Sunday, October 26, 2014

October 26

It is a beautiful autumn day here in North Carolina – low of 55 and high of 77. I love 70s. They make me happy!
Branch council as per usual on Oct. 19. Got a call from Tyrei to pick him up. A member was already at church who did not have to go to council meeting, so he said he would pick him up. It was wonderful to sit through the entire meeting. Our branch clerk and family are moving to Park City, Utah, for a job, so he talked in sacrament meeting, along with a couple of sisters. Good meeting. The young single adults here are very spiritual and give good talks. Isaiah focused on what Christ has done for us. Relief Society was have a cookie and pick something to read, which is always nice. Had breakfast for lunch and Elder Steffler did most of the cooking (link sausage and eggs) while I made pancakes. We get kind of lazy on Sundays! Read D&C 42 and commentary, as well as watched a couple of talks from general conference.
Monday we had to let the sisters into the family history at church so they could do their emails. Someone had misplaced (?) the key, so our bit of service there. Then went to Great Clips and got hair cuts; mine just a trip, E. Steffler, really short. Had some grocery shopping to do and drop a suit off at the cleaners. We wanted to get our flu shots, so we spent a couple of hours going from one drug store to another. The first was not certified for Blue Cross, go 3 miles to the other, they can do it. That one did not have the high dosage we wanted, but across the road did. At that one, we would have to pay because our insurance would not. To solve the problem, we went to Rucker Johns for lunch! It was good but expensive. I called Blue Cross and they said we could pay for the shots and mail in receipt and be reimbursed or we could go to a clinic 70 miles away. What a run around! Bought some cleaning supplies for the elders who are moving and have to clean their apartment; also gave them some cookies to help. Had a good talk with Eliza; got all caught up of her family's doings. E. Steffler likes to call his brother on Mondays and they can gab for an hour or so. FHE was a mystery game played in the dark (who dun it); we did not play.
Tuesday was water aerobics. The water is cooling off, but not as cold as I expected. Don't know how much longer I can convince E. Steffler to get in the water! Made banana chocolate chip muffins to use up over ripe bananas. Had G1 sisters for practice and lunch. E. Steffler had made hamburger stew and it was too salty, so used up the last of potatoes to fix it. We were members and the sisters invited us to do missionary work. They weren't pushy at all and we told them they could be more bold in the invitation. We showed them the video the church put out about the temple garments; it is presented very well, and quite an eye opener. We decided to pay for our flu shots so back to the drug store that had high dosage. E. Steffler's insurance paid for his and mine cost $54.99. Was told if I took in my Medicare card, I would be reimbursed. E. Steffler decided he needed to see the doctor about his swollen ankles. The clinic was not very crowded and he was taken back in about 10 minutes. I waited and waited. After about an hour a nurse came and got me and took me back to the exam room where he was waiting. They suspected congestive heart failure, but may just be water retention. Had done a chest w-ray, EKG and drew blood. An appt will be made with a cardiologist, just to be sure; recheck in one week. He should have dropped 10-15 lbs of fluid by then. Had missionary correlation and had a good discussion on inactives. Went to Noodles & Co., for supper.
Had a brisk walk on Wed. I even wore my long-sleeved shirt and wished I had put on my hoodie. Got a phone call from Sister Walker, institute teacher. He dad was in the hospital, not doing well, could we teach institute for her. What could we say? So I downloaded the lesson; thank the Lord we had already read it and the commentary (thanks, Kim!) so just followed some of the ideas and put together something. The YSA sisters came for a practice and lunch. They wanted us to be "hard" on them when they taught the Book of Mormon. We were tough (even mad at each other because I had burned the stew) and they still taught a beautiful lesson. E. Steffler had taken his first water pill and had to be excused several time (which I played up with my bad mood). I really had burned the stew, so it was easy to play act. After lunch, we got down to the nitty gritty of outlining a lesson. E. Steffler wanted to talk a bit about his ancestor Daniel Allen Jr. who had lived through that era, so he introduced the lesson. I gave the bulk of the lesson, with chocolates to encourage participation. (Bribery works!) He finished up with an experience from his mission about how priesthood blessings helped a sister get her face operated on and go to the London Temple to do temple work. The spirit was testifying of what we had taught was true; it is a blessing to feel it.
After our workout in the fitness center and a brief dip in the hot tub, we had to hurry and shower and dress because the G1 elders came to give E. Steffler a blessing. He had not slept very well, just worried about what was happening and what may happen. After the blessing, we showed the temple garment video to them and they were impressed. Then off to Joanna's to read from the BOM. She had read a lot further than we had; she had been sick a couple of days, so got a lot of reading done. She wondered about baptism before Christ, so we read in the Bible Dictionary, which explained it very well. Back to the apt to get ready to take the YSA sisters to New Bern to hunt up some young singles. The R.S. president took the sisters and we split the list with them. We talked with a nephew, a YSA, a mother and a did who referred us to grandparents where their YSA daughter was living. The sisters had about the same success as we did, but we left invitations at all the places. The last name we tried to find, the address took us to a tatoo parlor! On the way home I talked with Lena about a project we want for the Bakers (mission president & wife).
The water was still tolerable for water aerobics on Friday (don't ask E. Steffler!). Getting out of the pool was much colder. District meeting was on prayer again. The missionaries practiced with each other in extending the invitation to pray. Talked about why it is so important that we pray. We had pretzels (two flavors) with honeydew melon for a treat. E. Steffler had to leave about three times during the meeting. Mornings are worse. Went to Best Buy to get a suction cup for the Garmin. I think I may have thrown away (accidentally!) the one that kept falling off the window. Then to Sam's for groceries and a hot dog for lunch; Walgreens to get reimbursed for flu shot. Medicare says insurance should pay and vice versa. So I just mailed the receipt to insurance. Sister Walker sent a text that she may need to be gone for an extended time (one or two more weeks) and could we teach again? Sure. So downloaded the next lesson and some ideas on how to go about it. Got a call from Deana, she was on her way to Nampa to see her chillins. She is also having nose surgery on the 31st. The same operation that E. Steffler had a couple of years ago, just before my mom died. His nose was still packed at the funeral. The water pills are not bringing down his weight like the doctor had hoped, but his pants and shirts don't seem as tight as they were.
Saturday had a good walk; chilly but no wind. Made bread first thing and E. Steffler put a pork roast in the crock pot for supper. Went shopping to Walmart – yes an emergency because Sam's does not have turkeys for sale yet. Checked out other prices for the sign up sheet for break the fast: we are have a turkey feast! Got all of Isaiah read for Sunday's lesson and all of Mosiah read. Got a card from Maike! Love getting mail, especially the good news she had. She is at university in Dresden and had attended church, an LDS church. It reminded her of when she went to church with us. She spoke with the missionaries afterwards and thought about us on our mission. It was so precious! Thank you, Maike. I called some kids who had signed up for activities at the fall fest at Pitt college; got one who is interested in attending Monday and one who would like to but has a class on Mondays. We are having a costume party for FHE Monday. I told E. Steffler we were going to wear a costume: missionary!
Well, we had a busy week, an eventful week. Will let you know next week how E. Steffler fares at the cardiologist. Just hope it is something we can take care of here and not have to go home. We invited all to pray that we can stay and finish our mission. We feel like we are just learning about what we should be doing. We love our ward family and our kids and grandkids; thanks for reading and caring about us. Love, Elder and Sister Steffler

