tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59357994626459143292024-02-06T18:23:15.901-08:00Cutler's Utica, New York MissionSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-7977226897352263372014-07-02T12:07:00.001-07:002014-07-02T12:08:42.870-07:00Last Month & End of MissionJune to July 5, 2014<br />
Well, this is the last month of our mission. This month we prepared for our last arrival of new missionaries (20), last transfer day and training of new mission office couples to take over our responsibilities. Since we started our mission, we will have seen 210 new missionaries enter our mission. Each missionary has been excited to arrive, but arrive with "deer in the headlight" looks. We have marveled at the changes which take place during their first 5 weeks because we see them for "Return and Report" day. They start their mission timidly and return with more confidence. It takes 12 weeks for them to receive all their training and we always ask them how the training is going. Their trainer is so important because if it is done right, then the rest of their mission will be successful. We have seen miracles happen when Pres. Wirthlin seeks the Lord's help in assigning the right trainer.<br />
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We have been putting together our own training books for our replacements. We didn't have extensive in-office training when we arrived, so we have prepared our own training books. At the first of the month, we were informed only one senior couple was assigned to replace two couples. So we were concerned. But Pres. Wirthlin decided to reassign a senior couple who was serving in the Lake Placid area to serve in the office. So the week of new missionaries and transfers, we started our training for the new office couples...very busy week. The new couples were overwhelmed at first, but by the end of the week they think it will be OK. The office couple who served with us left on Saturday the 28th and we will leave on July 5th.<br />
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Right now, we plan on going to Cleveland, Indianapolis, Chicago, Madison, Prince Rupert, Omaha, Mt. Rushmore, Devils Tower, Custer's last stand, Martin's Cove, SLC, Provo and home. We should arrive home about the 13th or 14h. But then we travel to No. Cal for my Mom's 96th birthday.<br />
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Our last Sunday in the Herkimer Branch was very sweet and tender. The primary children presented us with home made leis with pictures of each child. Then at the linger-longer they presented us with a large cake. We will miss the Branch and it has been a pleasure to have served there.<br />
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We have had many challenges while on this mission which tempted us to give it up..severe flu our first day of training, overwhelming flood of new missionaries, finding housing for 45 new areas and furnishing the units, getting food poisoning from eating possum which lasted for 6 weeks, delivering sooo much furniture to new apartments caused the need for a hernia surgery repair, then our grandaughter who had been sick for 8 years passed away which was a heartache, then another hernia surgery to repair the first one which didn't hold, I damaged the rear door panel of the mission van ($2000), damaged another new mission car which had just arrived and our own car was hit from behind with $2300 damage, we suffered vertigo and shingles also and to top it off, we experienced the coldest and worst winter in 100 years. But throughout it all, we determined never to give in or go home. We were called to serve and serve we would - no matter what was thrown in our way. We have endured and have been blessed for it.<br />
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As a closing thought, we want to bear our testimony of the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true that Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son, the translation of the Book of Mormon was a miracle and is the Word of God, we have a living prophet today, Pres. Thomas S. Monson, and the Lord directs this church through his prophets. We are blessed with the restoration of the Priesthood which allows us to be instruments in the hands of The Lord to bless others. As Nephi said. "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ...". We have learned to "Trust in The Lord with all our heart, mind and strength. And in the end all we can do is what Pres. Hinckley said. "If life gets too hard to stand, <b><i>Kneel".</i></b><br />
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We hope our service to The Lord in our mission has been acceptable to Him. We leave with a clear conscience that we have done all we could and we feel blessed. Our family has been blessed beyond measure and we appreciate all their support. <br />
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Elder & Sister CutlerSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-14260697235758623592014-04-08T17:44:00.001-07:002014-04-08T17:44:55.021-07:00Spring is Peaking Around the CornerMarch 2014:<br />
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The weeks and months seem to run together with much the same to report. March continued to be very cold--historic cold weather. Heard a report that the great lakes are now about 97 percent frozen over which is a 100 year record. The wind chill here is what does one in because it seeps right through you. Luckily we are not out in the cold like most of the missionaries. Sister Cutler bought tights and wears them almost every day due to the cold. Even so, the wind would blow right up her skirt and freezes her backside!!! The lady at the store asked her why she didn't wear pants -- well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We thought that spring was right around the corner, and we woke up to another snow day!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We decided that if there were snow outside we would bring spring indoors.</td></tr>
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No new missionaries arrived in March, so it has been somewhat of a quiet month in the office. Zone Training took place throughout the mission at which Pres. Wirthlin interviews each missionary. We only go to the one ZT which is held in the Stake Center where the office is located. Always a busy day when missionaries are coming and going through the office. We did move missionaries into three new apartments during the month.<br />
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We did go to the breakfast at the Ben and Judy Sugarhouse (Maple Syrup) place. It was a delicious breakfast and of course maple syrup will always be our syrup of choice after eating the "real stuff". Unfortunately, it has been so cold that the maple syrup was not running. Latest in 10 years. <br />
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Our branch had a record of three baptisms the 29th of March. It was an exciting time for our small branch!! About 60 people attended. Both of the missionaries were 18, and one has been the District Leader for a couple of transfers. It is so true that "whom the Lord calls He qualifies". These missionaries (all of them, really) are amazing and grow up so much on their missions. When they teach through the spirit miracles happen. We can see the change in the missionaries from the day that they come until their training (Return and Report) after they have been in the mission field for 4-6 weeks. It is truly amazing. However, they are still young and have some interesting times.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still young!!! This was a frustrating mishap for them, but.......</td></tr>
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April 2014:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brownies (Brown-eees) anyone. April Fools from sister missionaries!!</td></tr>
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April started off with a bang. New missionaries arrived on April 1st, transfers on the 2nd, departing missionaries on the 3rd and Mission Leader Council on the 4th.( 8 new missionaries including 2 Temple Square Sisters plus two senior couples & transfers involving over 80 missionaries). By the end of the week we were worn out. Elder Barlow, who handles vehicles, commented that when this happens, we get all pumped up with the enthusiasm of the missionaries, but when it is all over and they leave, the enthusiasm gets sucked right out of us and we are left limp. Great description of how we feel on weeks like this.<br />
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However, we were anxious to leave on Friday afternoon (April 4th) to drive to Scott's for conference weekend. It only took us 3 1/2 hours probably because we were so glad to be on our way. Scott's family always treats us like royalty with pampering, tons of great food and wonderful smiles. Even Pepper was glad to see us. She has taken to Sister Cutler. We went to Jack's play at school to see him perform between sessions. Scott, Jack & dad went to General Priesthood meeting at the chapel (starts at 8:00 pm). After the session, they went with about 30-40 priesthood brethren to the Shake Shack and didn't get home until after 11:30 pm. So naturally, Sunday morning was a sleep in until about 9:00 am. We had a wonderful breakfast and then Scott, Jack and Dad went on a bike ride (electric bikes) of about 15 miles. Dad was impressed with the electric bikes and would like to have one. Sure makes it easy going up hills.<br />
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We were impressed with Scott's kids in the way they enjoyed conference. After the morning session (12:00-2:00 EST), Mathew commented that "this was the best conference" and starting talking about the different talks. It was a special time for us. We did feel a tremendous spirit from the words spoken, and we look forward to reading the talks soon. We know these leaders are also called of God and their words are very important for each of us to incorporate into our lives. Audrey wrote a letter in Mandarin to one of the Chinese Temple Square sister missionaries for us to deliver.<br />
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The rest of the month will be busy with Zone Conferences scheduled for the third and fourth weeks. This will be our last opportunity to attend Zone Conferences in different parts of the mission, so we will be going to most of them. Pres. Wirthlin still has not received confirmation of our replacements and is starting to get concerned. He says the missionary department has indicated that the pool of new senior missionary couples has dried up. He was also very surprised that nothing was said about that during conference. The other office couple also has no replacements yet.<br />
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That about sums up events since our last blog. The time is flying by, and we can't believe how fast our mission has gone by. We are truly blessed, and we have had so many tender mercies shown to us during our time here. We know that the Lord is in charge of this work, as we have said before. It has been a privilege to serve. We hope that we are better. The Lord has been good to us and we so love Him and appreciate the great atoning sacrifice he made for each of us.<br />
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We love one and all,<br />
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Grammy, Papa, Mom and Dad, Herb & Sharon, Elder & Sister Cutler, Friend<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trammell's visiting Elder and Sister Field at the Family History Mission.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Debbie, Braden & Sam visiting BYU Idaho where Braden will be going to school in the fall. They are also having a "Celebrating Claire Week".</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie with her "second parents", Elder & Sister Field.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Love to all! Elder & Sister CutlerSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-11676614283119657112014-02-18T16:04:00.001-08:002014-02-18T16:04:20.205-08:00Halfway Through February Already!!!<br />
January 2014<br />
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We started off the new year with new arrivals and a transfer on the 7 & 8 of the month. We have two Mandarin speaking sisters from Temple Square here in the mission for three transfers. What an incredible experience OUR sisters are having with these sisters. The one set is working in Ithaca, New York, home of Cornell University. They started with a "Get to Know You" evening and had about 9 Chinese students come. Their next activity there were 25 people who came to learn about the Church. It has been an incredible experience for the missionaries. The Chinese students were so excited to know that there is a God -- these students, if baptized, will bring the gospel into China. The two missionaries from our mission have Chinese name tags and one is trying to learn Mandarin. Along with transfers, we have our farewell dinner for the departing missionaries, which is always somewhat difficult. We do love the missionaries and don't like to see them leave.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Favorite is the shrimp cocktail!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elders Tollofson & Houston. </td></tr>
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We are now in the middle of winter. The weather has been unbelievably cold -- -25' with wind chill for a few days/nights. That is cold. I had to go out and get some tights to wear, as the cold just went right through me. Scarves, gloves, turtle neck sweaters and my wool coat were not enough to stay outside longer than go from car to office, and then I had to have the heater on most of the morning to get warm. One of the days we had to get the mail, and the car never did get warm going down to the post office and then back up to the office. I have never been in such cold.....<br />
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The end of January was zone conferences, and the other office couple had presentations to make at the five conferences. We did the mail those days, and all went fine. I kind of like doing the mail anyway -- a change in routine is always welcome. When the Utica Zone Conference was held I really wanted to go to the meetings this time. So often there are office duties that need to be done, but this time I was able to go to almost all of the meetings. Our assistants gave such wonderful talks, and I am amazed as to what they are able to do as they are so young. I know that the spirit qualifies those who have been called, and their reliance on that same spirit was so inspiring. I can't even write down all that I learned -- I would be accused of being SO preachy, but I just want to remember a few things. I know that faith in Jesus Christ is the sure foundation for a lasting testimony. We know that there is opposition in all things, but our faith in Christ will help us overcome the problems of a fallen world. Christ has suffered all for us, and we need to come unto him. (<span style="color: red;">Ether 12:27...</span><span style="color: black;">)</span><br />
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The other assistant gave a simple idea. "<i>Instruction </i>flees. But <i>experiences </i>will stay with us." He spoke about what we have to do to become converted? What sacrifices will I make to be truly converted and become a representative of Jesus Christ? (Sacrifice, experiences, lasting change). Is it MY will or GOD's will? we need to do righteous things and then become righteous. (<span style="color: red;">D&C 18:15</span><span style="color: black;">) Elder Holland said that if we bring only one soul unto Him, let's make sure that we are the one. Others great, but we must be converted ourselves.</span><br />
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That, in a nutshell, is what the AP's spoke about, and President Wirthlin spoke about The Doctrine of Christ and Real Growth. He said that we need to have absolute conformity to the will of our Heavenly Father. Faith is not so much something we believe -- it is something we live. A couple of missionaries sang -- p. 112, "Savior Redeemer of My Soul" -- beautiful melody and awesome message.<br />
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On Friday morning Dad woke up with vertigo -- he was totally tipsy and could not walk in a straight line. He was in bed all day Friday, Saturday and also Sunday. I fell on a patch of black ice on Friday morning and gave myself a good surprise landing. I landed on my knees and bruised and scraped both, plus gave my neck and shoulders a jolt. Old people are not supposed to fall! It has taken a while to get over the aches and pains, which is very frustrating.<br />
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The last Friday in January was Mission Leadership Council. I was so impressed with the missionaries. One of the Zone leaders shared an experience he had with an exchange. He was working with a new missionary from another part of the zone. They were going to an appointment and noticed a gentleman trying to move a TV and having difficulty with the job. They called out to him several times and he did not respond. In frustration they went over to the man and found out that he was deaf. This new missionary started signing with him and the gentleman was so amazed and then started asking them questions about what they were doing and why they were in New York. He wanted to know more about it all. The missionaries were blown away -- what are the chances that an exchange would bring an elder to the right place at the right time to be able to communicate with this deaf man. The missionaries were so touched by this experience, and stated that they knew it was no coincidence -- the Lord is in charge of His work.<br />
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February 2014<br />
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On Dad's birthday it was fun talking to many of our family and friends. We had a relaxing day at home cleaning, doing laundry and resting. We enjoy our Saturdays. We had dinner at the Wirthlin's with the AP's, other office couple, President & Sister Wirthlin, and Elder Perkins of the Seventy. We had a wonderful evening. It is not often that one gets to have dinner with a General Authority and speak about what he is doing, what he has done, etc.<br />
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Valentines Day brought lots of mail again -- treats, cards, packages -- fun time for the missionaries to get their mail. We have fun watching the missionaries open their packages.<br />
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We have had another round of snow and cold, and the only way I can describe it is COLD!!! I continue to be so very grateful for the boots that were found somewhere in the office that I was able to inherit. They have saved me!!! I am not complaining, as we never have to go out very far in the cold, but this week the snow was over my boots, and my shoes would just not have worked for me.<br />
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The next picture shows how beautiful the icicles can be -- go all the way to the ground. <br />
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This week is Transfer Week, so we have been getting office materials ready for the new missionaries and the trainers. We have three VISA Waiters coming and one Temple Square Sister plus twelve other missionaries coming. It is going to be difficult saying goodbye to some of the departing missionaries, that is for sure. We do get attached.<br />
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I continue to marvel at how the work moves forward and the tender mercies that we experience. We do know that the Lord does want this work to be done, and He makes ways possible for His will to be done. We have to have faith, and He does open the way. We have loved this experience of being missionaries, and as I have said before -- we see miracles with our work in the office, and we are glad to be part of the Lord's army. We love our friends and family -- we miss you and think of you often and remember you in our prayers. <br />
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Much love,<br />
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Grammy and Papa, Mom and Dad, Herb & Sharon, Friend -- however you fit into our circle of love!<br />
<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-10234941321578484402014-01-12T16:22:00.000-08:002014-01-12T16:22:04.924-08:00Beginning 2014It's hard to believe that Christmas/New Years has come and gone since our last post. But when you're busy, that's what happens. December was a blur for us because we can hardly remember what happened. Sometime we have to go back and see our Instragram posts or photos to jog the memory. <br />
Fortunately, we didn't have new missionaries or departing missionaries during December.<br />
