Count Down

Dear Family and Friends, 

Count Down is here.  We have 20 days left of our mission.  Where has it gone?  We don't know, but we have loved every minute and will treasure this experience and hope we have done what our Heavenly Father wanted.  We are committed to finishing strong and hopefully introduce a few more souls to the gospel in our time remaining.

It has been a crazy few weeks.  We have experienced another transfer, another "Night of Music" and another "Investigator Fireside," along with our regular shifts and our Grandson's HS Graduation.  The sites are experiencing tons of visitors.  We are starting with family reunions and will take two different Romney families through the Tabernacle on Friday.  Miles Romney was the construction supervisor on the Tabernacle and Temple, along with helping Brigham Young with the addition to his home.  Mitt and Ann Romney brought 10 of their grandchildren through the Tabernacle about 1 year ago to show them what their Great- great- great grandfather had built.  He designed and built the free-standing spiral staircases in the Tabernacle, which are true works of art.  We have families, of the early pioneers, who bring their children to the sites to see and feel the spirit of their ancestors and hear the stories of how they built this city in the middle of "The Lifeless Valley of the Virgin." (nickname the early settlers gave this area).  Wouldn't the early pioneers be surprised to see what St. George is now.

On the 28th of May, Logan, our oldest grandson graduated from HS.  What a treat to see him complete this part of his education.  He graduated with Honor's and we couldn't be more proud. We know he will continue with his education after his mission to Warsaw Poland.  BTW - he will be a terrific missionary as well.  We are looking forward to watching him grab this adventure by the horns, hold on, and conquer. 

Our investigator fireside was very successful.  The VC was packed with the missionaries who are currently teaching investigators. The missionaries put beautiful music to a narrative detailing the restoration.  A few of the Sr. Missionaries were asked to sing "Oh How Lovely Was the Morning."  It didn't sound to bad, if I say so myself, but we have a couple of sister's who have beautiful voices and a couple of Elders who can carry a tune.  The investigators loved it and hopefully their hearts were touched and will continue their journey on the path to baptism.

The VC hosted a "Night of Music," Fireside last Sunday night.  The theme was "I Love To See The Temple."  We had a primary children's chorus and then performers from the community who sang and played music about the Temple.  There were about 350 people who attended and it was a beautiful night.  Part of our mission is to invite all to come to the VC and feel the spirit and hopefully prayerfully consider someone we can share the gospel with.  It was very successful and we will continue these firesides once a month.  (only we won't be here for the next one.  boo hoo) 

Wow, another transfer.  These are such bitter-sweet experiences.  We have sisters who we have become so close too, go home or go out-bound and this transfer will be our last.  Some of these sweet girls we will never see again.  But boy am I grateful for social media.  I am friends with most of the sisters on Facebook who have left and gone home all over the world.  England, France, Samoa, Canada, Australia  Mexico etc.  I love seeing them start their lives, post-mission.  Some are returning to finish school, but many have already graduated and are teachers, nurses & professionals.  It is so wonderful to see what a mission does for these young Sisters and Elders.  There is nothing to compare to this experience.  The growth and maturity is amazing along with Testimonies that are so strong.  We just pray they remain strong.  

And now P-days.  We are cramming as much as we can in these last few days.  We went to Kodachrome State Park,Grosvenor's Arch and Willis Creek.  These are in the Escalante Staircase.   I about killed Bruce on the Willis Creek Hike.  I just couldn't stop.  It was one slot canyon after another and I just kept going and going and going.  I think it ends up in Kanab but I finally got worried about the weather.  The clouds gathered and they were black and we are in the creek, in slot canyons, so I turned around.  By the time we got back to the car there was more water running down the creek so apparently it was raining up stream.  But oh my, what a great hike and I was enjoying every minute.  Then this last p-day Bruce's group of friends, the Phantom's, met in Moab and road 4-wheelers for 3 days.  We joined them on their 2nd day and rode up Hurrah Pass.  This was a magnificent ride and we ended up at the Colorado River where we ran into an unexpected Adventure Lodge.  It is out in the middle of no where and only accessible by the Hurrah Pass narrow, dirt road or the river.  Some really steep narrow places on that road.  But we get down there and their is a company holding its annual retreat with their employees in SUV's.  We talked to the owner and he explained that the BLM got into trouble about 15-20 years ago and sold off 300 acres along the river.  This guy bought 50 acres, his neighbor bought 150 and then there is another owner who owns the other 100 acres.  His neighbor was there and invited us over to his place and you wouldn't believe it. Its run with solar power, rain collection provides a lot of the water, but he has built actual Indian Hogan's that are amazing.  One as a bedroom and another as a gathering place with Indian rugs, drums, blankets etc.  What a treat to see some peoples vision of a vacation home.  They did have satellite and indoor plumbing.  Truly magnificent.  Great P-Days.  We continue to be awed by Southern Utah and the Arizona Strip.  There is so much to do and so little time.  We will be coming back here to play again in Mother Natures play ground.

