Crazy Week

Hi To All,

Where to begin?  It was a crazy week. Last Saturday we experienced our first transfer. Our shift was at the Visitor Center when all the calls were made to the missionaries telling them where they would be going.  For some it was Christmas morning and for others it was doom and gloom.  We had little sisters weeping for joy and others weeping for fear and sadness.  We had Elders coming in with grins from ear to ear and others with shoulders drooped. But by Tuesday morning they met at the Visitor Center with their bags packed and said their goodbyes with firm resolve. Even though we have only been with the Sister missionaries for 7 weeks, we had become attached and it was sad saying goodbye, knowing that a couple of them will be going home at the next transfer.  We had a testimony meeting prior to the vans leaving and those missionaries going home bore sweet, beautiful testimonies.  We send them on missions as very young boys and girls and return them to their homes as strong, confident young men and young women ready to take on the world.What a Plan!!  It is so nice to know who is in charge.  

Just a side note, some of you may not realize that our mission goes as far north as Nephi and as far east as Moab.  It also takes in Mesquite NV, so the boundaries for our out-bound missionaries are pretty far away.  (I know its not hundreds and hundreds of miles, but when I see 26 missionaries every week and then they are sent to Manti, or Cedar City, its far away)  (Stop laughing cause you think I'm crazy)

Our week started out pretty weak.  Neither of us had much success with teaching any of our visitors nor handing out Book of Mormons or other material.  We tried but had lots of "No Thank Yous'."  I just knew that one couple who were visiting BY's home from Indiana, were going to take a Book of Mormon and all the information we have, but when I asked if they would like a B of M they said no.  Popped my balloon real quick.  We just have to keep a smile on our faces and try again.  

However, last night at the VC we started having all these people coming in who spoke several different languages.  Bruce gave a tour to 5 of them who told him they were members of the 7th Day Adventists church and were attending a convention in St. George.  They told him there were more than 400 of them attending.  Within an hour most of the Sister missionaries were giving tours to these people and I gave a tour to 5 who were from Russia, Israel and Croatia.  Bruce's group all took B of M's, most of the Sister missionaries gave out several B of M's.  My Russians and Israelis declined, but the Croatians not only took the B of M but wanted all our other information and took the pass-along card and promised they would send it with their address and email address.  I told them there were missionaries in Croatia that would be happy to answer other questions.  They were so fascinated with baptism for the dead, marrying for "Time and Eternity", and genealogy.  We had a wonderful discussion for over 1 1/2 hrs.  It was a great way to end the week.

I think I am destined to have weekly experiences with the French.  This week our tour bus came and did not break down but after they left one of the Sisters brought me and I-Pod with headphones attached.  Yup, one of the French had left it.  Pretty soon I get a call from the Tour Guide asking if we had found it and I told him, we had.  He then asked how he could get it back since they had left St George and were in Las Vegas and weren't coming back through St. George.  I offered to mail it to the gentleman and went and found our little sister who speaks french to get his address.  He wanted to give me his credit card, like I carry around a CC processor.  Now I get to mail an I-pod to France, but I am slipping a B of M in the package along with a note thanking him for visiting the VC and hope he will read this book.  I also told him it will change his life.  Hope he doesn't send it back.

As you can see by the picture, we had visitors.  What a treat to see friends walk through the doors to see how things are going.  We gave Steve and Linda a tour but I had to cut it short to entertain my Russian, Israeli​​ and Croatia group.  But we hope they heard information that they had never heard before and enjoyed our wonderful Al Rounds Art Exhibit.  Thank you for stopping by.

Our other pictures are of our adventures this week.  We hiked up the Anasazi Trail head.  It is not a particularly hard hike but it is rather long. I had done it before and sort of remembered where the petroglyphs were. So Yea, look what we found.  Lots of petroglyphs.  At first after climbing up to the cliff we didn't find any petroglyphs so we worked are way down the cliff to check out the face of the lava rocks. After being very discouraged and Bruce not believing that anything was there, I finally found one, then a bicyclist rode up the trail and we asked him where all the pictures were.  He told us we had come to far and had taken a slight wrong turn when we had reached the top of the cliff.  So back we went and there they were.  What a fun day.  I think I am slowly convincing Bruce that hiking is really fun.  We'll see.

     

It's time for bed so I better stop my essay until next week.  As I read what I write, I realize that I write like I talk.  Fast, and jumbled, but I do hope you enjoy our weekly ramblings.  We send love to all and pray all is well.  Have a wonderful week.