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One fun day our Assistants invited us to join them with a pizza party in the office. At all of the meetings, everyone is given bottled water. The assistants collect the water bottles, and when they have a couple of huge garbage bags, they turn in the bottles at a recycling center and provide pizza for the office. It is really fun. The one missionary in the yellow shirt was gagging on anchovies in his pizza, and the other missionary was sticking out his stomach to show how full he was. It has been such fun having them in the office. <br />
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While everyone was buying gifts, wrapping, stressing out, making Merry, we, of course, we being deligent missionaries, working in the office and spreading good cheer. We were worried about what we were going to do with all the anticipated Christmas mail, but as long as we stayed on top of picking it up at the PO, having a system of putting new addresses on the letters and packages and then taking it back to the PO early, we survived. Some days, there was so much mail that we could hardly get it into our car. We did have some mail that didn't arrive in time, but most missionaries got at least one package.<br />
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We were pleasantly surprised when Pres. Wirthlin said we didn't have to be in the office on Christmas day. We did prepare a Christmas Eve dinner for the other office couple, two sister missionaries and Pres. & Sis Writhlin. Our small apartment was decorated as best we could. The meal and evening was a success. Christmas morning and early afternoon was spent talking with all the family and even spending a few moments saying Hi to Sister Trammell, who is serving in Fiji. And of course, we woke up to new snow. New Year's eve was a blast....in bed by 9:30 pm and sleeping in until 9:00 am absolutely wonderful way to start the new year. We caught up on our laundry, cleaned the apartment, and just relaxed. We oldsters need those days once in a while.<br />
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January 2014 started out with extremely cold weather. On the 2nd of January, we had a Mission Leader Council for all the mission leaders. Elder Barlow and Elder Cutler had to clear the sidewalks as best we could, but it was soooo cold....wind chill of -26 degrees...even with gloves on fingers were almost frozen. During the training session, one of the most humble missionaries led a discussion about discovering the promptings of the Holy Ghost...he said "most of the time the Spirit only comes when requested, but living close to the Spirit through righteous living puts you so close to the Spirit that you can almost feel the presence of the Holy Ghost right next to you" and then he gave several examples of this principle from his own mission experiences. He was talking to all the mission leaders including the mission president. You could have heard a pin drop during his presentation. After the meeting, Elder Cutler put his arm around this wonderful missionary and said to him.."I will now call you our mission "Ammon". What a great experience we are having. We will miss having him close by, as he was transferred to the Syracuse Zone this last Wednesday.<br />
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Another group of new missionaries arrived on the 7th and some wonderful missionaries departed. We so hate to see them leave, but know that they have served well and are now headed for another part of their life's journey. We had two missionaries who had lost luggage, so when the luggage was found, we were assigned to deliver it to them. We had to travel to the Watertown area. The day before all the roads were shut down because of the heavy amount of snow that fell. It was clear weather when we arrived, but what a storm as you can see by the pictures (4-5 feet of snow).<br />
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The weather has been one of the coldest years according to long-time residents. The wife of one of the mission presidency has lived here her whole life...but now she can't wait to move to a warmer climate. This week, however, the temperature is around 35-40 degrees, so we will be having a heat wave.<br />
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The next two weeks will be zone conferences, so Elder Cutler and I will be holding down the fort at the office as everyone else is participating at the zone conferences. We will be doing the mail on the days that our office friends are gone, but that will be kind of fun for a change -- at least it should not be like it was before Christmas!<br />
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We had the privilege of having President and Sister Wirthlin attend the Branch today. Last time they made a surprise visit we were speaking -- today I was just leading the singing in Sacrament Meeting. The funny thing, though, is that the person who chose the hymns chose songs that no one knew. By the closing song, I could only handle one verse and we stopped the song. Kind of too bad, one of the few times we have someone who plays the organ was in attendance today and we just could not match his talent on the organ. <br />
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Happy New Year to all!!! We love you and are continuing to love our service here. We have learned so much and our testimonies of the restoration continue to grow. Our appreciation of the Savior and of the atonement is very dear to us.<br />
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Grammy & Papa, Elder & Sister Cutler, Mom & Dad, Friend <br />
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-75985658713573835082013-12-28T10:23:00.000-08:002013-12-28T11:19:00.292-08:00Thanksgiving & Christmas UpdateWe know we say this every time, but time is flying by at the speed of light. We were amazed at the date of our last post. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry! <br />
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The weekend after Halloween we went to a Farmer's Market in a little town called Ilion. We didn't think much of the merchandise there, but the barns were beautiful and dated back into the 1700's. I did buy a handmade basket made by some Amish people, and of course the snickerdoodles could not be ignored.<br />
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We had a wonderful Thanksgiving being at Scott's house in Conneticut where Lizzy and her family were also visiting. It was fun being with members of the family again. We couldn't leave for Scott's until Thanksgiving morning because of missionary transfers and new missionaries arriving, so we made it just in time for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.<br />
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Scott, Jack and Dad actually went pheasant hunting where Jack shot the
most beautiful and largest bird and Dad shot the smallest, but Dad did
hit it on his first shot. His aim was so good that he shot its head
right off!!<br />
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Can't leave Thanksgiving weekend without posting some family pictures..... We love getting pictures from everyone, so feel free to send us pictures and we will post them. (Instagram pictures are not as good as one sent by email or text message.)<br />
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Our work in the mission office feels like groundhog day many times. However, the last week has been very busy picking up hundreds of boxes, re-addressing both letters and boxes and then taking the mail back to the post office. One day we had two cars full of mail.<br />
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Finding, inspecting and leasing apartment continues to be a big job. We have had missionaries calling about empty fuel tanks for heat when the temperature was near zero. It took 4 days to have fuel delivered. One apartment having so much condensation from the heater that the walls and ceiling were dripping like an underground cave. So we are moving to another apartment. We were having another difficult time finding an apartment for a new senior couple assigned to a small branch in the southeast corner of the mission. Every apartment we wanted fell through. Finally, we were told about an apartment just as were were leaving Scott's house, so we stopped at the place on our way back to our apartment. We were pleased with the apartment and signed the lease as quick as we could. The next morning in our staff meeting with the mission president, the president asked in his prayer for help in finding a place. So when he finished praying, we told him his prayer was answered because we signed the lease the day before. He was overwhelmed with the news.<br />
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On December 14th our branch Christmas party was a live nativity. The temperature that day was -5' wind chill, and I have never been so cold. We have been asked why it wasn't moved indoors -- well, it would not do to have a donkey and goats indoors.<br />
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Because it was snowing and so cold, these pictures do not do justice as to how sweet this live nativity really was. The children were shivering and so cold, but they would not stop until everything was all said and done. Precious time.<br />
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We do have fun times in the office, and we decided to take a picture of the office couples in Santa's hats and calling ourselves the NYUtica Mission Office Elves. We had fun setting it up, and we sent it to all of the missionaries along with a short Christmas message.<br />
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We can't believe that in two weeks we will have served for one year. So we expect the next six months will go fast. This picture of our backyard reminds us that it is possible to have cold, cold weather at home as well as in New York!<br />
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Mission work continues to be hastening along. Julie sent us an article about the adopted brother of a missionary who was just released from our mission. We didn't know anything about this adopted brother but the story was very touching (http://ldsmag.com/article/1/13678). It shows that the Lord is totally in charge and is aware of all. We hope you can read the article.<br />
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Want to include some recent pictures taken of Sister Trammell with our college friends. (These are different pictures than the ones we posted before!) She enjoys seeing the Collins', and they are enjoying seeing her and giving her missionary hugs!!<br />
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We want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. We love each and every one, and we pray for you all. Remember the words of Elder Nelson spoken at the Christmas devotional: "...As we follow Jesus Christ, He will lead us to live with Him and our Heavenly Father, <u>with our families</u>. Through our many challenges of mortality, if we remain faithful to covenants made, if we endure to the end, we will qualify for that greatest of all the gifts of God, Eternal Life. In His holy presence, our families can be together forever."<br />
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We testify that no truer words were spoken. We love you all, miss you all and know we will be together again in this life and in the life to come.<br />
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Love to each one -- we think of friends and family often!!!<br />
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Mom & Dad, Grammy & Papa, Herb & Sharon, Elder & Sister Cutler, Friend Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-22074706994712606682013-11-19T17:59:00.001-08:002013-11-19T17:59:30.940-08:00October is gone -- Halloween flew by!OCTOBER 2013<br />
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It has been over a month since we have posted in our blog. That time has gone by so fast! We thoroughly enjoyed Conference, and then the next weekend was our stake conference. "Hastening the Work" seemed to be the theme for both, and I am so grateful to be part of the missionary force that is throughout the world. The time is moving so fast now, and I hope that when the last day of our mission arrives that I will have no regrets in not doing enough. <br />
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On the 12th of October -- Saturday -- we took off about noon and went to Cooperstown. We went to the Baseball Hall of Fame and had fun going down Memory Lane as far as baseball is concerned. It was a beautiful fall day, and the ride to Cooperstown was beautiful, with the fall colors so beautiful and in their glory. Cooperstown is a charming small town, and there is a lot to be found about baseball.<br />
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Fall colors in their glory!!!</div>
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Babe Ruth and a fan</div>
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Edgar Martinez, a Mariner favorite</div>
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San Francisco Giants Memorabilia</div>
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This is one of the Assistants, Elder Tanner, with the famous frog. At transfers the Assistants do a role-play demo on the Fable of the Frog -- If you put a frog into boiling water he will jump out, but if the frog is in the water and it gradually heats up it will just cook. Well, the assistants do this training to let the missionaries know how to handle difficult "relationship" issues, whether it be their companion, a member of the ward, etc. If there are feelings developing and all, either the companion or the missionary just has to call the president and say he/she has a frog problem, and the president goes right to the missionary, and handles a rapid transfer to another part of the mission. This is the quick fix of a possible problem, and if there are more issues they are taken care of quickly. The skits have been hilarious, with the assistants knowing of missionaries having girlfriends at home and using their names in the skit -- all in good fun -- lots of laughs and yet getting the point across quickly.</div>
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We were able to go to the Palmyra Temple on the 19th of October and spent the day at the temple doing a session and then sealings. We were gone for 11 hours, so we were very tired. We did not see any of the historical sites this time. On the 20th we taught Primary, I conducted R.S., and then we went to a rest home in Herkimer with the Primary to sing some songs and hand out homemade cards. One of our girls wanted to see the sister from our branch who lives there. For some reason she was not brought out when the children were singing. She is a very frail lady (three years younger than I!), used to be outspoken and spicy. She has had several strokes and is in a wheelchair and cannot talk. We took Azizza into her room along with the missionaries and sang I Am A Child of God. The sister had tears running down her cheeks and mouthed the words to the song. It was such a precious experience. She is brought to church every Sunday in a wheelchair.</div>
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We spoke in church the 27th of October. The branch president called us on Wednesday night in need of speakers for Sunday, and so we willingly(?) said we would do it. I spoke on service and Papa spoke on obedience. </div>
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We were very saddened at the sudden and tragic death of the father of our assistant (Elder Tanner) to President Wirthlin. His dad was in a horrible airplane crash taking off from the Fairbanks, Alaska airport. The plane lost all power and they crashed right after the ending of the runway. Elder Tanner's younger brother was also in the accident and had both legs broken in a couple of places. Elder Tanner went home for a week to help his mother get through the nightmare. So many unanswered questions.</div>
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We had mini-zone conferences the last week of October with a General Authority doing a mission tour. They covered about 1,300 miles in 2 1/2 days!. Usually the zone conferences are between 9 and 3, but this time there were half-day conferences with a lot of traveling in between and after. Elder Bruce R. Porter of the First Council of the Seventy was the visiting authority. His message was entirely on the Plan of Salvation, the role of the Savior and the atonement. His talks were outstanding.</div>
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Just have to add a couple of pictures that made my week -- so fun to have pictures of everyone!!!</div>
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Kara with our friends, Elder Ed and Sister Joyce Collins -- friends from our newly married days at BYU 50 years ago!!!!! They are CES missionaries in the same mission as our Sister Trammell. </div>
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Kara and her companion</div>
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Lizzy and Lyla</div>
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Maisie Lou making a scary face.....</div>
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On Halloween our office partners, the Barlows, always have liver, bacon and onions for dinner. They had their children eat this dinner before going out on Halloween night. We went to a diner with the Wirthlins and Barlows on Halloween night so we could witness the dinner. I took the picture of them and they emailed it to their six children asking if they had had their liver and onions that night -- they had six responses to their email within one minute!!! That was the quite a record, and NO -- no one had liver and onions. </div>
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So much for the month of October. Our days go by quickly and we continue to love the associations and work with the missionaries. We are blessed to work in the branch, and we are learning so much from the humility and willingness to serve that we see there. It is not easy to run a branch with such long distances, people with no cars and no money to buy gas to drive 40 miles. We have learned a lot from this experience with them. We love the Lord, are grateful for His atoning sacrifice, and we feel it a blessing in our lives to be here. Bye for now!</div>
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Grammy & Papa, Mom & Dad, Herb & Sharon, Friend</div>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-19035238015657744702013-10-06T12:50:00.001-07:002013-10-06T12:50:33.668-07:00It is going too fast!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nine months ago, we spent Sunday with our dear friends, Sue and JD Field, as we both started our missions. They had checked into their training the Friday before, and we were reporting to the MTC that Sunday afternoon. That time has flown by, full of wonderful, sad, frustrating, joyful and awesome experiences. It is hard to believe that this week will be a half-way point in our missionary service in this exciting mission. We have never had time pass so quickly. But I guess that is good since we are serving at such an exciting time for missionaries. We love each day and love to see the excitement of the missionaries.<br />
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(Dad) My latest surgery was much harder to recover from than the last. It has now been nearly 4 weeks since the surgery. I still feel discomfort, so I am trying to take it slowly. I have now been working at the mission office full time, but am very tired when the day ends. We have been able to continue finding new apartments, replacing old ones and have had surprise inspection visits. One such surprise inspection was great fun. We told the missionaries that we would be at their apartment in 30 minutes. Well, apparently the apartment was so dirty, the missionaries worked themselves into a sweat cleaning it before we got there. It looked good, except for the shower door and the carpet. This was also the apartment that former missionaries had started to build an archway of old pizza boxes. When we got there, it was nearly completed with the Book of Mormon placed as the top "Keystone" to hold everything in place. Quite a feat! <br />
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We later found out that the elders had stashed 5-6 large garbage bags in an outside garage so we wouldn't see them. Sneaky! Now we have a new way to make sure apartments are clean....just call the missionaries and tell them we will be having an inspection in 30 minutes and then call them 45 minutes later and tell them that we had a change of plans.<br />
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While we were going from one apartment in Auburn to another in Corning, we took a little side trip to see a couple of the Finger Lakes. <br />
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LAKE SKANEATELES, NEW YORK<br />
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We had a delightful hour here in this quaint area. I would like to go back to Skaneateles. Lake Skaneateles is one of the smallest of the Finger Lakes. Beautiful. The red door church was on the shore of the lake. Beautiful, and pictures only bring back great memories. They do not really do justice to what we saw.<br />
