The real work begins

5/18/2008
Now the real work begins

May 18, 2008 We spent most of the evening calendaring and planning the next two + weeks to get ready to go. Janell will come and help us start moving things around this week and we'll get the carpets cleaned for a fresh start. 

Speaking of Janell, she began working for us in our yard and cleaning our house when she was 14. She has worked with and for us ever since. She knows more about our house and we do and will do a great job taking care of things. She recently got married to Peter Frangel  and they are the perfect couple to take care of our home while we're gone.

We plan to move all of our personal things into the guest room so that Janell and Peter will have free access to what's OK for them to use without worrying about damaging our personal stuff. That is a new project list that will take some real doing.


We will also give our perishable food stores to family and anyone else who needs/wants it because Janell and Peter could not possibly eat all of it before it spoils.  Janell will have access to the rest if she wants.

This is going to be a big job.

This is a great mission.

May 18, 2008
"After the Ball"

The BBQ is now history, the Sacrament Meeting sermons have been delivered and we are sitting in our kitchen trying to absorb all that has happened. Bob Lee ( bishop's counselor) said that there were 380 sacrament cups used during the meeting and that would not account for our non-LDS friends who were there. That means that almost Four hundred of our friends came to church today to show their support and love while we declared our love for them and the Lord in our talks. Several came from great distances (Utah & Canada) to be there. What a thrill.

Cindy spoke about her epiphany, her personal revelation as to why go on a mission to Russia. She rehearsed our 1990 experience in the then Soviet Union and the workings of the Spirit. Simply stated, she is going because she said "yes" a very long time ago. Doug talked about giving and God's commandment to give freely of our time, talents, and all that we possess for the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth. Both bore testimony of the Gospel's power and truth.

Now, as we sit and look at the cards and gifts we again feel the love and support of our friends. We are so blessed to have so many good people in our lives who are willing to take time to show their love and support. Especially our friends of other faiths. They must be wondering why we are doing this but supporting us anyway. What good people!

We will post to this blog regularly to keep our friends and family up to date on our doings during our mission. We hope you will enjoy it.