Mission Christmas Confernece/Party

We have an Elder here in the New York, Rochester Mission that has been taught the Indian Hoop Dance by his father. He performed for us at our Mission Christmas Confernece/Party last week. Check out these videos. He began with only one hoop and progressed until he had 8 or 10 hoops.

FHE at the Smith Farm

On December 17th the missionaries hosted a Family Home Evening at the Smith Farm.  Three stakes were invited to participate and we had over 400 attend on the cold, wintry night.  First stop was the Welcome Center at the Smith Farm where groups of 10 to 20 people were formed and the sister missionaries, wearing Santa Hats, led them to the Smith Log Cabin.  At the cabin a senior missionary couple, dressed in 1800 period clothing, read "The Night Before Christmas" to each group.  Then it was on to the Smith Frame Home where another senior missionary couple, dressed in period clothing, read the nativity story from Luke 2.  Next, it was on to the thrashing barn where the young elders were waiting to show the children, and adults, some of the games children played in the 1800s.  Lastly, the groups were led back down the gravel road to the basement of the Welcome Center where hot chocolate and homemade cookies were waiting and several talented missionaries performed for the visitors.  Here are some pictures of people walking along the road between the stops.  They were all singing Christmas Carols as they walked and it was all very festive. 

Elder Poulson and I had the job of lighting the gravel lane between the Smith Log Home and the Smith Frame Home.  We had restrictions like, no generators and no electrical cords, etc.  Tough assignment, but we did it.  We used an airplane landing light, furnished by one of the senior couples, to light up the gravel lane between the homes.  The light runs on a car battery and so we parked our truck at the end of the lane with our headlights pointing into the threshing barn to provide light there.  Then Elder Poulson attached the landing light to a pole and tied it to our truck.  Like magic, both the barn and the lane were lit up.  We used another missionary's car to shine its lights on the pathway leading to the Welcome Center basement.  Mission accomplished.

Here's a picture of the barn all lit up with people learning the games. 

Here's a picture of Bill as he sat in the truck monitoring the lights, the truck and the safety of the visitors.  

Broken Billboard

When we first arrived here in Palmyra, we were given the assignment to find and take pictures of every sign advertising our historic sites.  Then last week, someone emailed our "boss" to tell him that one of our signs was broken.  Turns out, it's a sign that no one in the office even knew existed.  Elder Poulson and I did some searching around and found the sign.  Here's what it looked like:

A few days later we returned with some help and put the sign back together.  Elder Poulson backed the truck right up to the sign, stacked some 4x4s on the tail gate and then hefted the sign panel up onto the 4x4s.  That put the sign almost where it belonged.  Then the two men hefted and held the panel while Elder Poulson screwed some very large lag bolts into the panel.  They placed several bolts in the repaired panel and a few in the other panels for security.  Come spring, the sign company will do some touch-up painting over the bolts and it will be good as new.

Christmas Book

In this part of the Rochester Mission our Site Supervisors, Elder & Sister Searle, are making a book for each of us for Christmas.  It is to have blessings, tender mercies and spiritual experiences of the missionaries serving here in the Palmyra area.  We were each asked to submit something for the book.  Here is what we've submitted.  We decided on this because it's not too personal and it's very different than most will submit, we think.

Tender Mercies, Blessings & Miracles have been part of our mission since before we actually left home.  From the very time our acceptance letter was mailed away we have been the recipients of miracles.  The Lord is good and has given much more to us than we can ever offer in our service here in the Cradle of the Restoration, or ever.

We know that because we are here serving full time, our families back home have been blessed with blessings that we have all been praying for, for a very long time. 

Here we see tender mercies almost daily.  One happened shortly after arriving here but started back home just one week before we entered the MTC.  Elder Poulson has, for years, carried a “Gratitude Rock” in his pocket.  Each evening he places it on the dresser along with his keys, wallet and change.  Each morning he places it back into his pocket. Morning and evening and several times each day he touches his “Gratitude Rock” and pauses for just a moment as he reflects on all of the blessings in his life.  His rock helps him to remember to have a grateful heart.  Every once in a while, he will surrender his rock to a friend or family member who hears his story and wants a “gratitude rock” too. 

Shortly before our mission, Elder Poulson gave his long-time gratitude rock to a family member.  It was a sweet gesture on Elder Poulson’s part but now he needed to find another “special rock”.  He decided to go up into the American Fork Canyon, find a special rock from one of our favorite places, and take it on his mission. 

He searched along the river bank and found several “candidates”.  While he was searching, I decided to search for a rock too.  I walked along the bank near our picnic table looking for a special rock.  I spied a rock partly buried in the dirt; it was dark with a stripe of white across it.  I dug it out and brushed it off and there was the almost perfect heart-shaped rock with a white stripe right through the middle.  It was the perfect rock.  I hurried back to Elder Poulson handed him the rock and watched a great big smile develop as he realized it was a heart.  He vowed to always carry it and never give that one away.