Its time to quit.  I have rambled on long enough.  We send our love to all and pray for your continued health and safety and Heavenly Father's blessings on all.

We Love You,

Bruce and Dawna

Elder and Sister

PS  We feel so sad that we are unable to attend McCall's (our niece's daughter's wedding) but know her day will be perfect.  Shannon is the supreme wedding planner.   

The Countdown Begins

Hi Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Where have the past 9 1/2 months gone?  We have 11 1/2 weeks left before we return home.  Its almost as if the time has flown on wings of lightening. (Improve The Shinning Moments)  We have enjoyed each and every day, and pray we have made a difference. (just a little)  When we return it will be to a new baby grand daughter and a grandson who will be leaving on his mission.  Yes, "Time Does Fly on Wings of Lightening."

The past two weeks have been so full and busy.  We are seeing about 15% more visitors this year than last year, so our shifts are crazy.  We rarely sit down between tours and most tours have between 8-25 people.  These past two weeks, we have had guests from Columbia, Australia, Germany, France, Switzerland, Ukraine, Canada and Uruguay.  (Ola', Gutentag, Hey Mate, Bonjour, Aye)  These are the countries I remember plus guests from New Jersey, North Carolina, Missouri, New York and Texas.  

We tried to prepare for Spring Break, Conference and Easter, but there is no preparing for the numbers who flock to St. George.  The words to describe the mayhem, is organized chaos.  But I'm amazed that as crazy as it gets, if someone has come to the sites or Visitor Center with questions, its like the water parts and we find a quiet moment to answer or teach.  It is so fabulous, no-its a miracle.

Even with all the guests, we found time to add two events to our already packed schedule.  We organized a lecture with Sister Durrant on Saturday night during the Priesthood Session of Conference.  She spoke on "The 100 Most Famous Women in the Church".  It was wonderful and we had over 400 women attend.  My sister, Julie, was here with her family and my dear friend Marilyn Watts was here.  They both came with me and it was such a treat to share this lecture with them.  Then we organized a "Night of Music" at the Visitor Center on Easter night.  We had the Missionaries along with talent from the community perform out on the patio at the Visitor Center. This was a program for the Missionaries to bring their investigators to the Center.  It was an experiment to see if we would have the community participate and the ward members bring their friends and neighbors.  We had around 200-250 come and we are going to do it again.  The Visitor Center is such a wonderful place to feel the spirit.  Hopefully this will turn into a monthly program.  (Cross Your Fingers)

We had a Bye-Bye-Bye party on March 26th.  The Clark's, Millers and Durant's are all returning home.  The Clark's left this last Wednesday, the Millers leave this Wednesday and the Durant's go the following Wednesday.  We will miss these Sr. Couples so much.  It is hard to see good friends leave not knowing when we will meet again. We had a wonderful "Meet The Mormons" party.  We served all the good ole' Mormon food.  Green jello with carrots, casseroles and whole made bread.  We played Meet The Mormon match game. 

If you ask George Durrant how he is doing, he answers, "It's My Best Day Ever." So it caught on and all the Sr.s started answering when asked how they were, "It's My Best Day Ever."  So T-shirts were made with the saying and we all wore them at the party.  Fun times with these good people.  Elder Durrant is a painter.  A water-color painter to be exact.  He painted all the sites and gave each couple a print.  What a treasure to take home with us and a generous gesture from a good man.

