July 27

Sunday, July 20, Elder Steffler and I took an investigator to Kinston for a baptismal interview. He said she would have to wait to be baptized (she was scheduled for July 26), but that he would talk with Pres. Baker and he would make the final call. We got back to Greenville for classes. We wanted to see Florence get confirmed in the G2 ward, so we went to sacrament meeting. Sister Jasperson bore her testimony (yet again) as she is going home tomorrow. We fixed a sandwich then watched facebook for the posted photos and videos – they were awesome. Thanks family for sharing! I loved the one of Justin going down on his stomach face-first. DJ and Ed outdid themselves. We read an Ensign article and our Book of Mormon reading; even talked and planned our week ahead. Got a call from Sister Bunker saying she needed a ride to trainers' training at the mission office in Portsmouth on Thursday, so that takes care of that day.

We were up early Monday and had our exercise done by 8, but the hot tub was not hot – it was cold! Cleaned apartment, shopped in the rain and made bread. For FHE Nikki was in charge and wanted to do the karaoke thing we did on the bus. Blindfold, find a song that only they can hear and belt out the words. Just about everyone there participated. It took some persuading but even Tyrei and Kierra performed. The sisters arrived and announced that Kierra could be baptized Saturday! Happy day! Pres. Baker okayed it. Sister Jones who will be transferred to Washington on Thursday would even be allowed to come to it. We took a loaf of bread to the sisters (since Sis. Romney and Jones are being transferred) and let Sis. Jones pick a trinket from the sack (Indian artwork).

Tuesday was a cool water aerobic workout since it has rained a bit. Our usual practice session with the G2 elders got changed because Elder Lancaster (who is being transferred) wanted to eat together at a Mexican place. My stomach was acting up again – it may be the tight waistband in my skirt! Picked a tomato off my little plant that is loaded and found another one on the ground. Must have been too heavy or too many on the plant. Decided to go for a ride. We wanted to find corn on the cob and thought we would have to go to the country. After filling up at Sam's Club, we went to a little stand nearby that sold everything we wanted. Then E. Steffler mentioned that there was a place in Tarboro that sold Traegers; would I like to take a ride there and look? Absolutely NOT! His brother Terry had just bought a small one and E. Steffler had been online checking out where he could find one. Talked with Lena and Liza. Liza had taken Elinore and Lydia to Logan to the opera and seen Oklahoma and Les Mes. Got home at 1:30!

Wed. we walked in 73 degrees and 94% humidity; humid all day – ugh. Had the G2 elders to a practice lesson and lunch. I fixed a cutesy salad of lettuce leaf, tomato and cottage cheese on a plate. E. Terril hates cottage cheese and E. Dumont does not like tomatoes, so that flopped! They made up for it with corn on the cob, fish sticks, fried potatoes and bread. Got our first Ensign that we ordered and had to look through that, plus an announcement and letter from a friend, Mary Berry. She and Bill are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary Saturday. She was my matron on honor at my wedding. So I sat right down and wrote her an email. It was so good to hear from her. Institute that night. Found out we don't have to go to mission office Thursday; there are 4 sisters getting trained, so they are going in the van.

Thursday: Happy Pioneer Day! Another workout day with more humidity. Decided the strawberries we bought Monday would not last until Saturday, so we made a batch of jam – darn! Bought them for 3/$5; the ones we bought to replace were 2/$6! Drove 30 miles to the south of Kinston to pick up leftover chocolate. Drove in a downpour coming home. We needed chocolate and strawberries because Kierra said that is what she wanted for her baptism refreshments. Finally felt good enough for my birthday dinner. We went to Logan's Roadhouse. Atmosphere leaves something to be desired, but the food is good. Visted with a member of the branch who lives in Ayden. He was raised around here and went on a mission to Cleveland Ohio; Kirtland was part of his mission. Interesting discussion.

Friday the water was cool again after the rainfall. Had to cut up fruit for district meeting: pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe. Made fruit kabobs. E. Steffler said the elders wouldn't care, but I said the sisters would! 3 new sisters and 1 elder in our district. Decided to melt the chocolate when we got home. Set the time at 5 minutes and at 4 minutes I had burnt chocolate and a hole in the plastic bowl! So then we had to go buy more chocolate. A learning curve here. The instructions on the dipping chocolate said to heat in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. No wonder the catastrophe at 4 minutes! Filled 2 cookie sheets with strawberries dipped in chocolate. Met our new upstairs neighbors: from Seattle and are Jehovah's Witnesses. Should be interesting.