Love Bruce and Dawna,

(Elder and Sister) 

Top Ten Surprises About Our Mission

Uggg...get excited people! I got this week's letter from my dad.  Have to say it was a great surprise! 

[From Bruce]

I just read the blog and am feeling a bit guilty about not contributing so I'll share my "Top Ten Surprises About Our Mission".  

1.)  We are working much harder than we both expected.  The Visitor Center and Historic Sites are open 365 days a year.    Yes,  Sundays and holidays we are open for business.   

2.)  People visit HOT St. George in the summer.   I thought July - Sept. would be slow because people stay away from the desert when its' hot.   Not True.   We've had 9 busloads of French tourists in a single day.   Some days we go nonstop group to group to group without time to even record the tour information in the tour log.  

3.)  In addition to giving tours of the 4 locations we are often given the opportunity to have 10 minute Proclaim the Gospel teaching moments where we address a topic like Nature of God, or the Restoration, or God's Plan of Happiness.   Its' quite amazing how much you can cover in 10 minutes when you stick to the core doctrine.

4.)   I imagined Dawna and I would be working as companions and conducting the tours as a "team".   I thought this would allow for Dawna's natural kind and sweet nature to mask my natural man.   Not So.  We conduct all our tours and teaching individually because of the number of visitors.   We haven't done a tour together yet in the first 6 weeks and can't imagine we ever will.  

5.)  The Sr. Missionaries in St. George sponsor and host and attend Weds. evening, Fri. evening and Saturday noon concerts and talks in the Tabernacle. I'm becoming quite cultured.  This past Saturday performers from Tuacahn gave the most amazing concert.   The boys who play the Mayor of Munchkinville in the Wizard of Oz and Flounder in the Little Mermaid sang a number of church hymns that  had special arrangements.   Simply amazing.   The kids are members living in St. George.   Non Member orchestra members played church hymns as well.   One of the ladies was introduced as one of the top 5 flutists in the world and after she played I was a believer.  

6.)  We've come to St. George enough over the years that I thought we'd seen it all;  not so.   If our shift at one of sites gives us a morning or late afternoon off we've been able to get out to a number of great new places.   We visited the Mountain Meadows memorial which we've never been to before and it was quite moving.   We also hiked Kanarra Falls and had a great time;   slot canyon with a little creek just a bit south of Cedar City.    Much more to see and do than I imagined.  

7.)  In addition to our center assignments and the Tabernacle concerts we also have a weekly training meeting, a monthly Temple visit with the other Seniors and a monthly Sr. Missionary party.  We are not bored.  

8.)  We are having a great time with the other Sr. couples.   There are 12 couples here with us and they are very enjoyable to be around.   We've developed instantaneous friendships with these people who have such a diverse and interesting life history.    Dawna and I had no idea we'd have so much interaction and that it would be so enjoyable.  

9.)  There are 26 young sisters assigned to the Temple Vistor Center.   A majority from outside the US.  They are simply amazing.   When you walk through the center and hear conversations taking place in French, German , Spanish , Dutch, etc. it blows your mind.  

10.)  In the Mission Home a high percentage of the Sr. Missionaries were going on their number 2 or more mission.   At the time it seemed unimaginable.   Now it is completely understandable.   We are really having a wonderful time.   Not a day goes by without one us describing a spiritual experience that we've had that chokes us up.   Prettty sweet.  

Well,   I feel much less guilty.   You likely won't hear from me for another 6 weeks.  

Bruce

[From Dawna] 

Hello Dear Family and Friends,

I was so happy when I saw Bruce typing a message to add to the Blog, that I decided that I would let him take over this week with the exception of one little incident that happened on Monday.