  

And then their was P-day.  We took the "Orange Thang" up to Kannaraville and tried to go to Kolob Reservoir.  The start was fantastic and beautiful but the higher we got the colder it got and the more snow we found.  We kept going through several drifts.  We were with the Watkins and the Clarks. The Watkins got stuck first, but made it out, but then we got stuck.  Robert pulled us out and we decided to head back.  (Boo Hoo)  But all was not lost.  We loaded up the machines and went to Cafe Rio for lunch.  We intend to try it again in a few weeks.  We hope the snow melts soon, but we need to let it dry out as well.  Getting stuck in snow is one thing, getting stuck in mud is another.  Bruce is loving his "Orange Thang".

  

Conference/Easter weekend was soooooo much fun.  Kati, Kristi, Dave and the boys came for the weekend.  Bruce and I didn't get to spend too much time with them, but even a few minutes here and a few minutes there was great.  Our 2nd p-day fell on the Monday after Easter and they stayed until late in the afternoon.  We went to a place called "Babylon" north of  St. George. The boys drove the "Orange Thang" to the beach.  A place along the Virgin River with a big sandy shore and high cliffs.  It was beautiful.  We hiked on the Babylon trail and thought we were headed to Dinosaur Tracks, but we never found them.  But a beautiful day spent with family is always fantastic whether or not we found what we were looking for.  We ended our visit with the boys picking our place to eat-------Chuck-a-Rama.  They love the Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Mac and Cheese so our day was a success.

Well, tomorrow is Sunday.  We are assigned to our local ward, Green Valley 1st but because of the schedule of opening the sites or closing the sites, we have only been able to attend this ward 3 or 4 times. It starts at 1:00 pm.  We have to attend the 9:00 am ward (Green Valley 9th) most of the time.  Usually we can stay only long enough to take the sacrament because the sites open at 10:00 am.  This was one of the surprises we had upon arrival.  The sites are open 365 days a year so we work 7 days a week.  

I'm yawning and I'm stuffed up. (Allergies still giving me fits)  So its time to stop.  We are excited to return to AZ for one day to see Lilly baptized.  It will be a whirlwind weekend, but can't wait to see all our family and may be if we are lucky run into our wonderful dear friends.  We send love to all and pray all is well with each of you.  Remember - Be Safe

Always,

Bruce and Dawna

Elder and Sister

PS.  Happy Birthday to our smart, good looking, cool, funny grandson - Luke.  We love him and we are so sad we couldn't make his Ordination.  But know we were thinking of him on his special day.  We will go to CA to see him pass the Sacrament when we return home. 

PSS.  We went to visit Ricky and Lucy and we think there maybe a little Ricky on the way.  We watched as Lucy moved off an egg.  Not sure, but wouldn't that be fantastic.  We went to visit them today, but no luck.  They were not home.  Sooooooo Sad for us. 

Spring Is Here!!

Hello to All,

Spring has arrived in St. George with all the beautiful trees starting to bloom and the weather turning to the perfect temperature - - -78 degrees, along with all the tourists, French, German, Danish, Korean and Chinese.  And then there are all the families escaping for Spring Break.  I told you in an earlier post that St. George is the center of the Universe.  We are seeing more guests each day at the Historical Sites and Visitor Center.  Today at the VC we had 3 buses - 2 French and 1 German. One French group took 12 Books of Mormon and the German bus took 3. 

We are very busy at the sites and need to eat our Wheaties each day to climb those "Steep Historical Steps" over and over again. On Saturday at Brigham Young's in a four hour period we gave 20 tours, so I climbed those steps 20 times.  You would think I would have buns of steel, but no that hasn't happened, but I can climb them without feeling like I'm sucking air from a plugged straw. This is one memory of our mission I won't forget soon.

