MISSION TRIVIA

The first thing a person should do on their mission, is get to know the area, and then get to loving the people. It hasn’t been hard loving the people of St Louis. They’re all so nice. Most of the members
treat us as though we’re angels sent from heaven, and thank us over and over again for our service.

It makes me a bit nervous since I don’t think we’ve done anything overly special. After all, we’ve just barely been here four weeks now. We’re just getting to know our responsibilities, and don’t have them down pat yet.

 

Here we are at Ted Drews. Could anything be finer?



We’ve been going to two wards each week and introducing ourselves. Our years of moving from one place to another have prepared me for this activity. I’m used to going into a ward and not knowing anyone. As I look back on my life I can see the Lord’s hand in preparing us for our mission in a lot of different ways.

In turn, we’ve had angels come to us. The first two are Rock and Joy Erekson. I’ve never met a lovelier couple. They’re gracious and kind, and generous.

Randy (right) w/ the Ereksons
 

You gotta love people whose favorite activity is going out for frozen custard! It's so yummy, everyone just stands outside and eats it. The city put up a railing between the sidewalk and the street so that when there's a crowd, they don't go into the street and get hurt.

 

Saint Louis, the King and Crusader

After the ice cream, they took us to see the sights until it was our bedtime. This is actually across the street from the art museum.

 



The St Louis Art Museum.

This building was build for the 1905 World's Fair. It's pretty amazing. Why don't they build pretty buildings anymore?

HAPPPY BIRTHDAY!

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday. I'll not reveal how old he is, but he hasn't turned 60 yet. To celebrate, I'm going to embarrass him by posting some crazy pictures I've taken of him.

Bubbles

at the Foutz Family Reunion

 

silly daddy!

 

cookout at Sugarloaf Mountain, AZ

April Conference 2011

Water day!


Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather! I hope your day is memorable.

 

A POCKET FULL OF GOLD

As most of you know, my husband and I are on our mission now. The year before our decision to serve was full of trials and hardship. The time since our decision to serve has been exciting, fun, and full of new possibilities.

What's it like to sell your home and most of its contents to serve the Lord? Let me share this cute story to help me explain:

There was once this rich man. He had spent his life acquiring wealth, and he was very good at it. One night, while he was in his office going over his finances and feeling rather pleased, and angel came to him. "The time is at hand for you to meet your eternal reward. Prepare yourself wisely."

"I'm not going to go," said the wealthy man, "unless I can take my wealth with me. It's who I am. It's what It's been the focus of my whole life."

"You will die when it is your time," said the angel, "and you’re not allowed to take anything with you.”

But the wealthy man had great bargaining skills, and finally the angel relented. “You can take one suitcase,” he said, “but that’s all.”

The wealthy man rubbed his hands together with glee. He would rock heaven with his wealth. Perhaps even Kind Midas would be jealous of what he had accumulated. But how could he get it all to heaven?

He decided that if he transferred his wealth into gold, he could make the most of his small suitcase, so he set about having his wealth condensed into gold brick.

Finally the time of his death arrived. He found his suitcase and lugged it to the pearly gates. Here he met St. Peter. He saw the suitcase and said, “You’re not allowed to bring anything from your life on earth. That has to stay.”

The wealthy man said, “No, no, no. It’s okay. I have special permission.”

St Peter decided he’d better inspect the suitcase before he allowed it through, so he opened the bag. Upon seeing the gold brick, he exclaimed, “Pavement? You were allowed to bring anything you wanted into heaven, and you brought pavement?”

Some of our things were particularly hard to part with, but in the end, it’s all just stuff. The things that are important on earth aren’t the same things that are important eternally.

Moroni lived in a cave. Moses grew up in a palace and ended up wandering in the desert for 40 years. We won't be gone that long. In the mean time, we're hoping to fill our suitcase with something more than pavement. Haha.

WILD ABOUT ANIMALS

Did you ever want to stand next to a mountain lion? What would he do? What would you? In this zoo, we had that opportunity.

I felt sorry for many of the animals in this zoo, as many of them seemed stir crazy. This mountain lion was one of them. He/she paced back and forth.


Did you ever see a giraffe and wish you could slide down its neck? Not to land on the fence, of course, but on a pillow of mulch.

 

In this zoo, you can.

 

Did you ever wish  you could live underground with the groundhogs in a labyrinth of tunnels? This zoo found the answer.

 

Who is the animal on display?

 

Did you ever pretend you were a butterfly?

 

 

Or wish you could swim like a jellyfish?

 

 

Zoos around the world find answers to all of our youthful aspirations, trying each day to help us appreciate the wild animals that share this planet with us. If you can, visit your local zoo soon.