April 28, 2024

Taking a picture by this sign has been on our bucket list since we first arrived in Newberg. Today, along with the Larson's, we finally made it happen! We love the city of Newberg and the little valley it is nestled in. The sign says it is "The Camellia City" and it really is! They have been in bloom the last month or two and we have loved it! It also says "A great place to grow." We agree with this too. We have grown in our love for missionary work. We have grown in our love for each other. We have grown in our testimonies. We have grown in our love for the Savior and what he has done for each and every one of us.

We only have a little over (4) months left on our mission. Already I am starting to think of all the places we still want to visit before we leave and the things we want to do. Like taking a picture of that sign! We still need to go to Astoria (which we are doing in 2 weeks) and Coos Bay (in 4 weeks). Then there is the Rhododendron Festival, the Peony Farm, and the Kite Festival in Lincoln City to name a few. Then there is all the food in our apartment that we need to eat so we don't have to pack it home. I am starting now to plan my menus around what is in our cupboards.

Monday was a bad day for Elder Rowan. Instead of saying "I don't want to go home," he was saying "how soon can I go?" (haha). Actually what he was saying was that he didn't want to answer his phone. On Monday he took some Elders to Salem to pick up some new cars. On the way back one of the new cars got a rock chip in the windshield that is so big the whole windshield may need to be replaced. Then the Sisters over in Lincoln City called to say they had scraped the side of their brand new car on their carport pole when turning in to their parking space. Things didn't end there because later that night our local Sisters here in Newberg called to say their car had been sideswiped by a drunk driver while they were standing on the porch talking to someone. When it rains, it pours!!

Monday actually was a good day because it was our 48th wedding anniversary. We didn't celebrate big on Monday because it was a busy day but Elder Rowan did buy me a dozen red roses :). I should have taken a picture. Monday was also good because we finally saw the Orthodedic Surgeon about Elder Rowan's MRI results for his shoulden. Actually we saw the PA but same difference. She confirmed that the MRI showed that he did need a complete shoulder replacement. The good news was that she said he could wait to do the replacement until his range of motion was more impacted. She suggested a cortizone shot now to relieve the pain and if that worked he could get shots every 3-4 months indefinitely. So no surgery while we are on our mission! Hooray!!!

We continue to love District Council meetings and associating with the young missionaries. We never know when we are going to be asked to participate or be in charge of a portion of the meeting. For instance, last week I was aked to be in charge of our "real play." Real plays are similiar to role plays where the missionaries practice teaching a particular lesson, asking questions, knocking on doors, etc. So for my activity we practiced asking and answering the question, "Are you a Christian?" The missionaries get asked this alot and I wanted them to come up with better answers than "Yes, I believe in Jesus Christ." I found a Primary activity about ways we can answer the question so I passed those out and each companionship had to personalize their answer and share it with the group. Then we did a speed dating activity where they had 1 minute to practice with the person across from them before the bell rang and they had to move on to the next person. It was fun and the missionaries enjoyed it. Today the missionaries practiced learning to ask better questions. The Sr missionaries were the "friends" and they had to figure out what our problem was about something they taught us by only asking questions. It was good practice. Our District Leader closed the meeting by asking (3) missionaries to bear their testimonies. It brought the spirit back to the meeting. Elder Rowan was one of the (3) asked. I love the opportunity we have to share our testimonies with these young missionaries.

