Week 67

May 13, 2018

Dear Family,

Thanks for all the effort you put forth to get family group sheets to me. David just sent me some information that he got from his Sister that answers the concern I had about getting different numbers. I am cutting and pasting it into this letter:
Attached is our Family Group Sheet.

 

I'm not sure what you are doing with these Family Group Sheets.  But you made a comment in your request that I think I know something about.

 

"Please enter all the information on your family group sheet for you and your married children so that we don't end up with different numbers in Family Search."

 

My sister Elna just started a Family History mission and she explained this to me.

 

Family Search is not designed for tracking the information of Living people.  You can enter living people and their information in.  But the information you enter is isolated to your family search only.  And Living People all have different Family Search Numbers in different peoples accounts.  For instance, I was in my sister's account and my parents have different Family Search numbers in her account then in mine.  Family Search knows they are the same person but in different accounts, they are given different numbers.

 

So like I said, I'm not sure what you're doing with all this data.  And you can enter living people into your account.  But if we all enter those living people they will NOT be united in Family Search and we will all have to track the data separately.  For this reason, Family Search encourages the tracking of living people in your own genealogy software on your own computer.

 

This was TOO long.  Sorry if it sounds like a lecture.  I just happened to run into this and have it explained to me by my sister.

 

That is very helpful information for me. I bought Roots Magic I think so when I get home I will try to enter everything you have sent me. That way we can include inlaws without any problem.  Elizabeth sent a portrait family record also and that would be fun to have from everyone.  We will continue work on this when I get home.

Another quiet week at the office.  I am still trying to get pictures labeled and mounted from the last Zone conferences. The women in my Ward are wonderful examples to me.  Sister Pollard is the Pocatello Interfaith leader. Friday our Public Affairs committee was invited to help with an Inter-Faith service project cleaning up the yard of the Aid for Friends house which is a home for the homeless here in Pocatello. We had Muslims, Protestants, Mormons all doing yard work together.  It was a fun morning and the yard looks beautiful and flowers were planted. Sister Pollard brought Italian soda stuff that we mixed sodas. She also had snacks for us.

I loved getting in on the Mella family call from Michael in Uruguay.  It was fun to see my great-grandchildren that are in Texas as well as Jimmy in Provo. I was thrilled to hear that Lori is expecting again.  I am a truly blessed woman.

Time for me to go to Sister Bailey’s house for dinner.  She has been such an inspiration to me.  She spearheaded that amazing Sub for Santa for the children at the Homeless shelter. She had her little girl bring me a rose on Valentines Day and she has invited me to have dinner with her family tonight.   I will miss these amazing women in my Ward.

Love you all,

Grammie

 

 

Week 66

6 May 2018

Dear Loved Ones,

It’s been a pretty quiet week in the mission, but overall it has been the highest Baptizing month since the start of the year. We have had 22 baptisms. Some of those baptisms were in March but they had to wait to be confirmed because of April Conference. The report can’t be turned in until they have been confirmed.

I don’t think I’ve shared with you the amazing adventure one of the companionships in our mission experienced in the last month. These two slender, average-height missionaries must have looked like easy prey to the man who pulled a knife on them (he must not have known missionaries don’t have money in their pockets). The Elders talked the man into putting his knife away. The minute he did, the Elder, that has a black belt in Karate, took him down and his companion called the cops. They held him until the police arrived. Much to the President’s chagrin, the incident made the paper. Reporters keep calling President Hancock for an interview. He always replies, “No comment.”

Thursday, when I went to the Baptist Pantry where I work on Thursdays 4 to 7 they ask me, “Where were you Sunday? You said you would come to the Appreciation Dinner.”  I felt so sad that I totally forgot.  It would have been last Sunday while I was working on my Primary lesson and feeling sorry for myself that I wasn’t in Farmington with Collin and family. They gave me a framed quote from Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”, a tee shirt and a chocolate bar with a cute label.  I will take a picture. I still have the cute label, but the chocolate bar was consumed before I made it home.

I have enjoyed watching parts of the women’s conference.  I was especially impressed with something that Sister Eubank said that she learned to say in her morning prayer, “What is the one thing you want me to do today.” Help with setting priorities and staying focused on the most important thing-- Life is so full of distractions. This is like the Jordan Peterson quote, “Choose the meaning full action over the expedient”.

7 May 2018

Didn’t get this finished because I was invited to have dinner with the George family. David Linford’s niece, Rebecca George, just had her 5^th little girl. David’s sister, Orva, was visiting to help with the new baby and she fixed a delicious dinner.  I even asked for the vegan recipe. They were kind enough to include me. The most fun was holding that brand-new baby. New babies bring a little bit of heaven with them.

Would have loved to be at the family music events this weekend.  I am so pleased with the talents my granddaughters are developing. Kudos to Emily and Elena for their part in Les Mis and to Lila for completing her Suzuki book. It’s painful to be so far away.  I will be home soon and I look forward to not missing important family events.

Love and hugs to all,

Grammie/Sister Shill

Week65

April 29, 2018

 

Dear Loved ones,

I thought Spring had finally come to Pocatello. Trees are in bloom and daffodils are everywhere. However, today has been cold and rainy with a wind that always blows. Hopefully, Spring will come back soon and stay for a while.