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Letters from family and friends are like receiving a box of candy. We had a box for an Elder waiting for him in the office from his grandmother. When you shook the box, it rattled like candy. We had him open it, so he could share with the staff (kidding). When he looked in the box, it was full of vitamins. We all had a good laugh. On the other hand, we have one Samoan missionary who hasn't received any mail from his family for 5 months. Being in the mission office, we see and hear some heart breaking stories sometimes...one new Elder arrived several weeks ago who looked so downtrodden. He had no self confidence and could hardly look you in the eye. The President assigned him to the best loving companion in the mission. When the trainer asked him what was the best part of his MTC experience, he responded by saying..."sleeping in a bed". This young man hasn't seen his mother in 10 years, previously abused by his father and the only family was his grandparents. He never knew where to call his home. Somehow, he had courage to submit his mission papers from his grandparent ward, but after doing that, the stake president was released and the bishop was changed. The President was so concerned about this Elder, that he called the stake president and bishop, but they didn't even know the young man. Then Sister Cutler got a phone call from his Dad who wanted a message to get to his son that his Granddad had died. Our hearts went out to this young man. So Sister Cutler, Sister Barlow and the mission president's wife started a letter tree so the Elder can know that someone is interested in him. What a challenge the trainer has with this tender soul. But we are happy now to report that he is doing much better. He was at his first "Return and Report" last week and he had a small smile. We could see that his trainer was doing a marvelous job of training him and loving him. The calling of Trainer is one of the most important in the mission, as the first companion can set the tone for a missionary's mission. <br />
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Last week, the President told us that a senior couple couldn't finish their mission in Vladivostok, Russia and was being transferred to our mission. So another new apartment was needed quickly. We have the process of finding new apartments down pretty well and one was found in two days in Malone, NY (way upstate). We also delivered some kitchen equipment to a new apartment in the Lake Placid area. We spent two days delivering and sightseeing. The fall colors were beautiful in the Adirondack Park.<br />
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This will be the residence of the senior couple coming from Vladivostok. The Zone Leaders found this, and the missionaries will be living here on the first floor. The apartment is very charming, wood inlaid floors, a fireplace and mantle that are beyond words, high ceilings, etc. We are hoping that this couple will like it, as there are several other missionary couples lined up to move to Malone, New York, for the opportunity to live in this house that is listed in the Historic Register of the town.<br />
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Lake Saranac is beautiful!!! The fall colors were there in all their glory, and we feel so blessed to have seen this area during the fall. We were given an afternoon tour of Lake Saranac and Lake Placid by another senior couple. Their mission is entirely different than ours, and they spend 24 hours a week doing community service at the hospital, library, a soup kitchen -- being very visible. They are finding less active members, teaching and doing an incredible service in the Lake Placid Branch. All different kinds of missions for senior couples.<br />
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One of Dad's responsibilities is to find, lease and furnish new apartments. He now has the Zone Leaders help to find apartments, and we had a good laugh thinking about this being a great find.<br />
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(Mom) One of the huge problems in this area is bed bugs. It is one huge job to get rid of these nasty critters, and we have one apartment that is going to get $400 worth of professional treatments to get rid of these pests. One of the problems is that the missionaries pick up the bed bugs from homes they visit. These missionaries are now spraying their clothing and car before they go into their apartment. Now these missionaries do not even go into their apartment without taking off their clothes and putting them into the wash, and they do not dress in their bedroom!!! They had to get rid of their dresser because it was infested. To say it is funny is fighting words to these two sisters!!! Lots of time and money into debugging, washing clothing and bedding. It is a huge chore.<br />
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We are enjoying conference this weekend. We are able to watch all sessions in the comfort of our apartment. We are so blessed to be alive in this day when the Lord is hastening his work, and we pray daily that our family will be valiant in keeping the commandments and living as we have been commanded to live. We are in awe of the missionaries and feel very blessed to be part of this mission. I (Mom) had a unique opportunity yesterday at Pier 1 Imports of all places. I was helped by this beautiful young woman. As I was checking out she asked me if I knew the Zvirzdin's. (She noticed my badge) Catherine Z is the new Relief Society President in Herkimer where we serve. This young woman had been in their home all during her high school years, and in fact dated one of her sons. I asked her if she was a member of the church and she said no. I emailed Sister Z and she was so overwhelmed -- young woman lives in our branch, was baptized at one time but has fallen away, much more I could say, but nevertheless I feel so humbled to have found someone the Z family had loved so. I was only in the store 10 minutes! I know that we are doing the Lord's work, and it is a privilege to wear the missionary badge. Conference has been wonderful, to say the least.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Song written by a good friend of mine from the Mt. View Ward. The second verse was very touching!!<br />
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<br /><br />We love each of you and pray daily for your protection and wellbeing. </div>
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Grammy, Papa, Elder and Sister Cutler, Mom and Dad, Friend</div>
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-68314665034107680222013-09-07T16:54:00.000-07:002013-09-07T16:54:12.977-07:00Another Month Gone - Another Month BeginsThis is Elder Cutler: I must be getting older because I keep on loosing days and now weeks. For some reason my brain cells are working over-time or not sparking at the same time. Monday starts and the next thing It's Friday - whoa, what happened to the rest of the week. Mom is much better than I, but I will try to bring you up to date.<br />
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Actually, quite a few things have happened...Mom was involved in an accident a week and a half ago when she was hit from behind...no injuries but she was shook up. Rear left fender & back bumper need to be replaced - $2,700 to be paid by Allstate. And, of course, I was traveling up north. <br />
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Then, I found out that I need another hernia operation - last one on April 25th didn't hold. New surgery scheduled for Sept 11th. Bummer!<br />
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No new apartments needed until next month, but we have inspected some older units and have asked for some improvements. The Sisters are usually pretty good at keeping their apartments clean, but some Elders are another matter. I guess if they were not trained at home, it is hard to train them here, but we try. One companionship left their air conditioner going 24/7 at 68 degrees and when I got the utility bill, I nearly fell off my chair..$453. Needless to say we corrected that quickly...no more air conditioning.<br />
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On Sept 3rd new missionaries arrived. That is always a great experience. Some are really ready to go to work and others are not quite sure what to expect. We had two sisters stay with us Tuesday night, which is always fun. They were not new, but they were involved with the transfer. One is a VISA Waiter and is leaving on Monday for Brazil. The next day we had another 80 transfers and the new missionaries met their new trainers and were assigned to an area. Another order for 75 pizzas which were all consumed. Then we had a short testimony meeting with the missionaries leaving and then the new missionaries standing to tell where they were assigned and which trainer they were assigned. It was pretty intimidating for them to stand before all the missionaries...several couldn't even remember who they were assigned to or which area they would be working. Then the departing missionaries stood and bore their testimony. What a difference...confident with strong testimonies and the love for their Savior and their mission.<br />
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That evening, we were blessed with the invitation to have dinner at the mission home with those departing. What a wonderful evening...full of laughter about various experiences during their missions, tearful spiritual memories and discussions about what they were going to do when they got home. Each six weeks we get to experience this event and we love it. It is really the highlight of the transfer week. It is one of our favorite experiences -- love the missionaries!!!<br />
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So, during the last 8 months, we have experienced freezing cold, intestinal flu, food poisoning (6 weeks to fully recover), Claire's passing, mail merge frustrations, finding 40 new apartments and furnishing them, forgetting to pay rent, causing damage to two mission vehicles, getting our own car damaged, one hernia repair operation, which didn't hold, and now preparing for another hernia repair operation on Sept 11th. Through it all, we have never thought about going home...we are called to serve and serve we will. We love it and love the missionaries.<br />
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One of the father's of the missionaries has a hobby of carving Styrofoam pumpkins for Halloween. He has an incredible collection. He asked for a logo for the mission, and this is what he sent, complete with a light inside. We have it on a table in the office, and it is really a fun addition until after Halloween. <br />
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Today we went to Clinton to see the Hamilton campus, founded in 1787. We were supposed to go to the gardens, but it was raining so the best we could get was a picture of this church built in the 1700's. The campus is beautiful, and most of the buildings are stone. </div>
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Now Mom typing: I was called last Sunday to be a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency in the Branch. It is going to be interesting -- continuing to teach Primary with Dad, leading the singing in Sacrament Meeting, conducting and teaching every third week. I don't know when I will be able to do the visiting teaching and general visiting of the sisters. I thought I was busy, but I am going to be REALLY BUSY! It will be fun, though, getting to know the sisters better and being involved with a fantastic president. </div>
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Thanks for all your support and prayers. We love each one and pray for you individually and collectively -- included is our friends as well.</div>
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Elder & Sister Cutler, Herb & Sharon, Grammy & Papa, Friend</div>
Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-38323410785868078662013-08-25T18:40:00.001-07:002013-08-25T18:40:55.476-07:00Random Thoughts through AugustAs I look over our pictures from the last month, I can see that we have not taken many. Our days continue to be full, and our schedule goes on from week to week. We are pretty much on a six-week schedule, so where we are in that period determines what we will be doing. Before I go further, I want to include a beautiful picture taken in July.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #6aa84f;">SACRED GROVE</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong>WHAT HAPPENED HERE CHANGED THE WORLD. LET IT</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong>CHANGE YOUR LIFE.</strong></span></div>
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Elder Cutler has a similar picture as this with the same quote hanging in his office. Its message is incredible. As we continue serving our mission, we more and more realize what the Prophet Joseph Smith did for each of us. His part in the Restoration, the translation of the Book of Mormon, the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the restoration of the Priesthood and the ultimate sacrifice of his life mean more to us than ever before. What a blessing he is to each of us!!</div>
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Our last transfer was the 23rd of July, and we had 12 new missionaries come, including 4 VISA Waiters. That week is full of lots of paperwork in the office and getting everything in place for the new apartments. One day when Dad and Elder Barlow were out delivering furniture, he saw this beautiful site in downtown Utica. It was a memorial to all those soldiers from Utica who have received Purple Hearts. </div>
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We were excited to see the pictures from the Leadville 100 and for how well Mike Staffieri and Greg Francis did in the race. Both had personal records -- lots of training goes into this accomplishment and we were so glad that they both did well. Those big buckles mean a lot!!!</div>
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On one of our trips to "The North Country" we delivered some things to apartments, inspect them, and checked to see if the apartments are "worthy" to have their leases renewed. One of the apartments we visited Dad noticed the smell of gas. He told the elders to open up the windows to keep the place ventilated. He called National Grid and they said to tell the missionaries someone would be there within 45 minutes and they were to get out of the apartment. They were to leave the door unlocked and if they didn't the repairman would knock it down. There was a small gas leak in the oven, so it was a good thing Dad was aware that day! All of the apartments have to have carbon monoxide detectors as well as smoke detectors, but they do not detect the gas. </div>
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While here we have had the best corn-on-the-cob we have ever had, and there are cornfields everywhere. The golden area in the background is a cornfield. The cornfields are huge, and it is so beautiful to see the gold set against the green. We are going to miss the corn once the season is over. </div>
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Revolutionary Trail</div>
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On our way back to Utica we stopped at the greatest ice cream place! I love ice cream anyway, and this is the very best ever. It is just a stop on the side of the road, and unless you were familiar with "Mercer's", you would just drive on by. One of the former Assistants loved the Play Dough flavor and would always stop when he was in that area. He is now in the northern most part of the mission, Massena, and in a walking area. The hope is that they will have a car before the -20' weather comes in the winter. At any rate, this ice cream is the best.</div>
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The Sister's Conference was the 9th and 10th of August. The Sister Trainer Leaders thought it would be a good idea to have a Sisters' Cookbook. I was in charge of putting it together. It was a lot of fun, but the amount of typing I did was hard on the wrists, etc. The conference was a huge success and we hope there will be another one in a year. Although in a year we won't be here!:-(</div>
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The following weekend we had a Senior Couples Conference, and we thoroughly enjoyed that as well. We realize that our mission is unique and very different from the others. The one thing we know, though, is that each of us was called by a Prophet to be where we are. We love this time here and feel so blessed. The last day of the conference we went to the Herkimer Diamond Mines. (Herkimer is where we go to the branch on Sundays -- where the big flood occurred the first part of July.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0b4zxIkHh-Ylq5UPXO0TbSAERnFRNXSj-CMXFmFaZmPHw1HF4tHt1lkF5LQ_u22XklyfeazMKpiC419nqtJJLcDL1Zq1ubvoEvR_A7U35j2dZ8ftXMv0EU3gSNH4hsGeYshZ7JmfQBFq/s1600/IMG_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0b4zxIkHh-Ylq5UPXO0TbSAERnFRNXSj-CMXFmFaZmPHw1HF4tHt1lkF5LQ_u22XklyfeazMKpiC419nqtJJLcDL1Zq1ubvoEvR_A7U35j2dZ8ftXMv0EU3gSNH4hsGeYshZ7JmfQBFq/s320/IMG_0081.JPG" width="239" /></a>President Wirthlin</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VPvHVDk_0BfSOAaTtsPjheHI2eyx9hcT5nAos9ZlJvKsKKrc6NfMD-z4bLzffl_ImMm3XdlwmQE_8ojYAkHsRh94VlATrOibQwpUGIobv9fTopi8yY1Sixx8RRdpyNrherPMzAMTFglr/s1600/IMG_0080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0VPvHVDk_0BfSOAaTtsPjheHI2eyx9hcT5nAos9ZlJvKsKKrc6NfMD-z4bLzffl_ImMm3XdlwmQE_8ojYAkHsRh94VlATrOibQwpUGIobv9fTopi8yY1Sixx8RRdpyNrherPMzAMTFglr/s320/IMG_0080.JPG" width="239" /></a>Sister Wirthlin</div>
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Mom hammering away in search of diamonds!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaGEBHCi1V5TZi5-wcTEyPtKWn05ouj-GUbDEYcK3RFIE7TPyQa1RUU-5oRlynPjk9C70gqk-b6j53bOXIm8C5TZJSTK6xzNA-CeDHOBbMjpG-SqNw_1ycnpyiLP0O8CeHs_EGiWIpDLG/s1600/IMG_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaGEBHCi1V5TZi5-wcTEyPtKWn05ouj-GUbDEYcK3RFIE7TPyQa1RUU-5oRlynPjk9C70gqk-b6j53bOXIm8C5TZJSTK6xzNA-CeDHOBbMjpG-SqNw_1ycnpyiLP0O8CeHs_EGiWIpDLG/s320/IMG_0079.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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The apartment in this house is really quite nice. One of the things that we check at every apartment is whether they have bed bug mattress covers. Bed bugs are a problem in this climate, so we try to make sure that the missionaries are protected this way. They have lots of training on what to do. <br />
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Some members who live above the missionaries apartment but red tape on the missionaries' door with a sign that said the place was in foreclosure. We had a good laugh.</div>
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Last Sunday we left Herkimer on our way to Albany, as we were taking two missionaries to Boston. One of them, a VISA waiter, needed to have a physical, blood work and chest X-Ray there. The Australian Embassy required certain doctors, and the closest was Boston. We really had a nice day. Since we were in Saratoga Springs already, we did not have to travel far to pick up the sisters. They were a joy to be with for the day. We saw a Trader Joe's on the way to the doctor (on the same street), so you know that Dad had to make a stop there to get his salami, cheese and nuts. We then went to a Greek restaurant for lunch and had Gyros (like tacos). <br />
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One of the sisters is from Idaho, and the travel she has experienced is very limited. She really wanted to see the Boston Temple. We figured it was only 20 miles out of the way, so we went to see the temple. It is beautiful, and the grounds were in their prime. We arrived back at their apartment by 6:00 in plenty of time for them to make their 7:00 appointment. We drove the rest of the way back to Utica and arrived home a bit after 8:00. It was a long day (14 hours), but we had a good time. The missionaries are always so grateful for anything done for them.</div>
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We office couples try to have prayer every morning before we start working, and we feel as though the days go better when we do. Elder Barlow gave us this quote to mull over, and I don't want to forget. We have found that we have a lot in common with them -- 6 children, her middle name is also Lou, both have had grandchildren pass away within the last year -- lots of different parallels in our lives. We enjoy them and value their friendship.</div>
