FALL. IT'S HERE. I THINK...

Thursday morning and the temp when leaving our apartment was thirty-seven.  Thirty-three at the office. So...I think Fall has finally found Kentucky.  I keep hearing how beautiful it is in the fall, but so far it's been kind of hit-and-miss.  Elder and Sister Prior will be heading west today to Evansville for some surprise apartment inspections and she said she'd let me know if there are any photo opportunities that direction.  Maybe we can go exploring this weekend.  These "surprise inspections" are only a surprise to the first apartment they go to.  After that...the "mission pipeline" is activated and everyone else knows they're on the way!

 These pictures were all taken on our way home from the office, in the park we drive through.

We loved seeing the pictures of Sister Aleesa Breinholt returning yesterday!  How exciting for her family and how great to see her smiling face as she got home.  We're proud of the service she did while in Houston (and you know there was a lot of it recently).

I was having a hard time trying to decide what to get Elder Breinholt for his birthday this year.  I finally decided I'd buy him a baseball bat from the Louisville Slugger Museum.  He'd mentioned that he'd like one as his souvenir from KY.  So...we're going to go to the museum and plant where they make them and he can pick one out.  He wants one with the Dodgers logo on it and they will even engrave it for you.  So...mission accomplished!  I'm not making his usual carrot cake for Sunday because Sister Prior is making him one to have on Monday here in the office.  She is a fantastic baker!  I did bake a cheesecake for last Sunday when we had the Sisters over for dinner.  It turned out great...I was worried.

Well...the weekend was busy.  Saturday we went to a baptism of a 79 year old woman, named Peggy,that the sister missionaries taught.  She is so sweet.  They...the two sisters and Peggy...sang How Great Thou Art.  And it was really nice.  Saturday evening I took Don out to Rafferty's ( a steak house) for dinner and then at 7:30, we met the sisters at Terry and Theresa's house for a lesson.  They are a couple that have been to church several times.  The temperature has been getting a lot cooler in the morning.  We haven't had any ice yet where we are, but the Priors and Flemings have both needed to scrape their windows one day.

This is one of our busy transfer weeks.  We have two missionaries coming this afternoon (they are two transfer missionaries) and 14 more around 4:00.  Then we go to the Mission Home (finally done with the renovations) for dinner tonight.  Tomorrow is transfers and it will be chaos outside from 10-2.  Then we leave for a 3:30 temple session, followed once again by dinner at the Mission Home.  By the time Wednesday rolls around, we're ready to crash!

Our newest missionaries...dinner
at the Mission Home, after a long day!







HAPPY HALLOWEEN Y'ALL!

OFFICE EXCITEMENT

Today...Friday the 20th...Elder Breinholt and I were the first ones here and unlocked the front door to find the office had been broken into.  There was a vent removed on the financial clerks door, and it had been pried open.  I'm sure he was hoping there was lots of money in there.  He used bolt cutters to open a couple of combination locks and get the key to the rest of the doors.  He stole some new Samsung tablets from Elder Fleming's office and several gas credit cards from Elder Breinholts.  Plus the petty cash ($5?).  He ate half a gallon of ice cream in the kitchen downstairs and the candy our of the dish on the lobby counter.

One thing he didn't know was that he was on camera during much of it.  There are a couple of good full face pictures.  He came in the front door...just like it wasn't locked.  So now we're trying to find out if it didn't get it locked or if it wasn't shut tight when we left. Anyway...it's made for an exciting end to the week!  The police just left and there's a bunch of fingerprint dust left behind.  That stuff is hard to get rid of.

I decided to stay home Weds. this week. Don came home about an hour early because the computers had been down all day.  So...Thurs. I stayed home too which was a good thing because there's not much I can do without the computer and it took a while yesterday to get it up and going again.

We've been told the fall colors will be at their best the first part of November.  I can't wait.  It's been driving me nuts wanting to go and look at some and there's just a few that have turned so far. I've had to make my screen saver a picture I took last year.

I'm beginning to think I'm not making the best use of my free time here.  I've decided I need to study more than I am when it's slow at the office.  I mean...what a perfect time to learn.  Instead of bring bored!

So the church is trying to consolidate the number of  missions open. They opened up 80 new missions around the world with the huge influx of younger ages for the missionaries.  That has slowed down so that it is almost on par with what it was prior to the change.  So they will be closing missions again and adding them to some of the adjoining missions.  That will be interesting.  It won't be immediate and it may be through attrition, but some missions may be getting bigger. 

On the 5th, we have a two-stake conference.  The Crestwood Stake, that we belong to, and the Louisville Stake.  They are going to make a third stake from both of those.  What I have been told by the president is that we will be ending up with a much larger ward. That will be nice.  We also have two convert baptisms on Saturday afternoon and that night we are going with the sisters to teach a couple who have been investigating.  Busy weekend.

No pictures this week.  Love to all!

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

This week has been bitter sweet.  Don's sister, Gayla, passed away on Friday from Alzheimer's.  She was his older sister, friend, and protector when he was young. She was so sweet to me and I enjoyed the few times we got to see each other.  I am also glad we decided to come out here through Denver so we could see  her one more time.  Even though she didn't know who we were, she was still so loving to Don as they sat and held hands.

