Fall

October 28, 2015

There is something awe inspiring each time there is a change in the seasons. Fall in Vermont is one of those times.  I am in awe at the beauty of God's creations and I get to be a partaker.  Fall crept in softly.  We had "leaf peepers" early in September and while the flowers and the Monument were beautiful, they missed the color that came the second week in October.
  

Multitudes of Leaves at JSM

We had many visitors during this time, many who had never been here before.  Some from home.  All of them in awe of this beauty. The leaves lasted about five days and then the brilliance was gone. My mother taught me to see beauty in all I see and as each day came there was a different beauty, the rust, gold and browns were stunning. 

We had family who visited.  It was fun to share this fall weather with them. We drove on back roads that I am sure were not on any map. Roger got very good at stopping on a dime for the picture needing to be taken.

My heart has been touched many times this fall.  I have wanted to see Vermont in the fall my whole life. When Roger and I opened our Mission Call, I was moved with the fact that My Father in Heaven knows me so well that He felt to bless me with a Vermont experience.  My testimony of Jesus Christ has grown, the love I have for His gospel has grown. The heavens are opened again and Heavenly Father has given us Prophets to guide us through these troubled times.

Our mission time is going fast.  We shall lose this opportunity to see what Vermont has given to the world.  It will be always in our mind, always in our hearts, always in our souls.  We have loved our mission and we will continue until we're home.  We thank our Heavenly Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ, for this opportunity.

OCTOBER!

OCTOBER?  REALLY?

I really can't believe it is October already! 

Where did September go?

We were told that September would be slow. School is back in session and the "leaf peepers" would not be coming until the last week of the month and the first part of October. September, however, has been a surprise to us all at the Visitor Center. Hundreds came.  The fall flowers have bloomed and are beautiful, the air is crisp and there is sharpness in the light. 

A couple came to see this beauty last week.  They were Jewish. They have lived in Vermont for the past eight years, and this was their first time at the monument.  The husband was wanting to see it from a historian's point of view, and his wife was humoring him. I greeted them and the conversation turned a way I didn't expect. She became so excited, she said "are you the Mormons?"

I told her we are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but sometimes people call us Mormons.  She told me that when she was ten years old her father took her to the World's Fair in New York.  She saw the Salt Lake Temple model and she saw a movie about life after death (Man's Search for Happiness).  She was so happy to learn that everyone would live beyond the grave that she told her father she wanted to be a member of that Church.  He told her that she was being silly, and he wouldn't let her join.

  

After our talk she called two of her friends in the area and told them they needed to come and see this site.  She said she couldn't believe she had not stopped by until now and said she would be back to see if she could find the same feelings she had felt when she was ten at the World's Fair.

Yesterday I taught seven young men from Colorado City, Utah.  It was a challenge, but I believe they were thinking differently when they left.  They seemed less haughty, less sure of themselves.  I also taught an elderly man and his wife, three sisters and a daughter.  They had many questions; some were pleasant and others glared at me like they wanted to shoot me.  But the elderly man had some wonderful questions that I was able to answer for him, and he was impressed with our message.  

Then tonight I had a really weird man come in.  He said he was writing a book of himself named "Why is he so happy"? Then he proceeded to take my picture, then a selfy, and then he hugged me (against the rules) and kissed my hand.  It really was very creepy.  I guess I should be glad he is happy.

I love meeting people of all kinds.  Most that come are kind and responsive. I love telling the Joseph Smith stories from Vermont.  I love the testimony that I have gained of  this great prophet and the Restoration. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for the Gospel.

Roger also said tonight: "Where else in the world can you teach a dozen people who come to you?  It's a marvelous mission!"