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Friday was Special Training, where the latest new missionaries and their trainers come for more mission training. This group was considerably smaller than the others we have had since being on our mission, and it was a more relaxing day. We office couples have different areas where we train, and of course the Assistants, and President and Sister Wirthlin do their training. We did not have any missionaries stay with us this time, and the lunch was only for 35. We usually have Chicken Riggies, which is a local favorite (Google it -- almost impossible to find outside of the Utica-Rome area) and we have it catered from a local restaurant along with their incredible antipasto. Dessert is usually a brownie with ice cream. A candle is lit as the president serves each new missionary and the missionary gives his/her favorite scripture on "light". It is a fun time to see the growth of these new missionaries and how they come out of their shells.</div>
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Yesterday we had our first experience going out with a couple of elders in downtown Utica for a missionary lesson. They wanted us to go and testify of the truthfulness of their message. It was a wonderful experience and very glad for the opportunity. They are awesome missionaries, and we felt privileged that they wanted us to come with them. THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!! I know it.</div>
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Today was our Primary Program. The children all did such a good job. We had three non-member children who participated, and they learned the songs (two sang solos) and they bore their testimonies. One of the sections was on "I am Thankful because..." One of the younger girls said she was grateful for her skin because you can't see my insides and my body parts won't fall out. She probably had some coaching, but it was really cute. There are wonderful people in this branch, and they are raising incredible children. </div>
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I will now close, but I do want each one to know that it is a privilege to be in the mission field at this time. We have seen many changes and have experienced many tender mercies. We know that the Lord is in charge of this mighty work and that as we prayerfully and carefully live our lives that He will bless us as we need. Each one of you is loved and remembered by us.</div>
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Love,</div>
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Grammy, Papa, Elder and Sister Cutler, Herb and Sharon, Friends</div>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-73029603247061479952013-07-28T16:10:00.003-07:002013-07-28T16:10:48.715-07:00Travel -- Temple -- PageantJuly 26, 2013 - Travel, Temple Sealing, Hill Cumorah Pageant & New Missionaries:<br />
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We are so tired from all the activities we have done during the past two weeks, but it is a good tired. Six weeks after the new missionaries arrive, they return to the Mission Office to participate in a "Return & Report" day. This particular group was the last of our big arrivals, so we had about 65 missionaries with their companions attend. When they arrived, you could see in their eyes the excitement, fear, confusion and wonderment of starting their mission in the field. When they return for this special meeting, they are changed - excited, more confident and so pleased to see their MTC companions again and hear about their experiences. It's like seeing the transformation of a moth in a cocoon struggling to break free and turn into a beautiful butterfly. Some of the new missionaries had their wings fully extended and some were still trying to adapt to this new world of missionary work. It's wonderful to see the transformation and of course, that transformation continues throughout their mission.<br />
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This month, we only had to find 5 new apartments but two were in opposite areas of the mission. Most of the new apartments were found fairly quickly, but one new area in downtown Utica was proving to be somewhat difficult. This will be for walking Elders, so it had to be near bus transportation. This area is also a low-income area, so apartments were hard to find that were suitable. The AP's were assigned to help locate the right place, but every time we viewed their pick, we turned it down. It just didn't feel right. The AP's were so busy, we decided to enlist the help of the Zone Leaders. On the first day of looking, the Zone Leaders were walking down the street in an area they felt would be a good location. On one particular street, a gentlemen saw them walking by and wondered what they were doing. He called them to his house and asked what was going on. They told him they were looking for a suitable apartment for missionaries who would be assigned to this area. He then told them he had an apartment and asked if they wanted to see it. It turned out to be just the right spot and a good clean apartment. However, the story goes on. Apparently, this landlord was praying that morning for help in finding a good clean Christian tenant. The Elders were also praying to find a good apartment and a good landlord. And then the Lord brought them together. The Elders immediately called us. We were out of the office in Herkimer delivering some furniture, but when they called, we said we could be back in 30 minutes to see the apartment. We did and we met with the landlord and viewed the apartment and then signed a lease on the spot. This was another tender mercy for us. Never doubt that the Lord is watching over the missionary work.<br />
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Because the other office couple were attending Zone Conferences, Sis. Cutler and I have had to deliver new apartment furnishings to different areas of the mission. On Monday, the 15th, we drove to Hudson Falls which is right next to Glens Falls (Jimmer's home town). Glens Falls is a beautiful town. This apartment is a nice one, and little did the Zone Leader know that he would be a trainer and then live in the apartment. Good thing he liked the apartment! We then traveled back to see the renovation of the apartment owned by a ward mission leader in Greenwich. We were pleasantly surprised to see how well the renovation was turning out. <br />
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We love to see the farmland, and every bit of land is used for one crop or another. These bales of hay were all over this area, and the camera cannot pick up the magnitude of the field.<br />
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That same day, we also traveled to a Sister's apartment to inspect some damage. The mission has been renting this apartment for a number of years, but it certainly needed some immediate work. The front door was broken and wouldn't lock, broken tiles in the shower, bathroom sink was leaking, blinds were broken and the medicine cabinet was missing. So we spent some time talking with the manager and demanded that things get repaired ASAP or we would move. <br />
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Last Friday, Sis. Cutler and I drove the mission van and trailer (full of furnishings) 3 1/2 hours north to the town of Massena to set up a new apartment. Massena is on the northern most boundary of the mission right along the St Lawrence River. <br />
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Across the water in this picture is Canada -- this is the St. Lawrence River.<br />
We then traveled to the town of Odgensburg to drop off a couch to a Senior Couple's home which sits right on the St. Lawrence River and has a beautiful view. They are the branch leaders in a newly opened branch. We took their old couch to the Elders in Ogdensburg but it would not fit into the apartment. The Elders put it on the curb and said someone would pick it up. I talked to them later and the couch (Hide-a-bed) was gone before they could clean up and get out to an appointment. It is funny how those things work around here. People just load up their junk on the sidewalk and if someone does not take it the trash people carry it away. Then we headed south to try and visit with some more missionaries who were having problems with their apartments. We didn't realize how much time it took to travel from spot to spot and by the time we arrived, it was too late. So we traveled on to Syracuse and arrived at out hotel about 9:30 pm---a twelve hour day of deliveries and travel. We were exhausted. And we had not had dinner!!!<br />
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The next day, Saturday, we went out of our mission to travel to Palmyra to attend a temple sealing for a couple from our branch who were baptized 1 year ago. It was a beautiful sealing along with the sealing of twin boys who had died shortly after birth.<br />
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Then we stayed around Palmyra that day so we could attend the Hill Cumorah Pageant that night. We met some wonderful people that day who were either serving like ourselves or were on a two week mission just for the pageant.</div>
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The pageant itself was wonderful in its presentation of the Book of Mormon. The appearance of Christ from the top of the hill descending was inspiring. There must have been close to 800 cast members who all mingled with the crowd before the performance dressed in their costumes. <br />
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Abinadi</div>
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In the audience, we met a sister who knew Mike Staffieri's parents, our tour guide who led us to Oberamergau, Germany and a couple from our stake in Washington City. The pageant started at 9:00 and ended at 10:15 pm. We finally got back to our hotel in Syracuse well after midnight. But it was a wonderful day.<br />
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We attended Church the next day in Liverpool and then traveled back to our apartment that afternoon.<br />
Monday was spent in paying rents for 91 apartments and catching up on utility bills and missionary packets for the new missionaries arriving the next day. Tuesday night was training the new missionaries on what the office staff does. Wednesday was transfer day. It was interesting that with only 10 new missionaries arriving, the President made 80 companionship changes, so we had over 110 people for lunch on Transfer day. That night we had dinner at the Presidents home for those missionaries who were going home. It is always a special night to see them complete their mission with the anticipation of going home. We all get a chance to bear our testimonies, and the missionaries have grown so in their 18 month. <br />
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So now, we are completely done in and are walking around the office like zombies. But we are loving the experience and the wonderful spirit of the mission and the missionaries. Thank you for your prayers, support and love. We need the prayers for our strength and ability to do the work that is assigned to us.<br />
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Saturday morning we spent with the Assistants gathering things for their new apartment, and then later in the afternoon went to a branch picnic. By the time we arrived back at our apartment we were ready to kick back and look at the ceiling.....<br />
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We love you all, miss each one, and look forward to emails, messages, ANYTHING from family and friends. Take care of yourselves. We especially thank our neighbors, the Croasdale's, who are looking after our house. <br />
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Love,<br />
Grammy, Papa, Mom and Dad, Elder & Sister Cutler, FriendSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-30814695361927864532013-07-07T17:38:00.000-07:002013-07-07T17:38:00.656-07:00Six months into our mission!!!July 7, 2013<br />
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Today we celebrate 6 months into our mission. Hard to believe, but true. When we first arrived, we felt like we were drowning, couldn't keep our heads above water, with all the responsibilities we had to learn-FAST. Now we feel like we are at least swimming with the flow. Maybe by the end of our mission, we will feel like we are floating along without a care in the world. It has been quite a 6 month ride both physically and spiritually.<br />
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This past week was primarily spent in the office. However, on Tuesday, we took some new bed foundations over to the Elders in Greenwich which is just north of Albany. While there we looked at the possibility of moving the Elders to another apartment. The current apartment is nice and large, but the landlord has been apparently going into the apartment without telling the Elders. The Elders learned this from some Church members who said they saw this happening. The landlord apparently doesn't like the Church so is making it known. Fortunately, the Ward Mission Leader has a spare apartment above his house that he said he could fix up. We saw it but were not impressed. However after learning what he would do to fix it up, we said OK. We also went to see an apartment in Saratoga Springs -- where a famous thorough-bred horse race track is located. Saratoga Springs is a quaint little town -- the apartment was fine. We are trying to check on the apartments that have had long-term leases. The tendency is for the apartments to acquire a lot of junk furniture and such, which makes it difficult for incoming missionaries. This apartment was quite nice, actually, although it is a bit dark for me. We are going to have a Day of De-Junking in a couple of weeks. It is quite interesting that most of the villages allow their people to just put junk out on the side of the road and the garbage removal people take it all away. Guess there are no public dumping areas.<br />
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We are seeing more parts of the mission and it is beautiful this time of year...so green, but humid. We are preparing for the next group of new missionaries, but thankfully, only 8 this month. But that means 3 new apartments - one near the office and the other two at the far north and east (Glenns Falls -- Jimmer's home town).<br />
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Friday night we traveled to the south with the other office couple, AP's and Mission President and his wife to see a historical exhibit on Joseph & Emma Smith. They had quite a nice exhibit, and that was the area where Joseph and Emma were married. There is so MUCH church history here,<br />
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Friday and Saturday the President sent missionaries to help clean up the basements in the flooded areas of our branch and other places. It was hot and sticky, but the missionaries did work hard and cleaned about 20 homes, primarily not members of the church. The Mission President told me to purchase a pallet of bottled water which was delivered to the Salvation Army. The Church is partnering with the Salvation Army and the Methodist Church to help the community. Members of the Methodist Church were so impressed that they offered to feed the missionaries. We met a man whose basement was being cleaned by the missionaries and he was so grateful he had tears running down his face. Today in Sacrament Meeting the member of the stake presidency residing in the branch and in charge of the community clean-up effort related an experience he had yesterday. The missionaries are assigned to certain homes, and he was out checking to see how things were going. He went to the house where the missionaries were supposed to be and they were not there. He was a bit confused that they would not have been there -- he went out looking for the yellow "Mormon helping hands" tee shirts and located the missionaries. They thought they were at the right place, and it so happened that this was a single woman in dire circumstances and desperately needed their help. I am learning that there are no coincidences in this work -- the Lord is in charge -- He wanted the missionaries at this woman's home yesterday. It was a touching story about how these service projects can change not only the lives of the people being helped but change the lives of those who are giving the service. <br />
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Saturday, a man was baptized in the branch who is married to a member (Hawaiian). We have watched the transformation in this man that the gospel in his life has made. Truly wonderful.<br />
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After the baptism, the missionaries starting arriving after a day spent cleaning up the muck.They were so dirty, but had smiling faces and glad to be doing service. They will be going out again tomorrow and then again next Friday and Saturday. The whole stake is trying to provide the service, and there were a few people from the northern end of the mission about 3 1/2 hours away. <br />
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The missionaries were filthy dirty, smelly from the awful, mud and excited to have done this service. Might I add, the water in the village of Herkimer is not drinkable and the gas is turned off as well. The drinking fountains at the church were even off limits. Notice that every missionary has on something other than the yellow shirts that sets them apart from everyone else -- you have it, the black badges. These badges are worn with respect, and we love the name tags and what they mean in our lives. It is a privilege to be part of the Lord's army of missionaries, and I hope that we will always be worthy to wear these name tags.</div>
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We send you our love -- lots of love -- and hope this finds each one well and happy. We are very blessed.</div>
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Love,</div>
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Elder & Sister Cuter, Mom & Dad, Grammy & Papa, Friend<br />
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-11503868660218964412013-07-01T11:53:00.003-07:002013-07-01T11:53:15.494-07:00Mess in HerkimerJust a couple more pictures I want to have to remember the mess in Herkimer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWmSa8CTF7kSV7H9FL-pM8Aiqhnsn1OtlMJVwNH53IMqxlwKMUOg0P2kCvrmMBgtwxYyAjHYYAIv_TEXMZf8hV2qgmGI9L1MtugJ1wJyNNgXzyRKUxHqYC8HR7ojniqADjDkR0eDGlGbS/s1600/DSCN9899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oya="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWmSa8CTF7kSV7H9FL-pM8Aiqhnsn1OtlMJVwNH53IMqxlwKMUOg0P2kCvrmMBgtwxYyAjHYYAIv_TEXMZf8hV2qgmGI9L1MtugJ1wJyNNgXzyRKUxHqYC8HR7ojniqADjDkR0eDGlGbS/s320/DSCN9899.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I will be going with Dad tomorrow to deliver some mattresses, inspect an apartment and check on a possible "move" to another apartment. We will be going as far north as Lake Placid, so it will be a long day.<br />
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Love to all,<br />
Mom, Sister C., Grammy, FriendSharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-59165387456213634952013-06-30T18:42:00.000-07:002013-06-30T18:42:50.298-07:00I just posted a couple of days ago, but I just wanted to write down some thoughts before forgetting them. This picture was taken on Friday afternoon -- <br />
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We are concerned about the heat and drought in the West --the fires and all are awful. I do know that 115' is too hot for me even with air conditioning. I know the dry heat makes warm days more bearable, but the heat the past few days in the Southwest is difficult, to say the least. Our thoughts do wander back to the west coast and the concern for one and all.<br />
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We went to bed on Thursday night with hard rain, and we woke up on Friday morning with it raining just as hard. We talked to the maintenance man here at the apartment complex, and there are other basements here that have flooded now. Because our basement became a continual problem they finally put in a sump pump -- our basement is dry. It definitely is not cold with the rain. It gets quite humid, but our apartment is comfortable if we have the dehumidifier and air conditioners on. Our air conditioners are definitely not what you would call "designer dreams". Cool is worth the ugliness. We are up above the streams, but many roads are and have been closed. Downtown Utica was flooded and lots of inconvenience with road closures. We are grateful for safety.This weather is supposed to continue for the rest of the week.<br />
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Herkimer was in the news again. Our branch is located there, and the city was flooded horribly on Thursday night/Friday morning. Our missionaries had water up to the dashboard and into their brand new car. The car still worked, so they went to Utica to the mission home where they have a wet/dry vacuum. They have stayed a couple of days because the hot water heater not working as it was down in the basement and it was flooded. The National Guard was called in to help. <br />