Along with all the visitors and beautiful blossoms that have arrived, our allergies are in full bloom as well. Usually, Bruce is the one suffering, but something in St. George isn't agreeing with me. We are sneezing, wheezing and wiping runny noses all day long.  We are not the only ones, about every Sr. Couple is carrying around a box of Kleenex and complaining about the pollen.  I guess beautiful green trees, bushes, grass and flowers come with a price.----ALLERGIES  (yuck)

The past two weeks have had there ups and downs.  Our wonderful friends, The Watts, lost their daughter to a battle of melanoma on Wednesday, March 11th.  We were able to attend the funeral on Friday.  The service was beautiful and the flowers were unbelievable.  Andi had her own flower and event business and just had the artist touch for beautiful arrangements and her employees did not disappoint her with their works of art for the service.  Andi and Kati were the same age and born 1 month apart in Logan. When Kati was 8 weeks old and Andi 4 weeks old they both contracted pneumonia.  They were in the same hospital room under oxygen tents.  For 10 days, Marilyn and I watched these little girls struggle to take a breath.  I cannot imagine how hard it was for Marilyn and Dave to again, watch their baby girl struggle for life.  We love the Watts family and pray they will find peace and comfort knowing their girl is in the arms of Heavenly Father. How grateful I am for the Plan of Salvation, God's plan of happiness for each of us.

Well---Bruce couldn't wait any longer for a toy he has wanted since we arrived in St. George. This past p-day he finally went and bought an ATV or 4-wheeler or UTV or whatever they call them.  His friend Roger had just bought a new Kawasaki thingy and told Bruce about it so Bruce got busy and went and picked one out and brought it home.  He's very excited to start riding the trails and spends hours on the computer looking at Google Earth for his new playground.  We are taking it for its maiden voyage tomorrow morning and then taking the Clark's on our p-day this Wednesday for our first day trip.  We are probably crazy, but he's as happy as a kid in a candy store.  Now I really do need to go out and buy camouflage and then we can go to Duck Days and fit right in. (Duck Creek here we come)

I had the best surprise on Friday.  I received a text from two wonderful friends from Mesa.  Leila Scurr and Bonny Drain stopped by for a quick hike in Snow Canyon.  I love it when friends stop by and I get to hear all about what is happening back home while hiking in one of the most beautiful spots on earth.  Oh What a Beautiful Morning!!

On that note, we miss you all.  We think of you each day and pray all is well.  Remember - be safe.

Love,

Bruce and Dawna

Elder and Sister

PS Happy Birthday to our spunky, adorable Lilly who turned 8. 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Dear Friends and Family,

I bet you were wondering if I was ever going to post again.  Not that it's a big deal, or that you are waiting with baited breath for my next epistle, but I really do need to do better.  This is a wonderful way to journal our experience and if I wait too long between posts, I forget.  Number 1, I'm old and my brain doesn't retain details, names or numbers like it used too.  And number 2, I'm blonde.

The past two weeks have been filled with exactly what my subject line says.  "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.  I am sure every missionary goes through these experiences, but I was hoping to avoid the bad and the ugly.  The good I'm OK with.  (I know, I'm a coward)  It started out with the wonderful visit of Bruce's brother and his wife Sue.  They walked into the VC on Friday night, Feb 6. It was such a wonderful surprise.  We did not know they were in St. George. I took them back to see Bruce in the Annex who was in a very interesting conversation with a gentleman.  It was only Bruce, the gentleman, Ken, Sue and myself.  As we stood there listening, it became very clear that this dude was very anti-Mormon and also Atheist.  He was raised as a Mormon, but left the church when he was 19-20 years of age.  He attended Cal-Berkeley and believes himself to be the foremost authority and historian on Mormon history.  I have dealt with other guests that have been rude, confrontational and down right ornery, but this one takes the cake.  He mocked the Prophets, ridiculed the Book of Mormon and basically laughed in our faces.  But what I still can't figure out is, he told us he has visited every Visitor Center from Palmyra to LA.  Bruce asked him why and he says he is doing research for a book he's writing on "What People Believe The After-Life Will Be." By this time I'm totally confused. He doesn't believe in an After-Life, or God, but he spends his time traveling from Visitor Center to Visitor Center, asking people what they think will happen to them when they die.  Go Figure!!!!! Finally, I told him it was closing time and Security would be coming to lock the doors. Wish I had thought of this about 1 hour earlier, but I guess it goes back to the beginning of this post. #1. I'm old and #2. I'm blonde.  But if any of you are interested in corresponding with him he gave us his email address and wants us to write to him and let him know what we think will happen to us.  Let me know if your interested. 

