16 October 2011
Fall is still in full color and we enjoyed another trip through the mountains yesterday to enjoy this time of the year on our way to Provo. I do love these mountains.
We have now passed into that time when we have less than two months to go. We have been fulll circle through the seasons in our time here. I have loved seeing the seasons again. Each day we add things to our list of things we have to do before we leave so we have to get serious about getting ready.
Things in the zone are going well and are on track. We have a firm handle on Africa and will be ready to tackle Samoa the beginning of November. We will have plenty of time to create a proper plan to move ahead on the final projects for the orals we have in house. It is a great feeling.
This weekend was amazing on The Square (Oct.15&16). Over the weekend crews of youth from the area came in and were given the job to take out the plants and flowers on and around The Square. Below is a photo I took of the "naked" beds between the Tabernacle and the Temple. (The little maintenance trucks make sure that the walkways are cleaned every morning.)
Later in the day I noticed that the gardeners were tossing out bulbs and placing little plants in the planned pattern for the spring.
Later on during the week there were groups of Church youth who came and began planting the bulbs and other plants. (Sorry I didn't get very good photos of these people.)
The real miracle happened on Saturday. As is well known in our service Church there are many opportunities for youth to give service on Temple Square during each planting. There are plants to be dug up, earth to be fertilized and mulched and then the actual planting itself. Saturday was the big push for putting in the spring bulbs and adding the fall/winter flowering plants. The TSquare gardener organizers expected 600 youth on that day, but 850 showed up! The Square was teeming with youth 12-18 and their adult leaders. Here is the thing that I loved: One of my missionary friends was walking on the Square and overheard a conversation between a leader and a young man who was presumably the Deacon's Quorum President. The leader was saying to the young man..."You know, if we can get every quorum member to read 2 1/2 pages in the Book of Mormon every day we would complete the book in the spring and then we can bring the quorum back here and talk about how our testimonies have blossomed just like the bulbs we are planting today"... How wonderful is that?
So the bed are planted, but I believe it is more than just flowers that will bloom.
We got to spend another Wednesday with Edison at work. He does so well and is so cute it is fun to listen to other missionaries say, "So tomorrow is Wednesday, is Edison still coming?" He really brings a lot of joy to our fellow missionaries and of course to us.
On October 15th we were invited to a get-together with some of our friends from our Louisiana days. It was so fun to see people we had come to know and love in our 3 1/2 years in Mandeville but had not seen for so long. Autumn and Derrick brought Edison but it was his bedtime and he was not happy about being off schedule so they were not able to stay long, but it was long enough for me to get this fun photo of Whitney (the daughter of our host Leesa) who had not seen Autumn in a long time. I love the look between Whitney's little girl (her 3rd) and Edison. He was actually quiet for a moment.....was it recognition?.....no, just a distraction....but at least I got the shot!
Last Wednesday (Oct. 19) Edison was a little more demanding that usual so I took him out in the afternoon and we went for a walk in Memory Grove. I did fall asleep for a little bit, but frankly he enjoyed the day and the breeze and the leaves and the people playing with their dogs as much as I did. He particularly enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with grandma who was hoping he would stay asleep a little longer ^_^.
Ed and I have enjoyed walking around the area with the fall leaves and crisp weather. It is a wonderful time and place.
(I just had to take this picture...I was driving and at a stop light and looked in my mirror and saw the beautiful line of trees behind me....you can't see the trees that well but the color is there and I thought it turned out quite funny! At least I have a photo to help me with the memory.)
Have a great week!
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