Trail Center Training

Our Trail Center Trainers...

incredible young women, responsible for working with the Watsons

to insure that the Trail Center experience is what it should be.

Every weekend they hold a meeting

that inspires and uplifts us all.

All the lovely sisters who are currently working at the 

Trail Center.

Specialized Training

Instead of monthly Zone Conferences

we now conduct monthly Specialized Training.

This can be with a whole zone

 or with a district or even just  a few missionaries.

It enables us to meet specific needs better.

This specialized training combined two zones

and covered several specific topics 

we felt the missionaries needed.

A Relief Society provided a yummy lunch,

(the missionaries favorite part of the day).

Afterwards we always take a few pictures...

so that families at home can see

the sweet faces they love.

This last picture was taken on the stage 

while the missionaries worked on a personal assignment.
What a reverent bunch
and we sure love them!

Assistants

Our wonderful Assistants do so many things for President Kunz and me.

Not the least of which is taking all our "Safe Arrival" pictures

plus the copies that each missionary wants for himself;

plus most of the "Departing Missionary" pictures

and all the copies that each missionary wants for himself.

With an average of 15 new missionaries per transfer and 10 going home

that's about 50 pictures in those two days.

They never complain and we love them 

for their service to us.

They are wonderful young men.

Homeward Bound

Good bye to our September Missionaries.

We love you all and will miss you very much.

September Mission President's Seminar

September 11-14, Milan and I had the opportunity to attend
a Mission President's Seminar held in Missouri.
We saw the beautiful Kansas City Temple in progress.
It is so elegant!

We had a wonderful guide who took us to some of the sites in the area:

The Independence Visitor Center and across the street

the Community of Christ Temple,

the monument for Oliver Cowdery

in the little cemetery where he is buried,

Our guide then took us to the Far West Temple Site

and told us a few details about the prophecies

neither of us had heard before.

We ended our tour at Liberty Jail where Joseph

received Section 122 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

It was an amazing seminar filled with counsel that uplifted,

inspired, and encouraged us in our callings.

We enjoyed every minute.

A Thought

What if you woke up this morning

with only those things

that you thanked God for

last night?

September Missionaries

Upon arrival, the new missionaries are taken to the
Pioneer Cemetery on the Temple Grounds.
There, President Kunz issues a challenge:
If you are willing to serve
with the same conviction and faith
as these wonderful men and women did,
then step around the monument and face the temple.

As faithful young missionaries,

they all step around toward the temple.

 I can feel their silent prayers 

for the same faith in the face of adversity

that those brave pioneers had.

It is a sweet moment to see their beautiful young faces

 so full of hope and determination.

These are incredible missionaries

and seeing their faith,

strengthens mine.

Welcome!

We love you already.

State Fair in Grand Island, Nebraska Sept. 5, 2011

For our thirtieth anniversary

we treated ourselves to a day at the State Fair.

It was absolutely classic

and so much fun!

We saw award winning quilts,

two hour old piglets,

spanken clean sheep with their coats on,

Nebraska's largest steer,

as well as the largest hog.

(Goodness, were they ever big.)

 We saw prize winning preserves,

feed corn and stalks, 

high school art projects,

and fancy canned vegetables.

Everything was proudly displayed with their coveted

ribbons attached.

We ate corn dogs and sipped lemonade

as we wondered through the fair grounds.

I felt like Fern on Charlotte's Web
and when we happened upon the pig judging arena
I just knew their was a small black spider
hanging somewhere, comforting the contestants.

It was like stepping back in time

to a simpler, more wholesome era.

We had a grand time in Grand Island.

Thank you once again, Nebraska,

for a perfect day.

Rainstorm

Did you ever see the movie...

 "Independence Day?"

This storm kind of gave us the feeling

we were being invaded.


But oh so beautiful!!!

Time!

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Is there ever enough time in the day

to accomplish all that we need to do,

let alone all that we would like to do?

We only have 9 more months left in our mission.

In some ways that's a long time-

9 months is a whole pregnancy for goodness sake!

But 9 months left means only 6 more transfers,

5 more zone conferences

9 more zone leader trainings,

9 more specialized trainings,

9 more months to be a part of this amazing work

and 9 more months to be so closely involved in the lives

of all these wonderful people.

What do you do after an experience like this?

Maybe I won't hurry so much.

Maybe the answer is to savor each moment,

because 9 months will be gone before we know it!