Tuesday, at my Public Affairs Meeting we had a couple come from the Mennonite community just west of Pocatello and talk to us about the history of their group. I was sitting next to Brother Funk and he told me that he had grown up in that community.  I ask him if there were a lot of Funks in that group and he assured me there were. We were told that the Mennonites were originally the Anabaptist that broke away from the Catholic Church. They take their name from a man, Mennon, who was an early leader in the movement. They left Germany for Ukraine and eventually left Ukraine and came to Kansas.   This group left Kansas and came to Idaho when the government offered good farmland for them. I always thought that the Mennonites broke away from the Amish. They told us that the opposite was true. There is a broad spectrum of beliefs among all the Mennonite groups with the Amish being the most conservative of the groups.  They recognize each other's group by the shape of their beards. The man who spoke to us had a long narrow rectangular beard. It was a very interesting evening.

Friday night my friends, Kris and Jay Kunze gave me a ticket to the Symphony. Two orchestras combined creating an incredibly powerful sound in that amazing Fine Arts Center on the ISU campus. The ISU civic orchestra combined with the Idaho Falls Symphony orchestra. Each Conductor led two items on the program which included: Prelude from Die Meistersinger by Wagner, Bolero by Ravel, the L’Arlesienne Suite by Bizet and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.  So much powerful music – it was so uplifting.  It seemed like when we left there we could conquer the world.

I have never been particularly fond of Bolero. My roommate in College’s boyfriend wanted to propose to her with that playing in the background, so he borrowed several of the old 33rpm records that you could stack on the old phonograph players. (Wow most of my grandkids won’t know what I am talking about). He didn’t know how long it would take him to get up his courage to actually pop the question. Once through Bolero is enough for me! I was amazed at much more I enjoyed it when I could see it played. When the melody travels from instrument to instrument as you see all the cellos strumming as it builds until the strings can use their bows.  It was so much more of an experience than the just listening.

Sunday, I would have loved to have been with you all.  I appreciate the video that was sent to me of Collin opening his mission call.  I am so happy for him.  I will give him the home address of Elder Moonsarn, one of our missionaries that just went home.  He was so shy when I first came and he grew into a fine missionary.  He will be good leadership for them in Bangkok.

Sunday was a crazy day for me. The teachers of the other 7-year-old class didn’t come, so I had 12 in my class. It was not as bad as I had anticipated.  Things went amazingly well. I talked to Collin on the phone as I drove home. I tried to skype in when I got home, but you all must have gone on to the Eagle Court of Honor.  So proud of Collin for his accomplishments. Sad to not be there to give hugs to him and to Emily on Saturday night with her successful win!! It will be good to be home and not missing such events.

Love and hugs,

 

Grammie/Sister Shill

Week 64

April 22, 2018

 

Dear Loved Ones,

It has been an amazing week. Monday, I felt like it was raining Baptism Reports we had so many turned in. Monday was the halfway point of the month and we totaled 17 baptisms so far.  I am anxious to learn if this Saturday we had more baptisms. Then we will still have one more weekend in this month. It may end up being the best month since I arrived.

 

Tuesday, we had a Zone Conference held in the Paris Tabernacle.  That is such an amazing building. To look around and realize it was built without power tools is a testament to the talents and skills of those early pioneers. It was another wonderful conference.  By the time we got home it was already 5:00 p.m. and we had to hurry to the Palace Playhouse by 7:00.  The office staff have had their tickets for months, so even though we were tired we showed up. The Parkins (the couple that had Rasmussen’s jobs when I first arrived) were there to see their granddaughter’s performance. She played the youngest of the brides in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Oh, I can hear Sally groaning as she reads that.  Nevertheless, it was a delightful production and a great opportunity for local talents.

 

Wednesday, our Zone Conference was held in my own Stake Center. Usually, we have three zone conferences with two zones attending each conference. For some reason our location needed to be changed for Blackfoot so President just had all the 4 remaining zones come together. Most of the missionaries were not expecting to see the extra two zones. There was so much joy – hugging and back slapping as they met up with companions they hadn’t expected to see. I teared up as I watched them and thought how much love was in that room. These young people are trying hard to have the Spirit with them so they can teach. The Spirit is what brings us not only peace but also joy! D&C 11:13 I will impart unto you of my spirit which shall enlighten your mind and fill your soul with joy.

 

I have been enjoying the book that Talmage recommended by Jordan Peterson. What an amazing mind? He has such a grasp on biology, psychology, philosophy, literature. It is fascinating to watch his interviews on the internet. He has determined how to live a meaningful life, but what he seems to lack is the capacity for real joy which is a gift of the Spirit.

When I saw Sister Parkin the other night at the show, she reminded me that we were going to get together to work on our Mission scrapbooks, so I invited her to come over Saturday and we worked on trying to sort out our memories.  I have extra copies of pictures that didn’t get put in the Mission History that I could share with her.  It was a fun morning. We plan to do it again.

I hope to see you all for the 4^th of July.  I will have only been home for 4 days, but I think I can still put together a fun party.  Love and Hugs to you all,

 

Grammie/Sister Shill

Week 62 &63

April 15, 2018 (Happy Birthday, Jon!”)

Dear Loved Ones,

Sorry that I missed writing last week.  I had my friend Daisy and her children over for dinner and games, last Sunday night.  She recently remarried, I think I told you. Her new husband works in Arizona and she can’t leave Idaho for 60 days according to her divorce settlement. She is a delightful person and I enjoyed playing games with her children.