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Above is a picture of the Mohawk River/Erie Canal. The water was above the wall and yachts were on the grassy area. Water went across the road and across the divider.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiYyJOOLxdUtKApDKhNUCQU8WiCMm-3aWY4PIs0ef0RI0VQhs2SaOD37hTbK1iWzIChW4IVsN0C1kRg5e_v67dj48Ky3vAxe5PkrHPRS3Wzx0YX852b0V20XYUHkgbG0H_lJ_Q1EC5SbB/s1600/IMG_1674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiYyJOOLxdUtKApDKhNUCQU8WiCMm-3aWY4PIs0ef0RI0VQhs2SaOD37hTbK1iWzIChW4IVsN0C1kRg5e_v67dj48Ky3vAxe5PkrHPRS3Wzx0YX852b0V20XYUHkgbG0H_lJ_Q1EC5SbB/s320/IMG_1674.JPG" width="320" /></a>Here the water has receded about 8 feet. </div>
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This was one of the village streets, and this certainly was not the worst -- the National Guard was there and it was not possible to get any closer. The mud and silt make such a mess.<br />
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We had branch members who lost everything except their house-- their animals, garden, complete back yard. The water completely covered their backyard. A large work party went to their home yesterday to try to re-route the normally shallow little stream that at most is 6' wide. There are streams all over the county, and the flood alert is not over. The mission president went to this home, and when it is time that the water has receded enough, the missionaries in this zone will go out there to try to help with the cleanup. Other people had basements flooded, no electricity, etc. etc. etc. <br />
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I must say that it is beautiful here with all of the green. We went out to the branch president's home yesterday -- without the GPS we would never find anything. Their home was 20 miles away in the most beautiful countryside.<br />
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The freeway picture is the Revolutionary Trail now a freeway. Such a lot of history here, and the villages are often more than 200 years old. We don't always get our Preparation Days, so we are only able to explore once in a while. Next Saturday we have a baptism -- which is a great thing!!! <br />
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We were sustained and set apart today as Primary workers. We teach the 7 year old CTR class, a great group of kids. I hurry from class to Sharing Time where I play the piano -- I don't do that so well, but getting better. I used to know the Primary songs on the piano, but if you don't use it you lose it. </div>
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Again, we feel very blessed to be able to serve a mission here in New York. I don't know what I was expecting, but I am happy and pleased that we made the decision to serve. Our lives are blessed from associating with the missionaries, the humble people in the branch, our mission president and the others with whom we serve. I will never be the same. My love for the Savior has increased, and I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith and our modern-day prophet. We love each of you and are so grateful for notes and emails that we receive. It means a lot.<br />
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Loves,<br />
Grammy and Papa, Elder and Sister Cutler, Friends<br />
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-49778264162147125962013-06-27T18:36:00.000-07:002013-06-27T18:36:13.459-07:00I have to go back and relearn how to do this blog every time I do it, so please be patient with me. We have had a couple of great weeks. I am finally over my stomach ache. I no longer drink milk but have been drinking Almond Milk. Weird, for sure, but I just do not tolerate milk very well these days. The second thing is that I have conquered the Mail Merge!! I started working on it again, and knew that there was something we were missing. I knew that the excel worksheet I kept saving was not quite right. My partner in the office, Sister Barlow, suggested that we try one more time and add info into the IMOS program. At any rate, we figured it out and I am now able to do the Mail Merge without looking at the directions. This is a huge mountain I have climbed, and I am so grateful to be able to do it now. It does save a lot of time.<br />
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We had 24 new missionaries come in on the eleventh of June, and we had two sister missionaries stay with us that night. The breakfast went well (served 40 people), and then the missionaries had training. We helped set up for the lunch, but there was one hang up -- the 30 pizzas that were ordered were late in coming. Everyone was wondering what was going on and why the delay. I would not say that the missionaries were cross, but it was getting a little late for their lunch. One of the elders sat down to the piano and started playing "Called to Serve". The missionaries came back into the room and got into a huge half circle and started singing with gusto. It was incredible. He played "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet" and a couple of other favorites and the spirit in the room was so strong. President Wirthlin went around shaking hands and came back to the front of the room in tears. I have the responsibility of taking the pictures of the new missionaries, their companions, and then with President and Sister Wirthlin. That went smoothly and by the time we were finished the pizzas had arrived. <br />
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Having all of the missionaries hanging around the office that day was also an incredible experience. We really can feel the priesthood power when they are there, and we are so blessed to be able to participate in these transfer days.<br />
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That night there was a dinner at the Wirthlin's honoring the missionaries going home the next morning. That experience is always special as well. These missionaries were a huge addition to the mission and will be missed. I must say, though, the new ones coming in are pretty awesome. One of the Visa Waiters can speak Portugese fluently as well as German. The way the missionaries are paired together is always a huge miracle. <br />
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We went on a road trip on Saturday. It is so beautiful here this time of the year. We have had some HUGE lightning and thunder storms, and the rain comes down so hard -- sometimes it hails as well. This Saturday was beautiful and clear. We went up into the beginnings of the Adirondacks. <br />
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The colors were beautiful -- this yellow area off to the side of the road was so pretty. Does not show up as beautiful as it was. Below is a lake that winds around to the left. There were cabins there, and it looked like a fun place to visit again. <br />
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This is a covered railway bridge next to the lake. Some of these places are so old -- we plan to take a train up to the Adirondacks -- if not soon then in the fall. Beautiful!!!</div>
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We went to a city called Boonville. Our office partners are doing some genealogy for a member whose family is from Boonville. We decided to go to the cemetery to see if we could see any of his family names. </div>
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We did find some of his family names, whether they were his or not does not matter -- we just found some quite by accident on the side of the road. This cemetery goes back to the 1700's. The town of Boonville is in the distance. These small towns are so interesting, and they date back to before the Revolutionary War. One thing that we have a hard time with, though, is that there are no mountains to give us an idea as to which direction we are going. The sun comes up in the east and goes down in the west, but part of the day we can't see it. Reminds me of the First Presidency Message by President Uchtdorf in the June Ensign, "Walking in Circles".<br />
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As we were heading back we saw this Nirvana Spring Water sign. This bottled water is supposed to be the BEST spring water. I just plain and simply thought it was so funny to see this sign and then the spring with Canadian Geese all around in and about the water. My love for Canadian Geese is not very great because of all the poop they drop all over the place.<br />
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If you look closely you can see the geese in the distance. Just one of my quirky pictures..... .<br />
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Last Thursday, June20, Dad and I needed to go to Hamilton, NY to see an apartment where sisters were living. They were trying to have a sense of humor and not complain about their situation, but when we saw the conditions there I told Dad that we had to get them out. I took pictures, but I won't bore you with those. The place has been rented for 10 years or more, and there was so much stuff collected in the apartment that you could hardly move. Plus it was dirty. I really felt sick to my stomach when we left. The landlord owns 200+ apartments in Hamilton and the surrounding area. He was willing to let the church roll over the lease and security deposit. We found another apartment, and yesterday (Wednesday, June 26th) they moved in . They are so excited, and I am very pleased for them. Many of the apartments have been rented for several years, so we will be going out and inspecting the places to see if they are okay. The Assistants are going to be moving as soon as they can find an apartment -- their place is nice enough but needs painting, etc and cleaning out the accumulated junk. One nice thing is that you can put stuff out on the sidewalks where it is collected. That will be a huge help!!!<br />
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We spent a good portion of Saturday taking care of the 5 youngest of 7 children of members of the branch. They were desperate for help, so it was our fun to help out. They live in a 200 year old brick house in the country -- bricks falling off of the siding, and lots and lots of work to renovate the place. They are a cute family and we had a nice time. We had a late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant called The Chowder House. I had the best scallops ever -- even beat out Ivars!!! I am hoping that we can go again because the meal was so good.<br />
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The meeting on Sunday night for missionaries and local church leaders was a wonderful meeting. Elder Holland conducted the meeting, and he said, "To all the full-time missionaries sharing in this broadcast around the world, we say never again in your entire life are you going to be part of a zone conference this large!" We looked for Kara in the choir, but we did not see her. What an incredible experience for her to be there. The missionary work is going to move forward at a greater and greater pace -- just hope we can keep up. The Lord will not let this work fail, and we are so thankful to be here at this time to be part of the tsunami. The members of the church will have an increase in responsibility for missionary work. Lots of changes......<br />
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Will close for now. We are doing fine -- still so very tired after spending the day in the office, but we are happy and healthy. We love you each one, and you are in our thoughts and prayers. Have a good weekend!!! Be safe and know of our love.<br />
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Mom and Dad, Grammy and Papa, Elder and Sister Cutler<br />
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-40895007259029841192013-06-09T18:18:00.000-07:002013-06-09T19:05:11.668-07:00We are back!!! As I have said before, the weeks fly by and we find that we are behind in our blogging. Groundhog Day does not describe our lives, but we do a lot of the same things during the weeks of the month. We had some time to do errands at lunch on the 16th of May and decided we would eat at a Asian restaurant at the mall. We will not make that mistake again. We both got horrible food poisoning that lasted from that night until Monday the 20th -- sick sick sick!!! We continue to get stomach aches. The awful thing about the whole experience is that at an office staff meeting the AP's asked us where we had eaten -- and they said we had not eaten chicken. What? Then what did we eat? They were not going to tell us, but others wanted to know as well. It came out and we almost got sick again -- we had eaten possum....... Gag again!!! I said "you mean we ate road kill?" Yup. No way -- Elder Tollefson said the restaurant is being investigated for serving sub par food -- not what they are advertising to be serving. Well, Scott asked me whatever were we thinking to eat Asian food in a small Asian restaurant in rural New York? I guess I will wait until we get home to eat at "The Taste of Asia" -- awesome food there. We were so sick, and we missed an "exploring" trip with our friends and Stake Conference. We were most disappointed. <br />
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We were sad to hear of the passing of Sister Frances J. Monson. <br />
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She was truly a remarkable woman. As I have read the <em>Church News, </em>over and over the remarks about her life indicated how dedicated she was to serving the Lord. President Eyring said, "Her talents were many, her love abundant, her character above reproach and her faith unshakable." She is a good example for each of us to follow. There is much more I could say, but there will probably be a book written about her that we can read. We were able to watch her funeral on the computer in the office. One thing that we noticed was how old President Monson looked, and his coloring was not good at all. I am sure that he has had a big load with her illness, his health issues, and the huge responsibilities that are his being the Prophet. He has also been an incredible example of a life in service to the Lord.<br />
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The week of the 24th of May Dad was busy trying to get 8 apartments. They now use the missionaries, primarily the zone leaders, to find the apartments that the President wants in the various areas. It is amazing how it all comes together, and Dad has said many times that he has felt the tender mercies of the Lord in finding these apartments. They are all nice apartments and furnished nicely as well. The missionaries are all awesome! They always seem to come through. They are out in the various areas, find an apartment, call Dad, take pictures of the apartment inside and out, email the pictures to Dad, Dad calls the manager, and then the leases are put together. Amazing how well it has worked. There has only been one that Dad said he would not let a pig of his live in -- and so the missionaries are now very careful. Google Earth helps as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEp7bZEBXd0I2hcSZu9ihdBdqTo5Vri6vD2mM46zFflE5_tjGAqfKGRIVe3SF6hhybC9vHrqNtgpyX5IdIBoP8uDIggGdi6zohmauCweXwA3sIkewj56r7IO-EPi4CfDDbV9XLNRnUvPz/s1600/P5251899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEp7bZEBXd0I2hcSZu9ihdBdqTo5Vri6vD2mM46zFflE5_tjGAqfKGRIVe3SF6hhybC9vHrqNtgpyX5IdIBoP8uDIggGdi6zohmauCweXwA3sIkewj56r7IO-EPi4CfDDbV9XLNRnUvPz/s320/P5251899.JPG" width="240" /></a>On Saturday the 25th of May, we had a pancake breakfast at the Barlow's. His pancakes are so very good! We then went out exploring. This time of year is so beautiful here. All different colors of green. There aren't any mountains, so it is hard for me to get my bearings, but with the GPS we are able to do fine. We headed out of Utica towards Rome, NY. We saw an obelisk on the right hand side of the road and took a side trip to where the Battle of Oriskany was fought in August of 1777. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War.<br />
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This was one of the few battles in the war where almost all of the participants were North American: Loyalists and Indians (against the Revolutionaries) fought against Patriots in the absence of British soldiers. There is a lot I could write, and it was a very interesting side trip in preparation for our time at Fort Stanwix. <br />
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Fort Stanwix played an important role in the Revolutionary War period.......</div>
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The 27th I went with Dad to deliver some phones and then he had to do the final work for a lease. It was a beautiful day and we drove along the Catskill Mountains and over to Cooperstown. The countryside was absolutely gorgeous. The day was a bit hazy, but I had to take a few pictures to show we were there. I love pictures of silos,</div>
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so I try to take a picture whenever I can. This one was set against the Catskills, but they are not mountains as we know them. </div>
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On June 1st, a week ago, we drove to Clinton, New York and saw some beautiful old churches -- 1700's. There are all different kinds of churches, each unique in their own way. It is hard to get far enough away to get the church without the electrical wires, but here is a sample of one in Clinton.</div>
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Our day would not be complete without going to a bakery. They said that these "half moon" cookies are famous from this area -- delicious too!</div>
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It was a fun day -- went to farmer's markets, antique markets, the Oneida Silver Store in Oneida, <br />
and just lots of looking around. <br />
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We are so thrilled to have Kara out on her mission now. The MTC is a wonderful place, and I know she is feeling the spirit in great abundance. She will be a fantastic missionary, I know. And our love and blessings to Kirk as he starts his time as a Bishop. He will be fantastic, and his family will be a great support to him. Julie, you will be blessed as well!! <br />
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Sunday, June 2 we had a fabulous musical evening put on by the Utica Central District. Elder Borgia (from Morgan Hill) played the acoustical guitar and sang, and Elder Rymer (from Mapleton, Utah)played the piano and sang also. Both are very talented, good voices, play their instruments well, and then the other missionaries in the district each had speaking parts to pull the evening together in a celebration of Christ. It was wonderful!!! We were very impressed with the music and the spoken word was good as well. Such a nice Sunday evening, and another great testimony of the role of Christ, his atonement, and the restoration of the gospel.<br />
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Monday, June 3. Today is my Dad's (Mom) 98th birthday!!! Does not seem possible that so many years have passed by without him. He was 54 when he died. He was a good man and has been missed by us all. <br />
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This week Dad has been delivering furniture to the eight apartments. The missionaries at the different locations do the lifting and carrying, so Elders Barlow and Cutler just get the furniture there and supervise the delivery. The system works well. I had a very slow week as far as the weeks I have experienced so far. I was doing things that had not been done in a long time and feeling pretty good that I had worked ahead of schedule. On Thursday afternoon as I was working at the computer I had a real shock -- I was supposed to have the Monthly Newsletter ready for Friday delivery to the Zone Leaders..... I had half of it done, but I had to really get going on Friday to have it finished in time. I was so glad that I was able to finish in time -- the typing and computer angels were by my side for sure------<br />
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We had another tender mercy yesterday in regards to another apartment. As we were leaving the office on Friday, President Wirthlin told Dad that he needed to get one more apartment. Changes in the missionaries coming on Tuesday made this extra apartment necessary. I guess President Wirthlin had told the zone leaders in Albany of the need. We received a phone call yesterday morning that they had found an apartment. The lease has been emailed, the pictures emailed, and yesterday we spent our Preparation Day buying the things other than furniture that are needed for the apartments -- lamps, irons, ironing boards, pots and pans, etc. etc. etc. We were able to finish and get the trailer loaded by 3:30 yesterday afternoon so that the furniture and all can be delivered tomorrow. I will never doubt that the Lord is in charge of this important work. .He knows the needs. We are so lucky to see these things take place first hand.<br />
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We love each of you and pray for your wellbeing. We are very blessed that you are part of our lives.<br />
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Love, Elder & Sister Cutler, Grammy & Papa, Mom & Dad.<br />
