Missouri to Tennessee

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

 

 

Although I will be the first to admit that I really missed the traditional corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, green milk... dinner tonight. I know that we are where we are supposed to be. Or at least on route to where we are supposed to be. There is always next year, right? The word out on the grapevine is that some of my kids have actually mastered the family recipe, so I am happy that they were able to continue the family tradition in our absence. Good job!

 

 

 

This morning we attended the Liberty Second Ward church services. As you can plainly see it's still freezing cold here, can't wait to get to Florida :) Interestingly enough Sacrament Meeting was a missionary farewell for a Steven Untch, who has been called to serve in Brazil. The choir's special musical number was, you guessed it..."Called to Serve". I don't think I will ever be able to sing that song without getting a little misty eyed. The people were very friendly (southern hospitality) although they were sure we must have been called to serve at the Liberty Jail Visitor Center.  They were quite surprised when we told them we were just passing through on our way to Florida.

 

 

 Missouri is referred to as the "Show Me State." Which is very interesting since everywhere you looked, or tried to look there were mini forests. In fact the trees obscured most of the landscape all the way to the state of Illinois. I am not sure if there is an actual purpose for the trees, but I bet they are a sight to see when they have leaves.

 

Surprise! We just happened to be driving along on our way to Nashville when all of a sudden we saw the St. Louis Missouri Temple off in the distance.  Sorry if it appears a little blurry, but taking a quick snapshot while moving at 70 miles an hour is tricky.

 

 

 This is Lambie  (bottom right corner) on the look out for the official "Welcome to Illinois" sign. In a blizzard no less!

 

 Seriously trying to get a good picture of the state welcome sign is getting to be quite a challenge.  It would certainly be helpful if they placed them where you could actually slow down and pull over to the side. Rather than trying to capture it in between the wind shield wiper swooshing by and the slushy rain cascading down the window. Illinois is referred to the "Land of Lincoln" and some of the scenery resembled Colorado, colorful rock formations, etc.  But the weather was so bad we couldn't really see very much. Although we did notice numerous signs pointing out this river and that river. In fact there is actually a resort called "Land Between the Rivers".

 

 Okay so we got lucky this time. Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, actually showed some signs of spring.  It was much more green than Illinois, but the mini forests were everywhere blocking our view. There must be a reason for all the trees, and I for one would like to know what it is. It's not like they are pretty trees, more like a forest of stick people trying to keep you from discovering what they are hiding behind their backs.

 

 

Another one of those drive by pictures...but you get the point, right?

 

Anyway we arrived safe and sound in Nashville late this evening Zzz. I have to admit, it was a little unsettling to see all the bright lights after days of flat open country. Nashville is the first big city that we have seen since we left California. It sort of reminds me of Lake Tahoe.  Not as bad as Reno, but bright lights, and lots and lots of neon billboards. Since Nashville is considered to be the center of country music I half expected people to be out on the sidewalks strumming guitars. Depending on how our morning goes tomorrow I hope to be able to convince Elder Busath to drive by the Grand Old Oprey, but we shall see.

 

My chauffeur, also Elder Busath, since he is doing all of the driving (just call me Miss Daisy) tells me that we only have about 12 to 13 more hours to go. That means that we could actually be done with the travel part of our adventure by tomorrow night.  However, our Mission President would like to see us the minute we get to our mission and we are nothing but obedient. But I really hate the thought of knocking at his door all grungy from driving late Monday night.

 

More details to come....

 

 

Kansas To Missouri

 

On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again...(Think Willie Nelson)

Well we left Goodland, Kansas bright and early this morning and slowly made our way to Independence, Missouri.  On the way we were surrounded on both sides by vast fields, very few houses and an occasional oil derrick. The countryside actually resembled many of Elder Busath's favorite old cowboy shows :) 

 

Just a few fun facts I learned about Kansas:

*The weather is very unpredictable.  According to the natives we talked to, it was 85 degrees here yesterday and today it is 43 degrees with strong winds and a chance of rain or snow, brrr.  

 

*The State flower is the Sunflower-I never actually saw one, but I've heard they are beautiful.

 

*There are special toll roads beginning just outside of Topeka.  You drive through a toll booth, receive a ticket automatically and proceed to your destination. The interesting thing about the toll road is that restaurants are placed right smack dab in the middle of the road between the incoming and out going traffic to prevent you from exiting the toll road. 

 

*Did you know that Hardee's Restaurant is the same as Carl Jr.?

 

*There are two Kansas City's.  One in Kansas and one in Missouri.

 

*The State Motto is: "To the stars through difficulty"-I really like that!

We CAN do hard things, with the Lord's help!

