TRICK OR TREAT!

We hope you all had a very fun and spooky Halloween...full of tricks or at least treats!

For us, it was a treat just to go out and do a little Trick-or-Treating missionary style.

This means that we took treats with us to visit missionaries and see how their apartments or homes were.  We were inspired by last years visits with Mitch and Jennifer!

 Our first stop was in Peoria at the "Wright House" named after the homeowners who let 6 missionaries live in the home.  Here are President Taylor as the cat...or wookie, however you see it, Elders Crapo wearing the nose and tie...how appropriate for a missionary...
and Elder A Jensen wearing the pumpkin head.  Yes, his eyes looked just like that inside the pumpkin.
Our missionaries were inside from 6 PM on, so it was time for housecleaning, working on updating new digital area books and some time to play a game or two.

 We both signed the picture on the wall of the knights...putting on the whole armor of God!

Next stop was in Glendale N Zone with Elders D Jones and Fackrell.
They also live in a member home, but she was gone for the week, so they were home alone.
Treats were in full supply from a box Elder Jones received and we added to the booty!.
Gnomes were also in full supply...lots to choose from in this home.

 Next we went to Glendale Zone where we met up with Elders Stevens and Buechter and Elders Nield and Kellett.
You get an idea of how Scott and I worked our "costumes"
I am sporting a full circle top donated to the Mission by Sun City ward members...and play the CRAZY CAT LADY.  Scott was my CAT.  Here, Elder Buechter does the honors.

Last, we went to Glendale to a couple more apartments, one of which contained Elders Crane, McFarland, Shin and Pehrson.

They were in good spirits and were happy for the visit.

We made our final stop at their Zone Leaders, Elders Brothers and Parsons...sorry, no picture.





All in all, it was a good night of Trick or Treating.  We tricked them by showing up unannounced and left treats to encourage clean apartments.  AND, we felt the Spirit in each place we visited!

Finally, a reminder from our clever pumpkin that the work of the Lord is rolling forth in many new ways.

 #hasten
#happyhalloween
#spiritfilledlives

HOLD TO THE ROD- Elder Kevin S. Hamilton

Counsel:
Consistently read the scriptures
Don't pay heed to those that want to mock or make fun of you
Attend Church weekly to take Sacrament
Attend ALL 3 meetings each Sunday
Observe to keep Sabbath holy
Choose BETTER or BEST activities
Have daily personal and family prayer
Live the Doctrine of Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Endure to end.)


Promises:
Safety
Security
Increased measure of Spirit
Friendship
Joy
Peace
Receive all that the Father hath
Strength to resist temptation
Ability to navigate successfully in life
Protection

The POWER of Honoring our Covenants- Sister Carole Stephens

Really liked this talk and how it made me remember the importance of every good thing in my life and that it relates to the promises I have made to someone, whether it is my husband, my kids, my friends, or my God.  My relationships are BETTER because of underlying promises/covenants.  I know we WORK HARDER because we have made those serious promises and I love that aspect of commitment.
Trust is HUGE with us.  It is one of the most serious sought after qualities that I would seek for in any of those people I mentioned above.  I feel that trust is based on keeping promises, which just makes sense that God expects us to keep promises with him.

Counsel:
Recognize that we NEED TO MAKE, KEEP AND RENEW COVENANTS
Renew our baptismal covenants weekly through sacrament
Renew our temple covenants weekly through sacrament
Priesthood blessings are available to us, we should use them!
We have to EXERCISE faith...or we lose strength
Respect each other as sons and daughters of God

Promised Blessings:
We receive the Holy Ghost to be our guide
We can be sealed to our families forever
We receive POWER, God's power
We can return to live with God
Comfort, direction, encouragement, and inspiration come from Heavenly Father through worthy                priesthood holders.
God will keep his promises with you
Receive personal revelation
Be blessed by the ministering of angels
We can commune with God

We are grateful for covenants that bind our family eternally together.  Peace speaks to my soul knowing that no matter what, this promise will be fulfilled.  WE LOVE OUR ETERNAL FAMILY!!!

FAT MANS LOOP

 Saturday we were up overnight in Flagstaff and hence got a new Saturday hike destination!

We did not really know where to go, so I looked online for some ideas and found this hike very close to town.

We chose FAT MAN'S LOOP, a fairly short loop in a really beautiful spot East of Flagstaff.

 Unfortunately, the exposure on the camera was set at something strange after interviews this week so too much light was getting in.
The tree I was sitting on was really so cool...the colors and textures.


And Scott on another view of the same tree.

We kept wondering where the narrow pass meriting the name FAT MAN'S LOOP would come into play...until we were towards the end of the loop, on the going back down side.