Normally the week after Zone Conference is a quiet week but for some reason this week was unusually busy. Elder Rowan had to pick up new cars in (3) different locations and then deliver bikes to missionaries on another day. I was busy processing rent and missionary payments while also training Sister Bready on some of my duties so she can do them when we leave. The Portland Temple is closing for (6) weeks so we were able to go there one evening for a session with the Larsons. We were also able to go see the movie "Escape from Germany," which was really, really good. It is about the missionaries being evacuated from Germany right before the start of World War II. In her newsletter Sister Larson talks about how sometimes it may seem like we are tourists and sometimes we probably look like regular office workers just doing a job--and many times it does feel like that. But I echo her feelings that pictures on a page or words in a newsletter can never really convey the real and deep spirit we feel on our mission or the love we have for our Savior Jesus Christ. It is hard in a blog to describe the amazing blessings we have experied or the miracles we have witnessed. Missions are just the best!!/p When I said that we had to start doing things on our bucket list because our time was getting shorter, going to brunch again at Multnomah Falls was on the list. It will get busy during the summer months and we really wanted to go one more time. So on our "P" day we viewed the falls and had my favorite Hazelnut Crusted French Toast with Lemon Curd & Marionberries. Then we headed over to Starvation Creek Falls for a short hike in the beautiful forest. Oh how we are going to miss all these waterfalls and greenery!!

View of the Columbia Gorge - I never tire of this view!

Multnomah Falls!

Brunch at Multnomah Falls Lodge!

Starvation Creek Falls!

April 21, 2024

What a fun week we have had! It has been exhausting but we have loved every minute of it! We started out the week having Tracey and her family over for dinner last Sunday. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures. We think having them drop in for Sunday dinner at our house was a first in over 20 years. Since they have not lived near us since they left for Dental school they have only been at our house for Sunday dinner because they have been visiting on vacation, never to just drop in for dinner and leave. We played a fun new game called Bank and it was nice to visit. We especially appreciate the girls coming because we know there are lots of things they would rather be doing then going to Grandma's house!

Monday is the missionaries "P" day and our District had such a fun activity I have to post about it. They all gathered together and made sushi!! I know, who would have thought to do that but this generation loves sushi. They had a variety of ingredients--Spam, Imitation Crab, cucumbers, cream cheese, vegetables, etc. No raw fish though! Everyone made their own the way they wanted and it looked like they were having a blast! They bought seaweed wraps and then used my bamboo place mats to roll them up evenly. This is one I need to remember the next time we have a family reunion. I think the grandkids would love it!!

We attended Zone Conferences this week and those are always spiritual, touching, fun, and exhausting!! Our theme this time was Faith in Jesus Christ and how our faith is strengthened through obedience to the commandments. Sister Phillips shared a powerful talk given by Elder Bednar called "The Blessed and Happy State". There was so much to learn in that talk I am going to be studying it for a long time to come.

Our faith is going to be put to the test soon because my brother-in-law Cary was just diagnosed with probable lung cancer. The doctors detected a mass when doing a routine chest xray and the subsequent catscan showed a pleural based mass with several enlarged lymph nodes. Cary was exposed to asbestos as a mechanic so that is a worry but we are trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves until the biopsy is done. It is so frustrating that it is not scheduled until May 8th. In the meantime we are sending love and prayers to Diana and Cary that they can find peace and comfort in trusting in the Lord.

Elder Rowan was super busy at zone conference with car inspections and trading out new cars for old ones. The Sr missionary couples each drove new cars to the zone conferences so that we could have them there to trade. Then Elder Rowan had to transfer over the OrbComm devices and keep straight who was getting what car. In the end we got it all done just in time to learn that we are getting (9) more new cars next week. With the weather getting nicer the missionaries are pulling out their bikes and between getting bikes to missionaries and the new cars Elder Rowan is about to lose his mind!

Each of the Office Missionaries plays a valuable role in keeping the mission running. Each of our jobs is important and necessary. President and Sister Phillips are nice to always tell us how much they appreciate us. At these zone conferences they had us stand up in front of the young missionaries and thanked us for our service and all that we do. Every day we feel loved and appreciated!

The Area Medical Advisors, Elder & Sister Germaine, joined us for these zone conferences. They work with the Mission Medical Advisors for 12 different missions. They are from Arizone and are serving for 18 months. They live in the Portland Mission area. They are fun and we enjoyed visiting with them at lunch, dinner, and our waterfall hike. We stopped at Sahalie & Koosah Falls on our way to Redmond. We have been to these falls before but it was fun to see them again. The falls were spectacular and it was a beautiful day!!

