

The Parker's, the couple we replaced, weren't planning to hit the road for Preston, Utah until late Wednesday morning. So we would technically be homeless for about 8 hours.

 

 Wednesday morning dawned and we were literally running around like two chickens with our heads cut off.  We finished all our chores as planned including picking up mail from the Mission President's home, and then suddenly Elder Busath decided to stop by the Parker's to say one last good bye and to drop off some recently received mail for them.  Well it just so happened (that's not entirely true, Elder Busath was inspired) the Parker's must have decided to get an early start that morning because the apartment was vacant! You never saw a van get unloaded so quickly in all of your life. I am not sure what we were planning to do with the few things that needed refrigeration, but that was no longer a problem.  Once the van was emptied, 5 minutes tops, we drove back to the Value Inn to officially check out (their office didn't open until 9:00), and then on to the Mission Office.  After all that running around we were actually only 15 minutes late for work :) 

              Welcome to our new home! It will be so nice to finally plant some roots after being nomads for almost 6 weeks (even if it is just for a little less than a year) .

                                                                            

This is our little patio in the backyard.  As you can see it is completely screened in (just like the expensive homes around here) to keep all the critters out and let the sunshine and warm tropical breezes in.

         

Our neighbors, two other Senior couple apartments, across the pond.  There is actually a big fountain in the middle of  the pond, it just wasn't on when we took this picture.

   

You would think with all this water that the ducks would be happy little campers, not so.  We actually saw five little ducks taking a moonlight dip in the swimming pool!  I am pretty sure that little bit of information wouldn't make the apartment management very happy.

 

An actual view from our patio!  There is a nice sidewalk surrounding the pond so we plan to make it a habit of walking around the pond a couple of times a day and count it as our exercise routine. I feel bad for the guy that has to mow the grass though.  I suspect they lose lots of gardeners and lawn mowers in the pond, the ledge is so steep.

 

 

A before picture...

Just to set the scene, the carpet is oatmeal colored, the couch a pale yellow and the easy chair is a light blue green in color. Nice, but  just a little bland.  (Think old retired people décor).

 

 

Yes, that is correct, if you look closely you will see that the apartment did come with a television and a VCR.  No, we don't plan to watch it, although it might come in handy in the event of a hurricane warning or a church video just aching to be watched, per Elder Busath. 

 

 

Okay, so I admit it, we are old, just not that old. We couldn't see the teeny weeny clock on the VCR, so we bought a new clock. It was all of $8.00 so I splurged alright.

 

Someone suggested that I set the clock for California time so that I would always know what the rest of my family was doing.  But then I would need to get a clock for Idaho time too and knowing me I would probably get the three times confused and never know the right time for me.

 

 

Okay for those who know me you know that I do not have a crafty bone in my body.  That being said it could explain why I struggle so at interior decorating. I really tried to get inspired at Wal-Mart when we went to pick up a few necessities after moving in.  You know important things like light bulbs, batteries, lamps for the night stands, a clock, a garbage can, a few groceries. But I just wasn't feeling it.  So I made an attempt at adding a little color and it's the best I could do on a tight budget.

 

 

 

 

The bedroom came with a king sized bed! We have been sleeping in a double bed for the past month so it took about 2 minutes to get used to!

 

 

I tried to warn you.  There is not much of a change in the bedroom with the exception of two night stand lamps, our pillows and some personal stuff. The comforter is lilac and in fair condition. 

Why fix it if it's not broken?

 

 

 But wait my sorry attempt at redecorating eventually does get a little better in the bathroom.

 

Before it was, yawn, okay, nothing to write home about. 

 

Now it just screams Florida, right?

 

The kitchen was surprisingly well stocked. Three crock pots, counting the one I brought from home, and one of just about everything else.  Of course nothing matches and I could definitely outfit the neighborhood Dollar Tree Store or make a killing at a garage sale when we move. But we have sufficient for our needs and we will just pick up some paper plates and cups if we ever decide to entertain.

 

 

I actually brought these colorful things from home, much to Elder Busath's dismay. 

Look at me being frugal.

 

 I hate to end this little tour of our new home with this picture because it really doesn't do the dining room transformation justice. First of all the dining room table is big, that's the good news.  It seats six, although I only have chairs for four.  The table is well loved and off  white in color.  The chairs are black and dark brown striped, and that's the bad news.  What can you do with black and brown striped chairs? Then I heard Andi, my oldest daughter, as though whispering in my ear, "ignore the chairs just add a bold color as an accent," so I did. The results may not be exactly what she would have suggested, but I have red in the kitchen to tie it all together doesn't that count?

The map hanging on the wall is actually covering up a big gray electrical box containing the circuit breaker.  Two of the other senior apartments that we recently visited made no attempt to hide it.  I, on the other hand, am a little more OCD and it would have driven me CRAZY so I tried to think of something temporary and yet  fun to help conceal it. The map of the United States is the one we used on our trip here and is highlighted in pink charting our progress from Sacramento to Idaho, to Utah, all the way to Florida so I thought it was appropriate and maybe even a little bit education.  Okay so I am stretching it just a little.

The bottom line is we are happily settling in and loving every minute of our missionary experience. We have been keeping plenty busy during the day taking care of the many behind the scene details of keeping our missionaries happy, healthy, focused and in the field finding and teaching people.  In the evening we have been trying to make contact with individuals who have not been officially notified of our recent ward (congregation) boundary changes and we were just recently invited to "find" individuals who may be living within our ward boundaries who may qualify to be placed in the Young Single Adult Ward. There are seriously not enough hours in the day to do all we hope to accomplish, but thankfully there is always tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow...Saturday and Sunday, April 6th and 7th, beginning at 9:00 AM and at 1:00 PM California time, I would like to invite you to join me to come and listen to a Prophet of the Lord. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints is holding their bi-annual General Conference and it is televised for all the world to see.  I don't know what channel it will be on in California or in Idaho, aside from the BYU channel, but you can always check out the church website:   http://lds.org for more details.  In Florida we will be watching the conference sessions at our local church buildings beginning at noon and again at 4:00 because I am told you have to have expensive equipment to get the satellite feed which as a missionary we can not afford.  I hope you will take the time to check it out and if you will I promise that you will not be disappointed.

 

"There are messages in each General Conference given as a gift and blessing from heaven specifically for our personal life situations."  President Dieter F Uchtdorf

"If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit some of us will touch on your circumstances, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you."  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Thanks for stopping by and checking up on us.  We feel your love and prayers and appreciate them more than we can say.

Make it a great day!