As we have mentioned we have bus loads of French, German, Koreans, Chinese etc come through the Visitor Center.  So last Monday we arrived to do our shift and there was a lot of commotion at the front desk.  There were 30-40 people standing around with frowns on their faces and talking among themselves.  One in particular was running around talking on his phone and very agitated.  Come to find out this was a group of French tourists whose bus had broken down at the visitor center.  The Sister missionaries had taken them on the tour, they had shown them videos they had done everything they could to entertain them.  It was going on 2 1/2-3 hrs when we arrived and the poor tour guide was frantically trying to get a new bus or get the old one fixed.  Sooooooo, I put my things away and relieved Sister Miller. (who was the Sr. Sister on the morning shift) All of a sudden people started leaving the center.  Asking our French speaking Sisters where they were going and what they were saying, We found out they had had it and they were going to walk to get cokes.  The Temple is in a very residential area, no commercial properties around it, so after about 1/2 of block in 103 degree weather they all turn around, red faced and sweating. "The Natives Were Restless and ready to Revolt."  Well you know me, of course we will go and buy Cokes, Sprite, and anything else they need.  I got my keys and was ready to leave, but the Millers hadn't left yet, so they ran and bought bottles of pop, ice (who knew the French wanted ice in their drinks) and cookies.  Of course I hadn't thought this through, there is no place to sit 30 to 40 people down in the center and pass out treats.  (Food is a big no no in the center)  I'm going to get fired-----but I ran around looking for a place to put these people and found a few benches outside of the Annex (the man's cave) and directed all of them outside to sit down.  Now I'm surrounded by angry Frenchmen, and know how Marie Antoinette felt.  

The Miller's arrived with the pop and cookies and we poured fast and passed out cookies with great speed.  They say music soothes the savage beast, but I'm convinced its cookies, coke and sprite. Things settled down and we actually received a few thank you's. I didn't pass out one Book of Mormon, but maybe they will remember the crazy Mormon people who gave them cookies and coke and the next time they cross paths with a Mormon they will be more receptive. 

I did have great visits with other visitors from England and the US regarding the Plan of Happiness, the Apostasy, and the Restoration.  They had already accepted the Book of Mormon at one of the other sites, but wanted to have the "Family Proclamation" and the "Living Witness of Christ" from the prophet and the apostles so was able to give them those words.  It was a good week.

Bruce told you of our adventures this week, so I will leave it at that.  We hope you enjoy seeing the pictures, if not, don't look. (ta hee hee)

We love and pray for all of you.  We hope your week will be a good one.

Love,

Bruce and Dawna (Elder and Sister Borchert)

Bathroom Friends

Dear Friends and Family,

Where to begin?  In the movies they always say "the beginning", but I'm not sure the bathroom at Costco is appropriate for a mission story, however, it is where my story starts this week.

 

While at Costco on Wednesday, I ran into the cutest lady in the Ladies room.  We were giggling over a very disgusting potty which we both avoided.  We then went our separate ways only to meet up again at the check out stand.  By then she had met up with her two sisters and two nieces, one who was in a wheelchair.  We started giggling again and she asked where we were serving and where were we from.  She wanted to know where we would be in the morning so I told her Brigham Young's.  She told me her two nieces had contracted Polio when they were tiny and that her sister (BTW, the sister is 88 yrs old) still took her daughters everywhere and wanted to know if Brigham Young's was wheelchair accessible.  It's not, but they still wanted to come and see it.  I said I would be happy to give them a tour if they made it.  Sure enough the next morning I rounded a corner of the house, finishing up a tour, to see the 5 darling women I had talked to at Costco.  We did the tour and finished outside on the back porch and then they told me the story of their sweet sister who had cared for her two daughters with polio and a son who had passed away from cancer.  The sacrifice of this sweet mother and the thousands of hours of care that was necessary to take care of these children was remarkable.  They told me nothing ever stopped her, she just kept going, never feeling sorry for herself and not letting polio stop her girls.  Then they bore testimonies of how much Heavenly Father loved them and how grateful they were for his love and each other. 

Now I know you are asking yourselves, isn't Dawna supposed to be teaching the tourists?  The answer is a resounding yes, however, it was my turn to be taught.  I pray that I will remember these sweet ladies and the example of faith, enduring, and the love that they share with everyone.

On Wednesday morning we decided to take the city tour "Saint George Live".  What a fun morning.  They have volunteers who portray Jacob Hamblin, Orson Pratt, Judge McFarland, Erastus Snow, Brigham Young and Margaret Harrison Parker. (she was a pioneer woman in the Martin/Willie Handcart Company)  They did a wonderful job telling stories and experiences that took place in the early settling of Saint George with no religious overtones.  It was fun to hear different stories that we don't get to tell.  Especially, Judge McFarland.  He did a mock trail of two neighbors who were disputing water rights.  Sister Jones was accused of putting a rock under her water gate, letting a little water into her garden all the time.  Her neighbor had witnessed her doing this 3 times and he was flaming mad.  Sister Jones was found guilty but was given community service because she had eleven children to feed.  Judge McFarland told her if she did it again, she would be put in jail. Don't make Judge McFarland mad.  Here comes da Judge, Here comes da Judge.