After Zone Conferences we were exhausted but several weeks earlier we had planned a road trip with the Sr Missionaries out to the coast so off we went. It turned out to be a great day visiting and seeing so many of our favorite sites. Our main objective was to vist the new MLS couple in Rockaway, the Olsens. The Bready's had never been to their location but little did they know that we would kidnap them for a 12 hour day. We started out at the Tillamook Forest Center learning about the fires and how the forest was rebuilt. It is truly an inspiring story.

Then we headed to Munson Falls which is a 1/4 mile hike in a beautiful forest just a few miles south of Tillamook.

No trip to the coast would be complete without a stop at Tillamook for some ice cream. We then headed to the Olsen's to visit and picked them up to continue on our way up the coast with us. We were hoping to walk the Big Tree Trail in Rockaway but we ran out of time and will have to do that another time. We stopped for a walk on Hug Point Beach and then headed to Mo's for a yummy dinner with a gorgeous view of Haystack Rock.

We finished the day off with a stop at Ecola State Park which has one of my favorite views. It was a beautiful way to watch the sun set!!

April 14, 2024

I loved our District Council last Sunday night. It was our last one before transfers so that made it a little bittersweet because we knew some of them were going to be transferred. They all gathered at our house and we each took a turn telling about a Conference talk that we really enjoyed. To hear these young people so excited to hear the word of God through our Prophet and Apostles brings happiness to my heart. We love them so much!

Our prophet invited each of us to read the dedication of the Kirkland Temple in D&C 109. In our staff meeting on Monday one of our Assistants, Elder Soucy, shared a scripture passage from D&C109:55-57. It is about missionary work and pertains to today just as much as it did in 1836. It reads:

55 Remember the kings, the princes, the nobles, and the great ones of the earth, and all people, and the churches, all the poor, the needy, and afflicted ones of the earth;

56 That their hearts may be softened when thy servants shall go out from thy house, O Jehovah, to bear testimony of thy name; that their prejudices may give way before the truth, and thy people may obtain favor in the sight of all;

57 That all the ends of the earth may know that we, thy servants, have heard thy voice, and that thou hast sent us;

This week was the start of our 6 week cycle so it was a busy one. We started out the week Monday with going to pick up (8) more new cars and on Tuesday picking up a new pickup truck for the mission office. That makes for (14) vehicles in the last two weeks so the trick is to get them traded with the older cars. It is like a puzzle trying to keep track of who is where and who is going that direction and when the cars can get traded. We have traded (7) so far so only (6) more to go. It is hard for the missionaries to get too excited when they are just trading one Rogue for another Rogue. It will be more exciting when we get other models of cars in.

Even amidst all the chaos with the cars we still had the opportunity to go to the temple Tuesday night and then out to dinner. The Portland temple is closing for 6 weeks on April 29th so we needed to go now while it is still open. The grounds were beautiful as always and it was a great evening. We ended with a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

I don't often post anything negative on this blog but I suppose in the interest of real life I should say that sometimes we just have bad days. Wednesday was one of those days for me. I was frustrated with some of the payment processes, people were irratating me, Jack was gone delivering a car, and the day was just generally not going well. We had an appointment for Jack's MRI and during the appointment we got a phone call from some Sisters who had just been in a pretty serious car accident. Thank heavens no one was hurt but the car was pretty badly damaged. We got the results of the MRI on his shoulder and are now waiting for an appointment with the doctor. Matt had an Ortho friend look at it and his recommendation was that Jack needs a total shoulder replacement! Not fun!!! We will have to decide if we are going to do it here or at home but it looks like his pickleball days are over for the foreseeable future.

Thursday was a better day. It was the start of transfers and Sister Larson and I took the (2) Temple Square Sister Missionaries to the airport in the morning. Sister Foster & Sister Anderson-Yandrow came to our mission for (2) months to do a proselyting mission but are now returning to Temple Square to complete their mission there. We loved having them and will miss them.

