Shel's note: Received updates today from Mom & Dad. Their internet was finally hooked up, so we're doing some catching up!
Our first week of our mission has been wonderful - filled with great experiences and strange weather!
Our first week of our mission has been wonderful - filled with great experiences and strange weather!
Saturday, Nov. 15
We noticed a wall in the
living room of our rental home with pictures of the last five senior couples
who have served here in the Ogdensburg area and lived in this home. The couple
that served here from 2010-2011, Brent & Pauline Esplin, lived in
Westerville, Ohio at the same time we did in the early 80’s. Amazing!
Sunday, Nov. 16
Today we went to our
first Branch meeting in Ogdensburg from 10am-1pm. They meet in a small but
beautiful LDS building. We were there early enough to meet some of the members
as they came in. They were all so welcoming and seemed genuinely happy to have
us there. There were only 29 there for the meetings.
We were sitting on the
stand since we were the speakers for the day (the youth speaker didn’t come)
and five minutes before the meeting began, Jim & Elder Hong asked me to
‘run’ the organ! I’ve never even sat at one so panic set in. The Elder gave me
a quick lesson on finding the song and then how to keep pressing a key to keep
it on beat. Thank goodness the chorister heard him and said we could set it
automatically to keep the beat, which can be selected from the controls for
each song. At the end of each verse I had to tap a button to start the next
verse. During the song she leaned over and said we needed more volume and of
course I was clueless. She said to push the pedal so I did and we had very loud
music for a few seconds. It was just crazy. I’m pretty sure the congregation
was thinking how they were glad it was me instead of them. No judging at all! I’ve
already been asked to do it again next Sunday, so I guess no one else thought
they could do it better but that sure wouldn't have taken much. I’ll be an
expert soon. The good news is I didn't stress about my talk since I was so busy
with the music.
The next meeting
was in Gouverneur about 30 miles away where about the same number of members
meet in a large room of a retirement home. There is one member who lives there
and he was able to get permission for us to use their large dining room every
week. Some of the members who live in the area are older or without
transportation so this is done so they can come and participate. This meeting
is from 3-5pm. I am guessing we will be giving a lot of Sacrament talks in the
next 18 months.
Monday, Nov. 17
Just as we were ready to
head back to Heuvelton we received a call from a member working at a local
grocery store saying there was an older woman who was distraught about needing
help moving some items from her porch to their upstairs rental home. Of course
a large sofa was involved. So, we met her at the grocery store and followed her
to her home. Her husband has serious health issues and was unable to help. When
we took the cushions off the sofa I found a measuring tape (I took that as a
sign) and suggested the men measure to make sure it would fit since there was a
bend in the stairs and then what looked like too small of an opening at the top
of the stairs, in my humble opinion. I was assured it would fit. Well, after 20
minutes of balancing and maneuvering this 3 cushion, very heavy old sofa on the
stairway they gave up and brought it back down and out on the porch.
(Update – today is the 24th and Jim’s back is giving him fits and we all know why. He has been counseled by our Mission President to not move any more furniture and to leave it to the young missionaries. We’ll see if he can follow that counsel. I've ordered him an inversion table as an early Christmas present.)
(Update – today is the 24th and Jim’s back is giving him fits and we all know why. He has been counseled by our Mission President to not move any more furniture and to leave it to the young missionaries. We’ll see if he can follow that counsel. I've ordered him an inversion table as an early Christmas present.)
Wednesday, Nov. 19
We were supposed to drive to Watertown, just one hour southwest of here to get our car 'winterized' but the service department called to let us know they were having a blizzard and the roads were closed. Thank goodness they called because it was sunny here & we had just started to drive that way. So, we decided to drive to Ottawa which is only one hour away. It was a beautiful sunny day when we left. We found a shopping mall and did a little browsing. We headed home after about an hour and just as we were approaching the bridge back to the US we found ourselves in the middle of a snowstorm. Thank goodness we live one minute from the bridge!
We were supposed to drive to Watertown, just one hour southwest of here to get our car 'winterized' but the service department called to let us know they were having a blizzard and the roads were closed. Thank goodness they called because it was sunny here & we had just started to drive that way. So, we decided to drive to Ottawa which is only one hour away. It was a beautiful sunny day when we left. We found a shopping mall and did a little browsing. We headed home after about an hour and just as we were approaching the bridge back to the US we found ourselves in the middle of a snowstorm. Thank goodness we live one minute from the bridge!
Mall in Ottawa
Snowing on the bridge crossing back to New York
Snow & the St. Lawrence River
St. Lawrence River
View of the St. Lawrence from our living room window
Beautiful old church in Malone
