Our weeks are flying by in the mission!!  We get up on Monday morning and the next thing we know it is Friday afternoon.  Last week we both were intent on not only catching up but getting ahead in our mission assignments.  The church financial systems will be updated from the 15th of May until they are done with the update, which could take anywhere from a week to perhaps 10 days.  So, Dad has been busy paying rent and utilities.  This could not come at any more difficult time, as Dad is responsible for obtaining leases for 8 apartments by the first of June.  This means that he needs money!!!  His mission credit card was increased so that he can get cash, charge, and also use it as a debit card.  That was a huge blessing as the costs are enormous -- approx. $20,000 for furniture and furnishings, plus security deposits and first month's rent will cost at least $10,000 for the eight apartments.  Not having access to writing checks is a huge issue, but he thinks that he will be able to handle the situation with the increases with his card and the President's.  I am just paranoid about having another month like the first month we were here.  I might work myself out of a job if I am not careful.  I am more than caught up on the files, binders, booklets and such that need to be done for the next group of missionaries that come on the 11th of June.  I just do not like feeling that I am going to fall apart!!!  At last I am conquering Mail Merge, yippee!!!  I guess we both are becoming A-type personalities. 

 

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.

 

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.

 



 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.

 

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

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......

 

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.

 

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!!

 

Love to all,

Elder and Sister Cutler



 

 

 



Coming 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.

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"  (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 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.

Plant arrangement sent from Relief Society friends in St. George -- Beautiful!!

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!!! 

 

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.

 

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.

 

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. 

 

 

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. 

 

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!!!

 

LOVE YOU!!!!

 



Sunday, April 28, 2013







Because it has been a while since we have posted, I will do a quick review of the last three weeks. 

General Conference Weekend:  April 5 - 7

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. 

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.

 

 

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. 

 

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. 

 

 

 

 



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.

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

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. 

 

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.

 

Monday morning, April 8 we awoke to three inches of snow.  Had to put on our winter coats again.

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. 

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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. 

 

 







We have been negligent in writing in our journal, but sometimes it seems as though we are saying the same things each week.  Each week is very different, but in some ways much the same.  We both have had bugs, but thankfully at different times, and now Dad is feeling better – that is a very good thing!!!  It is hard to get up and keep going all day when one is so much under the weather.  We have had three very full weeks.  Dad is very involved in getting new apartments to handle the new missionaries.  This transfer (Mar 20) he had to find nine apartments.  Many tender mercies and miracles have occurred in the apartment leasing department.  The first was in Canton, NY.  Canton is a university town (two universities) and it is very difficult to find available apartments in the middle of the school year.  So when Pres. Wirthlin said that he wanted to open up that area, we wondered how.  After several disappointing tries, we were at a loss.  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.  They sent pictures which Dad approved.  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.  Once they finished unloading the furniture, the question was asked about who occupied the front unit.  It was a 60 year old single man.  Well, Dad & Elder Barlow were taken back, because they were told that Sisters would be occupying the apartment and that might not be good.  They decided to think about it for the weekend and didn’t tell Pres. Wirthlin.  That was Friday.  On Sunday, we learned that Pres. Wirthlin had been prompted to put Elders in the area instead of Sisters.  All without us saying a word to him.

Also earlier that week, Pres.Wirthlin, decided to add another area to open in Troy.  So, the Zone Leaders went to work and found a possible unit.  In the pictures, it looked really small, but the Elders said that it would work.  So Dad called the landlord and asked when the unit could be available.  The landlord said that it would be available on April 1^st.  Dad told him that we needed it by the 18^th and the discussion was ended.  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.  He decided that he was going to kick the existing tenant out over the weekend and the unit would be ready on the 18^th.  And it was furnished by Dad and Elder Barlow on the 18^th.  One question the Landlord had was this:  “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).”  Dad had found the only conservative in Up-State NY.

Our branch had a temple trip to the Palmyra Temple on the 9^th.  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.  Another couple who have only been members of the church since July did 20 baptisms.  This couple is really amazing, and they have a wonderful conversion story.  His brother is in the stake presidency, also a convert.  It was such a thrilling experience to enter the celestial room.  The sun was shining and the light coming through stained-glass windows was breathtaking.  The stained windows were of the sacred grove.  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.  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.  It was a wonderful experience for her.  We did not stay in Palmyra long, but we had lunch with the Barlow’s and headed back to Utica. 