Two of the Elders in our District were also transferred, Elder McKee & Elder Davis. We will miss them too but look forward to seeing them at Zone Conferences. Elder McKee came in as an English speaking missionary but is now transferring to Spanish speaking. Elder Rowan is excited for him and may have even suggested to the President that this would be a good move. They called themselves The Three Amigos because they were all so similar in size and height.

When the Transfer Board drops on Sunday night it is the start of a busy week. Here are pictures of the Transfer Board just to remember what they look like. They need to be studied to find out where everyone is going. Then apartments and cars are moved around and Elder Larson and Elder Rowan need to make sure everything is in the computer right. I need to study them to get counts for Zone Conference lunches and figure out who to pay extra laundry money to. Sister Larson needs to send out leadership letters for any new assignments and we need to figure out how many trainers there are for the incoming new missionaries for our Arrival dinner. Busy, busy!!

Also on Thursday Elder Rowan & Larson drove luggage over the mountain and back for transfers and I got to sit in on a lesson with our "friend" Alicia. She has a 17 year old son with severe disabilities. At one point she asked how you could hear the voice of the spirit and the spirit was strong when I told her that as a mother of a child with disabilities I was positive the spirit had spoken to her as she provided care for her son.

There was some bad news on Thursday. My sister Diana and her husband Cary have been waiting to meet with a lung doctor after nodules were found in his lungs following a routine chest xray. Thursday they finally had that appointment and it was not good. The doctor believes he has lung cancer but needs to do a biopsy before confirming for sure. Love and prayers are being sent his way as we await the results.

Friday started out saying goodbye to (3) sweet sisters that we love. Sisters Larson & Harding & Hermana Larsen are heading home to start the new chapter of their lives. Hermana Larsen, in the cream colored dress, was assigned here in Newberg when we first arrived and Elder Rowan remembers that she was the 1st one to speak Spanish to him. She loves postcards and has sent them to the office missionaries every few months. Sister Larson was a contestant on American Idol and I will not be surprised if she makes it big as pop singer someday!

Later on Friday Elder Rowan and I got to go deliver some new cars to missionaries. While Elder Rowan was transferring over the ORCOM device I got to sit in on their District Council. It is so fun to see them working together to try and become better missionaries. They made me do a door approach and I thought I did pretty good after watching the missionaries do it so many times. As part of their studies they read Alma 5:19, "I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?" I contrasted the way I was feeling Wednesday when Satan had taken hold of my heart with how I was feeling Friday and I will take Friday any day!! Even later on Friday we had dinner for our new arrivals. For the 1st time since we have been here we had no new incoming missionaries for this transfer. At the last minute we received (2) reassigned missionaries who are waiting for their Visas.

Saturday we were able to watch via Zoom the funeral of our good friend Dodd Greer. How grateful we are for modern technology that allowed us to feel a part of the service even though we were so far away. We loved everything they had to say about Dodd and echo their sentiments. He was a man who loved his family and showed it in the things he did. They honored him with a beautiful funeral service.

We were also able to go for a walk on Saturday at the Miller Woods Pond trail. It was nice to get out and enjoy a little of nature.

Finally, to end the week we attended our Stake Conference. We had a vising General Authority, Elder Isaac Morrison, and he was wonderful. You could feel the love flowing off of him. The sweet sister Athena who was baptized in November was asked to speak at the Saturday night session. She did amazing!! Elder Morrison told her he needs to take her to Utah to speak at General Conference. The Larson's have been like 2nd parents to Athena since she started taking the lessons and they were very proud parents Saturday night. Elder Morrison spoke about the Covenant Path and what it takes to return back to our Heavenly Father.

