My Oh My

Dear friends and family,

I'm not sure where to begin this week.  It has been crazy.  We get up at 6:30, leave the house around 8 and return after 9:00 pm.  Its all a little fuzzy, or I am just getting so old that I can't remember from one day to the next.  Between training meetings, Hi-Goodbye parties, collateral duties, and teaching a little family, we haven't had an extra minute to catch our breath.

The sites have been extremely busy.  It was Fall Break for Utah and I've decided that everyone in Utah has bought a home, condo or Park Model in St. George and then they all talk to each other and head for the historic sites.  On Saturday in our 3 1/2 hour shift at Brigham Young's we gave over 300 tours.  By the end of the day it was over 600.  It was a record for Brigham's.  The only negative, is if we have non-members, we don't have much of a chance for teaching or exposing them to the principles of the gospel.  We do good to give a short history and then lead them through the house.  Bruce had a group of over 50 and I had a family reunion who made a reservation for 20 and ended up with 35.  Our average group was 20 guests.  By the time we finished, Bruce was totally hoarse and I lost my voice all together.  Good Times.

But what truly amazes me are the strong, confident, devoted little families who want to teach their children about the history of the church, or about Brigham Young, Jacob Hamblin and most importantly about the Temple.  So they come to St. George and instead of going golfing, or hiking, biking or any of the other incredible activities that are available here, they come to the sites and want us to tell the stories, teach gospel principles, and help their children understand the importance of these Pioneers who sacrificed so much, to not only make St. George succeed, but to build the Kingdom of God on the earth.  Pretty impressive members.  I love their example and feel a little sheepish that we weren't that diligent in exposing our girls to these Pioneer's experiences.  Maybe they can move back in and I can have a do-over.  Or maybe I can do a better job with the grand kids.

P-day was fabulous.  We took the roof off the jeep and headed for Zion.  We headed up the trail to Emerald Pools, which is a 3 1/2-mile hike, that ends in the back of a canyon which has water falls and beautiful views across the park.  The weather was perfect and we are convinced we were the only ones on the trail who spoke English.  Again, it was very busy, to the point that you can't drive up to the Lodge, you have to take a shuttle with all the French, Germans & Italians, who end up at the Visitor Center in St. George.  Bus loads of them, but its great for missionary work.  They have to drive through St. George on their way to Las Vegas and we have the best potties.  Lots of French, German and Italian Books of Mormon are given to these visitors.  You never know who will read it, believe it and get baptized.  Bring on the Buses!!!!

 

One of the hard things to do on this mission is say goodbye to those Sr. Couples who we work with.  We become close very fast as we serve together at the sites.  We have two couples who finish their mission this month.  The Drolet's will be returning to Canada and the Collins to SLC.  The Drolet's were are French speaking couple who helped with all the French tours that come through the center.  They will be missed and remembered always.  The Collins have been our Party chairman's and have done a spectacular job.  We hope to see both of these wonderful couples in the future.  At our Hi-Goodbye party we were entertained with Native American Dancers.  What a wonderful evening. Good food, good friends and great entertainment.

We had surprise visitors this week.  Wonderful, dear friends keep stopping by to check and see how we are doing.  We love it.  We were able to have dinner with Cless and Shari Alvey on Wednesday night.  It was wonderful to catch up with these darling people.  I just have to apologize to them and you that I forgot to take a picture.  I have been trying to keep track of all our visitors by taking pictures of each and everyone.  But I totally forgot.  Shame on me.  Today, Bonnie and Alan Costley stopped by while we were working at Brigham's.  So fun to see familiar faces from home.  We can't thank all of those who have taken the time to come see us enough.  Our friends and family are our greatest treasures.  Thank You!!!

Well, its time that I stop and get to my weekly cleaning.  (My least favorite thing)  But if I want to play tomorrow (p-day again) I gotta do it.  We send our love and pray all is well with each of you.  Til next week.

Love, Bruce and Dawna

(Elder and Sister)

PS  Happy Birthday to our fabulous Grandson, Caleb.  Sure wish we could be there to share soft-serve ice cream with sprinkles.  No cake for this boy.  Have a fun day at Disneyland.