 

I had a chance to visit with Jennifer Finlinson last week as her son Andrew had a Lacrosse game here in Pocatello at our indoor stadium.  It is so nice to sit in comfort while watching the game. It had been a very cold and windy day, so we were all delighted to be in out of the storm. Great that Andrew’s team won!

Last Monday, was my Empty-nester Fireside.  We had a woman from Iran come and talk to us about her experiences as a refugee. She is not a Muslim, but a member of the Baha’i faith. Their basic beliefs are that there is one God and He is the foundation of all religion. She said they believe that all prophets are messengers from God- she named Moses, Mohammed, Christ, and Joseph Smith. They focus on the oneness of humanity and equality.  She said when the Revolution began in Iran in 1978 there was terrible confusion and things were falling apart, so Khomeini did to the followers of Baha’i what Hitler had done to the Jews.  He blamed all their problems on them and began arresting their men. The children were not allowed to attend school.  This sweet women’s father was sent to a prison a long bus ride from their home. Once a week they would let family in the gate if they were there right at 7:00a.m. This woman was only 8 years old at the time that she and her mother would make the long bus ride to be there promptly at 7:00.  They were not allowed into the prison until 4:00 p.m. They had to stand outside in the cold or snow all that time.  Then when they finally got to see her father, there were guards all around and you were fearful to say anything.  She loved her father dearly, so you can imagine the trauma when one week, as they were showing their papers at the gate, they were told that her father had been executed. Her mother gathered all the money she could because she knew they would need to leave Iran. It took time to find smugglers willing to take them.  They knew that they needed to go to a country with a United Nation office where they could be declared refugees. They determined that Pakistan was their best hope. When the day arrived for the smugglers to take them, they were informed that their bus was broken, so they would be going on camels. What they thought was going to be a 4- hour ride turned into 8 days with no food. As they were nearing the border, the smugglers told them to be very quiet, because they were passing a village of militia that would kill them if they discovered them. It wasn’t long before they were surrounded by these men.  The smugglers threw back the blankets on the pack camels and revealed weapons they had brought with them.  They tried to hand them to the 15 women and children in their group. Baha’i teaching forbids killing, so the women and children huddled together and prayed. Apparently, Iranians are very conscious of their family relationships (even to 2^nd cousins once removed) One of the men in the militia recognized a cousin among the smugglers – they embraced each other and the militia escorted the group to the border. Their hope was to get a cab to take them to the United Nations building, but unfortunately, they were arrested and taken to a prison.  It was more days before they could even get a call to the UN. At last the UN officials came and literally bought their freedom. Then they were taken to a refugee camp. It was obvious that few ever have a hope of leaving the camp. Eventually, she and her mother were taken to Germany.  She was able to continue her education.  Later, she applied to come to the US to study American Literature. She was accepted at a small college in Southern California. She was so happy to get there and sit in a classroom of multi-ethnic and racial students. She said it was the first time she felt like a real person. In Iran she was labeled Baha’i, in Pakistan she was a refugee, in Germany she was a foreigner, finally, she felt she was just a person like those around her. At the University she met an American man from Oregon who was also Baha’i.  He was studying Middle East history. They graduated and ironically, she taught American Literature and he taught Middle East history. She is here in Idaho getting her Ph.D. She has since become an American citizen.  She said we should all go to see a citizenship ceremony, that it is a very moving experience.  What an amazing story of triumph over adversity. We all went home realizing how easy our lives have been.

Tuesday, my quilting group came up to see me.  I think I told you about the service quilt that we did for the daughter-in-law of one of our members. I was so pleased that they had waited until they were here to give her the quilt. I got to be in on it!  I will try to include a picture. They met me at my office and then we went to Perkins for lunch. Afterwards, we came to my apartment to eat the brownies I had made. Afterward, we visited the quilt store here that has moved to a new location. Then they headed home.

That night was the farewell dinner for our missionaries leaving.  There were just three, so at the beginning of the testimony meeting President did something different.  He had us all tell what our favorite hymn was and why. What a beautiful way to bring the spirit. Sister Loring bore an inspiring testimony of what she has learned on her mission and her renewed desire to go into Indian Law after hearing Elder Echo-Hawk at Conference.  She grew up on the Papago Reservation and went to Lehi school. Every time I saw her I was thrilled to think what she was doing with her life. She had some College before she came and will continue studying. Elder Roberts will be meeting his parents in Florida before traveling home to Wales.  He has been an effective missionary.  One of the young men that he taught when he first came to Pocatello, now has a mission call.  Elder Turner told us about how he is the kind of person that would just like to live alone in a library.  His friends couldn’t believe he was going to serve a mission when they knew he didn’t like talking to people.  He said it had been the hardest thing he had ever done, but he was so grateful that he had made it.  He suffers from depression and anxiety, but with medication he was able to have a successful mission and he bore a sweet testimony of how his faith in the Savior and his Heavenly Father had grown and had helped to see him through.  It tears my heart out when these missionaries leave! – It won’t be much longer and I will be the one leaving.

The rest of the week was filled with new missionaries coming – transfers. Tuesday, we start with more Zone Conferences! The time is flying by!!

Love and hugs to all,

Grammie/Sister Shill

 

Week 60, 61

April 1, 2018

Dear Loved ones,

 

 

 Happy Easter.  My what an amazing conference!!! This one will never be forgotten. So much to think about on how to raise our game. I loved the emphasis on the Christ-like attributes and the necessity to live by the spirit. Preach My Gospel has an effective tool for determining which attributes we need to work on most.  The whole of Chapter 6, Christlike Attributes, has wonderful scriptures for each of the nine attributes, Faith, Hope, Charity and Love, Virtue, Knowledge, Patience, Humility, Diligence, and Obedience. Chapter 4, How Do I Recognize and Understand the Spirit? Is another good source for FHE. I am going to revisit these chapters in light of the counsel we received in this conference.