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-91511923706978053822013-05-15T18:24:00.000-07:002013-05-15T18:36:06.125-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dad is starting to feel better, for which I am very grateful. He gets really tired, and he just cannot do any lifting, so he is not doing the mail run so much anymore. If it were just letters it would be okay, but there are huge packages that weigh a lot -- no can do.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpkpT-GuEY_84OCjEgqGq7hkkvl40Yw0xV-v76KFr-wunorbcFypU7pKqcxHf6BvStVWAS2_o9PKFFD-mlE0zVeExJUtpM6NkJkxCiqGuXwmFhkcMaoYBNh5FsveOTtlsfjNOYso8JAwrD/s1600/IMG_1617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpkpT-GuEY_84OCjEgqGq7hkkvl40Yw0xV-v76KFr-wunorbcFypU7pKqcxHf6BvStVWAS2_o9PKFFD-mlE0zVeExJUtpM6NkJkxCiqGuXwmFhkcMaoYBNh5FsveOTtlsfjNOYso8JAwrD/s320/IMG_1617.JPG" width="320" /></a>Last week we went out for a walk one afternoon. I have mentioned that we have not seen the golf course across the way from our apartment complex until the middle of April, so now we know that there is a green golf course nearby. I think it is a private one, and without golf clubs, he won't be doing any golfing. Just not enough hours in the day. The weather last week was balmy and warm. It was wonderful!!! We opened up our windows and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air. By Saturday it was raining torrents and quite cold. We did the laundry at the Laundromat.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhOF6kcXorNtQN7EfDnS8F_UxZws4577xPa2itRO6i56rqczKZPBtXIV-uUHNWubSNphbqLnDh06KadsETI8GbVdz80SrZj1_h5BJp5LzBzkLEkY2tJ18y5kkbMHKOidGbKQwLsIkjDgj/s1600/IMG_1618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhOF6kcXorNtQN7EfDnS8F_UxZws4577xPa2itRO6i56rqczKZPBtXIV-uUHNWubSNphbqLnDh06KadsETI8GbVdz80SrZj1_h5BJp5LzBzkLEkY2tJ18y5kkbMHKOidGbKQwLsIkjDgj/s320/IMG_1618.JPG" width="320" /></a> The countryside is all different colors of green,and the blossoms are out and very beautiful. The rain kind of destroyed the blossoms, and hopefully any fruit trees did not get ruined. We live in an area where there are lots of apples, and Dad loves to go to a store called Twin Orchards and get his Dutch Apple Pie. He now is a fan of Pirate's Booty!!! He has given me trouble for years about liking the tasty morsels. I guess it is an acquired taste, but we are great fans. I remember when Madelyn Staffieri loved the Pirate's Booty -- does she still like it? This tree below is right outside of the mission office. The blossoms are gone now.</div>
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We went out to dinner with President and Sister Wirthlin and the Barlows on Friday night. It is fun to have the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with these great people. We had a nice Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. A young priest gave an incredible extemporaneous talk about how much his mother meant to him. It was pretty remarkable since he thought he was going to be teaching a Primary class. The main speaker spoke on the sacred nature of mothers -- talking about Eve, the prophetess/judge Deborah and Hannah, the mother of Samuel the Prophet. We taught the 6-year olds in Primary, and then the Elder's Quorum took care of Sharing Time in Primary so the sisters could go to Relief Society. </div>
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I was fine for the day and I guess I had a steel rod going up my backside to keep my emotions together. As the day turned to night the tigers started coming out, and I pretty much had a meltdown. I can explain -- I grieve for the loss of Claire (even though I understand she is out of pain and all), but I also grieve as a mother for Debbie. It is hard to watch any of our children struggling, and I think about each one every day. Our mission experience has taught me a lot, for sure, and I see the difficulties many people are facing in this area. Poverty is a real issue for many, and we are very blessed. We are quite comfortable in our apartment. I did two loads of laundry downstairs last night, so I am moving forward on that weekly chore. I guess that is good......</div>
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I have been sad over the death of Nettie Noble on Mother's Day evening, but I know that she has suffered a lot the last while and she was very ready to move on. Before the mission, Sharon Albrecht, Gretel Ferwerda and I brought lunch over to her and she proceeded to show us what her coffin would look like, where she would be buried (St. George) and we took some pictures that are priceless now. So cheerful while suffering. So grateful I listened to a prompting to call her last Thursday -- there are no coincidences in this life!!! I was able to tell her that I loved her while she could barely speak.</div>
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Enough of the preaching. We know the church is true -- Christ is our Savior and we are very grateful for His atoning sacrifice. We have had a good week so far and are loving the work. We love each and every one of you and so enjoy calls, emails and notes. We look forward to mail just like the elders and sisters do!!</div>
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Love to all,</div>
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Elder and Sister Cutler</div>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-70623827917092329412013-05-05T17:02:00.002-07:002013-05-06T16:53:28.067-07:00Coming back to the mission after an emotionally-filled week in Seattle was not easy. We did not get back to Utica until 1:30 in the morning and slept in on Sunday until 10:00. The quiet time together was nice. The next morning we were up early and at the mission office before 8:00. We arrived to see these beautiful flowers sent by dear friends from St. George. It was appropriately pink in every hue. It was beautiful.<br />
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We have a staff meeting at 9:00 in the morning, and those are always good for us. President Wirthlin gave a timely spiritual thought: Scripture: Job 22:21 -- "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee." He shared a quote from President Ezra Taft Benson -- "It is a great blessing to have an inner peace, to have an assurance, to have a spirit of serenity and inward calm during times of strife and struggle, during times of sorrow and reverses. It is soul-satisfying to know that God is at the helm, that we can with full confidence place our trust in Him. I believe that all the truly great men of the earth have been men who trusted in God and who have striven to do that which is right as they understood the right" (<em>The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson</em>, p. 68). This was timely for me, and I believe he was inspired to say these words that morning. I was caught up and the week gone was not a problem. Dad had some apartments that needed to be found and rented, and the tender mercies continue as he does this work. He had hernia repair surgery on Thursday, so he has been under the weather since that time. However, he has gone into the office each day for a couple of hours and tried his hardest to get done what he needed to do. He came out of the anesthetic asking for his mobile phone so that he could get the last apartment rental in order. We went into the office on Friday night so that he could actually cut the checks and get everything done.<br />
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Plant arrangement sent from Relief Society friends in St. George -- Beautiful!!</div>
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This last week was transfers and we had 25 new missionaries come. We are so lucky that the mission office is located in a stake center, as we are always in the middle of all of the activities. We had two elders stay with us on Tuesday night, and were able to get to the office by 7:15 so we could get the breakfast done. Sister Wirthlin is amazing, and we served breakfast for 45 and lunch for over 100. When the new missionaries are assigned to their trainers, it is really exciting. President Wirthlin relies heavily on inspiration from the Lord, and he is very drained when this is over. On Wednesday night we attended the dinner for the missionaries who are going home. It was a fabulous dinner!!! <br />
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After dinner it is tradition to have a testimony meeting. These missionaries are impressive. I am so grateful that we are included in these special occasions. One of the elders said something that made a large impact on me. He said that the reasons we come out on our missions are not always the same reasons for which we stay. The more we respond and are open to the promptings of the Spirit bring us closer to Christ, and our testimonies of Him, His mission and the Atonement greatly increase.</div>
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On Thursday night I did what I have been dreading for three months: I went downstairs to do one batch of our laundry. I am glad that I finally did it, but yesterday we did the remainder of our laundry at the Laundromat. It is just so much faster -- even though the cost is more. I survived the experience and know that I can go down to the basement if necessary.</div>
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Saturday we did a few errands and went to a late lunch at this Hot Dog/Hamburger stand that we have been looking at since we arrived. It just reopened during April, and the lines go out to the street. We wanted to find out what it was like. It was great! Dad had two great hotdogs, and I had a good hamburger. It is quite the place and famous in the area for the good food. </div>
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Today we went to the branch, and it was nice to be back. We are rubbing shoulders with wonderful, humble people -- all have interesting stories from their lives. We enjoy the drive over there and the scenery has changed drastically since we first started. The trees are in bloom, the grass is green, and there are flowers also blooming. Spring has been here this week -- we keep our windows open and the temperature gets up to 75'. Now once Dad is feeling a little better we will start doing some exploring. </div>
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We love each of you and love hearing from you. You are dear to us. We are blessed to be here on our mission and are grateful for this opportunity. Although we are not proselyting missionaries, we know that the work we do is valuable and we feel the Lord working in our lives. I have conquered the Mail Merge, so that is one HUGE blessing!!!</div>
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LOVE YOU!!!!</div>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-9208821394869281072013-05-05T15:53:00.000-07:002013-05-05T17:07:52.596-07:00<span style="background-color: #cccccc;">Sunday, April 28, 2013</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Because it has been a while since we have posted, I will do a quick review of the last three weeks. </span><br />
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<u>General Conference Weekend: April 5 - 7</u><br />
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We were able to get permission from our mission president to go to Connecticut to spend the weekend with Scott's family. We left Utica about 2:00 in the afternoon and arrived at their home at 6:00. It is an easy drive, and with GPS we were able to find their home easily. We could not have found it without the GPS -- too many small roads, lots of turns, lots of trees, and no way to get our bearings as to whether we were going north or south. It surprised us that we were able to manage the roads so easily. Melissa had prepared an awesome spaghetti dinner, and we enjoyed being with the family. It was so cute to have the kids tell us that we were not supposed to do anything but rest -- no clearing the table or doing dishes -- just relax. We were so very glad to be there with them. We so needed that time.... We relaxed at home that night while Scott, Melissa and Audrey went to the junior high production of "Once Upon a Mattress". Jack was participating in it and we planned to see it the next day. <br />
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One of the highlights of the weekend was getting acquainted with the new little addition to their family: a very small dog named Pepper. She is one adorable dog and we fell in love with her.<br />
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The whole family is totally smitten with her, and they are doing a very good job of training her. They have to be with her all of the time while she is outside, as she is so small that the hawks would get her in a minute. </div>
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On Saturday morning Scott fixed an awesome breakfast. We went to Matthew's LaCrosse practice, but it was so so cold that we did not stay -- he was very excited and did not seem to mind the cold. We prepared to watch the morning session of conference at noon. Each one had his/her place mapped out as to where they would sit. </div>
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We watched the morning session (most of us) and then had to get ready to go see Jack's performance in the school play. It was great! He is growing up too fast, I am afraid. He had a great time and enjoyed the cast party after. We made it back home in time to watch most of the afternoon session.</div>
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Scott prepared a dinner of baby back ribs that was so incredible!!! I am including the picture of Matthew, as this is one of his favorite dinners of all time.</div>
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Dad, Scott and Jack went to Priesthood Meeting and the rest of us went to bed early. On the east coast the sessions are two hours later than Salt Lake City, so we had late mornings and late nights. We enjoyed the spirit of conference. Sunday Scott prepared a great breakfast again -- we were so spoiled by their wonderful meals. Matthew, Scott and I went on a walk. They live in a beautiful area, have a great house, and a big yard that will keep them busy for a long time. Matthew is very happy as long as he has a ball of some kind in his hand. Audrey loves her ballet lessons, and Roman just loves everything. Great family.</div>
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It was sad to leave on Sunday afternoon. Melissa stocked us up with her jam, some frozen spaghetti and frozen stroganoff, drinks and such that we felt like a couple of college kids going back to school all loaded up so that we would have some good homemade meals. We so appreciate the love we felt in their home. </div>
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The sun was shining brightly, so it was hard to keep eyes opened without squinting, but pictures are needed as the weekend meant so much to us. We love our mission, but we have definitely missed our family. Little did we know about the following week.</div>
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Monday morning, April 8 we awoke to three inches of snow. Had to put on our winter coats again.</div>
After listening to conference and being with Scott and Melissa and family we were refreshed and ready to get to work. I was working well ahead of myself that week and was more than caught up, and Dad was busy again trying to find apartments for the new missionaries. He is having the missionaries, and particularly the zone leaders, try to find appropriate apartments in the areas of their zones that the mission president wants to open. It is working quite well, as they are able to email pictures and it is easier for Dad to approve the housing arrangements if he does not have to travel to the areas. The mission covers a large geographic area, so this method is working out quite well. <br />
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Wednesday afternoon we knew that Claire was not doing well, and by Thursday afternoon we knew that the end was probably very near. I woke up about 3:00 on Friday morning and could not get back to sleep. We received the word that Claire had passed away at 3:38 am. Heartbreaking, to say the least. We do know God's plan, and are grateful for our knowledge of the atonement and Christ's mission on earth. That does not make this easy for us. We went into the office about 9:00 and tried to wrap things up so we could be gone for the next week. We were able to get a flight out on Sunday and then needed to go back into the office on Saturday to finish some more things that needed to be done.</div>
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Melissa and Scott were at the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15th. This picture is right after Melissa finished the race and at the very spot where one of the bombs went off. Scott and his friend Jess were right there during the race. It give me chills to realize how close they were. Scott felt that they needed to get out of the area, and they were one block away when the bomb went off. They hurried to their hotel, packed up, and were about the last car to get out of the parking garage before it was closed down. Text messages were going back and forth through the family -- and of course we are so grateful that they were not harmed.</div>
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The week of Claire's funeral covered a huge range of emotions for me. Dressing her in the baptism dress I had made for Julie was sweet, sad, heartwrenching, precious, and an experience I will always keep close to my heart. Melissa had bought some beautiful little white shoes that were perfect for Claire to wear along with some white tights. My dear friend Rhea had altered the dress for Claire to wear, and she made her a shocking pink tutu to wear under the dress. It was so sweet. She was covered with her "Cozy" and had her favorite pink minky in her arm along with a new stuffed animal (dog) named Pepper. She looked so peaceful, and Debbie put a pink bow in her flowing red hair that was perfect. I will never forget kneeling in prayer around her coffin and praying for strength and comfort as we did this difficult thing. It was a beautiful and sacred experience for me. Heaven has gained a fiery redhead who can walk, run, climb and stand without pain. How she will be missed by us all.</div>
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The funeral was beautiful, a wonderful tribute to Claire and her family. Each one who participated had carefully prepared, including prayers and talks. It was an inspiration. It was a tender time to be together as an extended family, and I so appreciated the efforts of each one to attend. Our immediate family had a good time together. On Thursday we went to the Paul Allen Music Museum in downtown Seattle, to the Food Court at the Space Needle, to the Space Needle, out to the wharf and onto a ferry and ending up at Cutter's for dinner that night. On Friday we celebrated the 14th birthday of Mark Trammell by going bowling, to a sky diving center, then to dinner for pizza. That evening the girls had their "spa" time by getting their nails done by their Aunt Lenessa and their hair fixed in special rollers. The cousin time was awesome.<br />
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Leaving Seattle was not easy for me to do, and after being with family it was hard to think of going back to New York. There was no question about whether we would leave and go, but needless to say it was difficult. I was emotionally drained and physically tired. We were grateful to dear friends Bob and Patty Folkman who let us stay in their home that week. <br />
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-83830091265921842802013-04-04T21:53:00.000-07:002013-04-15T19:30:42.332-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">We have been negligent in writing in our journal, but
sometimes it seems as though we are saying the same things each week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each week is very different, but in some ways
much the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We both have had bugs,
but thankfully at different times, and now Dad is feeling better – that is a
very good thing!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard to get up
and keep going all day when one is so much under the weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have had three very full weeks. Dad</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"> is very involved in getting new apartments to handle the
new missionaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This transfer (Mar 20)
he had to find nine apartments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many
tender mercies and miracles have occurred in the apartment leasing department.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first was in Canton, NY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Canton is a university town (two
universities) and it is very difficult to find available apartments in the
middle of the school year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when Pres.
