"Back To School" Zone Zoom Social And Note About Jena

Once again, our Zone social had to take place on Zoom.  This time we played our version of Chronology--we had cards with Church History events--which they had to place in the correct order.  They picked up the cards the week before at the Church History Library or we mailed them a copy beforehand (although the ones we sent to Canada took three weeks to get there :( so we had to email the template to make their own.)

Our introduction game included a series of questions which we read and tried to guess who it was.  It was fun but we didn't have time to read them all so will save them for another activity.

However, while we were talking about the social at home and what questions to ask, etc., Jena decided to write her own "introduction."  We LOVED it!  She is like the "zone daughter."

No doubt--people would know this was her!

Our post-social game was Herd Mentality which everyone enjoyed as well.

We look forward to the time when we can meet in person, but at least, we can gather, laugh, and learn about each other on Zoom---better than nothing!

 

Mountain Views With Friends, Food, And Fun

One of the blessings that Gary's parents came home from Nauvoo with was a great group of eternal friends.  Nauvoo has a great number of senior couples and Gary's parents loved the group which they served, worked, and played with.  They gathered yearly for reunions from many many years until most had passed away or too ill to travel any more.

The pandemic has interrupted that process a bit for us since we served remotely for 6 months and even after we got here, we had to be cautious in gatherings and much of our interactions were still by phone, emails, and Zoom meetings.  Slowly that has been changing and we are loving the relationships we are building with the sweet people we serve with.  We have had people over for dinner and games, we have gone out to eat with other zone leaders, and be invited over to others' homes for food and conversations.

One special opportunity happened on September 10.  The Twelmeyers  (Linda and James from Ohio) picked the three of us up and we headed up American Fork canyon to join the Youngs (Joan and Mel from Holliday, Utah) at their family cabin.  Youngs and Twelmeyers (along with Sister Elizabeth Audenart from Canada--she is still there because of Covid restrictions) serve as assistant zone leaders in our zone.  We have grown to love them and know that we will have an eternal bond with them--in this life and forever.

Views from the deck overlooking the valley

Have Hat--Will Travel.  I love this hat that Gary often wears outside.

Here some of us on the deck--not the best picture of people but the only real shot with the cabin in it.

Elder Young on the left; Gary in the back, the top of Jena's head, Elder Twelmeyer
and the blond hair of Sister Twelmeyer.

Sister Young was inside preparing a delicious soup for dinner and insisted that she would do it herself.

Gary decided to take a picture of me taking pictures--silly boy!

Now you can see Sister Twelmeyer...

Aren't the greens of nature stunning?

and the yellow....

This is an earthen dam which was recently fortified so hasn't grown back some of the native plants yet.

The spillway and the small stream below---

Elder Young, who is a historian and story telling, is telling us a bit of the history of the area.

Their cabin is located in the Tibble Fork area.  The area is restricted to the general public so it is a quiet place to enjoy the sounds and sights of the mountains.

This is Tibble Fork Pond--created to prevent flooding downstream and to provide irrigation and water to the valleys below.  It is down to the ongoing drought.  We saw many dead fish which people said were related to the increase in the temperature of the water due to how low it was.  The pond is public and there were families and others fishing along the banks.

Mountains after mountains---made me think of the poor pioneers as they tried to reach the valleys in the west--one mountain to climb after another.

Okay---ducks' ends in the air makes me smile....

We took a hike around the lake.  The first half was paved and we got to cross a bridge at the top of the pond.

That is Elder Young posing on the bridge....

Before we crossed, a group of bikers headed across to take the trail up and over a nearby mountain peaks.

Rock throwing--a must when you are near rocks and water of any kind.

Our selfie---my hair is going crazy as usual!

Elder Young led the Twelmeyers and me on a more "natural" trail to complete the loop of the pond while Gary and Jena headed back.  Wise decision as it became a bit more tricky than we expected.

But it was beautiful!

We finished the loop around and headed back to the cabin for dinner and great conversation.  Sister Twelmeyer said at one point, "This will be one of my treasured memories from our mission."  I agree.  It was a perfect evening!

The world is beautiful and to share it with friends and family is the best!

Views of Downtown

Somedays, the sky and the clouds are so beautiful you just have to look up and appreciate them.  We have been dealing with lots of smoke in the valley from the fires in California and Oregon so it is even more exciting to see blue skies and fluffy white clouds.

On September 3, we were walking over to attend the Go Forth Meeting--which is where new missionaries to our mission receive their assignment to serve.  As zone leaders, we attend when we have a new missionary being assigned to our zone.  This time, it was Sister Charisse Harmon from Mesa, AZ.  She is actually going to serve remotely from her home in Mesa for Matt Heiss's group.  However, she and her husband came to Salt Lake so that she could attend the training in person.  She is a delightful and fun person and we loved getting to meet her and her husband in person.

As part of our tour of the Church History Library with Sister Harmon, I took these pictures of downtown-

The progress on the temple from the 4th floor break room.

The north face of the Joseph Smith Building.....

The COB (Church Office Building)--- because of the tall crane in the background working on one of the main construction projects happening all over downtown.  It is not just on Temple Square that work is being done.  It seems everywhere.

While it would be fun to be serving here when the Salt Lake Temple was opening and functioning as a temple, it is also a privilege to watch the work on this building as they work to make a sure foundation to last until the Second Coming (as President Nelson commented this morning--Oct. 3-- in Conference.)

 

Red Iguana with Pierponts

We have been blessed as missionaries to meet a variety of devoted missionaries.  Elder and Sister Pierpont are among that group although they have recently been released due to health problems.  They would like to continue the rest of their lives but old age is catching up with them.  Their hearts are devoted and the story of their lives is an inspiration.  He joined the Church shortly after his divorce in the early 1990s.  He met a young boy working along the street in their town, that young boy introduced him to the Church, and invited him to meet his family which include his siblings and his mother who was also a single parent at that time.  He joined the Church, fell in love with the mother, and became part of the strength in the rural area of northern New York where they lived.  They made a goal to retire at age of 55 to serve God in missions and they have served since that time in a variety of missions and callings.  They have served in Canada in a temple mission, served in a variety of service opportunities near their home, and then were called to serve in the Utah SLC Headquarters mission in the Church History Library.  They have served their original mission here and then went back to New York, sold their home, and moved out to Salt Lake so that they could serve as service missionaries in the library the rest of their lives.  They have served around 10 years until their release this past summer.

He is known as the Tootsie roll man as he often carries the candy in his pocket to share with children and others in need of a boost.

They had taken us to an Asian Buffet at the end of June and we went together to the Red Iguana on South Temple on September 2nd.  The food was great and we enjoyed our visit with them.  As a bonus (you might be able to see the train track in the rainbow picture0, four large freight trains went by while we were eating.  For most people that would distract from the meal, but Gary and I love trains so we counted it as a plus.

There was a brief rainstorm which left a rainbow.  We could actually see both ends of it when we reached the parking lot.

THE Red Iguana!

I meant to take pictures with the Pierponts but didn't get it done, but took this one of Jena with the restaurant in the background.  We will definitely go back again.