The ugly-----Now this is rather misleading.  Its not a bad thing but it was ugly.  On Sunday, the 15th, we gave over 590 tours at the Brigham Young Home.  We were the mid-shift, in other words we over lapped the morning shift by 2 hours and the afternoon shift by 2 hours. We finished our shift at 3 and I looked at the front porch to see at least 40 people waiting.  Both Brother and Sister Kaona had groups of 20-30 and I couldn't find Bruce.  I went around the house and Bruce had another group of 40-50.  I looked at Bruce and told him we had to get organized or we were going to have Mutiny on the Brigham Young grounds.  We lined up Bruce's group at the front door and gave them all the History then told them to line up and we would take them through the house in groups of 10.  One "Old" man ( I can say that, because I'm old---remember) came up to Bruce and said his group was there first and what was he going to do about it.  Bruce explained that he had just come around the house to find this group waiting and he would do the best he could. "Old Man" was not satisfied, he got in Bruce's face and challenged him again as to what he was going to do about it.  Now you all know the Holy Ghost works in mysterious ways and I have to say, this is one of my favorites.  Bruce did not loose his cool.  He simply told the "Old Man" that he would be happy to give him a full refund.  "Old Man" was not impressed but was flustered enough to turn around and walk away.  We then lined them up, and I took 10 at a time through the house.  We got Bruce's group through, then did the same thing to the next group of 40.  After we finished up these two groups, I walked out the back door and Sister Kaona had 70-90 out under the tree in the back yard.  I told her to give the history then line them up and Bruce would stay downstairs and move them through, then send them to me upstairs..  It was UGLY!!! By The Way, Elder Kaona had another group of 20-30 in the office.  Needless to say, Bruce and I did not leave.  We did a double shift and by the time we got home, we just sat and looked at the wall.  We were so tired we couldn't take our clothes off.  We had both lost our voices and after ascending "Step Historic Steps" 20 times we hurt every where.  OK enough of the UGLY.

Now the Good, and there was soooooo much good.  You already know Ken and Sue, Bruce's brother and his wife, visited.  The first night was rough, but we got together with them again on Saturday night and had a wonderful visit with them and Sue's brother Brent and his wife Ellen. We are so blessed with wonderful extended family, and love visits from them.  Then the next weekend, Valentines Day/President's Day weekend, the Phantoms gathered for their annual V-Day, Parade of Homes, Hiking and Biking weekend.  We had dinner on Friday night, the 13th and their were 18 of us.  Richard and Dana Christensen, and Steve and Joan Burke joined us for the first time. Richard and Dana were leaving on Monday for Bulgaria.  They are serving an 18 month CES mission.  They have been working very hard with the MTC learning Bulgarian for the past 6 months, and Dana was able to give her testimony in Bulgarian.  I was impressed, since I took 3 years of Spanish in High School and can count to 20 and ask where the bathroom is.  I think they are very brave and can't wait to hear how things are going.  Steve and Joan Burke have moved to St. George so now we can visit with them all the time.  This was the first time we had seen Richard and Dana in over 30 years.  It was such a wonderful weekend.  I know laughter is the best medicine and all my aliments are cured for a few months. Then last but not least both my sisters and my mother were here for the weekend.  Julie and her husband, stayed with their son Brett and attended about 6 soccer games, a couple of cheer leading competitions and a few other events.  Linda, my mom and my niece went and  scoured all the garage sales,then went to the Parade of Homes.  (The Parade of Homes brings in 30,000 visitors each year) 

Both of us had wonderful teaching moments with visitors from all over the country.  Bruce had a couple from England who could not get enough.  They just wanted more and more and more. They kept asking him," why haven't we heard of this doctrine before". " It just makes sense".   These moments make all the BAD experiences disappear.