Sunday, October 19, 2014

October 19

Finally remembered to write my blog on Sunday afternoon! It has been an "easy" day; I guess that is why I'm not wiped out. Let's see what our week was like.
Monday was "find an apartment" day. Headed to Kinston (about 30 miles south) and met up with a realtor who was working on an apartment. He gutted it, was putting in new carpet, paint, all new appliances. Looked perfect to us, but we could not get with the K1 elders, who need a new apartment. We wanted the elders to see the apartment before recommending that the mission housing got ahold of the realtor. But the elders were with the Spanish elders celebrating someone's birthday (it was P day, after all!) so did not hang around waiting for them. Texted them to go look at the apartment and let us know what they thought. Kinston does not have a lot of newer type of apartments for rent. We had a couple of realtors looking and they can't find anything, either, only about like what they are already living in. That night at FHE the members carved pumpkins. We had bought 4 extra in case someone showed up without one, and 3 of them were used. There were some really fancy ones, some fairly plain and some very creative. Will post photos when I get them. (I asked a member to take photos and I ended up taking them on his camera.)
Still doing water aerobics, even though it is getting cooler. Our sister missionaries who are scheduled to teach us, called; one of them was not feeling well, so canceled. Then got a call from another sister who needed a blessing, so got the G1 elders to go with us to give the blessing. They had a conference call from mission president (they are also zone leaders) so we could not stay very long. She seemed so appreciative that we would go on such short notice. Our afternoon got really interesting. The photo shows the group of youth (with a few adults) that participated in the BillionGraves project. (I did NOT draw the arrow!) The kids only had half a day of school, so this project worked out great. We drove to Pinewood Cemetery to take photos of gravestones. About 25-30 youth and 10-12 adults went. Had the photos taken in about 30 minutes. Then back to the church to upload. That took some time because of so many on the internet at the church. There even had snacks while we waited. Once the photos were uploaded, we came home to transcribe them. I tried to type them all in then save; nope, had to do them all again! I now know how to transcribe. Took a break and went to Cracker Barrel for a bowl of soup. We decided we liked their soup. Just got home and Eliza called and we chatted for quite awhile. Philip wants to Skype for his birthday on Friday.
Wednesday was the first time we walked and actually got rained on. Does not usually rain in the morning, but it did that day. When it started to downpour, we waited under a carport until it slowed down, then made it back to the apt. Decided to make chicken noodle soup for lunch, in honor of the weather. The YSA sisters wanted to do a church tour for their lesson, so we drove them to the church. E. Steffler does an awesome job at the tour, telling a little bit about each of the pictures and what goes on in the rooms. While we were eating lunch, the K1 elders texted; they had the afternoon open so we headed to Kinston again after lunch. Traveled in a downpour, but made it safely. A member had found an apt that we checked out. Drove on down the street and saw another For Rent sign, so called that number and got ahold of the owner. He showed us that apt plus another just down the road. Elders were not too excited about either; both had been smoked in and look a little run down. Not much better that what they have. Drove around for about an hour looking for more apts in the area they wanted to be in, but there was nothing. Houses were for sale, but no apt for rent. So drove back to Greenville. At Institute we studied D&C 35-41; lot of revelation for new converts. They were all eager to know God's will for them. The answer was basically what He wants us to do: preach and share the gospel.