Walked in humidity again Saturday, but we finished reading the Book of Mormon! It was so different reading it quickly and praying before we read each time. I underlined much more than I had ever done. Now to write a page about what we learned about the atonement. Then at 12:30 I decided to make a batch of brownies. Sis. Jones was going to bring a batch of cookies to the baptism and I was afraid one batch wouldn't be enough. So we took the 2 cookie sheets of strawberries and batch of brownies cut up into small pieces and headed to the church. We plated the berries on a pretty plate; Sis. Jones arrived and didn't have time to make cookies. Tender mercies of the Lord – I have made brownies, just in case. And they were a hit with the chocolate covered strawberries. Kierra's dad brought her to the baptism, along with a friend. Had several investigators who had come with other missionaries plus several from the branch. A good baptism, good talks, good refreshment. Doesn't get much better than that! Today was Sister Bunker's birthday so we took her and her new companion Sis. Whetten to Logan's. The food is really good. We asked if they wanted to practice on us and they said of course, so the G2 elders on Tuesday and G2 sisters on Wednesday, followed by lunch, of course. Then Thursday we are going to read BOM and teach a sister in G1. So our mornings are filling up; now to find something to do in the afternoons.

As you can see, we are staying fairly busy and loving the work. We love working with the missionaries and branch members. It's all good. E. Steffler says: Finishing the BOM was awesome. I'm realizing more and more how much power the book has. It can and does change lives – for the better!

God bless all of you; we love you and God loves you. Never forget that. Elder and Sister Steffler

Fruit kabobs

Made for district meeting July 25.

Crepe myrtle

Our sidewalk view still flowers on trees.

July 19

Sister jasperson with us in a goodbye photo.

July 20

Sunday, July 13, we got to sleep in because there was no branch council! I think Pres. Lewis needed the sleep as much as we did (remember Palmyra trip last week). He got sick on the trip, but he was at church presiding and conducting. An awesome new sister in the ward, Jessica H., teaching school in Tarboro. Clark, Madison and Bro. Paries talked about the Restoration and the Palmyra trip. Had breakfast after church, then read two assignments in the Book of Mormon. We got behind because we didn't find any time to read on the trip. Got a postcard from Maike with birthday wishes (thanks!). She is in China visiting and touring with her sister. The YSA sister came begging for ingredients to make cookies (sugar, eggs, and chocolate chips). Of course we helped them out!

Monday we were still in recovery mode – slept in and finally made it to the pool, which we had to share with three others because we were so late. Read two more assignments from BOM and got caught up. We also got caught up on the Ensign reading that the stake has outlined for us. Can you tell we laid around and read a lot? Picked up Kierra for a lesson on Family History at the church. Then left to pick up Tyrei for FHE. They played human battleship. Never seen it played before, but they had fun. Then did human fuss ball. Hadn't seen that before either! Pretty intensive.

Tuesday up and walking, humidity not too high. Got ready to feed the G2 elders after a practice lesson. Had chicken, asparagas, salad, stuffing and brownies. Only got through half of Plan of Salvation. My stomach was still giving me an occasional ache. Listened to Mormon Legacy on Willard Bean the Fighting Parson, about Palmyra and how the church was able to purchase Hill Cumorah and several historical sites. He and his wife were called on a five year mission to Palmyra and ended up there for 25 years! It is quite a story and I would encourage anyone to read it: go to lds.org and in search engine type Willard Bean, Palmyra. Had rain off and on all day; went to bed listening to thunder, again.

Wednesday we went to work out and two guys were on the bike and tread mill, so we just did machines then sat in hot tub. Another rainy day, not as bad as what Rexburg had, though! No flooding here. Took car to Ford dealer to get oil changed and tires rotated; also get new filters. Didn't need a new air filter, but the cab filter was almost plugged. Dan fried a steak for lunch and we had sweet potato and corn on the cob – yummy! At institute committee meeting, we decided to have a closing social with pizza and salad – only two more classes. Made an announcement about Career Workshop and Tyrei and Kierra want to go.

Thursday early morning water aerobics – done by 8 a.m.! Read scriptures then made bread. I found that drinking hot water helped my stomach distress, also laying flat out in the recliner. Went to Sam's Club to gas up the car and buy a few items. I was out of honey, is that a good enough reason. Plus, we wanted to look for chocolate covered raisins, but no luck. Set some appointments for Friday and Saturday. Visited with the new move-in Jessica and took her a loaf of bread. She is teaching in a charter school in Tarboro. She lives in the apartment complex where we do and car pools to Tarboro, about 40 minute drive.

Had a nice walk, not too humid. Dan made a peach cobbler to take to district meeting (for my birthday and the district leader's on the 7th and a sister on the 26th). It was Sister Jasperson's last meeting; she bore her testimony then I had to say the closing prayer. Then we drove to Washington to do a walk-through with the elders' former apartment manager. It went okay (after we waited 1 1/2 hours for her). Someone has switched the bathroom ceiling tile that was broken so the broken part was next to the wall where it was not obvious. The elders had done a super job of cleaning. Had missionary correlation meeting then went home to make potato soup. The YSA sisters are doing an awesome job.