Last but not least, we had our Hi-Bye Party for the Leishmans who are leaving and the Burts, the Fullers and the Cleverlys who have just arrived.  We had a wonderful night getting to know them and you can see by the pictures that we had a carnival.  Foot-long hot dogs, coleslaw, chocolate fountain, caramel popcorn, lemonade etc.  What a wonderful group of people we love 'em all.

Well its time to close.  We survived "The Good", "The Bad" and "The Ugly".  We are sure we will have all of the above again, but hope we have learned something to turn it all GOOD!  We send love to all.  Please be safe.

Love, Bruce and Dawna

(Elder and Sister)

Happy Birthday to our beautiful, talented, pregnant daughter, Jodi.  We hope your day was filled with all your favorite things. 

Quiet Week

Dear Friends and Family,

This past week has been more quiet than any in the past 4 months. We didn't have any training meetings, Senior parties or Firesides.  Not quite sure how to handle all our free time.  HA HA HA

Both of us had great tours this week.  Bruce gave all the discussions to a couple from New Mexico.  He spent 1 1/2 hrs with them (which is a no no) because they had so many questions and were so interested in the church.  They asked all the right stuff and Bruce gave him his email address and they promised to read the B of M then contact him with any questions.  When they finished they both told Bruce that "this was one of the most interesting afternoon's they had ever had."  They both gave him a hug, then came down and gave me a hug.  We never know how these encounters will end up, but it is so fun when you talk to someone and you can actually see the light go on.  Our goal is to plant lots of seeds and to show others that we are not a weird cult who practices voodoo.

Our directors, the Watkins had a family emergency they had to attend too, which took them back to San Diego for most of last week so we were on our own.  What do Sr. Missionaries do when the boss is away?  Sleep in!  We are so boring.  We were still busy at the sites and gave lots of tours, but no extracurricular activities, besides the regular programs at the Tabernacle.  Last Wednesday we showed the original Phantom of the Opera which is a silent movie and then had one of our regular performers at the Tabernacle play the original score from the movie on the organ.  We had 219 people attend and they gave him a standing ovation at the end.  It was pretty cool.  He wore a cape and we put a green light on him, so kind of creepy.

The Sr. Missionaries made goody boxes for the Sister's at the VC.  We delivered them early Halloween morning and they were so excited.  They were pretty cute, if I don't say so myself, and we had some fun things for them.  It was great to see how happy they were.  We closed the VC early on Halloween so they didn't have to be out on the street with all the crazies.  We try to be so careful about the safety of these sweet girls.  I'm so grateful we are just support staff and not in charge.  I'm not sure I would ever get any sleep worrying about all the Sister's.

Bruce and I spent Halloween night with Dave and Marilyn Watts at Tuachan.  The Odyssey Dance Company performed Thriller.  We are not sure if we liked it or not.  Half of the performance was fun and great, but the other half was very dark.  One of the numbers they performed was "I saw Mommy Killing Santa Clause."  Need I say more. The dancers were dressed like Zombies and roamed through the audience throughout the performance.  But it is always fun to be with good friends.  

   

Then Saturday night we had tickets to a performance by Jim Whitter at the Cox theater at DSU.  He performed all the music of Simon and Garfunkel.  It was fantastic and I was in heaven.  I love Simon and Garfunkel and it was so fun to hear all the music.  It brings back such fun memories of the sixties (yes I can still remember that far back).

Our outdoor activity was a hike on the Chuckwalla trail.  For those of you who don't know what a Chuckwalla is, it is a cousin to the Gila Monster.  It was a beautiful day and the hike was ok.  Not my favorite, but just being outside and enjoying the scenery is wonderful.  Look for the rock climber on the cliff.  Hope you can see him on the picture.  I have a bucket list of hikes to do before we return home and I need to get my b__t in gear to do them all.  So much fun.

Well its time to get to another couple of assignments that I need to finish before our P-day is through.  We love and miss everyone and pray all is well.  Til next week.

Love, Bruce and Dawna

Elder and Sister

PS Happy Birthday to the best little Hockey player, soccer player and baseball player, Max.  We can't wait to see you and attend your Baptism.  Love ya buddy.