Joanna forgot our meeting Thurs. morning, so made an appt with her on Friday. Back at the apt, we got calls from realtors looking for apt for K1 elders. There is just not much available. The elders came up with a solution: have the sister missionaries move into the renovated apt (which is close to the middle of Kinston) and they move into the sisters' apt, which is more the area they are working. Called the housing elder with the proposal and he was going to talk with Pres. Baker. Sisters don't know about this, and that may be a hang-up. They are behind a member's home in a little apt and may not want to give it up or the owner may not want elders instead of sisters. So it is still up in the air! We decided to invite the Spanish elders in Greensville to supper as they don't get many member meals. They asked if they could bring an investigator and then give him a lesson; we were happy with that. Made our usual creamy chicken enchilada verde with coleslaw. Told them to bring their own heat, but they forgot. Luis brought a small cake to share; how sweet. Have not had that happen before! It was interesting to hear the Plan of Salvation in Spanish and not know how it was being received. I could tell he had a lot of questions. E. Steffler and I were asked to bear our testimony of the atonement. He can understand more English than he can speak, so I guess it went okay. A good evening.
Friday we did water aerobics when the temp was 54 degrees; a little chilly, especially when we got out of the water! District meeting focused on praying always from E. Bednar talk. Had good discussion on what it means to pray always and having a prayer of gratitude. After snacks, we invited the G1 elders to help us eat leftovers, which they gladly did. They are moving into our complex Nov. 1 and are concerned about the cleaning they are expected to do. They were also eager to see what the inside of the apt looked like and how roomy it is (much larger than where they are). Then we met with Joanna to read BOM. Read Mosiah 15; don't know how much she remembers, but she feels the spirit when we are there. She invited us to dig some peanuts that the digger missed. E. Steffler tromped out in his suit and helped dig about a gallon of peanuts – just like diggin' spuds! Then drove to the park where we will have a picnic on Saturday. I wanted to check out the lay of the land. It is a nice park with a covered area for picnics. Took the YSA sisters to meet with a member, who never showed, so we took them to Burger King to have supper – it was right there in the area and the sisters had not eaten (we had). Watched a couple of conference talks, then remembered we were to "hang out" with Philip, but his mom said when a friend invited him to watch a movie, he was out of the house in a flash! Anyway, he forgot. So will catch him later.
Saturday was Service Project Day. Met at the church in jeans and work boots. We were divided into three areas of service. E. Steffler and I headed to 3rd Street Community Center. It is an old school being renovated and needs lots of work. Some folks worked inside, but we went outside and helped rake up pine needles (called straw hereabouts) then hauled to the flower beds for mulch. We worked hard for 2 hours raking, picking up sticks and pinecones (which went to the compost pile). Then a few went to make the flower beds look pretty. The stake president had his pickup and hauled the pine straw to the front and pine cones and sticks to the compost pile. There were 25-30 large, mature yellow pines along one side of play area in the back. It took about a dozen of us working hard to rake it all up. Then we left to set up the picnic at the park. We had invited all the missionaries because they had to be ready for Walk & Talk at 1 p.m. But the elders all backed out and the sisters all came, so it worked out. We had PB&J, crackers, chips, carrots and cookies. The sisters had cleaned tubs and painted at the Community Shelter. Then E. Steffler and I had to reward ourselves with yogurt at Sweet Frog. It was yummy! We wanted to get together with the other senior couple nearby, but they were in Raleigh, so we went to a movie and a burger at 5 Guys. The movie was Alexander's Bad, Awful, Horrible Day, and it was pretty cute. I'm afraid I'm going to be very sore from all the stooping and picking up. But it was a good project and a lot got done. The landscape lady (in charge of the great outdoors) was thrilled to get so much done.
Another week comes to a close. When (and if) I get photos of the pumpkin carving and service project, I will post on blog and maybe some on facebook.
I can't believe how quickly time is flying past. We enjoy working with the young singles as well as the missionaries. We feel very blessed to work in this area. The gospel is true and God truly does love all of His children. Even those who chose not to believe in Him; He still loves them. Hope everyone's week was good. We see many miracles each day (mostly driving and not getting hit!) and are truly grateful for His tender mercies. God bless; we love each and every one of you. Elder & Sister Steffler