Saturday: Happy Birthday to ME! Thanks for all the mentions on fb. Got up at 6 a.m., no time to exercise because we had to pick up Kierra and Tyrei and get them to Kinston by 9 for the workshop. After waiting for 5 minutes at Kierra's, E. Steffler knocked on her door and woke her up! So we waited while she got ready. We made it in the nick of time then went to Subway to buy them Subway sandwiches for lunch, took them back to the church and put them in the frig. Then drove to a lady who wanted to meet us. She lives in the country south of town. She had made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, so we had to try some. She is an interesting lady; 4 boys, one out of house, one 17 and twins about 6 years old. Bro. Holliday from G2 was at workshop and he brought Tyrei and Kierra back to the church for a baptism at 5:30. We were able to do a Google Hang-out with our kids at their slip and slide they had set up at our house. It was awesome! See the pictures on fb. It was fun chatting with the kids and some of the grandkids. Teezha had gotten 5 wasp bites and was asleep, but Lena took the computer into the house so I could see her. She looks so grown up! All the grandkids did, even Justin with his black hair! All the missionaries wished me happy birthday (they were all at the baptism) and the YSA sisters had a homemade card with a poem for me. The G2 sisters brought by a pie to share and we took a picture. Sister Jasperson was the first missionary we met and she had fixed up the apartment and outfitted it with kitchen things. She is going home Monday and will be missed. Several transfers happening this coming week. All in all, it was a good day. A baptism always helps and Florence is special. She had three sisters tell their conversion stories and they were awesome. A spiritual feast, plus the brownies and apple cobbler helped, too!

The thing I would like to impress upon anyone reading this blog is that Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us. He will never give up on any of us, regardless of what we may have done. The three testimonies and Florence's own story testify of that. Never give up, never give up. God is always there wanting to help, we just need to ask. We love all y'all; we hope you know how much you are loved. We are loving this work and helping is this part of the vineyard. We are needed here and we love the missionaries and the YSA branch. God bless you. Elder and Sister Steffler

July 11, 2014

Picture taken at the Peter Whitmer farmhouse replica. The house was built on the original foundation using old timbers of the time period. There were not enough timbers to finish the house. Nearby a farmer had an old barn that he had been trying to take down. Every time he would work on it, his tools and equipment would fail. He tried burning it and it wouldn't burn. He offered it to the church if they would come take it down, which they did without trouble. Then they had enough material to finish the construction of the house. He was not a member (his neighbors referred to him as Norman the Mormon), but later joined the church because of his donation of the logs. He was the first one to take out his endowments at the newly built Palmyra Temple. Tender mercies of the Lord.

July 6

July 6 was cooler – and fast Sunday. That means break-the-fast day. Dan was up early and cooking hamburger for tacos. Gathered up olives, tortillas, hard taco shells, brownies, jalapenos, tomatoes and headed to branch council. Heard the funniest story: Bro. Jim Walker said he and Bro. Jones had gone fishing (I'm guessing deep sea fishing) and had filleted 220# of fish. It was in a cooler and they left it at Bro. Jones' until the next day. When he arrived the next day to pick up his share of fish, all that was left was a quarter-size piece with soy sauce on it. Bro. Jones is married to a Tongan, and they had a reunion of some sort and they had helped themselves to ALL of the fish – raw with soy sauce. No one had told the grandma that it was to be shared! Good testimony meeting; Tyrei passed sacrament for first time. Had a meeting with those going to Palmyra. The dinner included shredded chicken, guacamole, homemade salsa with all the stuff we took. They ate until it was gone! Encountered some of the logistics of 200 youth doing temple baptisms and having enough brethren to officiate.

Monday after cleaning the apartment and doing laundry we went shopping for rain ponchos and other various items. Had BLT sandwiches for supper, kind of: bacon on hot dog bun and spinach and tomatoes. At FHE they played games and had a cocolate fountain, but couldn't get the chocolate to melt, so dipped fruit, cookies, marshmallows, etc. The kids had fun and ate lots of stuff.

Tuesday workout and cool off in pool. Made bread while Dan picked up elders Terril and Dumont. They practiced Restoration on us as investigators. We threw them a couple of curves but they survived well. Then they went with E. Steffler outside to watch him grill steaks for lunch. I steamed squash and heated corn. Had potato salad, and of course, fresh bread and strawberry jam. Took them back to their apartment with lots of leftovers. After a nap and getting cleaned up, we met with Pres. Lewis and went to Tyrei's house to talk with his parents. Pres. Lewis wanted to personally assure them that we would take good care of their son. I think they were impressed that he was that concerned. It was a good meeting. Then we headed down Hwy 33 to Rocky Mount for our interview with Pres. Baker. (Missionary interviews were scheduled for Friday and we would be gone.) Rural country all the way. Got there early and met an elder who had been transferred from Greenville; good to see him again. His companion is from Meridian, ID. Had a good visit with Pres. Baker, gave them a loaf of fresh bread and invited them to dinner. Found an Outback Steakhouse which was good.

