Seeing Red

Football is serious business here.  A local gentleman told us that he doesn't care much for professional football, but college ball is another story.  It's either Alabama or Auburn.  Around here even the birds wear red. 

Alabama Fan?

This past week brought more rain with flooding in some areas and at least two nights where temperatures were close to freezing. Flooding hasn't been an issue where we are, but high humidity and cold nights lead to other problems.

There is often quite a lot of condensation inside our windows in the morning. Nothing that a few minutes with a rag and a blow dryer won't take care of though. As the temperature rises in the day time it usually doesn't become a problem again until the next morning. Usually. Our goal is to keep from starting a mold farm.

There are some wild swings in humidity here. Outside it may go from 40% to 90% relative humidity over the course of a day with an average of around 60%.  The humidity inside is generally 50-60%. When the afternoon temperatures are warm enough to open windows and the humidity outside is less than inside, it will only take about 30 minutes to drop the inside to be equal or less than outside. 
To summarize: It is really humid here.

We met with some of the ward leaders from Bessemer Ward this past week.  Bessemer is about 20 miles southwest of Fultondale and is directly west of Birmingham.  President and Sister Allred and the two sister missionaries assigned to the ward were also there. President Allred presented the mission vision and we discussed how we can help support and strengthen the ward.  We found that their ward mission plan dovetails closely with the mission vision and goals. Coincidence?  We think not.

This is the ward we will be attending for a while. It is where we went to church this morning and found a very warm welcome. We are excited for this additional opportunity.

One of the many mission miracles reported by the young missionaries this past week:
"Then we went and saw a member who just moved into the ward. She was baptized back in '87 with her family. I figured she had been to the temple before but I was prompted to ask her if she had. Turns out she hadn't! It makes me sad but we are so excited to help her get there! We are going to start doing family history with her so she can do the temple work for her mom because her mom had never been either! As well as her dad who passed away before they found the restored gospel. I love being a missionary! She was glowing when I told her that we were going to help her have her forever family that she wanted so desperately from the time she met with the missionaries."

Happy Valentines Day!

The Buckle of the Bible Belt

Any questions?

Churches are literally everywhere here and many have signs. This was the best one we saw this week just around the corner from where we live.

We went to a mall to look for some shoes and stopped at a shop selling cinamon rolls.  The clerk saw Karen's name tag and asked if she was a Sister. She said yes, that we were missionaries, and the clerk said that he went to a Catholic school and knew a lot of sisters there.  It was almost like being in the Philippines again.

New shoes

I tried clicking the heels together and nothing happened. Apparently they are not magic shoes. The sales clerk never said they were, but, on the other hand, never said they weren't. I'll probably keep them anyway.

Saturday morning was spent helping a woman the Elders are teaching move from an apartment into a house just a few miles away.  Last week we posted a video of Elder Jaszkowiak and Elder Ballard juggling tennis balls. This week they helped move a piano, among other things. These two can do it all!

Maybe we can hold this back with our face...

 Things were a little more relaxed this week as we are still learning how we can best help the work progress here in Alabama. The temple is closed for two weeks for maintenance but we were able to stay involved in family history by indexing records in Family Search. We were looking at records from the Civil War. As we pulled name, date, location, and unit information from the records we would look on the internet for additional information on the history of the units the men served in. We really felt connected to these men who lived over 150 years ago, one of whom died of pneumonia while a soldier in 1864. They weren't just names and dates anymore, they became real people.

Maybe one day family members will find their own connection to these men as they search for records of their ancestors. It feels good to help make this kind of searching possible.

We also made it safely through our first tornado warning this week.  There was one night with lots of thunder and lightning and the threat of a tornado to the southwest of us. Nothing really came of it. There were multiple flash flood warnings for the area, but flooding shouldn't be an issue for our apartment complex. We did hear of an apartment building south of us that was evacuated due to some flooding in a nearby stream.

We have been blessed so far only seeing rain and some wind.  Apparently this area averages about three tornados a year. We'll keep our eyes peeled.  A tornado is a bit like a grizzley bear. It would be exciting to see one from a safe distance, but we won't go looking for it. Also - if one is spotted, don't make it mad!

#onework

Since transfers on January 8th the entire mission has had the opportunity to attend the Birmingham Temple.  Two mission districts a day came Tuesday through Friday for three weeks with an average of about 20 missionaries each day.

Our main assignment is to help coordinate, support, and keep track of the missionary's involvement with temple work. After 17 days in Alabama we've been to the temple on 9 of those days with missionaries. We are already seeing miracles as missionaries link arms with members, those they are teaching, and those beyond the veil to accomplish the work of gathering scattered Israel.

The above pictures are just a sampling of the missionaries we have the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with. The smiles are enough to tell how they felt about the temple experience.

At our district meeting this week we each had a chance to share a 30 second talent. Elder Ballard and Elder Jaszkowiak stole the show with this amazing demonstration of a companionship working together.

