October is gone -- Halloween flew by!

OCTOBER 2013

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. 

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.

 

Fall colors in their glory!!!

 

Babe Ruth and a fan

 

Edgar Martinez, a Mariner favorite

 

San Francisco Giants Memorabilia

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

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. 

 

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.

 

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.

 

Just have to add a couple of pictures that made my week -- so fun to have pictures of everyone!!!

 

 

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. 

 

Kara and her companion

 

 

Lizzy and Lyla

 

Maisie Lou making a scary face.....

 

 

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.  

 

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!

 

Grammy & Papa, Mom & Dad, Herb & Sharon, Friend

It is going too fast!!!

 

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.

(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!

 

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.

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. 

LAKE SKANEATELES, NEW YORK

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

 

 

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.




(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.

 

We do our laundry downstairs sometimes, but the dungeon is a drawback, to say it

lightly.  I have to gear up myself to go downstairs, and yet it is a lot cheaper.

The Laundromat is a real temptation most of the time.  It is dark and scary downstairs. 

 



 

 

 

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.

 

 

Song written by a good friend of mine from the Mt. View Ward.  The second verse was very touching!!

 



We love each of you and pray daily for your protection and wellbeing. 

 

 

Grammy, Papa, Elder and Sister Cutler, Mom and Dad, Friend



 

Another Month Gone - Another Month Begins

This 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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!!!

 

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.

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. 

 

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.  

 

 

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. 

 

Thanks for all your support and prayers.   We love each one and pray for you individually and collectively -- included is our friends as well.

 

Elder & Sister Cutler, Herb & Sharon, Grammy & Papa, Friend

Random Thoughts through August

As 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.

SACRED GROVE

 

 

WHAT HAPPENED HERE CHANGED THE WORLD.  LET IT

CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

 

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!!

 

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. 

 

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!!!

 







 

 

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. 

 

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.  

 

 

Revolutionary Trail

 

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.

 

 

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!:-(

 

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.)



President Wirthlin

Sister Wirthlin

Mom hammering away in search of diamonds!!

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. 

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.

 



 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). 

 

 

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.

 



 

 



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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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. 

 

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.

 

Love,

Grammy, Papa, Elder and Sister Cutler, Herb and Sharon, Friends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Travel -- Temple -- Pageant

July 26, 2013 - Travel, Temple Sealing, Hill Cumorah Pageant & New Missionaries:

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

Across the water in this picture is Canada -- this is the St. Lawrence River.
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!!!

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.

 

 

Sacred Grove

 

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.

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. 

 

Abinadi

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.

We attended Church the next day in Liverpool and then traveled back to our apartment that afternoon.
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. 

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.

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.....

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. 

Love,
Grammy, Papa, Mom and Dad, Elder & Sister Cutler, Friend