Wirthlin said that he wanted to open up that area, we wondered how.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After several disappointing tries, we were at
a loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But just as Elder Barlow and Dad
were about to leave with furniture for a new apartment up north, the Zone
Leaders called and said that they might have found a place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They sent pictures which Dad approved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He then called the landlord and within 30
minutes a lease was emailed and signed, checks were written and additional
furniture was added for the trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once
they finished unloading the furniture, the question was asked about who
occupied the front unit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a 60
year old single man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, Dad &
Elder Barlow were taken back, because they were told that Sisters would be
occupying the apartment and that might not be good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They decided to think about it for the
weekend and didn’t tell Pres. Wirthlin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Sunday, we
learned that Pres. Wirthlin had been prompted to put Elders in the area instead
of Sisters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All without us saying a word
to him.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Also earlier that week, Pres.Wirthlin, decided to add
another</span><span style="background-color: white;"> area to open in Troy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, the
Zone Leaders went to work and found a possible unit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the pictures, it looked really small, but
the Elders said that it would work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
Dad called the landlord and asked when the unit could be available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The landlord said that it would be available
on April 1</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup><span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad told him
that we needed it by the 18</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: small;"> and the discussion was ended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two hours later, the landlord called and said
that he had heard that you never turn down an opportunity to lease an
apartment to Mormon Missionaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
decided that he was going to kick the existing tenant out over the weekend and
the unit would be ready on the 18</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And it was furnished by Dad and Elder Barlow on the 18</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One question the Landlord had was this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I know something about the Church, but could
never understand how two people who have opposite political views could belong
to the same Church (Romney & Reid).”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dad had found the only conservative in Up-State NY.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our branch had a temple trip to the Palmyra Temple on the 9</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a two-hour trip, so we needed to leave
fairly early (7:45 am). We did sealings for the first while, and then we went
to the 11:00 session with just another couple from the branch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another couple who have only been members of
the church since July did 20 baptisms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This couple is really amazing, and they have a wonderful conversion
story. His brother is in the stake presidency, also a convert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was such a thrilling experience to enter
the celestial room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun was shining
and the light coming through stained-glass windows was breathtaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stained windows were of the sacred
grove.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad had a Primary lesson to give
the next day about the printing of the Book of Mormon, so we wanted to go to
the Grandin Print Shop, where the first copies of the Book of Mormon were
printed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other office couple wanted
to see the Print Shop as well, and while standing there she saw her cousin and
family there who were visiting from Texas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a wonderful experience for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We did not stay in Palmyra long, but we had lunch with the Barlow’s and
headed back to Utica.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The weeks are full – one of my responsibilities is getting
the President’s Letter out to the missionaries on Monday morning by 10:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it goes easily, and others it is a
huge challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have the monthly
newsletter to print up each month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
can be an even bigger challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
learning, but there are times when the frustration level reaches a very high
point!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the increase of the number
of missionaries, it has increased a lot of paperwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mission president is trying to think of
ways to decrease the amount of money spent on postage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last transfer I sent out about 250
letters, and I think that some of those letters will be changed to emails –
however that will take more time in some respects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the things I miss about home is having a washer and
dryer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The basement has spooked both of
us, so we go to a Laundromat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (Remember that the basement was flooded when we first moved in and some of our stuff was soaking wet. We just have not wanted to go downstairs -- who knows what kind of things I have going on in my head!) </span>Trying to
find time for the laundry has been a challenge, and
though it is a little more expensive we just prefer to do it all at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are now saving our quarters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plus
side is that we can have ALL of the laundry done in less than 1.5 hours – plus
folding time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it is not all bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At home it would take me most of the day
because our washer is so small.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just
do what we have to do, and I am glad not to have to go down into the basement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background-color: white;">Saturdays are our Preparation Days, but they have often been
taken with mission activities</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
to try and fit in laundry, grocery shopping, errands, etc. whenever we
can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last Saturday was an
exception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took the morning and went
to a Maple Syrup Factory where they served us pancakes, sausage and of course
their famous maple syrup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our GPS took
us to the wrong town, but we had a grand time anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saw a lot of very old homes, open spaces
with a lot of snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem we have
is that what we think is interesting when we look at it does not turn out very
well with the pictures because with the white snow, white sky, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there is not the contrast that is so pretty
when we have blue sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had fresh snow
on the ground, so it was pretty cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
went to Ben & Judy’s Sugarhouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was a lot of fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their process for
producing maple syrup is really interesting, and we did take pictures while we
were there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to prepare our talks
for Sacrament Meeting, so that took up time that afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>President and Sister Wirthlin surprised us by
coming to our branch meetings last Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course I was nervous as could be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">This week was taken up with transfers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plan was to pick up the missionaries on
Tuesday night, bring them back to Utica and then serve them breakfast on
Wednesday, training, lunch for the new missionaries and their trainers,
pictures, and then more training in the afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A big snow storm in Chicago changed the plans
– all the missionaries (25) were stranded in Chicago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to change our plans as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of meeting here in Utica, we had to
move to Liverpool, an hour away, closer to the Syracuse Airport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything worked out fine, but when we came
back to the office (about 3:30), I received a call from Salt Lake asking about
where the two Temple Square missionaries were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I told her they were safe in Syracuse – but she said they were supposed
to be at the SLC airport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know
how many of us thought their flight was on Thursday, but the Church Travel
Department had to get them new tickets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was the hugest blessing for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They came into the office the next day and helped with the training
packets, new missionary packets, baptism picture board, and printing of the
pictures taken on Wednesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was such
a blessing for me to have these projects done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was something that I have wanted to do for a couple of weeks – get
some of these things done for the next transfer the end of April!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then on Friday afternoon Dad was finished
early and he helped me get my files organized so that I know where everything
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The previous secretary had her own
system, and it just was not working well for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a huge help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now my next “organization” project is the
files on my computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just do not
make any sense—I will be much more effective when things are organized my way
and I can find files and such without a lot of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now if I could just get the mail merge under
control!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ejRNyFmaLD34sGrqNFAVdd70IH8qiQunlIWgFVxFpGltt8hiraH2nKSKrkj8ZqxIGo2X2OCy5nlgwrBiD4ppbFv9gCPABqkYLcVgl25No6uYcG3hBFwETQFjo_vSpJKzlAMS4U9-uIj_/s1600/david-a-bednar-10%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: #999999; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ejRNyFmaLD34sGrqNFAVdd70IH8qiQunlIWgFVxFpGltt8hiraH2nKSKrkj8ZqxIGo2X2OCy5nlgwrBiD4ppbFv9gCPABqkYLcVgl25No6uYcG3hBFwETQFjo_vSpJKzlAMS4U9-uIj_/s1600/david-a-bednar-10%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">Yesterday we had an all-mission conference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an incredible experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder David A Bednar of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy,
Bishop Dean M. Davies of the Presiding Bishopric, and Elder Gordon H. Smith,
Area Seventy of the Northeast plus their wives were there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Presidents Joseph B. Wirthlin Jr. of the New York Utica Mission and Jack
R. Christianson of the New York Rochester Mission along with their wives were
also in attendance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The priesthood
power in the room was palpable, and the spirit was so strong during the
meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three hours of intense
instruction under the direction of Elder Bednar – it was such a wonderful three
hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had instructed the
missionaries to read three of his talks, and then the instruction came from his
asking how these talks had impressed the missionaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He then asked the missionary (the one who had
stood) several thought-provoking questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The answers of the missionaries were incredible – he was teaching them
(and us) how to recognize the promptings of the Spirit and not be afraid of opening our mouths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had the other General Authorities and
their wives speak on different topics, and then each of them bore strong testimonies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Spirit was very strong, and I doubt if we
will ever see that many General Authorities in one place giving instruction
except at General Conference.</span></span></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background-color: white;">Although this picture depicts the
Calling of the Fishermen (Matt 3:18-22, Mark 1:16-20), it was on the front of
the conference program with the following scripture: (3 Nephi 5:13)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the
Son of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been called of him to
declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was such a wonderful day for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes us realize the importance of the
work that we are doing, even though it is in the office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is all the Lord’s work, and His work will
not fail. We</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> are grateful to be here in New York.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are loving the missionaries, and we are
getting better acquainted in our little branch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am so grateful for this experience and am learning so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am grateful for my knowledge of the
atonement, and very grateful for the sacrifice Christ made for each of us if we
will but repent and come unto Him in faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This Easter week I pray that each of us will remember that He is risen,
that our lives are full and we are blessed for this knowledge.</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: #999999; font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"></span><br />
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-39262541321520853832013-03-17T22:06:00.002-07:002013-03-17T22:10:39.138-07:00A few pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAKAhmNBkcJyt5O6UDCjoPQX6iMDzFMC4rxPE5djNThpEhpEKC6_0DUxSst76PsxiBgvHzjZ2yXkGIT8VHE4bBJH9vKF8wiYOuiN18YoK9lvQxYlzozhcVUHzlEu2cLg2xPuyKiK-FiQC/s1600/Image+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAKAhmNBkcJyt5O6UDCjoPQX6iMDzFMC4rxPE5djNThpEhpEKC6_0DUxSst76PsxiBgvHzjZ2yXkGIT8VHE4bBJH9vKF8wiYOuiN18YoK9lvQxYlzozhcVUHzlEu2cLg2xPuyKiK-FiQC/s640/Image+4.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
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Ben and Judy's Sugarhouse</div>
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Where the syrup is processed</div>
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Maple sap bucket</div>
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Ben and Judy's Sugar House -- Great breakfast!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqN0DDyTnJ5iqOuXJ9UACFDSV05qNbxDxuc11gPbojbvz5XNs-STRRzzgoO8WWQ7Q14EsOxVjw9rniFeSfkVwkzeE42lVqAuaLa_QU9wUWYngwzpoFxhs1Qkzu81KeaaL6j_HcIGNkmSZ9/s1600/Image+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqN0DDyTnJ5iqOuXJ9UACFDSV05qNbxDxuc11gPbojbvz5XNs-STRRzzgoO8WWQ7Q14EsOxVjw9rniFeSfkVwkzeE42lVqAuaLa_QU9wUWYngwzpoFxhs1Qkzu81KeaaL6j_HcIGNkmSZ9/s640/Image+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Friday late afternoon snow storm</div>
<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-79804095730858339262013-03-06T21:32:00.000-08:002013-03-06T21:32:04.446-08:00Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-73234262787827570952013-03-03T21:28:00.000-08:002013-03-06T21:30:01.327-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 19px;"></span></span><br />
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Well, I guess it is my turn to write in the blog. I probably won't be as good as Sister Cutler, but here goes. Since our last post on Feb 21st, all the new missionaries have settled in with a few experiencing homesickness and other issues. The mission president is learning that most 18 year <span class="yiv1048580869mark" id="yiv1048580869misspell-0">olds</span> have never been away from home for any extended time, so mission life is quite a shock for some. But as, Pres. <span class="yiv1048580869mark" id="yiv1048580869misspell-1">Hinkley</span> was told by his Dad when he wanted to come home, "Son, forget yourself and get to work". So that is what Pres. <span class="yiv1048580869mark" id="yiv1048580869misspell-2">Wirthlin</span> does. Sister <span class="yiv1048580869mark" id="yiv1048580869misspell-3">Wirthlin</span>, is the medical nurse, so she gets all the calls about aches, pains and all sorts of medical issues. Today, the President told us that three missionaries busted up their knees this weekend and will probably have to go home to heal and/or have an operation. They will be on medical release. You never know from one day to the next, what missionary issues will come up. Also, two missionaries told the President that they wanted early releases (1-2 months early) so they could go on a trip with their family or so they could work before school started. The President was very <span id="yiv1048580869misspell-4"><span id="yiv1048580869yui_3_7_2_1_1362317207923_3408">disappointed</span></span> in their decision because they needed to fulfill their commitment to finish their mission. It really causes problems because then unplanned <span id="yiv1048580869misspell-5"><span id="yiv1048580869yui_3_7_2_1_1362317207923_3322">transfers</span></span> need to happen. It takes a lot to be a mission president and I am grateful that it is not my calling.</div>
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Since the last new missionaries arrived, we have been preparing for the next influx. Right now, it changes each day, we have 28 more new missionaries planning to arrive. That means that I must acquire 9-10 new apartments by March 9<span class="yiv1048580869mark" id="yiv1048580869misspell-6">th</span>. Last Sunday, we only had 1, which came from a referral from someone. It is located about 2.5 hours north in the mission district. I <span id="yiv1048580869misspell-7"><span id="yiv1048580869yui_3_7_2_1_1362317207923_3456">Goggled</span></span> the address and it looked somewhat sketchy, but was somewhat anxious to get going. So I called the landlord and got this gruff voice on line,,,"What do you want?" I explained who I was and wanted to know more able the apartment. His name was "Carmine", so I should have been suspicious. He said it was a great apartment in an old building that was renovated. Still somewhat <span id="yiv1048580869misspell-8"><span id="yiv1048580869yui_3_7_2_1_1362317207923_3366">leery</span></span>, I ask him to prepare a lease and I would drive up to inspect and close the deal. So Elder Barlow and I drove up on Tuesday, passing through the towns of Mexico, <span id="yiv1048580869misspell-9"><span id="yiv1048580869yui_3_7_2_1_1362317207923_3225">Philadelphia</span></span> and Antwerp. Thought we were lost. Upon arriving at the address, I looked at Elder Barlow with a shock on my face...yes it was an old building...but ready to fall down. We gingerly climbed rickety stairs and entered the unit and was horrified. It was so bad that I wouldn't have let my best pig live in it. I told the landlord that this was totally unacceptable...he said, "What's wrong with the place...just needs a little touching up". We quickly left the place with the lease and the checks torn up. We were pretty discouraged. But we knew that we had to find something, so we continued to look around town. It is a very small village, but we did locate a possible alternative, so all was not wasted.</div>
