OUT WITH THE OLD...IN WITH THE NEW

Isn't that always the way???  Just when you get used to things one way...things are changed!  I think I've noticed it more on our mission than I remember noticing it before.  We have a group of missionaries...and we grow to love them.  And then they're gone and we get a new group to get to know and love.  It's kind of like when your kids (or, in our case grandkids) move out on their own. You just hope they're prepared, and that they make the right choices, for them, in their new lives. Anyway...I guess you can tell this was transfer week.

                                                                                                                                                                   These are the ones who went home.  Some of our missionaries come out with major medical conditions...but they want so badly to serve that they/we make it work!  The cute little blonde above is Sister Christensen.  She is going home to heart surgery. She has had two before, been a "Make-a-wish" kid, and has served an awesome mission without any major problems.  We have a sister with Rheumatoid Arthritis, an elder with Cerebral Palsy, one with hearing loss who wears hearing aids, 4 with type one diabetes on pumps, a few with Aspergers.  And various mental issues we deal with.  I am so impressed with these young people who, despite their problems want to serve the Lord!  




These are our new arrivals.  I can't wait to get to know them better.  I did take one of the sisters, and her companion, to a clinic their first day here.  She got sick in the MTC, and was miserable with an ear infection.

I have to admit, that despite all we have to do, there are days I really miss our family and home.  Our apartment is decent but the property manager really doesn't put any time into keeping it up.  We've had paint peeling in the kitchen since we got here and he's been notified at least two times.  Oh well...we keep telling ourselves it's a "mission apartment" and it's not supposed to be like home.

Elder Breinholt is getting really good at getting us around.  My sense of direction is shot here...there are no mountains to the east, so I have no way to tell which way we're going.  I also am amazed at the way he gets around on the freeway here.  Thank goodness for Google maps!  We haven't gotten too lost yet.  This afternoon (Friday) we're driving down to one of the southern parts of the mission (Leitchfield, KY) to deliver an insulin pump sensor to one of the Elders.

The weather has been just right until this week.  It's been in the 90's, but next week is supposed to be in the 60's. It's almost sweater weather...but not!

Another random pictures:

They keep moving "our" sisters (the ones in our ward) around...but then we get to know others too. These are Sister Cook and Sister Allred...both from Utah.  Sister Allred just completed training Sister Cook and has been moved to Lexington until she leaves in two transfers.  She is also a RN (she worked for Intermountain for a year before coming out).  Sister Cook is now here with Sister Shepherd (also from Utah).

So...now it's Saturday and I have some more pictures from our trip to Leitchfield.  The town isn't as small as I had pictured in my mind but the two Elders are on their own.  They said they have about 20 people who come to church and they meet in a run-down old Pentacostal church.  They were coming from service at the food pantry yesterday. It is amazing to me the amount of service that is rendered from the missionaries.

On the way back, I talked Elder Breinholt into taking the back roads to Louisville.  It's about 1/2 longer but much more scenic.  I, of course, took lots of old barn pictures. There were buggy caution signs but I still haven't seen any Amish.  Maybe we need to go further into Indiana.  Anyway, we went past a field that had all these little (3 feet high maybe) plant pyramids.  Looking closer at them, the plants had been pulled up out of the ground and stood upside down to dry.  It was fields of tobacco.  We drove past a couple of barns that have an open space all the way around to let the air circulate with tobacco hanging upside down in them.  Of course I didn't get any pictures!  Anyway...it was a pleasant day.

A couple of things amaze me about Louisville.  The size of their parks are HUGE.  The one we drive through to the office and back is 409 acres with a 2.4 mile one-way scenic drive that has a walking/biking lane on the other half of the road.  That's Cherokee Park, Seneca Park is just past it and on our way home too it is 300 acres, Iriquois Park is 739 acres.  All of them were designed by Olmstead who designed Central Park in New York.  Those are just three of the parks!

Not the best picture but those are  a couple of people walking the loop in Cherokee Park.  The Park always seems to be full of walkers, runners, bikers, and even a rollerblader we pass frequently.


The other thing that amazes me is the amount of squirrels.  I know I've said it before but they're out storing nuts for the winter.  We have an oak tree in the front yard and the acorns are plentiful.

The work goes on, we are happy and are grateful we're here, the Lord has been good to us.  We love our family and appreciate all they are doing to keep track of each other.