Monday, October 13, 2014

October 13

Late again this week – and no good excuse! I remembered at 9 p.m. last night and just could not think straight enough to write.
When I made bread again on Monday, Oct. 6, it was a slurry again. I was getting pretty disgusted, blaming the flour, the yeast, anything. I added two more cups of flour and mixed it, but did not let it sit any longer. After it was in the oven, I was putting away the clean dishes from the dishwasher, and there was the 1 cup measuring cup! I looked at the cup I had been using, and it was the 2/3 cup. I was ashamed I had blamed everything else when it was my own fault. I took a blue marker and highlighted the 2/3 cup and a black marker to highlight the 1 cup, so that won't happen again! I did not throw away any bread, it tasted okay, but it was not pretty. Picked up Dan's hearing aid at the post office and sent off McKay's birthday card (HAPPY BIRTHDAY). It cost $20 for them to mail the hearing aids, but cheaper than driving to Raleigh to pick it up (time plus gas). Went to Logan's Steakhouse to celebrate our anniversary. The youth played the Name Game at FHE. They can have fun playing any game, I believe. But it was fun watching them. Talked with one of the members after the game and asked about a banner for our upcoming fall fest. He said he made one last year, so we commenced to look everywhere we could think of. Found it in the R.S. closet, along with a ton of fall decorations. We hit the bullseye!
Tuesday was water aerobics, and I thought the pool was heated. It did not feel heated, but we had had a few days of cooler weather; getting down into the 50s at night affects the water temp! Had the G1 sisters for practice lesson and lunch – breakfast for lunch. Interesting tidbit happened during lesson. I was an investigator having difficulty keeping commitments. I had not prayed about baptism, so the new sister asked me to pray about it right then – never had that happen before, nor had her trainer. Revelation! E. Steffler watched the priesthood session that he missed Saturday evening. The YSA sisters came by to finalize plans for the fall fest. Got the lollipops marked and printed about 180 handouts with basic info on branch meetings. Were informed that the investigator that had planned for her baptism Saturday decided against it and is moving to be with her boyfriend. It is so sad when someone makes that kind of decision knowing that the church is true. Enjoyed reading lesson #8 that Kim sent – good background on early converts to church.
Wednesday we had a quick walk, early, because we had things to do, places to go! Packed the fold-up chairs, water, snacks and headed to president's house. Finally found it (without gps), exchanged crock pot for pop-up shade and headed to Pitt Community College and fall fest. Found a decent parking place (we were an hour early) and got the shade up and decorations unpacked before the YSA sisters arrived. Tablecloth on table, decorations scattered , poster and lollipop tree set in front of table, church items set out. There was a breeze, so I worried about the shade taking off. E. Steffler and I took turns holding it down. I was thankful for the shade and the tree nearby; we did not get too warm – and the temp got into the 80s. The sisters worked the crowd and got 32 people to voluntarily sign up for activities and more info about the church. It was a busy place. Lunch was served outside and there was a long line in front of our "booth." The fest lasted from 10 to 2. Gave away a lot of dum dums. Took the sisters to eat at Jersy Mike's (sub sandwiches); they needed the nourishment. It had been a good day. Had institute that night; we set up the chairs in a different way and about everyone commented on it. Had D&C 29-35; good discussion.
