I have not posted on our blog since we were traveling home from our mission 2 weeks ago in Joplin, Mo.  We arrived home safely and I went right to work and we have been very busy.  We reported our mission on the 23rd and were thrilled with all the family that came.  Unfortunately we were so busy visiting with everyone that we didn't take any pictures.  So I haven't been motivated to post anything here.  Last Saturday we traveled to Utah for Brandon's mission farewell.  We stayed at Tiff and Tonga's and were there when Tohi went to get his haircut so he could get his mission picture for his mission papers.  This is the before picture just before he went to get his haircut.

This is the after picture of Tohi with his haircut with Brandon at the party after the farewell on Sunday.  It was great farewell meeting with some beautiful singing and a very good talk given by Brandon, our departing missionary.  The dinner afterward was great with lots of food.

Brandon flanked by his Bishop and the Bishop's wife.  His home ward is one of the many Polynesian wards in the area. Note the sumptuous fare on the table including lobster, roast wiener pig and trifle.  The pig is under the tinfoil so it will stay warm.

I sat next to the Bishop on Brandon's left.  This is a picture of him getting some roast pig as we began the meal.  There was plenty of food for everyone and we had a wonderful afternoon with family and friends.

Sister Peterson with her three grandson that are about to serve missions.  Brandon will leave October 30th.  Tohi is getting his papers ready.  Derek is planning to go in the spring after spring semester.  Our fourth grandson, Joshua, is already serving in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission.  As most know, we have mostly granddaughters, whom we dearly love.  Fortunately four of our 8 grandsons were all born about the same time and they have always been good friends.  Now they are great support and strength for each other as they prepare to serve missions.

One of the big surprises when we got home was Lori and Glen's new car.  Pretty sporty for someone who's fifty?  It has been fun to be home and enjoy family and all that is going on.  We missed that while we were on our mission but we still really enjoyed it.  We have missed the mission and its blessings.  We have talked of going again when we can.  For now we are just going to enjoy our home and our family and see what the future brings.  I probably will not post here very often without any exciting going on and beginning the heavy workload of harvest in my job at the Sugar Factory.  But that remains to be seen?
Brent & Vicki Peterson  (Back at home but missing being Elder & Sister Peterson)

We didn't post last week with all the activities of cleaning and getting ready to leave.  We are now in Joplin, MO at a motel on Sunday evening.  We stopped early and so I decided to catch up on the blogging.  This picture is of our neighbors Bonnie and Tony Cardwell just as we were leaving.  They were great neighbors and very helpful.  Bonnie loved to come over and talk with Sister Peterson.  She told us she would like to have put a log chain around the house so we couldn't leave.

Jack and Barbara were our evening visit on Sunday that kept me from blogging.  We really enjoyed them as they were westerners from Colorado and farmers that we could relate to.  Jack played the harmonica and would play it for prelude for Sacrament meeting once a month.

The last person we said goodbye to was our special friend, Dorothy Moore.  We visited her nearly every week we were here.  She is progressing well and taking the Temple Seminar class.  She wants to go to the Temple as soon as she can.  We promised her we would come and go through with her?  Extra motivation we hope helps keep moving toward her goal.  A couple of hours later we got in the car and left Morgantown.  It was truly a bittersweet moment.  We whimpered and the tears flowed most of the way to Bowling Green.  We had grown to love our service and it was pretty hard to leave.

On our last day in the mission, we attended a senior couples conference.  Pres. McKee has made a friend of a Methodist minister who is in charge of the Upper Room, a special meeting place for devout Methodists.  The prominent feature of that room is this life-size wood carving of the last supper.  We met there and had a message delivered by the minister and then President McKee spoke.  It was a great meeting with some good relations developed between our faiths.  Afterwards we met at the mission home for some training and then we had our exit interview and were free to head home.

