It's that time of year when we gather together for parties for everything. This week was our Branch Halloween party and we were in charge. In fact, we did most of it- planning, setting up, decorating, cooking, executing, clean up, and fall into bed. I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining because we loved every minute. I had an epiphany one day, though, that I am not doing anyone any favors if we don't delegate it out and let people have ownership. So, that being said, if we get to have another party as the Oneida Branch, we will make sure there are assignments and follow up. The thing that is so great about parties, there is something fun, informal, and non threatening that we can invite less active members and non members to and boy did we have a great turn out. Now remember, we have been getting anywhere from 8-22 people at church on Sundays. So when we counted 48 people at the party, and almost half of them were less active and non member, well we just kinda wanted to jump for joy. It was chaos at it's finest. And the kids were completely out of control, BUT, everyone had a great time, and that's what counts. We had carnival games set up, a chili cook off for food, with all the fixin's of course. And we had plenty of potluck desserts. We had 8 pots of chili, cornbread, Fritos, crackers, cheese, sour cream, onions, and jalapeño's. It was tasty. Needless to say, we are glad that it is over and was such a great success.
Backing up to the first of the week, we had a great P Day. We ran some errands but ended up taking the Sisters up to see Pixley Falls. They haven't seen any color, other than around the area, so it was fun to see them walk by the river and take photos of the little waterfalls. They really enjoyed themselves. Then we took them to Booneville to Mercer's Ice Cream shop. Mercer's has invented Wine Ice Cream-we did not eat any wine ice cream-in case you were wondering. The sister's bought themselves some ice cream nachos and loved every bite. They also shared a milk shake. We sure love being with our cute Sisters.
We absolutely love our morning walks. We have walked through piles of leaves (well not the piles that people have piled up but the leaves on the sidewalks that are really deep) and we have loved seeing the homes all spruced up for autumn. About once or twice a week we walk into town which isn't really very far away, but on Saturday we were down by the theater and walked down a little alleyway and look at the wall art we found. So cool. I love when we find new things.
Our color is about gone and I am not ready to let it go. We have loved our drives through the beautiful countryside. We will still love it but it feels really different with dead trees. The fields are still so green though. We are excited to see it in the snow. Maybe we won't be so excited once the white stuff really begins to fall. We'll see.
There are a few other photos that I should put on here. I can't get enough of the country life.
Our District Council was awesome, as always! The young Elders and Sisters amaze us constantly. They teach with power and the Spirit. They are bold, set expectations, and follow through with their invitations. They are also funny. They keep us feeling young. Our Book of Mormon class is so much fun. I am learning so much as we prepare to teach these classes. We absolutely love the Book of Mormon. I think I maybe said that we are going to put together a bulletin board about our Book of Mormon heroes. There are so many. Who's your favorite Book of Mormon character? Maybe we can include him/her on our board. Speaking of bulletin boards, here is a picture of the one we did last week that I didn't have a picture of. We are really proud of it. I really don't think anyone noticed it. They just go through the motions on Sunday. It's kind of sad. I really like the way it turned out.
On Friday morning, we had the chance to drive to Palmyra to see our neighbors who were here seeing the sites. It was such a fun hour to be with them. We spent the time at the E B Grandin Printing Office because it was so cold and they didn't have coats. Afterwards we walked over to Alvin Smith's grave. We have never been there before. It was awesome. The church put a new headstone there but they encased the original headstone in the back of the new. The wording on the new is exactly what is written on the old.
We are excited for a new week. We are looking forward to visiting with members of our Branch and hopefully some new people too. We love our Savior. We are so thankful for Him, for His love and mercy and grace. He is the difference in our lives. We are so thankful for a living Prophet and modern day revelation. We feel so blessed to have the health and the energy to serve as missionaries representing our Savior. We honor Him. Have a blessed week. We hope we will have more adventures to write about next week. Actually, I am sure of it. Can you believe it's November???
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