As you can see Lambie is nowhere to be found. She was actually all bundled up to keep warm from the cold and fell asleep.  But seriously the sign is in the middle of the freeway! I had to beg Elder Busath to slow down just for a minute so I could take the picture. He was not too happy to say the least.  Once a highway patrolman, always a highway patrolman. Stopping in the middle of a busy freeway to take a silly picture was not on the top of his list of smart things to do.

We made it safely to Independence, Missouri late Saturday afternoon and took some time to see the Visitor's Center. For those of you interested in LDS Church history it is located on a portion of the original temple "Block" purchased by Bishop Edward Partridge in 1831.

 

 

 This is a view of the original Independence Temple site from the front steps of the Visitor's Center.   On the right is the Community of Christ Church's Tabernacle (Once a part of the Reorganized or Reformed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), on the left is their Temple. But in the middle, right behind the center lamp post and between the two red lines, is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Temple Lot. The Community of Christ Church currently owns the property. I am told that relationship between the two churches is cordial and the Visitor's Center actually encourages people to see the artifacts that the Community of Christ Church has on display.

 

 

The Temple Lot.

 

 

One of many beautiful homes in Liberty, Missouri.

Oh before I forget an interesting thing happened to us while waiting at a red light in Liberty.  A man in a car slowed and stopped in the lane right beside us.  He rolled his window down, and asked where in California we were from. We smiled and answered Sacramento.  To that he raised his fist and punched the air overhead with enthusiasm.  "I'm originally from San Diego and just wanted to stop and say welcome". The hospitality here is amazing.

 

 

                                The historic Liberty Jail was a sacred place to visit.

 

 

 

 It was here that the Prophet Joseph Smith, along with four others spent the bitter winter of 1838-1839. They were unjustly charged for treason and incarcerated in this miserable forgotten place where they could not even stand upright, suffering in severe cold weather while their families were being forced to leave Missouri. Although they were later "allowed" to escape 4 plus months later, it was a very difficult time for the Prophet, a refiners fire, where he was tried and later blessed to receive the revelations now found in the Doctrine and Covenant's Section 121 through 123.

 

"Decisions determine destiny!" We are free to choose what we are, and what we become, but we are not always free to choose the consequences of our choices (Gerald Lund, The Guardian).

 

I am so grateful that the Prophet Joseph Smith had such faith and trust in the Lord during that very difficult time so that the gospel could be restored and the Book of Mormon be made available for our day!

 

 

The Kansas City Missouri Temple. The second LDS Temple in Missouri and the 137th worldwide.

I really can't think of a better way to end our day here in Missouri than to visit the House of the Lord.

 

According to my weatherman, Elder Busath, the next leg of our trip should be interesting.  It is predicted that as we head toward Tennessee and Georgia there will be a chance of tornado's, severe wind, hail and maybe even some snow.  I am somehow reminded of the hymn, "Come, Come Ye Saints". ...if hard to you this journey may appear...

Stay tuned

Provo to Kansas

 

 After 11 wonderful days at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah it is time to say good bye and begin our journey to Orlando, Florida. We have had some amazing experiences and will forever cherish the time spent here. 

 

We actually took our time packing up and didn't leave Provo until 8:30 am.

Fortunately traffic was almost non existent and we made great time.

(Look closely, Lambie can be found at the bottom in the center of the sign) 

I thought my grandsons would appreciate a picture of these dinosaurs found in front of the Dinosaur Museum in Fruita, Colorado.  I guess it's a big deal here because there were signs for miles advertising it's existence. Sorry, but the sign was too tall to get Lambie in the picture and I think she was a little scared of them anyway.

 

 

                                  It appears that someone ran out of ideas for naming this rest area :)

 

 The following are pictures of the Colorado countryside just outside of Denver.  It's surprising what a drop of 5,000 feet in altitude can do to the scenery.  In Vail, Colorado, at a mere 10,000 feet altitude, the mountains tower over you and are covered with snow. It was almost like the scene on a Christmas card. I would have taken a picture, but there was no place to stop and I had no idea of the sharp contrast.

 

Just call us crazy! It was 8:30 pm and we had just entered the state of Kansas.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that the sign appeared suddenly next to a truck weighing station so we missed it and had to turn around. Well if you have ever driven on Interstate 70 through Colorado and Kansas there is not a lot to see except for wide open spaces so the exits are few and far between.  In fact it was fourteen miles one way before we could exit the Interstate and turn around! But we managed to find the sign again only to discover that it didn't have lights to illuminate it. So the little shadow you see on the bottom right hand corner of the sign is just me holding up Lambie for the camera. 

 

I am happy to report that the first leg of our trip turned out better than expected.  We originally had planned to drive from Provo, Utah to Denver, Colorado anticipating that it would take roughly 8 to 9 hours. But the roads were clear, the weather warm (75 degrees in Denver) and the conversation lively at times so we decided to push along a little farther and found ourselves stopping for the night in the little town of Goodland, Kansas. 