We went directly to meet our friends, Doug and Jenny Peoples.  They live in Chattanooga and came to Nashville to meet with us.  Doug was our good friend in the Republic of Georgia.  We took him to Church with us and he came home and joined the Church.  Jenny joined later and she is trying to prepare to go to the Temple.  She had some questions for us about the Church and the Temple.  We met with them and had a great visit.  Doug has suffered from cancer and some depression because of some of the treatments.  I think the visit was good for both.  I gave a Doug a Priesthood Blessing before we left.

Memphis is only about three hours from Nashville, so guess where Sister Peterson wanted to go?  We had to see if Elvis was still alive at Graceland!  We spent about 4 hours there and checked about everything before she was satisfied.

We traveled on to Little Rock and then on to Conway, Arkansas Saturday evening.  Then this morning we met Elder Ackerman at Church and had a nice visit with him and his companion.  He is a great Elder and we heard several good reports from the members about his missionary labors.  He serves in a great area and a great ward.  It was like being home to attend the meetings where he serves.  The chapel was full and participation was great, it was so different from where we have been serving.  We had special permission to visit our grandson because it is not usually allowed.  But since we are still serving till we get home and released, we had a bit of leverage.  We are looking forward now to traveling home and reporting our mission next Sunday.
Elder and Sister Peterson  (On the road again)

Glen and Lori joined us for three days over the Labor Day Weekend and we had a great time with them.  We visited the Carnton Plantation, which is located in Franklin just outside of Nashville.  One of the major battles of the Civil War was fought here involving about 19,000 soldiers from both sides.  About 4000 died and another 5000 were wounded.

This stately home was built by some wealthy farmers prior to the war.  It became a field hospital for the confederate soldiers who were wounded in the battle.  By the end of the battle, every available space was filled with wounded soldiers.  Some of the upstairs rooms were used as operating rooms and the blood stains are still evident in the floor.  It was a very interesting site but also quite sobering as we listened to the tour guide and realized what happened here.

We also visited the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.  Being a holiday, there was no show but we did get to see the building and take some pictures.

We also visited the Lincoln Birthplace monument in nearby Elizabethtown on a pretty sunny day.  Sister Peterson loved visiting this site and was grateful she could return for a second visit.

When we visited here before, the museum was closed.  This time we were able to enjoy the museum and see all the pictures and artifacts gathered about Lincoln.  We were also able to pose as the famous couple.

In our travels with Glen and Lori, we came across this little post office in Quality, Kentucky flying both the Confederate flag and the American flag.  This post office was retired in the late 90's and was bought by a fellow who lives there on weekends and is restoring it.  Quality is in the very corner of Butler County, about as far from Morgantown as you can get and still be in the county.  We actually have a member that lives nearby that we visit regularly.  All in all it was a fun weekend and a little break from missionary work.
Elder and Sister Peterson  (Remember - Count your blessings, not your troubles.)

Abraham Lincoln was born in the little town of Hodgenville, about 70 miles Northeast of us in Northern Kentucky.  He spent about 9 years in Kentucky until his parents moved to Indiana.  Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky claim Lincoln, but his birthplace was in a log cabin in Kentucky.  He had fond memories of his youth in Kentucky and spoke of them in some of this speeches.

We visited Lincoln's birthplace this week with the Oakleys on our p-day.  We had to get permission from our Mission President to do so because Hodgenville is out side our mission.  Hodgenville is near the larger city of Elizabethtown which is part of the Kentucky Louisville mission.  There is a very nice park there and a nice monument.  Inside the building behind us is a replica of the cabin Lincoln was born in.

Sister Peterson is standing next to the log cabin replica.  It was quite interesting but hard to get a good picture of because you couldn't get enough distance away to get the complete building.

The important feature of the farm where Lincoln was born is this spring, called Sinking Springs.  It provided the water for their home and is a type of spring common only to the limestone formations in the area..  Sister Oakley and Sister Peterson are standing in a hole about 12 feet deep, that had stairs that led down into the spring.

This is the little holler where Lincoln's parents farmed.  It has been untouched and undeveloped since that time and looks much like it would have when they lived there.  They raised corn and wheat and many herbs to sell to passersby because the Cumberland Trail passed right by the farm.