 

I realize I haven’t written since the 14^th of this month.  I don’t know where the time goes.  It was so great to have so many of you here for our Family Council.  We missed those of you that didn’t make it.  We will come your direction next January, so it should be easier for you to join us. Sally kept good notes so you can see the things we discussed and give us some input.

 

I have been busy trying to get my notes typed up on the March Zone Conferences. I am finally through, but I still have to mount pictures and get the Assistants to help me identify the large group pictures. April 17^th, we begin with new Zone Conferences.

 

I have been able to go with Sister Kubic and Sister Pineda when they teach a single man that lives in our apartment complex.  He is actually a member that is trying to get his life in order to go to the temple.  He has fallen in love with a girl from China who was here last year and will be returning sometime this month. Last year she met with the Elders and is wanting to be taught again when she returns.  It has been inspiring to be with the Sisters when they teach. We took our contact and his brother to Walk with Christ and they enjoyed it very much. I thought it was even better than last year.

 

Friday was a special day! One of our two-transfer missionaries got his call. These calls are sent to the mission.  Elder Kitchens’ parents, sister, and grandparents drove up from Salt Lake and some of the missionaries that had worked with him all came to President Hancock’s office.  I went back to be there when he opened his call.  

certificate recognizing that they completed their mission. If they get along great, they can apply for a regular mission if the Mission President feels they will do well. Elder Kitchens now goes home to take out his endowments and then he goes to the MTC before leaving for Phoenix.  Most of our two-transfers go on to get mission calls.  Elder Pacheco was an exception – he was a convert whose family vehemently opposed his serving a mission.  He talked them into letting him serve for just the 3months (2 transfers).  At the end he went home as he had promised.  We always knew he would only be a 2 transfer.  It was a shame because he was a great missionary while he was with us.

 

Love to all of you, I’ll be praying that we can all do a better job of loving and ministering to those around us.

Grammie/Sister Shill

Week 59

 March 11, 2018

Happy Birthday Amy Lofgreen and Amy Grover!!!

Dear Loved ones,

It has been a great week here in the Idaho Pocatello Mission. Tuesday, was Zone conference in Montpelier, ID. That tabernacle is so lovely and has recently been renovated.  The sisters in the Montpelier love the missionaries and go out of their way to have things nice.  They even went over to the tabernacle at 7:00 a.m. with hot chocolate and pastries for the missionaries as they arrived. Unfortunately, the missionaries don’t start to arrive until after 8. Personal study is from 8:30 to 9:00 when the actual conference begins.

Again, the morning was spent watching Videos from Salt Lake on how to use technology in missionary work safely. After our delicious Dutch-oven chicken lunch Sister Hancock gave us a great lesson on the importance of knowing the Savior, because it is our job to invite other to come unto Christ. She used the analogy of trying to describe Disneyland. She had everyone who hasn’t been to Disneyland raise their hand and then asked one of them to describe what they knew.  They didn’t have much to say.  Then she called on someone to describe Disneyland that has been there. Our most important job is to come to Christ ourselves, so we can tell others what it is like.  She also shared an article she read about the 3 things happy people have in common.

1. a sense of self-worth.  They are comfortable in their own skin without arrogance, self-assured without pride.

2. selflessness - they put the needs of others before their own needs. They take joy in serving others.

3. happy people have a plan they know where they are going. “Happiness is a direction not a place”

Optimism is based on faith – faith is a principle of action. President Hinckley said, If you want to be happy, forget yourself, go to work.

In the afternoon President Hancock had each companionship prayerfully decide who they could actually send something uplifting to on their phones.  Talk about feeling the spirit – be in a room of missionaries all praying to know what their investigators need.

That was most evident to me during Wednesday conference because the stake center we were in didn’t have Wi-Fi in the chapel, so we were meeting in the Primary room.  I was sitting right in front of two elders.  When one of the elders started to pray, he was speaking so softly I couldn’t tell what he was saying, but I was close enough to feel the spirit that prayer brought. Magnify that by all the other companionships in the room and you will know what a spiritual feast have had this week.

The Sisters that live in my apartment complex came to lunch on Saturday, and they told of how being able to use the technology is affecting their investigator.  They have a young girl that they are teaching. Her mother lives in Texas and has been taking lessons from the missionaries there. They Skyped a lesson with her mother and her missionaries and now the mother and daughter are reading the Book of Mormon together on their phones. Using this technology will flood the earth with the gospel.

Saturday, I went to the baptism of our Bishop’s daughter that is in my Primary class. Baptisms are the best!  In the afternoon, Jon, Scott Dyer, and Alex flew up and spent a few minutes with me.  What a treat! 

Love you all!! 

              Grammie/Sister Shill

Week 58

March 4, 2018

Dear Loved ones,


It has been a great week here in the mission. Tuesday night, we had the farewell dinner for those missionaries going home. This was a group that was hard to say Goodbye to. Elder Magallon was one of the Assistants to the President, and I felt especially close to the Sisters in this group. The after-dinner testimony meeting was one of the best ever.  It is so amazing to see how strong their testimonies have grown. Elder Moonsarn was so shy at first and he shared a wonderful testimony. He will be a great asset to his Ward in Thailand. It was especially hard to say goodbye to Sister John who has been living in an apartment here in my complex and she has been helping me with the bags we are making for the Cancer center. Sister Smith is another one that I was a hard farewell. Those meetings are my favorite part of the mission.