We had an opportunity Saturday afternoon to drive first to Jasper for a meal and then on to Fayette, which is about an hour and a half west of us. It was a beautiful drive through the Alabama countryside. Elder and Sister Price (another senior couple) were there to help the missionaries assigned in that area present a family history workshop. We went to observe their presentation and help where we could with the hands-on work shop. One young man was in tears after finding records connecting him to his grand parents.

President and Sister Allred have a clear vision of where we need to head as a mission. They collect miracles each week as individual missionaries strive to implement this vision. We would like to share just one of those miracles. 

"And then, as we were on our way the rest of the night, we went about trying to fulfill the mission vision. We ended up with what seemed like fruitless efforts. No one seemed to want to talk to us, and wouldn't let us in for a blessing. But we kept making plans, and were trying to bless their homes. Once we got home, we got a referral. A lady named Melissa had referred herself to us. We decided to call her even though it was late. She answered and was super excited to hear from us! She wanted to meet the next day, but then realized she couldn't, so we met with her Friday. It was an amazing Restoration lesson! She is so prepared! She came to church on Sunday and she is already asking questions about the temple. I know that Heavenly Father helped her to find us because of our efforts to fulfill the mission vision!"

Getting Settled

Finnish Friend in Farmington

Last week we forgot to mention one of our mini-adventures on the way to Alabama.  After staying the night in Farmington, New Mexico it was 14 degrees outside when we woke the next morning.  As we were eating breakfast at the motel a man came in to ask if someone could help jump start his car and we obliged.  As we talked we found out that he and his girl friend were from Finland and were driving from Mexico to Canada and then possibly to Alaska. We also learned that this isn't their first rodeo.

The Jeep they are driving has literally been all over the world with them. It was shipped from Finland to North America and will be shipped home when their trip is complete. They have driven it across the United States and into Alaska on one of their previous trips. They have also driven from the southern tip of South America all the way to the north. They have been all over Europe, Australia and the Middle East.  The Jeep is shipped around any place where driving is not possible.

Apparently, owning their own businesses with the ability to work while on the road makes their world travel possible.  And to think, one little jump start was able to get them on their way again.

Welcome to our humble abode.

Having landed in Fultondale, Alabama, we are now settled into our apartment here.  It is spacious and comfortable. With the cool temperatures lately, about the only thing missing is a fireplace to take the chill off at night and in the morning. Yes, we know. It won't be long and cool temperatures will be but a distant memory and a fireplace will be the last thing on our mind.

The countryside is very green here with lots of trees. This is the view looking out our back door.

We are getting to know the area and are finding our way around. We even discovered a local park with really nice walking and biking trails.

The trail follows a small stream which has quite a bit of water in it right now. We'll see if it's used in the summer as a place to cool off.

This will be good place to go when we need to stretch our legs.

To cap off a good week, we had the opportunity to attend this amazing event as Tuscaloosa is only an hour away.

First Presbyterian Church, Tuscaloosa

Notice the first two dates.

Church's New Pipe Organ

Organ Console with Dr Elliot's Music

The organ console is situated in the back of the church and most of those in attendance sat with their backs to the organist. They were able to watch him play on a big screen set up in the front, but we managed a seat right next to the console - close enough to help turn pages (not that he needed our help). We felt so fortunate to be able to witness that closely his ability on the organ. It was amazing!

This was the second week of this transfer period that our missionaries were able to attend the temple. There have been two districts in attendance each day from Tuesday to Friday which means that about two thirds of the mission have now gone. The remainder of the mission will have an opportunity to go this week. We hope to have a full report in next week's blog. 

Alabama Bound

Driving to the mission instead of flying is both good and bad. It is an opportunity to see new country, but of course takes longer to get there. Space for clothes and personal items is not as limited, but this is what happens.

(Potential trunk capacity commercial for Honda Accord)

It's felt kind of like driving a storage unit around.

Leaving the MTC in January to drive to Alabama meant that we were keeping a close eye on weather.  There was some concern because of snow in the forecast for the Wasatch Front and severe thunderstorm and tornado activity in the southern states, but we managed to get away in between snowfall in Utah and were able to plan our arrival in Alabama after the high winds and heavy rains had abated.

Our main concern with snow was getting over Soldier Summit between Spanish Fork and Price, Utah.

Soldier Summit

It wasn't bad as winter driving in Utah goes, but we were indeed grateful that it was daylight and with no snow falling.  We were also fortunate that there was not a lot of traffic. By the time we hit Price the snow was gone from the roadway, but we did see snow to the side of the road well into New Mexico.

Speaking of New Mexico, we found a most unusual rest stop there. It actually asked for our approval.

A straight yes or no answer was not easy. There were some negatives.

On the one hand it is good to be warned of danger, but on the other hand - SNAKES!?!