A SPIRITUAL FEAST

This week has been a really uplifting experience.  Elder Weatherford Clayton and his wife, Lisa, were here for a mission tour.  He called a new Stake presidency for the Evansville Stake on Saturday and spoke in their Stake Conference on Sunday.  Elder Taylor and his wife, Jill, are three months home from their mission presidency and were accompanying the Claytons on the tour.

So we ate dinner with the Claytons on Sunday in the Mission Office.  It was really special to have him visit with us about missionary callings and all that goes into them, and the fact that there are no mistakes...everyone goes where they are called by the Lord.  He then talked about Pres. Monson and his counselors, and a lot of other things.

Monday we went to the first zone conference for the Louisville and Crestwood zones, Tuesday was New Albany and Evansville, and Wednesday was Lexington and Lexington North.  It was a busy three days.  It amazes me that each one of the conferences had the same theme but the presentation was different, as they rely on the Spirit to guide them with what is needed in that area. I left each one wanting to be a little bit better each day.

The remnants of Irma traveled into Kentucky Monday night and it rained from then, through Tuesday, and most of Wednesday.  This morning (Friday) we had fog.  Some of the trees are starting to turn and most mornings you can feel Fall in the air.  Of course football is in full swing.  I guess the University of Louisville and Kentucky University is the big rivalry here (sort of like the U and the Y).

                                    Random...Cardinal in the bushes outside my work window

We've started driving in and back through Cherokee Park.  It's beautiful and less stressful than the freeway and it takes the same amount of time and the leaves are starting to turn.  Again...not a lot of pictures but we hope to take a couple of drives are fall arrives more fully.  We'd like to go down toward Frankfort and into the Appalachians when the leaves have turned, and also go to Evansville where there is a scenic lakefront drive.  When we go in those directions for zone conferences, we don't have time to sight-see.

Next week...Monday, new arrivals, Tuesday, transfer day and the temple with those going home, Wednesday.they fly home.  I just can't help but think about all the families getting ready for their arrival.

LATE NIGHTS MAKE LONG DAYS

So our upstairs neighbors...the Baptist Seminary student, his wife, and two dachshunds moved out.  Funny thing about them.  The only thing we heard from them was the dogs little claws running across the floor or an occasional bark.

 We now have new neighbors.  We haven't met them yet, unless you want to count the time Don went outside in his pajama pants and RSL shirt to get something out of the car. He introduced himself as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints.  I'm sure they were impressed! Supposedly there are two girls up there.  Judging from the amount of cars in the four parking spaces, there is never just two.  And...somehow...they make an unnatural amount of noise!  Including a fight in the bedroom over ours Sunday night (I think it was with a boyfriend). The lease is up on our apartment in December.  I really hope we don't move because we like the area we're in and I dread moving in the winter, but the landlord doesn't seem interested in keeping up the building we're in so there might be no option.  Really the only reason we're in Louisville and the office, is because Don was needed here.  When we leave, the next nurse and spouse may be out in the boonies!

Our new Mission President is finally getting the lay of the land.  He has had a lot to deal with in the last 2 months.  We've sent a few home and had a few difficult cases to handle but he's doing a great job.  We have two more going this next week.  Both medical...hopefully they will want to come back when they are doing better.

One of the interesting things about Louisville is the number of cemeteries here.  The mission home is close to an area called Germantown and I missed a turn one day and ended up at the entrance of a Catholic cemetery with mostly German names.  It's interesting to see all the ornate older headstones. Speaking of Catholics...I have been surprised at how big the Catholic church is here.  I expected all the Protestant ones but didn't think about Catholicism being so prevalent.

Another interesting thing to me is the number of large hospitals here.  Close to us there are big hospitals on three of four corners.  A Kentucky One-Jewish, Norton, and Baptist.  And that's the way it is all over here.

I'm hoping to get out to some of the rural areas. From what the missionaries tell us, there are some pretty different ways of living out in the hills. We have zone conference in Lexington next week and it ends at 2 pm.  Hopefully we can do some sight seeing afterwards.

We got a lot of rain last week...left over from Hurricane Harvey.  It will be interesting to see if we get some from Irma too.

We have Elder Clayton from the Seventy coming tonight to put in a new Stake Presidency in Evansville over the weekend.  He will then tour the mission, going to zone conferences M, T, W, before going home.  We are to have dinner with them Sunday evening.

                                             Don and the TIWI's...or as AJ called them
                                           "the little electronic box car monitor thingy"
  
I'm sure there will be more to write and more pictures to post next week.  Hey!  Every week can't be jam packed (thank goodness!).