Workout and soak in hot tub started Thursday off right. Went to Joanna's to read Book of Mormon, she had forgotten, but it was okay. She was having a bad day, so we talked and prayed and finally settled down to read in Mosiah. Then to Sam's Club for some items and Sweet Frog to have a yogurt with G2 sisters before one of them got transferred that afternoon. Sis. Bunker is headed to Mt. Pleasant in Virginia. Came back to the apartment and gave her an Indian trinket to remember us by. She is such a sweet sister; most all the missionaries are! More shopping then to Salvation Army to sign up for volunteer work. Also found Ronald McDonald House where a young mother and her mom were staying while the baby was in the hospital. Talked with the mother and told her we would love to take them to lunch and to call us; they haven't. Need to go back and see how things are. Traffic was horrendous; I remembered why we didn't like to drive during rush hour (3-6 in Greenville). Took us 40 minutes to drive about 5 miles. Got a call from housing elder for the mission; he wants us to find another apartment for the Kinston elders. Called the high counselor over missionaries and asked for the names of mission leaders in Kinston; he was in a meeting with church leaders from mission and stake. He texted the mission leaders from both wards in Kinston, and I called one and got the right one. He is going to send us the names of two realtors tomorrow to meet with. I went into the bathroom to take my evening meds and as I reached for the medicine cabinet, there was a 2-inch long cockroach on the mirror. Yes, I screamed and had Dan come dispose of it – another one down the food disposal!. Yuck! He said I had scared it to death, but it was not dead!
Friday was a perfect morning for water aerobics. The weather had warmed up enough that the warm was just a touch cool, not cold. We were early for district meeting; returned the tablecloth, all clean, and put the paper plates in the YSA closet. Took honeydew melon and Go Gurts to share. Pres. and Sis. Baker were in attendance; put an extra edge on the meeting! Had a good discussion on E. Bednar's talk on prayer. E. Steffler prepared some ribs for supper; shopped for a few more items for Sunday and bought 4 pumpkins for FHE. The youth are carving pumpkins, so we bought a few in case some showed up without one. Planned and prepared for Saturday and enjoyed ribs! Decided on a place to meet K1 elders, in La Grange. Read Sunday School lesson on Isaiah and watched a couple of talks from conference. Got a call from G1 sisters; Joana needed someone to take her shopping at 10 a.m. tomorrow!
Up early so we could get to Joanna's on time. She and her twin boys, age 6, wanted to go to Lowe's for the kids' corner. They were making haunted houses – so it was not really shopping she needed to do. There were about 30 kids (all armed with hammers) with parents already there. The kit was pretty self-explanatory. E. Steffler helped one twin and she worked with the other. It was pretty cute and only took about 20 min. to complete. So we made it back in time to meet with YSA sisters for a lesson and lunch. Lesson was on chastity, which they introduced with the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes." Think about how you could teach about chastity using that song! It worked wonderfully. (Think only good thoughts; no touching between shoulders and knees; stand in safe places; see no porn; hear no bad music; speak no bad language or thoughts; and the nose – no one knows about the nose!) Had breakfast for lunch, again. Headed to La Grange to pick up K1 elders; put location in gps and it took us to a place about 5 miles from where we needed to be. I kept telling E. Steffler we were not going in the right direction! He has more trust in Miss Naggie (gps). We were 25 min. late and the elders were sweating (it was in the 80s again). Felt bad. Took them to apt, then tried to find where they thought the new apt was they were interested in. Nope, could not find it. Next we went to the stake dance, watched a video of photos taken at Palmyra and the grand march, finally got to eat bbq chicken, green beans, boiled potatoes and yummy dessert. Home by 8 p.m., no dancing for us! And it rained all the way home.
Sunday had branch council, picked up Tyrei and had good testimony meeting and SS. Then had to prepare for break the fast. Had 5 spice pork (prepared by branch pres. wife), cabbage salad, rice and desserts. Home by 4:30 and crashed for awhile. Then sisters came over to give us some assignments to contact from fall fest. Don't know why I couldn't fit in a blog somewhere!
So another week behind us; almost 7 months on our mission. Does not seem possible. Have a couple of assignments this week: photograph gravestones and service project, in addition to our usual, so we should be fairly busy. Hope all of you are being busy, staying out of trouble and all that. Keep a smile on your face and the spirit in your heart and things will go better, I promise. Love y'all. Elder & Sister Steffler
 