Fast forward to a month into our mission and here is the “rest of the story”:

One morning we were assigned to transplant some vinca at the very top of the Hill Cumorah. It was a beautiful day and we were mostly alone near Moroni as we dug up and then replanted vinca in bare spots along the path that leads to the monument.

Elder Poulson commented, “We are digging in the very same hill that Moroni dug in”. 

And then he said, “It would be cool to find another heart-shaped rock right here on the Hill Cumorah”.

It was just a few minutes later than Elder Poulson exclaimed, “Here, look at this”.

I looked, and there in his palm was a small, perfectly heart-shaped rock.  And then, he gave his “find” to me.  (I ask you, what are the chances of that happening.)

I don’t carry it with me for fear of losing it.  It is small and reminds me of the “conversation hearts” we all purchase at Valentine’s.  But I keep it with my ear rings and every day I see it and remember just one of the thousands of “Tender Mercies” from the Lord.

Part of what I was assigned to do this past week was to put up the tree and nativity sets at our 4 sites.  Here is the tree I set up at the Smith Farm in the Welcome Center. 

Here are two of our site missionaries who were more than happy to help with the decorations.  Winter has set in and the site missionaries have very little traffic through the sites and they get awfully bored.  This is Sister Howell and Sister Hansen.  Their husbands were around, one taking this picture and the other in the office.  We are making eternal friends here on our mission.

Fayette

On Tuesday I drove out to Fayette, all by myself which is a big deal.  I get so turned around here.  What is actually west feels to me like it's east, etc.  It's a little scary to me so I got directions from Elder Poulson and then took our GPS with me just in case.  Drove straight there and put up this Christmas tree with the help from one of our employees who met me there.  This is in the Visitors' Center at the Whitmer Farm where the church was officially organized on April 6, 1830. 

 

Here's the base of the tree.  I couldn't help but think how much our daughter, Carrie, would appreciate this tree, the one at the Smith Farm and the one in the Grandin Building.  These three are "old fashion" like and fit the scene well.

 

We set up nativities at each  site.  This one is fairly small, but I was able to get my own picture in it too.

In the afternoon Tuesday, we set up the tree at the Hill Cumorah.  Everyone who was here last year kept telling me it was a pink tree.  I couldn't imagine why "they" would have chosen a pink tree.  Turns out, the tree isn't pink, it's the ornaments that are pink and very Victorian.  It's not my favorite for the sites, but it is very fancy.  Take a look.

 

Lastly, on Wednesday morning, we set up the tree and nativities at the Grandin Building.  This is the print shop where the first 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon were published.  Our site missionaries refer to it as BOMPS (Book of Mormon Printing Site) but I can't bring myself to call it that.  This tree has a Toy Store theme and the window behind the tree faces the main street in Palmyra and has an old fashioned toy store display in it that we also set up.

 

Here's one of two nativities we set up in the 3 story Grandin Building.  It's fairly large and sits on the floor near the Christmas Tree.

Nativities

Right after Thanksgiving we were assigned to set up 2 life size nativities, one at the Palmyra Temple and one at the Hill Cumorah.  The nativities are stored in one of two huge barns the church owns on the other side of the Sacred Grove.  The stables are heavy and awkward, but not to worry.  The church has all the equipment that these guys need to move anything.  Here we see the second stable being "carried" by this piece of equipment in order to be placed on the "tippy trailer" and transported to it's display site.

 

Didn't take too much time to get both stables loaded.

 

Here you see the "tippy trailer" and truck moving on down the road in front of us.  The Smith Family Farm is in this picture on the left.

Once the bases and stables were in place, we put down a sheet of "lawn" and lots of straw.  We put netting over the straw because the wind here is so strong that the straw could be gone in an hour or so.  Here's Elder Poulson spreading the straw.

 

So many statues of such sizes took a few trips.  Here we see 2 Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus statues on the "tippy trailer".  Just one goes here boys.

 

I took lots and lots of pictures, but too many to put on the blog.  Here's the final picture for the nativity on "The Hill".  It was bitter cold with a biting wind that day.  Can you tell that I'm determined NOT to be cold?

Merry-Go-Round

Amber came to visit mid-November.  It was so much fun to have them here in Palmyra.  We took the boys to ride on the 2 story merry-go-round at the mall.

You have to look close to see Packer on the top deck here.  

And Caleb riding "away" on the horse up top here.

Back at the "farm", the Smith Family Farm that is....here's Amber, Caleb and Grandpa at the Smith Log Cabin.