 So, you can see it is a bit of an exaggeration, but a fun description of the trail nonetheless.

 Coming back down, we saw this cool tree with another tree or stump rather imbedded into it.  It was such a contrast of texture that it was really striking and I wanted a photo...inspired by Breanna's photos of the textures of the desert that she just posted this weekend as well, which was rather a coincidence.  I had been thinking of how she enjoyed seeing all the interesting textures when we would hike.


So, next time you are here in AZ with us, let's hike!  One more destination in our list of places we have hiked!

Opening Up- Jeffrey Holland

Dear Friends and Family,  We recently asked you to join with us in studying the conference talks from the past conference.  This past week we studied Jeffrey R Holland's talk about mental illness.  We admired his courage in opening up and sharing his personal experiences.
As we study the talks, will you join us in looking for the things we are asked to do (counsel) as well as the promised blessings.  We invite you to share your thoughts in the comments section of the blog.
COUNSEL:
Never doubt God's love
Never harden your heart
Take time for daily devotion- prayer/scripture study/worship
Seek counsel of those who hold keys for your spiritual well-being
Take sacrament every week
Hold fast to promises of the Atonement
Believe in miracles
Watch for stress indicators in selves and others- you may be able to help
Take time to be well
Seek advice of professionals- be honest with them
BE PATIENT
Have charity for those with illness

PROMISES:
The Savior will lift us above our trials
Divine love will make our suffering bearable, understandable and redemptive
Broken minds can be healed
Weakness will be raised in power
Those with disabilities will become grand and perfect

We also invite you to check out the resource recently released through the LDS Missionary Department entitled ADJUSTING TO MISSIONARY LIFE.  You will find that it is a booklet based on true principles of how to care for ourselves knowing who we are, children of God.
 If you are interested in seeing it for yourself, click on this link and then it will ask you to log into your LDS ACCOUNT in order to view it.
 https://missionary.lds.org/m-content/bc/PDFs/AdjustingMissLife_Booklet-LowRes_6-7-13.pdf
 Basically, you could call it "ADJUSTING TO_________________LIFE"and fill in the blanks.
For this week, please take a look at Sister Stephens talk and Elder Hamiltons talk from conference.  WE LOVE YOU!  HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Dear Breanna's Cat...

One day after Breanna left and Addie did not, we came home to find this note and pile of cat goodies.

Since you may not be able to read the little card, here is what it says:

"Dear Breanna's Cat,

Recently I have learned that you will not be leaving any time soon.  As you may have noticed, I am not too fond of your kind.  This in no way is your fault, simply due to past experiences I keep my distance.
Included in this note are items you may enjoy.   I hope you like it.  I'm sure you are a great cat...
However, our relationship will need to continue the way it has.  This was simply to let you know it's not you personally...just your kind.  Good luck in all your endeavors.
                Elder Austin Bartleson
P.S.  If you could try not to scare me anymore when I come over, that would be great."

Elder Bartleson is one of our Assistants and is pretty afraid of cats.  And you know how terrifying Addie is!!!  Well, she does rush around the house sometimes at night, but other than that, she is so mellow it is funny to think anyone could be afraid of her :)

He still comes over, and we let her walk around...cat therapy, we call it!

TRIP TO GRAND CANYON BRANCH/ ROUTE 66 9/13

This month we had our first chance to get up to GRAND CANYON VILLAGE for Church!

We had hoped to get up there and when we saw that we would be in Flagstaff on Sunday, we worked it out to come up the day before, go out with missionaries at night and then spend the night so we could head on up to Grand Canyon Village to meet with the branch up there.

 The Branch meets in the building in the park called "Shrine of the Ages."  It is an interesting stone building that houses any denomination that can come up with a congregation.
In the past, they have had larger groups, but they have a small branch that is thriving!

It was Branch Conference so there were Stake visitors as well, so that was really a treat!

 We were delighted to see our missionaries, Elder and Sister McDaniel, serving in their Branch and doing a GREAT JOB!  They are so loved up there and are the perfect fit for the job!  It was a rainy day, but had absolutely POURED the evening before at a Branch activity!
 We came down from the Park and went through Williams, AZ, and drove on historic ROUTE 66 for a while.

So, what do you think Carter???

Pretty cool that Grandpa and Grandma drove on...

ROUTE 66!!!

For those of you who do not know the connection, it is famous from the Disney film CARS!

The song even says "Flagstaff, Arizona" in it.

We also saw some railcars from the GRAND CANYON RAILWAY.  GCR.

Apparently they have a neat winter train ride with hot cocoa etc. sort of like the Polar Express that they do to Heber, but this goes to the Grand Canyon from Williams, AZ...anyone want to come along??
We are loving getting to know even more of AZ.
Thanks for letting us share!
WE LOVE YOU!

