Rachel Woolsey Lee and the Wagon Wheel

Rachel A. Woolsey was born in 1825, and married John D. Lee in 1845.

She bore eight children and died in 1912.

The following is an account from Rachel's life

as she traveled with the Saints to the Salt Lake Valley,

written by the historical writer Juanita Brooks.

Though the days were often dull, there were other times when the excitement was almost more than these prairie women needed as Rachel Lee found out near the end of her journey. As she walked beside her wagon, delighting in the wind that cooled her a little as she trudged along, an unexpected gust whipped her skirts into the wagon wheel. Before Rachel knew it, her skirts were being "wrapped around and around the hub. She screamed for help as she tried to extricate them, but in an instant they were being drawn so tight that she could only grasp two spokes in her hands, her feet between two others , and make a complete revolution with the wheel."

The wagon was finally stopped, and Rachel found herself almost right side up but still tightly bound to the wheel. Everyone gathered around, trying to decide how to get her loose. There was no question of cutting her clothing, as that would mean one less item for wear that she needed badly.

It was decided they would unhook her skirt and unbutton the petticoat, and by carefully slitting the placket, she could be pulled free. Her shoes were unlaced, then, as one woman held a blanket to protect her from curious eyes, she was plucked from skirt, petticoats, and shoes "clean as though they were skinning the legs of a chicken." Later the clothing was easily removed from the wheel, and in the privacy of her wagon, Rachel shook them free of wrinkles and put them on again. As she took up her walk, she kept a wary distance from the wheels.

As a mission we have learned so much from these wonderful pioneers.

From Rachel's story we decided that

sometimes

its wise not to take ourselves too seriously,

and that laughter truly is the best medicine.

I have loved reading about the pioneers.

They were more often then not "city folk" with little experience

of camping and and handling large wagons.

What courageous, wonderful souls.

Ladies in Blue

Once again,

we all got the memo.

NOM Cookies

You can't get these cookies anywhere else

on the face of the earth

but in the Nebraska Omaha Mission.

And...

you don't get them for any other reason

other than

IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!!!

February Senior Dinner

We are blessed in this mission to have many senior couples

who are called to work in the Trail Center and the Tabernacle.

They also serve in surrounding wards providing leadership training

and all of them are privileged to work in the Winter Quarters Temple.

I can't imagine that there are many missions that have this

kind of opportunity to be around so many others,

all doing the same wonderful things.

Consequently, they become a great big loving family.

The first Monday of every month they all get together

and have the most enjoyable dinner,

with great food, clever decorations and fun entertainment.

But the best part seems to be

just getting together to talk about

kids, grandkids, investigators, wards, callings, the temple, the work

and how glad they are to be here on a mission.

Elder and Sister Ringle had their last dinner in February

and have since left us to go home to Utah.

We feel like a little of the family has gone away,

and we miss them already.

If you ask any one of them, they will tell you

that a mission is the best thing they have done in a long time.

All of them say how their testimonies have grown,

how their families have been blessed,

and how they have absolutely loved it!

And once again we see-

that no matter what you 'give' to the Lord

He gives back so much more in return.

Just Practicing...

Matthew is taking a

class at school called "Know Yourself"

(one of those human growth and development things).

One assignments required the kids to care for a baby for 72 hours.

The 'baby' was actually a soda bottle filled 2/3 full of water.

We put a styrofoam head on it and

stuffed a little jumper with batting.

Matthew named him, Dean Jeffrey Kunz.

(I found out Matthew likes the nickname DJ.)

Matt told me his baby was by far the cutest one around

and all the girls wanted to keep him,

but being the excellent dad he was, he never let DJ out of his sight,

not even when he went to the park with his buddies.

It was funny watching my teenager walking down the street

with little Dean looking back over his shoulder.

Matt said the assignment was a piece of cake.

(Maybe I should have made a tiny little hole

in the bottom of that soda bottle

just to make the experience more lifelike).

Good job Matt!

You are going to be a great dad!!

As Sister in Zion

Each sister missionary that has come to us

has been remarkable in her own way.

I know that the "Last Days" will require much

from the women of the church.

These are the women who will do that work.

They are women of courage, ability and great love for the Lord.

I never cease to be amazed and to learn from them.

Specialized Training

Elder Bowyer setting up for training.

The Missionary Department has developed a new training program

to be carried out in the field.

Instead of Zone Conferences held monthly

they are now held quarterly and

replacing them is what is called Specialized Training.

This is specific training targeted

to meet the needs of individual missionaries.

To prepare we sent out a survey asking each missionary

how these meetings could best help them improve in their work.

Then we prepared according to our findings.

Elder Hudspeth and Elder Johnson,

Zone Leaders in Council Bluffs

As in all our meetings the Zone Leaders conduct

and make sure everything runs smoothly.

Some of our lovely sisters.

A few group shots at the close of the session.

Some of our great elders.

Sister Hale and me.

When you start with such great missionaries

as we have here in NOM,

sometimes it's hard to know how to help them

get any better.

-But we all have room for improvement

and we know that these training sessions

will help us teach more powerfully

and have greater faith to find those the Lord has prepared.