Happy New Year - 2023

 Can you believe that we are now writing 2023 on our checks or in our journals?  The time just keeps marching on.  On December 28th, we hit our 9 months or half way mark on our mission.  Everyone has told us that the second half goes by faster than the first.  That seems hard to believe because these 9 months have flown. We had a great week.  

We had the chance to meet with our friends Norma and Nancy to celebrate Christmas on Monday.  We had a little gift for each of them and they had gifts for us.  They are kind and caring women.  We have grown to love them.

One of the Sisters in our District had talked about how her family always has a waffle bar for Christmas so we all decided that would be fun for after District Council.  We learned together first and then we made the waffles.  Holy cow.  Some of these missionaries can pound the food.  We had all kinds of toppings and whipped cream.  We sure love being with our missionaries.

Later that evening we ran to our church and took the Christmas tree down, met one of the sisters in our Branch and then met with our new Bishop and discussed people he should know about.

Thursday was a big deal. We got up super early and ran to pick up a sister from our Branch and headed to the temple.  The sunrise was incredible.  I don't remember seeing a sunrise that vivid. We went to the temple specifically to do the temple work for the son of this sister.  He was murdered in his sleep 2 years ago by his girlfriend. He was her only child.  It has been so hard on her.  But this day would be a day of healing.  Mike had the chance to do his Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination to the Priesthood, Initiatory, and Endowment. It was a sweet day.  She bought us lunch in Palmyra after the temple. 

Thursday evening was our Book of Mormon class.  We didn't have many there but it was a powerful lesson.  We taught 1 Ne 3-4.  The "I will go and do" lesson.  We sure love the Book of Mormon!

Our friends, Norma and Nancy had a death in their family. His celebration of life was Friday evening so we ran to support them and then had a great zoom lesson from a man named Matt Baker.  He is a coordinator of CES here in New York and has lived in Palmyra for many years.  He taught us about 10 acts of faith we learn from the first vision.  Did you know there are 9 accounts of the First Vision.  It has become somewhat of a stumbling block for some people but it's actually a wonderful way to learn more detail in what really happened.  We love the Prophet Joseph. 

New Year's Eve!  Not far from our home is a big casino called Turning Stone.  It is owned by the Oneida Nation and is a pretty big thing in these parts.  Our Branch clerk works for Turning Stone and he was telling us about a wonderful gingerbread village that we should see so we decided to go.  We have been past Turning Stone almost everyday when we would drive to church or to visit our members but we had never been inside. We decided to go see the village.  The decorations leading into and surrounding the complex were super pretty.

As we walked in from the parking garage we were met with a huge blown glass tree.  It's in the middle of the above pictures.  Pretty cool.  But as we walked through the hotel, lobby, restaurant areas we felt like fish out of water.  We figured that daytime would be okay but people were already getting ready for the big New Year celebration.  Our nametags made us stand out everywhere we were in there. We did love the gingerbread village and all the details.  These houses were probably 4-6 feet and all were made by the Turning Stone chefs.  There is also a little sign that I included telling how much of everything they used in decorating.

We, most likely, won't be going back to the casino as missionaries and that is okay with us.

That night we went back to Norma and Nancy's house for dinner and a New Year's Eve party of snacks and games.  She had invited a few more people and as we walked in we noticed they all had wine to drink.  We felt awkward for a couple of minutes but then we didn't care.  They are awesome people who go to their church and use good language.  We had chicken riggies for dinner.  Chicken riggies is local to Utica, New York.  It is a pasta dish made with rigatoni, chicken and peppers in a creamy tomato sauce.  Then we pulled out the munchies.  We played some card games and then we were going to teach them how to play Cover Your Assets.  But before we could do that Nancy and Norma started telling everyone how we had helped them get onto Family Tree and how wonderful it was.  Well they all said they wanted to do that too.  So, we had the opportunity to sign up three more people onto Family Tree.  The man that signed up had been on Ancestry that his girlfriend had given him as a gift.  He has only been able to get to his grandparents and not move beyond.  He's been a little frustrated.  He kept saying, "And this is free?" and we assured him it is free.  Mike helped him input his information, his parents and his grandparents, and his lines opened up into the 1500's.  You should have seen his face.  It was priceless.  He is so excited to be able to see his family tree.  We were trying to show them how to add the memories.  We will probably go back when we have more time and help them learn the app a little better.  Aren't we so blessed to have a church that gives the world the tools to turn their hearts to their fathers?  We then played Cover Your Assets and they had the best time.  It was a fun night.

Sunday was our first time in our new Rome Ward.  We were excited that we had about 65 people.  We haven't been in a church meeting with that many people in a really long time.  Unfortunately, we only had 5 Oneida Branch people there.  It's a work in progress, I guess. 

That was our week.  It was crazy a bit and busy a bit.  We love being missionaries for our Savior.  We have testimonies of the restoration through The Prophet, Joseph.  We love him.  We are so thankful for Jesus Christ!  For His Atoning Grace and Mercy!  We are blessed each day.  We hope you are all well and happy.  We love you all!