Letter #27

When it rains it pours and pours!  It has been raining for the last two days! The temperature also dropped which is good because I can wear some different clothes, mostly I now put a sweater over the blouses I was already wearing, and bad, because it is cold!

Highlights of the week:

Monday we took Marshmallow Baseball for the zone activity.  They had a great time playing.  Elder Hardman was the pitcher for both teams.  I guess I was the cheerleader.  It’s fun to have a game they can all play. One Elder explained that they don’t keep score so that it won’t get too competitive, ha! If what we saw was non-competitive it is wise that they don’t keep score! We also went to our monthly FHE at the mission home with the senior couples and President and Sister Chesnut. I was asked to bring my famous breadsticks which are Rhodes dough rolled in butter, parmesan cheese and garlic salt.  I love being known for something so easy.

Tuesday our presentation with the Food Bank and two zones fell through so we went to zone training. We love zone training but it comes before transfers so there is always the transfer tension in the room. I was given two dresses to hem for a Sister that received them for her birthday from her family. You have to sew quickly when there is a chance they might be transferred to Winnemucca and you won’t see them again!

Wednesday we went to check out the Family History library.  They have a nice library here and house records that are unique to Northern Nevada so if you have family history from Nevada this is the place to look.  They have cabinets of paper records that haven’t been digitized yet but are available to look through. That evening we were invited to attend the Cold Springs Ward’s missionary committee meeting. Wow, were we impressed! This is what a missionary committee should look like.  You would think the ward that “has it all together” wouldn’t need us but they are the ones that have it so organized that they can see a place for us. We were handed three pages of people in the ward without a current home teacher and asked to check on them.  We were asked to visit a sister in the ward that night they knew had some health issues with her husband. We stopped there on our way home and the lady was so grateful to know that someone cared. Her husband was going in for surgery the next day. She appreciated us checking on her. After the meeting each week the ward missionaries go on splits with the Elders.  They have had 8 baptisms in the last 10 months and every one of them are active.  They receive a calling and have a member of the committee “assigned” to them to be there to answer questions and to help them prepare for the next ordinance. We would like to clone the Cold Springs ward.

Thursday was Stake Temple day for Stake Conference.  We also were able to help with a lesson.

Friday was a wonderful day. Once a year they have a Sister’s Training day.  This is only for the Sister’s, which of course bugs the Elders!  : ) The Sister Training Leaders arrange and plan the entire activity.  All of the Sister’s in the mission get to come, even from Elko and Eli.  They started on Thursday night with a sleepover at the Mission Home.  We didn’t attend that but it sounds like it was a special evening for them all.  There were 30 Sisters there.  The next day is workshops, training, questions and answers, council from Sister and President Chesnut, testimonies and a wonderful Sister Beutler lunch.  It started at 9 and went till 3.  They all brings bags of clothing for a clothing exchange.  They had fun with that! We went Thursday night to the Beutler’s to start the lunch so that all we had to do that morning was to put things in the crock pot and go enjoy the meetings. Sister Chesnut explained to the President that sometimes Sisters just need to be together.  It was a joy to be a part of it.  Elder Hardman dropped me off and had to entertain himself all day. We haven’t spent that much time apart since we got here.  He didn’t cut a finger off either!

Saturday we worked on our ongoing move-in list for the Keystone ward and drove to Cold Springs to start on our list for that ward.  There is a noticeable distinction in the way we are received in the Cold Springs area, even from less actives.  We aren’t used to being treated so kindly. Saturday evening we had Stake Conference meetings and we enjoyed Stake Conference today.  President Chesnut asked the missionaries to stand up during his talk today. He said the missionaries accuse him of doing this to see if they came but he wants to have the members see the missionaries in their Stake.  We stood but Elder Hardman sat down too quickly and President Chesnut told him to stand again and that other older couples could talk to us if they wanted to serve a senior mission. Hmmm, I guess he trusts us to tell them the right things.

Another busy week!  We love busy!

The gospel’s true and we love you!

Love,

Elder and Sister Hardman

The picture is of our zone, Tuesday will bring changes!