Wednesday we took advantage of the pool again, since we would not have a pool to enjoy on our trip. Did laundry (again!) then packed. Kept thinking of more things to take. The YSA sisters came by for leftovers and took two full bags. I made a batch cookies to take on the bus. Left at 7 to pick up Tyrei at his grandmother's house. She came out to give me her phone number and to call her when we got to New York. Got to Kinston at the stake center early – what a riot! Kids and suitcases everywhere. Not much organized chaos either. Finally got away at 11:15 – so much for the threat of leaving at 10! Picked up 3 kids at Roanoke Rapids, then a potty break at 2:30 a.m. and that took an hour by the time everyone visited the facilities (6 buses with 200 youth plus leaders).

Thursday for breakfast we stopped at McDonalds and half the bus had emptied to visit the potty when we found out it was the wrong McD's! The "real" one (where the food was) was 10 miles further down the road! Anyway, we got to Rochester to the Hyatt Hotel about 3, but the rooms were not ready. Another hour wait, then finally got to shower and get ready for the pageant. It was about half an hour's ride. We bought our own supper (choice of hamburger, cheeseburger, hot dog, salt potatoes or taco in a bag – very original: open a small bag of Doritos and add topping!) Groups of performers were working the crowd – part of their role as members of the cast. They had Books of Mormon and pamphlets and told what parts they played and where they were from, etc. A lot of families from the West come to the pageant to perform. We also met several senior couples, some working the pageant and others to see it, like us. The church family is small – we met several who we were able to connect with by town, state or family. See some of the pictures I took on facebook. The costumes are amazing, as were the effects. Performance lasted from 9:15-10:45, so it was late when we arrived back at the hotel.

Friday started early with a wake-up call at 6:15. Grabbed a McD breakfast and boarded the buses. The 6 buses were divided into 8 sessions at the temple, so it was an organizational nightmare! Our group visited the Whitmer farm first. There is a replica of the log house where the church was organized and a stake center that told some history and a visitors center where a video clip was shown (tear-jerker). Headed to Palmyra stake center where we left our temple clothes, had lunch and walked to the Smith farm house and to the Sacred Grove. The song Joseph Smith's First Prayer kept going through my mind as I walked the path into the Sacred Grove. It was quiet, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the mosquitoes were biting! I sat off the path on a bench to write in my journal and was attacked, so I left. It was a very sacred spot that I enjoyed until the bites started itching. E. Steffler sat on a bench and meditated while I walked out of the grove. Then he had to look all over for me. Not a happy camper. We walked back to the stake center (about 1/4 mile, uphill and it was hot), changed into Sunday dress and headed to the temple. It also was uphill, but not as far. It is so beautiful. From the road that goes up to the temple, you can look down at the Sacred Grove. It was holy ground. E. Steffler was a witness for the baptisms and I helped gather the wet jumpsuits and towels. We were there about 2 1/2 hours. Learned later that more than a 1,000 baptisms had taken place that day. Supper was pizza and soda and salad. Then a speaker, Bro. Pitts who is supervisor of security at Hill Cumorah, told some of the history and special stories associated with it. One of the groups of Indians that lived originally around Cumorah were called Watchers of the Hill – they didn't know why, but they knew it was a sacred place. They were of the Seneca tribe. Then the stake presidency spoke and some of the youth were called on to share testimonies and feelings from the day.

Wake-up call at 5:15 Saturday and I hadn't slept well, probably because of the pizza. My stomach hurt the whole way home. Hot chocolate and hot chicken noodle soup helped some. On the road at 6:45 a.m. and arrived in Kinston at 10:45 p.m. A long ride home. Traffic was worse during the day, so had to do some round abouts to avoid some of the traffic. D.C. was the worst congestion. We gave the two bus drivers a Book of Mormon each with testimonies written from the YSA and leaders, and some had some money to give as a tip. They were excellent drivers. I know of two accidents that they were able to avoid. It was so good to finally climb into bed. Didn't even bother to shower! And I needed to. Long trip, but so worth it. We could never have gone on our own for what we paid. Thanks to all who made that possible. The stake presidency had been working on this project for a year.

I feel so blessed to be on this mission and be able to attend events like this. As great as the pageant was, the history sites and temple and Sacred Grove were even better. Now I just have to heal up from the trip. My ankles are twice the size they should be and the bites are still swollen. But my testimony has grown of the truthfulness of the Restoration, Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Our prayer is that all of you can have the same feeling of love of our Savior that we feel. We love all y'all! Elder and Sister Steffler