Wednesday, afternoon we had 2 new two-transfer missionaries arrive and then the Bus from the MTC brought us 2 Spanish speaking Sisters, and 3 Elders.  One of those elders, Elder To’a, actually baptized Sister Pineda who is now living where Sister John was. His brother is dating her sister. It is a small world in the church.  After the welcome dinner, the new assistant, Elder Thompson and Elder Saydee did a great job of introducing the new missionaries to Idaho. Sister Hancock did her power-point introduction of the Hancock Family. President always concludes with his testimony. Another great night!

Thursday Transfers, were more stressful for President Hancock than usual, because of trying to get the phone SIM cards to stay in the apartment and not go with the Elder transferring. The phones are continuing to provide challenges. But using Facebook has already provided results.  Elder Saydee got in touch with a friend in Minnesota, taught him a few lessons and brought in the local missionaries who are continuing to meet with him.

Friday was Missionary Training Council which means I get to work in the office alone that morning. It was a busier than usual Friday morning with my trying to send out the pictures of the new missionaries with the Hancocks to their parents.

Saturday, the Pocatello Inter-Faith Fellowship hosted A Tour of Faith. Basically, they were open houses held in the various houses of worship here in Pocatello. One of the large new YSA Stake Centers hosted an open house and tour of the building. I visited the Seventh-Day Adventists, the local Mosque, Synagogue, Greek Orthodox, and Catholic Church.  This Inter-Faith Fellowship is headed by the woman in my Ward that leads the singing in Primary. She is amazing!!. The Seventh-day Adventist complained to her that they didn’t have anyone to play their organ. There are now several LDS music students from ISU going there on Saturday morning to play for their services.

Last week, there was a Progressive Dinner to raise money for the Food Bank. They started with appetizers at the Presbyterian Church across the street from the building the Mission office is in. Then the main meal was held in our building, and dessert was served at another church. I missed going because I went to a baptism, but I’ve heard it was very successful.

Today was a Regional Conference, broadcast from Salt Lake with Wilford Anderson and President Nelson.
Love to all,


Grammie/Sister Shill

Week 57

February 25, 2018

 

Dear Loved Ones,

This week has been the calm before the storm. Aside from the Elders that keep coming in with phone issues, things have been rather slow.  Next week we say goodbye to some of my favorite missionaries. That is going to be hard. We get about 10 new missionaries on Wednesday and Thursday is Transfer day. The following week we will be back to zone conferences. The mission cycle continues.

 

Saturday, was a fun day. We had a Relief Society Brunch to celebrate the birthday of Relief Society. Again, this Ward did an outstanding event. Ahead of time, the 2^nd counselor asked us all to email her stories of services that we have received from our Sisters in the Ward. The Theme of the event was Angels Among Us. I will include pictures of the tables with gold and white balloons and gold almond kisses.  Each place had a Thank You card and our silverware was wrapped in a white napkin with gold ribbon. The brunch table had optional Tortillas or Gluten-free tortillas and we filled them with regular egg casserole-like stuff with cheese and bread, gluten free, or dairy free. Plenty of fresh fruit and a delicious Cinnamon bun cake. After we ate, we were each told to read the good deed that was imprinted on a card by our place. This kept us from knowing who the angels were, but we were able to learn all the good things going on around us.  It gave us all new ways to serve our neighbors. We were then shown a video that our Ward got from somewhere else. It began with Joseph Smith announcing that Emma would be the head of the newly formed Relief Society and Emma stands and tells the Sister “We will do amazing things.” A sign then appears “We will do amazing things” Next we see Relief Society Sisters working on Humanitarian project etc. and the sign “We will do amazing things” next was a portion of a talk President Monson gave on the charitable works of Relief Society, then, the sign We will do amazing things” next a portion of that wonderful talk President Uchtdorf gave on women’s creativity, and the video ended with the sign “We will do amazing things”. My idea of a perfect Relief Society Birthday celebration.

 

The Sister missionaries that live in my apartment complex rode with me to the Brunch. Afterward, we came back to my apartment and worked on the bags for the Cancer center that we had previously begun to cut out. We finished cutting out the bags and began sewing them.  We should have a dozen when we finish. The Sisters had a meeting at 2:00 so we weren’t able to finish them all.  Sister John will be one of the missionaries that leaves.  I will miss her!! She is going home to San Tan Arizona, so maybe I can see her when I visit Amy.

 

Saturday night, I attended the baptism of an 11- year-old from an inactive family that the Sisters have been teaching.  I was happy for Sister John to go home on a high.  The baptism was wonderful with a powerful spirit there.

 

Today was our Ward conference, outstanding messages from my Bishop and Stake President and an interesting Sunday School lesson and Relief Society that I got to go to because the stake leaders were doing Primary.  I wonder how that turned out!!

 

After church, my friend Daisy and her two cute kids came over to dinner and we played a fun game afterward.  It’s been a great weekend!!