SAN ANTONIO MISSION PRESIDENT SEMINAR 9/13

Each September and April the North America Southwest area of the Church holds training for the Mission Presidents and Wives in that area.  It is a highlight of our year!

This September we flew to San Antonio to meet our group.

The first day, we traditionally go to the temple, and it was just a beautiful experience!
For one thing, we treasure each trip we get to make to a temple...but to be there with missionaries of any sort, is really special!

Once inside, we have no tags to say who we are, we are all servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, helping others to come unto Christ as we serve in the temple.  But is is always great to remember those covenants that we made to obey commandments, and even greater to reflect on how much we continue to be blessed as we try to follow Him.

 That evening, we had a nice introductory dinner where we all got to introduce ourselves to new Mission Presidents and Wives, and got to mingle with our presiding authorities from Salt Lake.

This year, our authorities included, Elder and Sister Andersen from the Quorum of The Twelve, Elder & Sister Callister, Elder and Sister Foster and Elder and Sister Teh.

 That night, we had time for a walk around the area.  We had explored it the day before, so we knew how to quickly get over to the Alamo area.

It was rather charming at night, and not so hot as in the day.

 We walked over with some old friends, I say old, because they came out to serve the same year we did!

Presidents Pingree, Taylor, Killpack and Durrant!

And Sisters Taylor, Pingree, Killpack and Durrant.

 The next day we spent in training meetings all morning, started off with doctrinal training, which sets the stage for everything we learned the rest of the Seminar!  What could be better than things like
FAITH
OBEDIENCE

 We had dinner in a private room at Casa Ria near the Riverwalk area.  Perfect in every way!
And I loved speaking Spanish with the Maluenda's!  They are great!

 After dinner, we were taken on guided river tours by riverboat.  Two great LDS members were our tour guides and did such a good job!


We were staying in Marriott tower to the far right in this photo...there are two right by each other here.

 The whole Riverwalk area is really taken care of beautifully, and we really loved this little trip.

There was interesting architecture, and up close, really old and charming!

 This little river changes elevation, so in order to make it function, they have a lock and dam partway up to get you up to the next level.

You can see the other boat going in, the doors closing...

 ...and the same when we got in.  Then up the water level goes til you can continue on your way!

 At the end of the line, President Taylor tried his hand at steering the boat...good thing we were stopped at that point.  But he is hoping for a tip!

 We got a photo with the Callisters at one of the stops...they are delightful people!

 There was great artwork all along the river at different crossings.  This one had large fish that lit up at night.

This bridge was also famous for having bats that fly out at night in a swarm.  We waited a long time that night with no luck...

 So, we walked a couple miles back up there the next night just to try our luck and got to see them.
They did not come out all at once, but in a small stream, but it was still cool!

OK, this really did not turn out as a video...but it flips through shots as I filmed...

By the way, I learned how to say BAT in Spanish from the Maluenda's...
MURCIELAGOS!

The Gospel is true.  Serving a mission is the most rewarding thing we have ever done.  We admire those that come to teach and train us so much!  We get a strong witness each time we are with them of the truth of their message as well as the power of their callings!
Can't wait to hear them again at GENERAL CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER!!!

Trip to Prescott- 8/31/13

 It is rare that I have something to post that is not totally mission related...and this is a half and half.


But since it involved 4 wheeling, I thought I better get it out there!

 Aug. 31 we had a YSA Conference to present at so we went up the night before and spent it with our dear friends the Williams who used to serve with us in the Mission Presidency.

Unbeknownst to us, they had two 4 wheelers, so we got up early that morning and went out on a ride by Thumb Butte.

 It had rained the day and night before, and was just hazy when we went out...and started raining about as soon as we got back home!

 It was the perfect way to start our day up there.
It was a beautiful drive, and we just love being with the Williams!

 After breakfast, we loaded up and went to set up our classroom for our part in the all day YSA conference for Young Single Adults from Prescott, Flagstaff and even Phoenix Valley.
you can see they had a really big group there.

 The keynote speakers were Sister and Brother McConkie (General YW Presidency)
and they did a great job together.  They had served as Mission President and Wife, so it is not unusual for them to be speaking together yet again.

 Our class was on how to share the Gospel using online tools.  We showed some good clips and hopefully made it fun for them!

This age group has so much potential to share the Gospel!
We all do...but this group is so comfortable with tools and have so many activities and such that they can invite to, that it is particularly productive.

I don't know if any of our family that read this are on facebook much, or have a blog...but try inviting someone to something if you do...or share something inspirational that they can actually act on or ask you about.  Give it a try!

LOVE YOU!