April 7, 2024

Last week I finished my blog right before we left to go to District Council. I mentioned that it was hard to go out on Sunday nights to these meetings but that they are usually special and we are glad we made the effort. Last Sunday was no exception. For District Council we usually have an agenda that we follow. One of the items always on the agenda is "Real Plays". These are role plays that the missionaries do to practice teaching lessons in a faster, better way or to practice answering questions they may get. Elder Larson had been at a lesson recently where the question was asked, "What does your church have that other churches don't have?" Sister Larson was in charge of the "Real Play" so they had us do an activity where each companionship had to come up with (3) items different than anyone else of things our church had that other churches don't have. They expected that by the time we came to items 15-18 it might be hard to come up with something. Elder Rowan & I were the last to go so we had to come up with items 15-18. It was a testimony builder to me that we had no problem coming up with things and could have gone on listing items for a long time. Items on the list included a prophet, the Book of Mormon, the Priesthood, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, baptism by immersion, modern day revelation, Word of Wisdom, the Godhead, the Degrees of Glory, Temples and temple ordinances, the Family Proclamation, and so on. Here is a picture of our cute District and the list we made :).

Last January Elder Rowan slipped on the ice while getting out of the truck. His feet went out from under him and he jammed his elbow on the vehicle on the way down. He hurt his shoulder but just thought it would be sore for a few days. Unfortunately it hasn't gotten better and the pain while sleeping has increased. He decided he needed to have it checked so we were able to go see an orthopedic surgeon this week. It appears he has a tear in the same rotor cuff that he had surgery on back in 2015. We are waiting for an MRI to decide what to do. In 2015 he went to TOSH in Utah for his surgery. Here in Oregon we went to the ROC!

On Tuesday we got the sad news that our friend Dodd Greer had passed away. I mentioned him in a Blog a few weeks ago. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they journey through this difficult time. We are so glad we got to see him before we left and are so grateful for the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation. What a glorious reunion he must be having with his loved ones and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

On Tuesday we had MLC and it is always nice to have a chance to visit with the missionaries that attend. There are officially only 32 that attend MLC but we always plan dinner for about 45 so that our local missionaries can join us too. We are so grateful to President Phillips for his generous and inclusive approach to all our meals. This week we prepared Chicken broccoli alfredo. It is the 1st time we have attempted that meal but it turned out spectacular! Elder Malinka and Elder McKee had an eating contest to see who could outeat the other. They each put away about (3) plates this size. I don't know where they put it!

We are getting another Sr missionary couple in May who will be serving an MLS mission. The President has decided to assign them to the branch in Gates. Gates is a small community located in the canyon headed over to Bend. The branch is small and they will offer support to the members of the branch and any new members. It will be beautiful where they are living minus all the fire damage from 2022. We had a Zoom call with the Burgoynes on Wednesday and they are super excited to serve. They are from Bountiful. They listened to the Area Fireside for Seniors last year and felt inspired to put in their papers a few months later. We are excited to have them.

We are starting to get new cars in now and on Thursday we went to McMinnville to pick up (5) new Nissan Rogues. Some of the Office missionaries and the (2) Assistants went with us to pick them up. We need that many because everyone has to drive a car back. We always start our trip with a prayer and this week Elder Rowan asked Elder Jacobsen to pray. It was so sweet and tender to hear him thank Heavenly Father for the dedicated members who pay their tithing which allows us to have these cars in our mission. We love these missionaries!

On Friday we were invited to dinner at Hermana Larsen & Price's apartment. They were proud of how clean and uncluttered their apartment was and wanted to show it off to the Sr missionaries. It was a bonus for us to be able to visit with them and have dinner. They live in Woodburn about 20 minutes away. We decided to be efficient and take one of the new cars that was going that direction and trade it out. It was a long night but good to get done.

Of course the highlight of the week has been General Conference! At our last Zone Conference we talked alot about preparing for conference and it was been wonderful to watch our young missionaries get excited and work hard to be prepared. We try to support our local missionaries as much as we can and if they have no place to go we invite them over to watch with us. On Saturday we had (4) Sisters over for cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs. Then that evening we had the (5) Elders for the late session and dinner. I got pictures with the Sisters but forgot to take one with the Elders. That is too bad because I made them a fantastic dinner! Our takeaway from Conference is that it was about temples, covenants, and being still. I had the opportunity to bear my testimony to the Sisters about temples after Elder Eyrings talk. I told them how much I love the temple, how I know it is a place to feel peace and comfort, and that we can receive answers to the problems we are having in life.