 

 

The people we have met along the way thus far have been very encouraging and we soon discovered that wearing our missionary badges actually initiates conversation. Although I will be the first to admit that I have noticed a number of curious stares. I have also noticed more than a few smiles. In fact I actually was the recipient of a quick squeeze of my arm by a complete stranger in a gas station of all places just because she recognized my badge.  We have truly been blessed!

Next stop, Independence, Missouri...

 

 

 

Days 8 through 11 at the MTC

 

"Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver and the other gold".

 

 

It's a small world after all...We had the opportunity to touch base with Sister Mullen, from Elk Grove, called to serve in the Philippines just a few days before her departure.

 

 

It gets better.  We received a Facebook comment from Matthew Potts earlier in the week suggesting we meet for dinner if we had time. Well as it turned out we had some last minute errands to run Monday evening and had the opportunity to meet not only Matthew, but Andrew Potts as well at In and Out in Orem.

 

 

A funny thing happened to us on our way to class Tuesday.  A beautiful sister missionary and her companion stopped us to inquire if we were from Elk Grove, California.  When we readily admitted that we were, she then went on to ask Elder Busath if he had served at Girl's Camp.  He quickly replied, affirmative, for twenty five years.  She became so excited and quickly introduced herself as Sister Bolanos, (standing next to me) from Sacramento 10th Ward and announced that she had great memories of Elder Busath from Girl's Camp.  She and her companion had originally been called to serve in Montreal, Canada, Spanish speaking, but when they arrived at the MTC a few weeks ago they were asked to speak French.  They are due to leave for Canada soon and are ready and willing to serve.

 

                                                    
Tuesday evening we attended a Special Missionary Devotional presided by Paul V. Johnson, of the Seventy.  They are the proud parents of nine children and as of Tuesday morning the grandparents of twenty one grandchildren! His wife, Jill, spoke of being members of a tremendous army called at this time to fight evil by using the protection and power of obedience and purity. 
Brother Johnson referred to the story of Paul from 1 Thessalonians Chapter 3:2-and encouraged us to submit our will to the will of God that our weaknesses be made strong.  It was just exactly what we needed to hear!

 

 

 

 Barbara Cortopassi surprised us Thursday morning with her famous and delicious sweet rolls, hand delivered by Sister Mullen, her niece. We were thrilled!!! We considered taking them with us to eat on our trip tomorrow, but sadly they didn't last long enough :)

 

 Taking a break at our Missionary Office Training Class.
We had the pleasure of hearing from another Senior Couple this week, Brother and Sister Vaughn Hawke.  They have served missions for over twenty nine years.  Of the many missions they spoke of the two missions they served as school administrators in Samoa and the one in the office in Milan, Italy. They were funny, down to earth, with helpful advice and shared inspiring promises the Lord has made for us as missionaries such as the assurance found in Doctrine and Covenants 84:88- "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." I know now that we can do hard things with the Lord's help.

 

Elder Busath thought he should get a quick hair cut from the MTC Barber Shop so that he will look his very best when we arrive in Orlando.

 

Long story short, we were afraid we had missed Sister Hogge's arrival at the MTC Wednesday afternoon and were really disappointed, but we got lucky.  We bumped into her Wednesday night in of all places the laundry room!  She was on a tour so we made plans to meet up the next day. As you can see we had success. This is a picture of her and her roommates all called to serve in the Philippines.

 Her companion...

 

 

 Who else?

 

Our wonderful experience at the MTC Mission Office Training wouldn't have been possible without the help of these great instructors.  From left to right, Sister Fairbanks, who served in the Omaha, Nebraska Mission, Brother Clark, who served in Zimbabwe, and Brother Chauncey who served in the Philippines.  They were patient, kind and helped us feel at ease almost immediately.  But the thing I value the most was not so much the subject material, but rather the sharing of their personal mission experiences and testimonies that helped to provide us with a special insight to the work we might not have received anywhere else.

 

 

 I have to apologize, but the next few pictures were taken in an attempt to preserve my own memories of what the MTC looks like today.  I suspect that the next time Elder Busath and I are here the place will be much different due to the huge growth of young missionaries choosing to serve.

 

                                                          The Prophet Joseph Smith

 

 The front entrance of the MTC today.

The view from our room...








                                                                                 Elder Busath, all tired out after a busy day in class.

 

 When MTC missionaries vacate their rooms they don't leave the usual "Please Clean" notice hanging from their doors.  Instead they announce to all who pass by, staff included, that they have left for their mission's.  This same notice (Lambie included for obvious reasons) will be proudly hanging from our door first thing tomorrow morning.

My travel manager (Elder Busath) has mentioned the possibility of driving to Denver, Colorado on the first leg of our trip, weather permitting. So the next time you hear from us we will be somewhere on route to Orlando, Florida!