So now a family of seven is down to two.  But we are so blessed to have the knowledge that we will be able to see them again.  I've never met his oldest brother, Bill, or his parents, and am looking forward to meeting them someday.  It's an odd thing about funerals...even though they are generally sad, they are also joyous occasions as we reminisce about the life of the one who has departed, and visit with family that we only see at weddings or funerals.

Gayla was cremated, as will her husband, Dick, be when he passes.  I learned a new word Wednesday.  Inurned (instead of interred).  She was being inurned at the            National Cemetery.  Dick is a veteran and, I assume, that is why they decided on there for their final resting place.  I took several pictures because it is a beautiful cemetery with rows upon rows of white headstones.  It left me in awe of the numbers of veterans who have served their country.  If you multiply that number by numerous ones in other cities and states, it is very humbling and makes me even more grateful for those who have served our country.

I'm also grateful we were able to attend.  Even Gayla's bishop was surprised we were able to get away.  It's so different for senior missionaries, and I assume it might be different with different mission presidents.  All I did was tell President Hughes that Don's sister had passed away and that we'd like to go to the funeral.  He said, "take all the time you need".  Of course it helped that we can do much of what we do over the phone.  I was able to find flights that weren't too expensive and we flew out of the Cincinnati International Airport (which is actually in Kentucky).  Don's brother, Lynn and his wife, Karen met us in Denver and we stayed in the same hotel.  It was so good to see them...we always enjoy our time with them (even for occasions like this).

Getting to the airport Tuesday was quite eventful.  We put it into our google maps and followed the directions.  Looking at a map before hand it looked pretty straight forward, but as we got closer, it had us go down some country roads (think dueling banjos) and before we knew it, we were at the end of a road with a mobile home.  Between the yard and the porch I counted 5 dogs and 6 cats.  There was someone sitting on the porch and eventually she came to the car and Don asked how to get to the airport.  She said, it's not around here!  After backtracking awhile...and Don driving faster than I've ever seen...we found our way there and made our flight!

Coming home wasn't without it's own story.  We got to the Denver airport in plenty of time to have something to eat for breakfast.  When we arrived, we found a place in the airport to sit and wait for our flight.  There was a young man and a couple sitting across from us.  The woman smiled and said, " this young man is a BYU student."  She and her husband are from Orem and were flying to Cincinnati to see their children.  Funny thing, on the same plane was the BYU track team flying to Louisville for an invitational meet.  The young man decided to go get something to eat before the flight, had left his phone in Provo, and when he looked at his watch, forgot about the hour's time difference and thought he had plenty of time.  He missed the plane to Louisville.  So...lucky turn of events for him...we were going to Louisville from Cincinnati!!!!  So, we brought him to his hotel in Louisville...not far from where we live.  He is a distance runner and on track to make the Olympic team (possibly for Canada...as he is a Canadian citizen).  So if you hear of Rory Linkletter (yes!  that is his real name).we helped in his quest for the gold!

The End...to a very eventful week.

NAPS?????

One of the videos the church posted of senior missionaries telling about their experiences, has an Elder saying, "you can even take a nap during the day, if you need one".  That sounded pretty good to us!  Especially since Elder Breinholt had gotten in the habit of an afternoon snooze!  I'm not sure this is what we had in mind:

     

                The boxes behind him are some infamous TIWI's waiting to be installed!    

I had planned to post this last week before the new month started.  But...good intentions don't matter if you don't follow through!  Anyway...it's now October 4.  The mornings are starting to feel like Fall.  Don is dreading having to go back to normal time next month!  I have a feeling though, that winters may not last as long here...guess we'll see.  I've seen several pictures of fall colors back home.  Most trees here haven't gotten there's.

Yesterday was MLC (Missionary Leadership Council).  It's always fun and chaotic when you get a pile of missionaries together.  This group meets once a month and come from all six zones so they haven't seen or talked to each other for awhile!  You can imagine how that is!!!  And the Elders are as bad as the girls!

I am grateful for the feelings I get when I'm around them.  We are constantly being told we are loved by them.  It really brightens my day.  And it's hard not to fall in love with all of them...each one different...kind of like a big family.  They radiate the Love of Christ and it's contagious.  It gets harder to say goodbye when their missions are up!  

Random thought:  Don said the other day, "Do you realize that we now know someone named Kansas and Chynna?"  

Elder Breinholt's sister, Gayla is not doing well.  She has alzheimers and is now in the final stages.  I'm grateful I got to know her. She is really sweet and the thought of her being gone is hard.  We may have to fly out to Denver, depending on what they plan to do.

Our mission president and his wife have been living at a Residence Inn since July 1, while some of the mission home was being remodeled.  What a way to start out!!  They were finally able to move in last Friday.  The home was first used in 1960...so it kinda has that look.  The carpet is gone and laminate is in. The Master bedroom and bath were made bigger, the kitchen was completely re-done.  It's a good house as it has several bedrooms downstairs where the new missionaries stay their first night here and the ones being released stay for their last night.   Anyway...long story short...we had dinner there Sunday night and one of our AP's played the baby grand piano for us.  No music.  Oh my!!  He is so good.  Don taped it.  If there was a way to put it in here, I would!

So...in the last 3 transfers, we have had several of our leaving missionaries dating, or engaged, or married, after they get home!  It's been quite the surprise seeing who has paired up with who.  

Last night the weatherman said, we're in need for some rain.  It's been two weeks since we've had any! So different from the western united states.  They can get as much in one day as we get all year!

Bye for now...

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!).