The first two photos are from essentially the same spot, one in winter with all of the branches cut off the trees and the other one just a few days ago. The other photo is of Daniela and Diana on the side of the road waiting for the cows to come by.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 TUESDAY

There is a definite nip in the air and we wonder if it’s going to be an early winter this year. When we came last October, it was still fairly warm and quite nice into the end of November. We haven’t kept track of the long range forecast. We got up this morning and did our normal routine and then worked on our BM workshop for zone conference. We have a appointment with Valerie Otte scheduled for Saturday that we’re preparing a lesson for too. Elder Carrier called this morning to see if he and Elder Vincent could come over about 1:00 to use our computer to work on their zone conference assignment. We had leftovers in the fridge we were wanting to get rid of so we told them we’d have something for them to eat when they got here. We got call a little later from Elder Harris wanting to know if they could come at 6:00 to work on their project for zone conference. We need to start charging these Elders to use our computer because at the rate we’re going, it’ll be worn out soon and we’ll have to replace it. Just kidding. We’re glad we’re able to help out in any way we can. One of the assignments Pres. Matern gave us was to support the young missionaries.

By the time Elders Carrier & Vincent got here we had lunch fixed for them. Fried hamburgers, potatoes & gravy, steamed broccoli/cauliflower/zucchini with hollandaise sauce, heated up chicken casserole, bread, sliced tomatoes, lettuce and cheese all were on the menu. For dessert they got banana nut bread and ice cream. And no, we haven’t got tired of the banana bread because it is so good and moist and one loaf doesn’t last long around our house. Neither does a batch of brownies. After lunch the Elders got to work on their project and they were here until about 3:00. We didn’t have enough time to try and go visiting anyone because it takes so long to get anywhere, so we ended up making phone calls to try and contact some people for appointments. Diana called Norma and talked to her for awhile and then made an appointment to visit her tomorrow at noon. I called Margarita Maurer just to check on her to see how she was doing and to let her know we miss her on Sundays. She said she was doing fine except for her knee which she’s going to have replaced sometime in December. Everyone else we tried to call didn’t answer.

At about 6:00 Elders Harris and Nilsson came and did their thing. Elder Harris had me look up a baptism photo of Neide and Charlotte so he could email them to another missionary who is working on his zone conference assignment and needed the photos. They were here until time to go to Institute and we walked to the Church together.

We meet new kids who come to Institute and there are also the regulars who we know from last year. This evening we met a young man from Colorado who’ll be here a year studying ballet. He was introduced into our ward last Sunday and it was good to see him actively participating. We attended the Book of Mormon class with the older kids. We got an update on David Wichtermann’s efforts to get his bride-to-be her visa. Suwang was there tonight also. We don’t get to see her much anymore, but it’s good to see her healthy again, working and active in Church. She says she is getting to like it where she is and has made some friends there.

When we got home we had a message on our answer machine. It was Suki telling us that she would like to come with us on one of our appointments if it was okay with us. It was too late to return the call tonight so we’ll call her tomorrow morning. We’ll invite her to come to Normas and then maybe to see Fabian in the hospital in the afternoon.

The tender mercy of the Lord today is to see all these young people coming to Institute where they can feel the Spirit and get a better understanding of the scriptures and how to apply them in their lives. They are the future leaders of the Church in this part of the Lord’s vineyard.