Last Day!

April 21, 2015

Tomorrow will be our last day to give tours at the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial.  I will miss this blessing. I have gained a greater love for the Prophet Joseph and all he was willing to go through to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ back to the earth. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity.

The visitors are starting to come in greater numbers now.  I love being busy.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to give a tour to a family of six.  The mother and father were hearing impaired. The oldest daughter (8 years old) knew all the stories of Joseph Smith's life.  I was astounded at her knowledge.  Her little brother was not far behind her in knowing the stories.  The parents could hear little, but could read lips. To watch this little 8 year old help her parents, when they were not sure what I was saying, by signing it to them was amazing.  I was touched so deeply by this kind of love that I could hardly keep the tears back.  They love the Savior Jesus Christ. I have seen this kind love from children many times while here. 

I have noticed that the testimonies of the youth here are amazing. They pride themselves in knowing all they can about Joseph.  They stand up for who they are and are never afraid to say they are members of the Church. Roger was called to be the "Old Sunday School Teacher" a year ago.  It has been an experience that he will never forget. He has learned to love these youth and who they are in God's plan. He was the "Old Sunday School Teacher" because they have two classes, the "Old" and the "Young," not because he is old. These youth will miss him, but I think he will miss them more.

I am grateful we have had this opportunity.  I will miss the missionaries we have served with; I will miss the beauty of this site. I will miss the wonderful people from the South Royalton Ward who have loved us.  I will miss giving my full attention to missionary work. I will miss giving tours and testifying of the Savior Jesus Christ. I will miss Vermont. I have been blessed.

In the above picture, Roger is waiting by the Monument while I do my walking. I will miss this safe, peaceful place to walk.

Weeks to go

April 5, 2016

We have only a couple of weeks left to serve in this beautiful spot on the earth.  It is difficult to think of it coming to an end, but at the same time it will be wonderful to be in the presence of our family. We have missed them.

One thing I will miss here in Vermont is the association with members of the South Royalton Ward.  They are amazing, dedicated Saints that are humble and stalwart in the gospel.  They travel from many miles to attend meetings and activities, and I will miss them.

I think I would like to introduce some of these wonderful people from our Ward and Family Home Evening Group. This group meets every Monday at the residence.

This is Sister Soule; I love her.  She is my visiting teacher. She never misses a month and her messages touch my heart deeply. She needs a walker to get around, so we visit at church.  She is VT to all the sister missionaries here at the JSBM.

Starting left to right: Margaret Bennett, she is quiet and sweet. Theresa Caswell is next to her.  She makes sure everyone has a birthday card on their birthday.  She has Cowdin's disease and suffers greatly, but is at family night every week. On the couch is Margaret Raymond, a convert of four years; she is the family history consultant for the ward.  Her son owns a bakery here in Sharon, and she provides wonderful bread for FHE.

Left to right again: Jinny McShinsky is ninety two years old; she and her husband were converts early in their marriage.  They served as Temple President and Matron for the Montreal Temple.  She has been a widow for some time.  She loves to write poetry and recite it. Jan Scott is a convert of three years. In January, after we got here to Vermont, she left for a mission to Salt Lake City to work in the Family History library for a year.  We have loved having her back with us just before we leave for home.

This is Lloyd Caswell, Theresa's father.  He is very shy and quiet but has formed a friendship with Roger because of their love for the Galaxies.  He has shared many books etc. with Roger, and their visits can go on for hours.

Left to Right: Shirley Hoyt, sweet, humble constant in her testimony. Her husband is bedridden and she tends to his needs everyday.  She has to get someone to watch him when she comes to church or FHE. Next is Jessie Mundell, a convert of about two years. She lives in an assisted living facility because her trailer house was condemned. She is a sweet woman that loves Jesus.

Here are Jerry and Miriam Kill; amazing, funny, righteous, friends. Jerry is an auctioneer and Miriam is a substitute school teacher. Both were raised in the Church.  Miriam fondly refers to her husband as Saint Jerry.  She said he is so good that he deserves the title.

Here are Sarah Dunkle and her father Bob Dunkle.  Sarah is in Roger's Sunday School class; her dad had us come to their home to watch the sugaring process.

We will miss these people.  There are about 350 members in the South Royalton Ward.  Only about 150 are active.  This seems sad, but one has to remember the great difficulty they have in getting to their meetings.  The ward covers about 100 square miles.  

From Roger:

The other day Susan and I were assigned to visit a sister up past Randolph.  We knew it would be an hour's drive, but we hadn't counted on the muddy roads.  We traveled on pavement for about twenty miles.  Then we traveled on unpaved roads for twenty-six more miles.  The ruts were a full ten inches deep.  I thought the Buick would fall into one of them and never recover.  But we made it.  

Three days ago we visited Gary and Susan Cass.  He's a former Bishop of the Ward and now a High Councilor.  They live about twenty miles out into the forest.  He has 70 acres of maple trees with a fishing pond.  We walked up to the sugar house, and he said, "I don't like living where I can see my neighbors."  The one he could see was half a mile away.

Recently A very rich man in the Church from Provo came to Vermont to build up a city "of Zion."  He's purchased 900 acres and plans to build small 200 square foot apartments.  These are all environmentally friendly.  He plans on having 20,000 people to enter the township.  The neighbors are all up in arms.  He has tied his project to Joseph Smith's Zion Plat.  To say the least the neighbors are a bit angry.  "Ginny" said, "They're thinking of running the Mormons out!"

But it's all good.  We love these people.  And we will miss them.