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Then, the next day, I <span id="yiv1048580869misspell-10"><span id="yiv1048580869yui_3_7_2_1_1362317207923_3501">traveled</span></span> to Cooperstown, NY to look at another prospect, with no physical information other than what the real estate agent told me....never fully trust a real estate agent. I knew it was an older building, but right in the middle of the historic town (Baseball Hall of Fame). The town is wonderful, historic and picturesque. The unit was on the third floor. Imagine carrying furniture up those stairs. The floors in the unit were, I think, original wood planks, but were sanded and painted. It was old, but clean. So I took the deal. The sisters who will live there will make it look great with some imagination and a woman's touch.</div>
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So after those experiences, I enlisted the Zone Leaders (5 Zones) to help find the apartments in their zones. They were charged with locating, talking with the managers, inspecting the apartment and taking pictures inside and out. Then they were to send me all the information. With pictures in hand, I am now able to get a better handle on each location and what the unit looks like. Now we have 6-7 units being considered and the process is running much smoother. </div>
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But I learned today, that it really is the Lord who is in charge of all this. The Zone Leaders responsible for finding an apartment in Carthage, NY (near Fort Drum) on Wednesday said that they couldn't find an apartment within the Carthage area because the area was filled with military families and recommended that we consider an apartment in <span id="misspell-5">Philadelphia</span> which is north from Carthage and on the other side of Fort Drum. I looked at the pictures and thought it was a good choice even though the President didn't really like having the missionaries traveling across the base to get into their area. So I requested the paper work to be started. On Friday, I received an email from the landlord that they needed a financial statement of the church and background checks on the missionaries that would be living in the apartment. I knew that the Church would not provide a financial statement, so I ask the President what to do. He said that we could provide a bank statement on the mission, but that was all. So another road block was presented. That was on Saturday. Today, Sunday, I bore my testimony at the Branch and mentioned about my experiences with finding apartments. After the meetings, a sister came up to me and said that she owned a large apartment complex in (guess where) Carthage and she had one apartment available. She showed me the unit on Craig's List and it was perfect. Another tender mercy!</div>
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Being the financial <span class="yiv1048580869mark" id="yiv1048580869misspell-11"><span id="misspell-6">secretary</span></span>, I get to see somewhat what the Church is spending on missionary work. I don't think I am telling anything out of line, but it is a big pile of $$$. The mission budget is around $800,000-$1,000,000 for each mission on average (405 missions). Each missionary gets $160 each month to live on (60,000 missionaries). The apartments average rent in our mission is $700 per month, utilities average $200 for, right now, 72 apartments. When we were in the <span class="yiv1048580869mark" id="yiv1048580869misspell-12">MTC</span>, the church had 14,000 vehicles in operation throughout the world (avg $17,000 each). Car expenses (gas, service, ins, etc) average $.51 per mile (avg 1,250 miles per month). It costs about $1,200 to furnish each apartment. But each young missionary pays the church $485 per month with seniors paying about $1,000 per month...so there is some help with the total church expenditure.</div>
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Interesting facts about our mission. It is a large geographical mission running from the Penn. border to the Canadian border. Two two biggest church population areas in the mission is in the Syracuse and Albany areas. The rest is of the mission is small branches with attendance of about 15-50 in attendance. This area is covers the entire<span class="yiv1048580869mark" id="yiv1048580869misspell-13"><span id="misspell-8">Mohawk</span></span> Valley and the entire northern district. There are 4 stakes and one district. Our branch is 40 miles wide and 70 miles long. In the past, this area was economically vibrant with large active wards, but in the past 10-20 years,<span id="yiv1048580869misspell-14"><span id="yiv1048580869yui_3_7_2_1_1362317207923_3141">manufacturing</span></span> and other large employers have left the state leaving unemployment extremely high. The small villages are really depressed, hence the Church has suffered. It is slowly coming back, but I doubt it will attain its former stature. So, the missionaries have a big <span id="yiv1048580869misspell-15"><span id="yiv1048580869yui_3_7_2_1_1362317207923_3183">responsibility</span></span> to help the less active and bring new people into the fold. Some wonderful work is going on and with the increased missionaries, it will be exciting to see what the Lord has in store for this area.</div>
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One example of the Lord opening up a way to do the work happened on Tuesday. The local stake priesthood leaders were involved in an Inter-Faith Council group and found a wonderful <span id="misspell-9">reception</span>. After meeting with them for the past 5-6 months, they suggested that the next meeting might be held at the Stake Center where the mission offices are located. On Tuesday, we started having ministers come through our door because the front doors to the main church were locked. Each person was welcomed with smiles, handshakes and then lead into the building for a luncheon. After the luncheon, at which the Mission President was invited, the President took them on a tour of our offices. We each explained our duties and then the President invited them into his office to let them see the "transfer board". He wasn't sure he should do that at first, but was prompted that it was OK. The ministers, including a Jewish Rabbi, were astounded at the number of missionaries and where they were located and where they were from<var id="yui-ie-cursor"></var>. They were greatly impressed. Each of their congregations are struggling with large old buildings to maintain and few funds. The President was gratified with his prompting to let them see the inter-workings of the mission.</div>
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Each day this past week, a private contractor has been working in our office setting up a new phone system. He was greeted warmly by the staff and each missionary who happened to be in the office, including all the Zone Leaders who were there for training on Friday. He asked many questions and could not get over the warm feeling he had. He had never worked in an <span id="misspell-10">environment</span> like ours before. So, Sister Barlow, gave him a Book of Mormon and the missionary <span id="misspell-11">pamphlets</span>, with the promise he would read. He then said he would and wanted to come back on Monday and do some extra work on the phones which was really not required. </div>
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So, each day is an adventure. It is hard for us to fully plan the day because things are in so much flux. But we are extremely glad to serve in our callings because we can see how much work goes on behind the scene. We are happy to be the support team to the President and the missionaries. When the Zone Leaders and the <span class="yiv1048580869mark" id="yiv1048580869misspell-16">AP's</span> are in for leadership training, the office lights up with excitement. How grateful we are to be here in this exciting time of missionary growth.</div>
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Oh, by the way, Lizzy, as you have spent a week by a beautiful pool looking at the ocean in Costa Rica, our weather today is snowing and it feels like 10 degrees. That's how the weather is reported here..."feels like".</div>
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Love, Elder Cutler</div>
Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-49971931611728398932013-02-21T13:50:00.002-08:002013-02-21T13:50:03.650-08:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Cannot believe that it is Wednesday already. This last week has flown by, and today I didn't even know what day it Was! Last week, Tuesday night, 25 new missionaries arrived in the mission. A lot of planning had to go into getting them picked up at the airport (Syracuse, NY), transported to Utica, etc. The mission president takes them for pizza first, and then they come back to the stake center for some training. There was too much luggage to bring to the mission home, so each missionary was given a white garbage bag to bring their "essentials" for spending the night and the luggage was left in the chapel overflow until the next morning. We had two elders stay with us -- both waiting for their Brazilian visas and reassigned to our mission. We had to be back over to the church at 7:15 in the morning to get ready for breakfast. Because of the size of the group, the breakfast had to be at the church. 40 people was too much, even for the mission home.<br /><br />After breakfast (and during breakfast too) the mission president interviewed the new missionaries so he could assign trainers and decide on the transfers. This is a huge undertaking for the mission president, and I saw how much The Lord is a part of these undertakings. A man alone could not do the work -- the Spirit is such a huge part of these decisions, and the mission president is inspired. At 10:30 the trainers met, and then they separated and sat on the two sides of the chapel while the 24 new missionaries sat in the center. Then the president announced the companions. It was a neat experience to be part of this process. Pres. Wirthlin is a wonderful man, and I have a lot of respect for him. We took pictures and served lunch to about 100, then there was training until about 3:30. Lots of missionaries in the office looking for their mail -- a lot of energy in the office when the missionaries are there. I was responsible for getting about 250 letters out to missionaries, parents, bishops and stake presidents. Had no idea about all of the paperwork with transfers and the new missionaries!!!! I am getting the system into my brain a bit better, but now we have 24 missionaries coming the 30th of March and we do it again!!! Dad has to get 10 more apartments leased and the four of us (the other office couple) will be getting the furnishings.<br /><br />Saturday we did some shopping, laundry at the laundromat and then had the other office couple over for chili. We realized that our vacuum was not working -- 3 weeks in the apartment and nothing being cleaned up. Kind of sickening, even though the carpet had been cleaned before we moved in. We had a nice evening, and it is fun to get to know the Barlow's better. We were able to get a new vacuum and vacuuming this apartment once filled up the canister!!<br /><br />Our branch is a small group -- 50 people there on Sunday was a stretch. We have three or four in wheelchairs and several are heavy smokers. Many women come in pants and some in jeans. I do not say this in criticism, just to say that these are humble people, new in the church, and doing their best to make huge changes in their lives. The primary children sang in sacrament meeting--all eight of them, and five were from one family. Seminary is held on Tuesday nights, and there is no Mutual or scouting program because the number of youth is so small. It takes a lot of dedication for the active members to provide the regular church programs for their children. One family brings their two boys to Utica for scouts, and that is a 40 mile trip one way.<br /><br />I came home from church, had a spoon of peanut butter and then took a 2 1/2 hour nap. I could not lie down fast enough! I was dragging on Sunday. When we came out of church the wind was blowing and the wind chill was -3'. It was soooooooo cold! Being under my minky blanket felt so good, and I did not even want to come out to have dinner.<br /><br />We have had three missionaries go home since we have been here. Two had depression problems that could not be taken care of in the mission. Hopefully they will be able to come back. The other elder was a great missionary. Had just been made trainer, and he had physical problems (deformities) where his jaw would lock and he was in the ER three times in two days. Finally the ER doctor said he needed to go home to have extensive surgery. He needs to have major surgery and hopes to be back in 6 - 7 months. The other missionaries love him and he has a special spirit about him. I hope the surgery will be done so that he can come back to the mission. The president said today that he has never had so many homesick missionaries -- 7 of the new missionaries. They are young and many have not been away from home before -- a challenge for both missionaries and mission president. I have a great deal of admiration for young missionaries. It is not easy, and they have to be strong in mind and body. A mission is a great blessing in their lives, but there are challenges!<br /><br />We are loving our office experiences. It is interesting to be a part of the inner-workings of a mission. There is so much that is done behind the scenes. A mission president has to be inspired to effectively lead, and I am so grateful for ours. I know we have been sent here for a reason, and I am grateful for this experience. I have never worked harder and longer in a day's time, but I am thrilled to be a part of this great work. I can see the Lord's hand and influence each day in this work and pray I can be worthy of the incredible blessings I have had in my life. <br /><br />Have not taken any pictures this week -- only of new missionaries, and I did not want to send those. Love getting your pictures, so keep on sending them....<br /><br />My life has been blessed because of each of you. Love you all,<br />Mom</span>Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-25593784584887390432013-02-18T15:27:00.003-08:002013-02-18T15:27:48.232-08:00A few pictures from last week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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View from our porch</div>
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Our apartment</div>
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The Living Room</div>
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The kitchen</div>
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Snow piled from the snow plows -- piled in parking lots</div>
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Our meetinghouse</div>
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Scott and son Matthew on his baptism day</div>
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<br />Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5935799462645914329.post-4460361307622535862013-02-10T08:37:00.000-08:002013-02-16T08:37:54.099-08:00Busy Week<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 19px;"></span></span><br />
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We have had a busy week. There is a lot to do to get everything ready for the 25 missionaries coming in on Tuesday. The president and AP's have been delivering and installing furniture and all of the essentials that are involved in setting up the apartments: furniture, beds, dishes, etc. Eight apartments were set up, and we have eight more to do in the next few weeks. I have been involved with the paperwork that is needed for the new missionaries plus the ones who will be going home this week. </div>
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I almost had a meltdown one afternoon, but I was able to pull myself together and keep on smiling. I put the pressure on myself, but I have wanted to keep ahead of the game so that I am sure everything gets done. I love the work and find joy in the service, but it is also difficult. The Lord is in charge and we need to depend on Him for His help.</div>
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Along with the new missionaries, there will be a lot of transfers this week. We will have two missionaries staying with us, and two will be with the other Senior Couple, and then the rest of the missionaries will stay at the president's home. The president's home has four bedrooms upstairs and then two bedrooms plus a family room downstairs -- it will be crowded and some will sleep on blow-up mattresses. We will be doing breakfast and lunch on Wednesday. This last week there was a "Return and Report" day for those missionaries who had come out a month ago. It is a time to do reminding, training, encouraging for the new missionaries and is done a month after they reach the field. A big lunch was held that day at the mission home. Sister Wirthlin does a great job, and we are always invited to come so that we can get to know the missionaries.</div>
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When the missionaries are in the office, there is electricity in the air!!! They are full of energy and there is never a dull moment. It is part of the fun of working in the office when the missionaries come. They are good young men and women and I enjoy seeing them. One of the AP's is going home this week, and he will be greatly missed.</div>
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We were expecting a big snowstorm Friday night, so before we came home for the evening we went to the grocery store to pick up a few items in case we were stuck at home for a couple of days. The snow did come -- 12" worth -- but the road crews get it cleaned up fairly quickly and we were able to do a couple of errands out and about yesterday. For the most part we spent the day getting our apartment in better shape, and getting things organized a bit better. We are getting there. I don't like spots on the carpet, but we will keep it as clean as we can and work on the spots again. It is very comfortable for us. Not having our own washer/dryer is different. We have both downstairs, but the dryer is not working properly. Dad took the clothes to the laundromat to dry. We now have to save our quarters!!!</div>
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We attended the branch today, and it is really interesting. They are struggling to get members there -- lots of inactivity and many of the members do not have cars. The branch is large -- 70 miles by 40 miles -- so the commitment has to be there for the people to come. We came home and took naps and ate leftover stew from yesterday. </div>
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We are always looking at the weather forecasts. Today was beautiful but cold. I am always thinking I can go outside when there are blue skies, but the cold is surprising. We probably will have more snow this week, which I love. I am not out in the biting cold very long -- just long enough to get to the car to a building or visa versa. The seat warmers are wonderful!!! I will admit that I am spoiled. </div>
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I am comforted by this quote from Elder Holland: "I promise you will do things for your grandchildren in the service of the Lord that, worlds without end, you could never do if you stayed home to hover over them. What greater gift could grandparents give their posterity than to say by deed as well as word, "In this family we serve missions!"</div>
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Sending our <var id="yui-ie-cursor"></var>love.................</div>
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Love to each of you -- we do love getting your emails and hearing about what you and yours are doing. It means a lot!!! I hope this finds each of you well and happy. We pray for each one of you......</div>
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Sharonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16481897163063754660noreply@blogger.com2