For us though, the deciding factor was the area to rest our horses. How amazing is that? It was good as long as we watched for snakes.

Travel through New Mexico and West Texas was mostly uneventful except for about 2 or 3 seconds on the left shoulder at 70 miles an hour just west of Albuquerque when a car tried to come into our lane without looking first. We had closer brushes with other vehicles in the Philippines, but at much slower speeds.  Thankfully, there was a shoulder to drive on until the right of way issue was sorted out and the rest of the driving was pretty uneventful.

Our route took us right through the Dallas area and provided an opportunity to make a pit stop with our son, Brian, and his family, We were there just in time to take our granddaughter, Avery, to her indoor soccer game.

There was also a chance to play tennis with Avery and Kason. They are both better than Grandpa - but that's because they have that little extra edge called 'running'.

We had an extra day before our apartment would be ready in Alabama so were able to stay with them two nights.  It was a very nice break in a long drive. We treasure the opportunities we have to be with family and are thankful for the promise of eternal family relationships.

While driving through western Alabama we passed a road sign that shows there are at least two ways to spell Utah.

(Hint: Not Aliceville)

Roughly 1,900 miles of driving brought us to Fultondale, Alabama on Wednesday, January 15. We were able to do the final paperwork, get the keys to our apartment and move in in under an hour.

On Thursday we were invited to attend the Birmingham Zone Conference where we received a lot of good instruction. President Allred communicated a very clear vision for directing the missionary work here.

President Allred choosing which voices to listen to.

We had time after the meeting to get with President Allred and the two office Elders (Elder Savage and Elder Abbot) to find out about our particular assignment in the mission. 

It will take some time to get our feet under us, but, in a nut shell, our assignment has to do with helping insure that every missionary is able to attend the Birmingham Temple once each transfer - that is every six weeks. President Allred would like our mission to link arms with Stake Presidents and the Temple Presidency to move the work forward. It is #onework.

Alabama Birmingham Temple

We were able to jump right in on Friday when we joined missionaries from the Talladega and Gadsden districts for a temple session.  Already we have experienced some tender mercies.

Talladega and Gadsden District Missionaries

Onward now, and hopefully upward. We would like to end this week by letting our family back home know that we found a new car. And, yes, it was Grandma's idea.

MTC Week

On January 6th we entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo to help us prepare for our service in Alabama.  Last time we stayed in a room at the MTC, but now live close enough to drive in each day. This allowed more time during the week to put off packing get ready to go.  For the most part our training was from the Preach My Gospel manual.

Our training district

On Tuesday evening we attended a devotional with Sister Joy Jones and her husband, Robert. Sister Jones is the general president of the Primary organization and talked about knowing who we are as children of God and the difference that knowledge can make in people's lives. Brother Jones talked about the gods we choose to worship. Our choices are indicated by where we focus our attention and devote our time. This was the kind of opportunity that can only be experienced at the MTC.

There was time before the devotional to have dinner with two of our favorite missionaries from the Philippines - Sister Cook and Sister Osumo. Four years ago, as we were eating in the MTC cafeteria on our second day there, these two lovely sisters sat down across from us at the same table. We quickly discovered that they were also going to the Philippines Cebu East Mission. As it turned out, we saw quite a bit of them in the mission field. They both served at different times in our zone in Lilo-an and both were called as Sister Training Leaders and we would see them each time they came to monthly Mission Leadership Council.

They are currently attending BYU and are doing well. It was sure nice to visit with them again. (FYI-The handsome guy in the middle is dating Sister Osumo.)

Ryan Cook, Daniel, Krystine Osumo

Now that the MTC experience is over it is onward to Alabama. Last time we flew west halfway around the world. This time we will drive almost 2,000 miles east across the US.  The Philippines were considered an 'English speaking mission'. Well. Sort of. We hear that Alabama is 'English speaking'. Well. We'll see.

Parting thoughts:

Q: Why is it called the MTC?

A: Because there are no fish there.*

Q: What do you get when you throw spaghetti into the ocean?

A: Apostasy.**

*  (Emp-ty-Sea)

**(A-pasta-sea)

Get set...

Now that the holidays are over it is almost time to go.  This Christmas was super special because it was the first time in roughly 10 years that we had our whole immediate family together in one place at the same time.

Not only that, but we were actually all together twice for family pictures. The first time was for David and Terni's wedding reception and then again at the Desert Star Playhouse on Christmas Eve. We appreciate very much what it took to make this a reality and are so grateful for the memories.

Our preparation 'to do' list is shrinking. We've started gathering some things to take with us.  Since we are driving we aren't limited to just a couple of suit cases, but will still need to be selective with what is packed.   It is an opportunity to find out again just how little is actually needed to get by.

One thing we learned at Christmas this year is that when we miss the grand kids they can always be shrink wrapped and mailed to us.

Thank You Janica!