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Monday, October 6, 2014

horseshoe crabs

 

Atlantic Beach

 

Grave Digger

 

October 6

I am a day behind, but for a good reason – we went on a trip over the weekend. But let me start at the first of the week.
Elders quorum was reorganized with Clark Jones as president and counselors are Blake Howard and Shane Whaley. Had three talks for sacrament meeting – all on preparing for general conference. I don't remember the emphasis put on general conference at home like they do here. Sunday School was Amos and how we are thankful for prophets. Two new counselors in Relief Society: Jessica Walker and Emily Jenkins. Had a good discussion about women's conference: the oil of preparedness (spiritual) and God loves you as you are NOW! I keep thinking, I would love myself more if I would lose some weight – but God loves me now. I have to learn to do that.
Monday walked in 100% humidity and could hardly breathe, the air was so thick! This was not our usual P Day – we got dressed in our usual clothes with E. Steffler in a suit. Picked up the G2 sisters and headed to New Bern (about an hour's drive) where Pres. Baker streamed "Meet the Mormons." All the missionaries in our stake were there. Very interesting. Showed clips of a black bishop, candy bomber from WWII, engineer from Nepal, a couple from Costa Rica, the coach of Navy football team, and a woman who sends her son on a mission to South Africa -- he is half black. Had lunch at Golden Corral then headed home. Asked a member, Stevon, to takes photos at FHE cause they were playing crab soccer. It was hilarious! Then they played human foosball, then volleyball! I don't think they ever get tired. Maybe tired, but not enough to quit! Bought some birthday cards at Target because we have a few coming up in October.
Tuesday was a good workout and soak in hot tub. Did laundry and made bread. Found a cockroach just inside the front door and E. Steffler ground it up in the food disposal! Dan was an investigator for G1 sisters who needed to decide if he wanted to be baptized. In the afternoon I got a perm; it took 2 1/2 hours with two people working on my hair. It was a little short around the edges. Made our creamy chicken enchiladas verde for supper with 2 members. They enjoyed the meal then had our talk. Got Mallory to give Nikki the Book of Mormon, although she was reluctant. But she did fine! The YSA sisters dropped by after they left and we chatted about half an hour and decided to meet again tomorrow. Told them that when we got to FHE Monday, there were 3 nonmembers chatting, waiting to get in to FHE. The sisters did not realize the one was not a member.
Wednesday was a beautiful autumn day – water aerobics with NO rain! Read D&C 107, long and very interesting. A tidbit in the middle about Adam and all his posterity down to Noah and how old they were when ordained to the priesthood. I was an investigator for the YSA practice and we went over the baptismal questions. Used Elijah and the widow who fed him as putting the Lord first – encouraging her to be strong and tell her parents she is getting baptized. She is so afraid to tell them. Tomorrow we will meet to hash out some details on the Pitt Community College Fest. We have a booth and have to decide what we are going to do. Drove about 20 miles to discover 2 less actives – both are gone. Had an institute committee meeting that went well. Covered D&C 20-28 in class.
Thursday was a good day for a walk. Read scriptures with Joanna D-Auria – Mosiah 3. Discussed some questions she had. Had a hot dog at Sam's and filled up the gas tank, preparatory to our trip. Had our meeting about the Fest upcoming Oct. 8. Decided we might need a banner, and a member of the branch owns a business, so headed out to find him, but he was not at the business. So they will get together with him later. Headed to Sweet Frog for some yogurt – where we saw the car. Maybe pimp mobile is a little strong; we are seeing more of the large tires like that. Found out that the mango yogurt is really strong! May not try that one again. We started packing for our trip. Then took the sisters 2 loaves of bread to take to zone meeting Friday (and honey butter). Packed the Ensign and lesson 8 from Kim to read while Dan is at priesthood session. I made pumpkin cookies with the leftover pumpkin to take and share with the missionaries we will see.