Thursday night we had a "Hi Goodbye" party for the Young's who left today.  As you can see by the pictures, old people can have a bunch of fun if you give them hula hoops, bubble gum and jump ropes.  It was a fifties theme and we had it catered by Iceburg.  Hamburgers, fries, root beer floats,what more can you ask for.  What a great group of Sr. Missionaries that we have the opportunity to associate with.  Hope we can keep up with them. 

Also, we were so excited that Kristi, Dave and family stopped by on their way to Lake Powell and on their way home to CA.  They showed us lots of pictures of 45 people, two house boats, four ski boats, 6 jet skies, 5 paddle boards, 1 kayak, a zip line from one house boat to the other and 1 slip and slide down the hill of the shore, cliff jumping, tubing and wake boarding.  Bruce and I were just grateful there were no disasters or injuries.  The best part of a Lake Powell trip is returning home with smiles on faces and great memories. 

We were also fortunate my sister Julie & her husband Ken stopped by to attend their grandson's ordination to a priest. We had a wonderful visit but I'm so sad I forgot to take a picture. This journaling thing is really hard. Trying to remember what happened during the week & taking pictures is a new for me & frankly maybe teaching new tricks to an old dog is true.

Last but not least, we again had friends come visit.  We hiked, laughed, ate, went to Tuachan, gave them tours of the historical sites, ate some more and laughed a lot more.  We love our friends the Watts and Hanceys.  

We love all of you and pray all is well. We continue to love what we are doing and just hope we are doing it right.  Have a wonderful week.

Love Bruce and Dawna       

Old Friends and Beautiful Places

Hi to All! 

Yes, its that time of the week that I need to look back and evaluate if we accomplished anything worthwhile.  Well, Bruce was on fire and gave several Books of Mormon and had discussions with a few people who were really interested in the Church.  His salesman personality was in full bloom and he had a very successful week.  Me, I took the phone call at the Visitor Center with the woman who wanted to know all about food storage and where she could get it.  After 20 minutes of trying to explain she could call the cannery or go on-line and check out the commercial companies, she told me she wasn't a member of the church but only trusted the "Mormons" and their supplies. She then wanted to know what else we were encouraged to store or other measures we were to take to ready for emergencies. Oh Yes I did, I told her about 72hr kits (why can't I learn to stop talking) and after 30 minutes (no lie) I finally convinced her to talk with one of her Mormon neighbors and ask them about Relief Society.  Maybe they will have more success than I did.  My week not so successful.

But this week was all about "old friends" and "beautiful places"

First our old neighbors, The Edwards, caught up with us at the Visitor Center and we were able to go out to dinner with them.  It was so fun catching up after 9 years.  We spent 3 1/2 hours remembering and talking, talking and remembering.  Then Friday night we received a text from our friends, Shanna and Kerry Tobin.  What a treat.  These are friends from our first days in Cache Valley UT.  We had our first babies together and Bruce and Kerry carpooled to work for several years.  They have great stories about driving Bruce's 1951 Truck.  (Not very reliable transportation)  It is true, "Make new friends but keep the old.  One is silver and the other is gold."  We have been so blessed with wonderful friends in every place we've lived.

Now for "P"-Day.  We got up early and drove through Cedar Breaks to Bryce Canyon.  We have lived in Arizona for 24 years and grew up in Utah and never took the time to stop at this magnificent National Park.  I remember when I was very little, my family taking a vacation to Bryce and Zion, and the entire drive to Bryce, there were signs advertising Ruby's Inn, and my sisters and me begging mom and dad if we could stay the night at the Inn.  We arrived and there were small cabins where we spent the night with all the mice and other critters.  I don't remember the canyon, just my mother and dad being so upset with the accommodations.  And now Ruby's Inn is a beautiful Best Western.  Don't know if it still comes with mice, but we will find out and let you know.  We decided we are going back to hike to the bottom of the canyon.  It was so beautiful. The beauty of Southern Utah and Northern AZ never grow old.

Well, that's my epistle for the week.  We pray all is well with all of you and miss you like the dickens, but are so enjoying our mission.  We are a little more comfortable with all the history and facts, but still working very hard to make sure we aren't telling lies or urban legends.  Be safe and happy.

Love, Bruce and Dawna