 

 

Love to all,

 

Grammie/Sister Shill

 

Week 56

February 19, 2018

 

Dear Family,

 

Thanks for the good job you did of wishing Dad a happy birthday! When my alarm went off this morning I got up, remembered it was Dad’s birthday and went back to bed and pulled the covers over my head. Valentine’s Day was hard enough – I didn’t want another day of wishing I wasn’t left behind. After about 45 minutes of running away, I got up and hurried to the office, but I was about 10 minutes late.

The day got better when the Elders brought in two baptisms to record. Sister Rasmussen baked cinnamon buns in the downstairs oven. They smelled so good and tasted delicious while they were still hot. We had lots of Elders coming in to get their phones operational.  At the end of the day I went over to the Institute to watch some of the elders try to beat President Hancock at Ping-Pong. I got some great pictures also of the gym with one half playing basketball and the other half playing soccer. The rowdiest game seemed to be something called Scrum played around a pool table without any sticks.

I was glad to see when I got home that some of you had gone to the cemetery, cleared off Dad’s headstone, and enjoyed his favorite treats. I can’t believe how much snow had fallen in such a short time in Wellsville.  I feel badly that Taylor, Sarah and the baby had to drive home in a snowstorm. It didn’t snow here in Pocatello.  We need snow for the farmers.

I was so happy to see baby Cora.  It was so nice of Taylor and Sarah to come up even after their plans to go to Lava Hot Springs fell through.  They came up in time to come to my Primary class.  The lesson was on the Shepherds going to see Baby Jesus. It suggested have a pregnant women or new mother talk to the kids about what preparations are made for new babies.  It was so perfect to have Sarah there with baby Cora. I was so happy to get my hands on her, hold her in my arms – new babies bring heaven closer. The Primary manual this year is all from the New Testament – that’s why we are still talking about the birth of the Savior.

It was a super weekend for me, because Friday and Saturday Talmage and Braden stayed here because Lila and Collin were participating in the Simplot Track Meet.  Friday, I got to see them participate.  Not only did Collin do the pole vault, but he also ran his first race  for a relay race.  We were blown away by how fast he could run.  Lila did well in her race, she paced herself, slowly in the beginning and then we got to watch her move up and overtake several other runners.  It was so fun to watch.  Saturday, the kids wanted to watch others perform so Talmage went with them to the meet.  Braden stayed at the apt. with me to do homework and I was still working on my talk for Sacrament Meeting.  We had a good time talking about the similarities and differences in our missions.  Liz and Glen came by on their way to Rexburg to have a mini-reunion with the former San Jose missionaries going to BYU-Idaho. It was wonderful to sit and visit with them.

I love you all and am looking forward to summer when I can catch up on all the fun things you have been doing.

Love and hugs,

Grammie

 

Week 55

Dear Loved Ones,

This has been a fun week. Monday night was our “Empty Nester” fireside. Instead of having a speaker the hostess divided us into two teams. If the person whose turn it was could answer the question by themselves their team got 5 points.  If they could answer correctly after consulting their teammates they got 3 points.  If they couldn’t answer it, the opposing team got to try.  If they were correct they got one point. The questions were all scripture quotations and we had to say who said them.  We did pretty well until we had to decide if it was Alma or Amulek. It was a fun game and could be used in your Family Home Evening.

Wednesday night, President and Sister Hancock, plus some of the office staff when to a local theater that puts on plays with members of the community.  Like the Hale theaters in Utah. They did a British Comedy called “Cash on Delivery”.  Elder Rasmussen purchased tickets for us several months ago. When I turned to my February calendar and saw “Cash on Delivery” I worried I had ordered something that was coming COD.  I was so relieved to find it was the show we were going to. It was a rather silly comedy, but I did laugh my head off.

Saturday, I invited the Sister Missionaries that live in my apartment complex to come to lunch and then we would work on making canvas bags for the Cancer center. It is a project posted on the Just Serve site. Women coming for chemotherapy like some place to put their wigs or they bring reading material and it is nice to have a bag to keep it all together.  I took a bag that had been sent to me by some commercial group out of China and showed the Cancer Center and they said that was just what they wanted.

I was glad I had made a big pot of taco soup for the Sisters because I had something to feed Jon, Adam, and Alex when they flew up. Jon brought me an Alexa and set it up.  He also added new pictures to my Nixplay frame[NS1] . I have had a great time asking Alexa to play Mozart or today I asked for Handel which was a nice blend of his orchestral music and parts of Messiah.

February 15, 2018

Sorry, I forgot I didn’t finish this letter.  When this side thing came up I couldn’t figure out how to get rid of it and gave up on finishing the letter.  I will send it despite the editing thing on the side.  I hope everyone had a fun Valentine’s Day.  I did! Cherie sent flowers on Monday.  Sunday, one of the little girls in my Primary class gave me three tickets to a Valentine tea at her Montessori School.  Sister Rasmussen and I went.   It was so cute. The students had been making little cupcakes and cookies and they served us with great care. It was a delight. Sister Bailey, the woman in my Ward that spearheaded the giant Sub for Santa project was there and she had her little girl give me six beautiful roses. They had planned to come by the office and give them to me, but since I was there she gave them to me at the school. What an amazing woman – she is so aware of the needs of others. She has 5 children from ages 13 to 3.  At that stage of life, I was entirely overwhelmed by my own needs and thought very little about how to help others. I stand in awe at the good she does.

I’m going to be late for work if I don’t just send this off!  I love you all and I am looking forward to having more time with you when my mission is over.