The weeks are full – one of my responsibilities is getting the President’s Letter out to the missionaries on Monday morning by 10:00.  Sometimes it goes easily, and others it is a huge challenge.  I also have the monthly newsletter to print up each month.  That can be an even bigger challenge.  I am learning, but there are times when the frustration level reaches a very high point!!  With the increase of the number of missionaries, it has increased a lot of paperwork.  The mission president is trying to think of ways to decrease the amount of money spent on postage.  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. 

One of the things I miss about home is having a washer and dryer.  The basement has spooked both of us, so we go to a Laundromat.  (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!)  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.  We are now saving our quarters.  The plus side is that we can have ALL of the laundry done in less than 1.5 hours – plus folding time.  So it is not all bad.  At home it would take me most of the day because our washer is so small.  We just do what we have to do, and I am glad not to have to go down into the basement. 

Saturdays are our Preparation Days, but they have often been taken with mission activities.  We have to try and fit in laundry, grocery shopping, errands, etc. whenever we can.  Last Saturday was an exception.  We took the morning and went to a Maple Syrup Factory where they served us pancakes, sausage and of course their famous maple syrup.  Our GPS took us to the wrong town, but we had a grand time anyway.  We saw a lot of very old homes, open spaces with a lot of snow.  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.  there is not the contrast that is so pretty when we have blue sky.  We had fresh snow on the ground, so it was pretty cold.  We went to Ben & Judy’s Sugarhouse.  It was a lot of fun.  Their process for producing maple syrup is really interesting, and we did take pictures while we were there.  We had to prepare our talks for Sacrament Meeting, so that took up time that afternoon.  President and Sister Wirthlin surprised us by coming to our branch meetings last Sunday.  Of course I was nervous as could be. 

This week was taken up with transfers.  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.  A big snow storm in Chicago changed the plans – all the missionaries (25) were stranded in Chicago.  We had to change our plans as well.  Instead of meeting here in Utica, we had to move to Liverpool, an hour away, closer to the Syracuse Airport.  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.  I told her they were safe in Syracuse – but she said they were supposed to be at the SLC airport.  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.  That was the hugest blessing for me.  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.  It was such a blessing for me to have these projects done.  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!!!  Then on Friday afternoon Dad was finished early and he helped me get my files organized so that I know where everything is.  The previous secretary had her own system, and it just was not working well for me.  It was a huge help.  Now my next “organization” project is the files on my computer.  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.  Now if I could just get the mail merge under control!! 

Yesterday we had an all-mission conference.  It was an incredible experience.  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.  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.   The priesthood power in the room was palpable, and the spirit was so strong during the meeting.  Three hours of intense instruction under the direction of Elder Bednar – it was such a wonderful three hours.   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.  He then asked the missionary (the one who had stood) several thought-provoking questions.  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.  He had the other General Authorities and their wives speak on different topics, and then each of them bore strong testimonies.  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.

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)  “Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.”  It was such a wonderful day for us.  It makes us realize the importance of the work that we are doing, even though it is in the office.  It is all the Lord’s work, and His work will not fail.  We are grateful to be here in New York.  We are loving the missionaries, and we are getting better acquainted in our little branch.  I am so grateful for this experience and am learning so much.  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.  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.

A few pictures

Ben and Judy's Sugarhouse

Where the syrup is processed

Maple sap bucket

Ben and Judy's Sugar House -- Great breakfast!

 Friday late afternoon snow storm

Pictures

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 olds have never been away from home for any extended time, so mission life is quite a shock for some.  But as, Pres. Hinkley was told by his Dad when he wanted to come home, "Son, forget yourself and get to work".  So that is what Pres. Wirthlin does.  Sister Wirthlin, 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 disappointed in their decision because they needed to fulfill their commitment to finish their mission.  It really causes problems because then unplanned transfers need to happen.  It takes a lot to be a mission president and I am grateful that it is not my calling.

 

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 9th.  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 Goggled 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 leery, 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, Philadelphia 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.

 

Then, the next day, I traveled 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.

 

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. 

 

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 Philadelphia 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!

 

Being the financial secretary, 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 MTC, 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.

 

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 entireMohawk 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,manufacturing 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 responsibility 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.

 

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 reception. 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.  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.

 

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 environment like ours before.  So, Sister Barlow, gave him a Book of Mormon and the missionary pamphlets, 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. 

 

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 AP's 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.

 

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".

 

Love, Elder Cutler