Up early Friday. (Happy Birthday to grandson Tayler – #18!) We were going to exercise, but I was too antsy to get on the road. It was 9:30 before we finally left – and we were mostly packed! Went to the Outer Banks to do some sightseeing and be tourists. Had to go see Grave Digger – about 30 miles further down the road. Took some photos, but was not impressed with the gift shop. So went to our next stop: National Air Museum. It had a great gift shop! Got all my Christmas shopping done for the grandkids! Our Golden Age Passport got us in free, so that was good. While I shopped, Dan looked at all the displays. Had a model of the plane the Wright Brothers flew. Also had the flying strip marked out for the four trial runs they took. Drove around the loop to see the sculptures and hill (Kill Devil Hill) that they used. Then we found our motel – the Outer Banks Inn. We were on the third floor and no elevators! Pool was not heated. So I was a little bummed. There was a shuttle bus to take us to the ocean, but we didn't take it. Instead we went to eat at the Colington CafĂ©. Very nice (and expensive). I had chicken breast with raspberry mustard sauce. Dan had grilled tuna with jalapeno sauce and tenderloin medallions with salsa (they had a fancy name, but that is what it was!). Shared a piece of chocolate cake that was yummy.
On the road by 8 a.m. Saturday to make the ferry crossing at 10:30 at Bayview. It takes you across the river to Aurora. It's not much faster than driving, but it was a new experience we wanted to try. We got there with 5 minutes to spare! We drove on a scenic highway, but mostly trees. One side was a swamp with dead white trees, like maybe there had been a fire in some distant past. We realized we would not get to the second ferry crossing in time, so we took the road to Havelock. Got to the church about 12:10 so missed opening prayer and song, but caught the tail end of Pres. Monson's welcome. Talks on what way are you facing to follow the right voice. Took the Havelock elders to lunch between sessions to Hwy 55, for burgers and fries. Shared pumpkin cookies frosted with caramel frosting. Back at the motel, on the second floor and no elevator. Should be getting use to that. E. Steffler decided to watch priesthood session on the laptop. Well, it froze during the opening song. Should be used to that, too! We did read a couple of chapters in BOM to make up for it. Also we went to Subway to buy sandwiches for Sunday. Kept the lettuce and dressing separate from the bread and meat.
Sunday got to sleep in and it felt good. Had a better breakfast than for Saturday. Found ants all over the counter in the bathroom; that was a bummer. I may have drunk a couple taking my meds. Yuck! Didn't notice them until later. Left Havelock about 9:30 and drove to Morehead City then to Atlantic Beach. Walked on the beach! Finally! The tide was going out so the sand was wet and firm. Walked quite a distance before turning back. Dan was picking up shells. Saw several horseshoe crabs (dead) on the beach. Someone was picking them up to take home to shellac and sell them. Yuck! It was a lovely cool morning with just a slight breeze. A sweater felt good. Drove to the Visitor Center in Morehead City to change into church clothes. About 20 or so in attendance at the church. Sis. Reece had bought sandwich fixings with chips and drink. She said she has done it for years because the missionaries can't go buy something on Sunday. There are 6 missionaries in Morehead City. We knew a couple of them. The sisters brought a peanut butter-chocolate pie someone had given them to share and I frosted more cookies. It was a feast! Then drove to Harkers Island to watch the afternoon session. Only two elders there, so we joined them. Frosted 6 cookies and they ate them all. Had a nice drive home. Glad we had Miss Naggie our GPS, because I was thoroughly turned around. Stopped at the rest area by Vanceboro to finally eat our Subway sandwiches. Home by 8:30 and unpacked. A good trip.
So today is our wedding anniversary. We had decided to go somewhere in celebration; finally made it to the beach, plus we met some great missionaries and members. Definitely worth it!
Hope y'all enjoyed conference as much as we did. Liked the Lego temple that Nate built and Tina posted on facebook! Lots of comments on the talks. We are flooding facebook, that's for sure! Our testimonies continue to grow as we experience teaching and learning more. I have found that I can live without tv and radio. But the first thing we did at the motels was turn on the tv! I am pretty disgusted with myself. Need to repent. God bless all of you who take the time to read these ramblings. We are enjoying our mission probably more than we should! Til next week, watch which path you are on! Love, Elder and Sister Steffler

Thursday, October 2, 2014