 

Love and hugs, Grammie

Week 54

February 4, 2018

Dear Loved ones,

It has been an interesting week. Tuesday the office was closed in order to have the carpet cleaned.

It gave me the opportunity to visit the Cancer center here that has been requesting (on the Just Serve site) cloth bags that patient can use while they are receiving chemotherapy. Some need a place to put their wigs, others bring reading material etc. I thought that would be a good project for some Sister missionaries. There is a companionship here in my apartment complex that is eager for a project like this. Hobby Lobby was having a great sale on canvas fabric, so I purchased some.

 

I also visited the quilt store for fabric to make a square for my quilt group in Wellsville.  Every year we do a service quilt for someone who has had a difficult year. I love the quilt they made for me the year that Tam passed away. This year the daughter-in-law of one of our members who often comes to quilt with us, lost her sister to cancer. Whenever she does a square for a quilt she always puts in a little piece that has a flamingo on it. That is like a signature for her. Some of you may remember seeing it in the piece she did for my quilt.  We are going to do a quilt of flamingos for her. I am hoping that I can get my square done in time. It took me hours to just cut out the material for the background.

 

Things were a little chaotic in the office this week. The President was doing interviews and Elder Rasmussen was trying to get the companion not being interview set up with his new smartphone.

Radom Elders also showed up with problems related to their new phones.  I can foresee this being an ongoing trial.  Even President has set the goal to be up and running a long way off by April 1^st.

 

I have been working to get my notes on last week’s Zone Conference finished.  I am a little more than 2/3 finished.  I will still have pictures to label and mount. Friday was my day to work in the office. I love being able to eat with the missionaries that come to MLC.

 

I hurried home from the office to have a hang out call with Peter our guide for our England Trip. He is going to give us ideas for hotels.  Where we are going. Sally is hoping for things that look old and traditional and not like a Las Vegas motel. We will see what we can find.

 

The best part of the week was having Talmage’s children come to Pocatello for a Track Meet. Lila ran the 800-meter race.  She had two good friends also participating in the Meet.  Collin did Pole Vaulting.  I was so thrilled to see him clear 12ft 6 inches. Wow! My stomach did flips watching him go so high.

Braden came up to watch the meet.  I was so happy to see him for the first time in over two years!! It was wonderful.  The girls stayed with me and Talmage took the boys to a motel. It was so fun Saturday morning to have breakfast together and just sit around and talk.  Family time is the best and I am looking forward to our Family Meeting in March and the Dyer reunion this summer.

 

After Church, a member of the bishopric told me his wife was wanting someone to come to dinner because his parents were coming, but they couldn’t think of who would not be watching the Super Bowl.  When he saw me, he said, “you are just who we are looking for, I’m sure you aren’t planning on watching the Super Bowl”.  I had a great time visiting with their family and the white chili with chicken was delicious

 

Love and hugs to all,

Grammie/Sister Shill

 

 

Week 53

January 28, 2018

 

Dear Loved Ones,
 

This has been a busy week in the Mission. Tuesday, we went to Montpelier for a Zone Conference and met in the beautiful Montpelier Tabernacle. It has an amazing ceiling, and woodwork. Also contains two original paintings by Minerva Teichert. A local member explained to us the recent upgrades made to make it more seismologically sound, and said that the two paintings are worth more than the cost of the rest of the building. I made a collage of pictures I took, so I took a picture of my college to send to you.
 

I rode to the conference with the Robisons and enjoyed visiting with them.  They served a mission on the islands of Majuro and Kiribati which your Dad and I had visited on our mission. We had fun sharing experiences there. They are the vehicle coordinators, so they do car inspections at Zone Conferences, but they are thru in the morning, so they leave after lunch.  I need to stay to take notes in the afternoon, so I rode home with President and Sister Hancock. President Hancock asked me if I had ever seen the geyser in Soda Springs. I told him I had not.  He said well it should be going off in about 10 minutes, so we went to see it. Afterward, he drove around the mountain to the spring that has naturally carbonated water that gives Soda Springs its name.  I had a taste of the water – it was like drinking Perrier. People often bring Kool-Aid to take away the mineral taste, but it didn’t taste as bad to me as Mesa water.
 

Wednesday, I went to Blackfoot for another Zone Conference and drove myself. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. President Hancock took the group picture for me, but I am so sad I didn’t get a picture of the beautiful table decorations. The tablecloths were royal blue and every table had a different Snowman or group of Snowmen. The Sisters were at a table with a mechanical Snowman like Dad’s funny drinking guy that shook. This snowman put his hat off and on with one hand and twirled beads with the other as he wiggled his hips.  He was hilarious!! I thought the Sister were going to die laughing.  I hope one of them took a picture for me to add to our history.
 

Friday, our Zone Conference was in the Alameda Stake Center which is right by the Ridley’s where I grocery shop. Nice to be close to home. The morning portion of each conference was devoted to videos from the Missionary Committee about Using Devices in Missionary Work. Our mission is one of the 162 missions beginning to use smart phones.  All month we have had parents calling and asking, “Are you really wanting missionaries to have smart phone?” And for weeks now the phones have been arriving. The Assistants and Zone Leaders have theirs operating. The missionaries hoped that theirs would be set up at Zone Conference, but it was decided it would take too much time to do so many at once. President has interviews next week and the Zone Leaders can help set up the companion not being interviewed.  We will see how that works out.
 

