Back to Work

 We had a totally fun week with family here.  Adam and Kristen and their three kids came and spent a week with us.  We about ran their legs off.  There is a lot to see here in New York but it's a lot of time in the car.  We had a blast learning about the Maple Sugar industry on New York Maple Weekend. We tasted incredible maple cotton candy and yummy maple cream.  The maple syrup is delish!  We also had such a great time in Lake Placid.  While we were at the ski jumping venue, they started jumping and we had the chance to watch.  It was pretty incredible.  They are so brave to jump at such heights and they nailed the landing every time.  We also ran to Mt. Van Havenberg to see the bobsled run.  Well, guess what? They were running bobsleds as well.  We watched several bobsled and skeleton runs.  It was so cool.  We also went on a horse-drawn sleigh ride in Paul Smith's and had such a great time.

We loved visiting the Church History sites.  We started with the Sacred Grove which has no leaves on the trees.  If the First Vision was in early spring, there were not leaves on the trees-or at least, very few. It was a chilly day with the wind but pretty fun.  We had a family from Australia with us at all the sites-we just followed each other around.  They were so nice.  They were spending a month seeing the US before taking their daughter to the MTC in Provo.  We saw the log home and the frame home and then we walked into the trees.  It was pretty but not as pretty as summer or fall.

We also ran to the Palmyra Chill and Grill.  Luckily, it was their first day open for the season. We grabbed some lunch and had ice cream. Because you can't come to New York and not have ice cream!

We learned a lot about the printing of the Book of Mormon at the E B Grandin Printing Press.  It's amazing how long the Book of Mormon took to be printed and bound but when you see the process, it's a miracle that it happened so perfectly.  We also had the chance to go to The Hill Cumorah and watch a film about Moroni.  We hiked to the top of the hill to see the monument of Moroni.  As we were coming down the hill, Elder Moyes (we met them in the MTC) had a bag of tree seeds that he told us we could plant.  It was a wonderful experience that not too many have. (Our missionaries have been able to plant in the effort to reforest the hill where the pageant used to be.

After Hill Cumorah, we ran to Waterloo to the Peter Whitmer Farm.  I love this site.  There were many miracles that happened for the Book of Mormon to be completed.  There is a wonderful film that you can watch called "A Day For The Eternities" You should watch it.  The best thing, though, is there is a film about the growth of the church that you can only see at the visitor's center at the Peter Whitmer Farm.  It brings tears to my eyes, every single time! We are so blessed to be part of this amazing work.

We also had permission to go into Pennsylvania to the Priesthood Restoration Site at Susquehanna.  It was the first time we had been there.  It's an amazing visitor center and we learned a lot about the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood.  We had the chance to tour the Isaac Hale home and the home where Joseph and Emma lived (they are both replicas).  We also walked down to the river to see where Joseph and Oliver were baptized.  

On our way back into New York we found anI heart NY sign.  We just had to have a picture or two.

We also bought Speidi's for lunch.  Speidi's are a sandwich made with marinated chicken or pork-kind of like a shish ka bob and served on really soft rolls.  We bought four big sandwiches and cut them in half and shared them.  They were invented in Binghamton, NY and that's where we bought them-right from the original place.  They were yummy!

We spent time at the Energy Zone and at the MOST (Museum of Science and Technology) which were a huge hit because the kids love stuff like that.  They were hands on building and trying new things.  It was a fun way to spend a couple of afternoons.  We ate lots of yummy food and may or may not have had ice cream more than once. We were so glad to have visitors and so sad to say goodbye.

One of the most exciting things that happened at the end of last week was the baptism of Robert, Katie and Mary.  They are an incredible family-so excited to learn and grow in the gospel.  Mike had the honor of baptizing all three of them and then had to opportunity to confirm them all in church the next day.  We love this family!  It has been incredible to watch them move so quickly and grab hold so completely to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They now have their sights on the temple.

L-R Sister Jamie Erickson, Sister Emree Taylor, Robert Atwood, Katie Atwood, Mary Atwood, Us

We feel so blessed to have been part of this story.  And it isn't over by any means.  We are still meeting with them and the Sisters, answering questions and just loving them.  They are going to be a great asset to the Rome Ward.

We are so looking forward to General Conference.  We love our prophet and can't wait to her him and the Apostles and other speakers teach us.  We love our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We feel so blessed and privileged to be missionaries in this wonderful mission.  We love being missionaries.  We would encourage any of you or all of you, to consider serving a mission. It really is awesome.