Afternoon session, Sister Hancock gave a great lesson based on a story of one of their family camping trips. They found a rattlesnake that got injured, so President cut its head off and Sister Hancock put the body in a bag to show her grandchildren. When they took the body out they could tell there were little unborn baby snakes inside. President Hancock opened up the body and six little snakes came out. Babies are more dangerous because they have teeth and can’t control their venom and they don’t have rattles yet to warn you.  Her point was that even little things can separate us from the direction of the Holy Ghost. Stay safe on your device -even little diversions can interrupt inspiration.  This was also a good lesson for me. I waste too much time on my computer at night. Good lesson to use it as a tool and turn it off instead of wandering through political discourses, stories of lost animals or children or any other non-productive sites because I am bored.

 

Love to all of you,
 

Grammie/Sister Shill

 

P.S. I also sent a picture of the cute table settings at the Alameda Stake. They used authentic potato sacks... the theme was "Have a Spudtacular Mission"

They served us a potato bar and the ice cream served looked like a potato but was just vanilla ice cream shaped like a potato and rolled in cocoa mix. I love it when they go out of their way for the missionaries. The woman in charge of this meal is a recently returned Mission President's wife and you could feel the love she has for missionaries.

 

 

Week 52

Dear Loved Ones,

 

It has been a busy week in the mission.  Monday night was the farewell dinner and testimony meeting with the missionaries going home.  This is always my favorite mission event.  It is so inspiring to hear the spiritual growth of these young people. Hard to say goodbye to some you have gotten to know well and to realize you probably will never see them again.  It was hard for me to say goodbye to Sister Maldonado who is returning home to Puerto Rico.  She hopes to come back to BYU Idaho and do animal science.  Time will tell.

Tuesday morning, we all gathered around our computers to watch the announcement of the new First Presidency. I am delighted that Elder Oakes will have the opportunity to be in the First Presidency as he is next in line to be the President. I am happy for the Uchtdorf’s that they will have more traveling assignment in Europe where they can visit family and friends. I will miss his talks at Women’s conference, because he really “gets” women.

Tuesday afternoon, I went to lunch with my new friend Daisy Christensen. She is a delightful person and had an amazing story to tell me. She lives in an apartment in the basement of her Sister’s house that their Dad is paying for half. Her sister is an alcoholic and her friends brought her home the other night and told Daisy to watch her that they thought she was in real trouble. Daisy didn’t know what to do for her, so she said to her sister, “If I were this sick, I would want a Priesthood blessing”.  Her sister agreed that might help.  So, Daisy called her Home teacher and he came over and gave her sister a blessing. Before Daisy moved to Pocatello she prayed that she would have a dedicated Home Teacher. The Lord answered that prayer. Her Home Teacher was just released as the Stake President. After the blessing and visit with her sister.  Her sister said that she would be alright with someone nonjudgmental like that coming to visit once a month. Daisy was so thrilled with her sister’s response. It validated her feelings that she was right in coming to Pocatello.

Wednesday, our five new missionaries arrived. Four Elders and one sharp Sister. The Elders also seem like they will be successful missionaries. The office staff gives them a little briefing and then they go to the mission home for dinner and the Assistant’s give a little bit about Idaho and missionary work. Sister Hancock has a presentation about their family and then the missionaries each get an envelope that tells them who will be their companion and where they will be serving.  It is always a fun night.  I get to go and take pictures.  I am so grateful President Hancock lets me attend these special nights.

Thursday, was Transfers and those days can be hectic for President, the assistants, and the housing coordinators, but not too bad for me.  Though I did have three baptism reports brought in.  That’s always a happy thing.

Thursday night was Relief Society “Girls Night Out”.  We went to the home of a women in the Ward who is the wife of a counselor in the Bishopric.  She may have a job in R.S. I don’t know because I am in Primary. It was a fun evening – everyone brought snacks. Yummy salsa, chips, veggie trays, fruit etc. After we all had time to eat and chat she gathered half of us on the bench under her huge bay window that overlooks Pocatello and the other half on chairs creating a circle.  She then had us all share what was meaningful to us in 2017. Did we discover a scripture that helped us? Or anything else we would like to share. It was a good experience.  Most of the sisters had very insightful comments to make. Others were not pressured to share if they didn’t want to.  Great night!!

Friday, I treated as my P-day cleaning, groceries etc. so I was free to drive to the Idaho Falls Temple (with President’s permission). I had a family name that Family Search had given me, so I did Initiatories and Jennifer and I did an endowment session.  I listened to a great book on the way to the temple call “The Holy Invitation”.  There is an article by this author in the December issue of LDS Living. It is a great book especially for those going to the temple for the first time to give them some perspective.

I was home in plenty of time for my Saturday night Stake Conference meeting.  I love those meetings there is always a special spirit there.  Today was our Stake Conference centered on Charity. The Stake President used the same quote from Marvin J. Ashton that I told you President Hancock used in Zone Conferences. His counselor gave a wonderful formula to the youth or those struggling with their testimony. He termed it BDK Believe – Do – Know. He illustrated this with several quotes from John in the New Testament, including the story of the woman at the well. She ran to tell her friends that she had found the Messiah. They believed her so they acted on that belief and when they had come to the Savior they then knew for themselves. If you only believe what your parents or others tell you that is enough if you will “do” the Lord’s will you will come to know the Savior for yourself.

Hope you all have a great week.  I will be going to Zone Conferences this week so I am looking forward to great experiences.

 

Love to all,

Grammie/Sister Shill