A statue of Lincoln graces the little town's main square and there is a small museum there as well.  We spent and interesting day visiting and enjoying this bit of history of one of our greatest Presidents.  Later in the week as we were teaming with our traveling elders, we committed a lady to a baptismal date.  We had visited her several times before and given her a Book of Mormon.  The spirit and boldness of our young elders influenced her and she accepted the challenge.  Now we have to get her taught and ready.  She committed to be baptized on Sept. 13th, the day before we leave, so we have our work to do!
Elder and Sister Peterson  (Enjoyin' history and the spirit)  

Dinner fare for one of the local popular eateries, chicken livers and catfish!  Not to much going on this week except a great Zone Conference with Elder Kopischke of the Seventy.  He met with half the mission in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.  It was a great experience that lasted 3 hours but it so interesting that it didn't seem that long.  I had to sit right down front so I could hear and understand.  His accent and quiet voice and quick way of speaking had me struggling to catch it all.

An interesting road sign that McCoy might appreciate.  It lead to a quiet narrow road and a little community called McCoy town.  I should have taken pictures of the road.  It was one of those with trees arching overhead and vines intertwined with the foliage on the side.  It was a little spooky, almost like driving in a tunnel.

A great family we had dinner with Sunday.  It was a celebration dinner because we just made it through speaking in Sacrament Meeting again!  Laura, on Sister Peterson's right, just retired as a school librarian and they have that connection.  She went and helped Laura in her library near the end of school in May.  Laura's husband Jim, served as the bishop when the branch was a ward.  He has since passed away from a heart attack.

This is an interesting estate that we pass occasionally.  Although the picture doesn't show it very well, the home is built of large square logs Kentucky style.  It is a beautiful place and quite a large home but built in the old way.  The following are some more interesting messages we've seen on Church marquees.
            A dusty Bible leads to a dirty life.
            I've never seen a hearse with a luggage rack.
            Exercise daily, walk with God.
            The Bible is the best TV Guide
            Worry is the darkroom in which negatives develop.
            Free Trip to Heaven - details inside.
           The Ten Commandments are not The Ten Suggestions!
We get a kick out of these little messages as we drive around the area.  It gives a little boost and interest to our daily travels.  The signs are everywhere because there are so many Protestant Churches here.  When we see a different or catchy one, we write it down.
Elder and Sister Peterson (Dinin' on catfish and chicken livers)

We went to Nashville Tuesday for transfer day.  Four of the elders we have been working with, completed their missions and were going home.  This was our district missionaries for most of the time we have been here.  Elder Robinson standing next to Sister Peterson was our district elder until that day.  He is great young man and dedicated to the very end.  He was still telling our new district leader what to do after we came out of the Temple.  The Elders leaving the mission always go to the Temple with the senior couples before they leave.  Elder Hamblin was also a very good missionary and a fine young man.  His parents came to pick him up and attended the Temple with us.  She thanked Sister Peterson for being good to her son.

Elder Thompson was one of our Traveling elders that came by twice a week.  He was a great elder and we enjoyed him.  He has a great tenor voice and sang the most beautiful rendition of "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing" that I have every heard.

Elder Sorenson has been one of our traveling elders most of the time we have been here.  We have really enjoyed him.  He was just so happy to have completed a successful and honorable mission.  He is the one who told Sister Peterson that he wrote his mother and told her he had found an extra set of grandparents on his mission.

This is Elder Hill from Malad.  He was not going home but was being transferred to a special area and we wanted a picture because we might not get to see him again.  He was one of our traveling elders and had recently been serving as one of the AP's.  We also had a special connection with this fine young man.

While coming from home from Zone conference, we took a different route and came upon a historical site marking the birthplace of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy during the Civil War.  We had no idea it was there but found it very interesting.

The obelisk at the site was over 350 feet high.  It had an elevator inside that went up to the observation area where you looked out the holes near the top.  We did take the elevator ride but wondered about the wisdom in that when the guide told us there was no rebar in the walls of the obelisk.  We did have a beautiful view of the countryside but were plenty glad to get back down to solid ground.  Ironically both Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln, the leaders of the North and South in the Civil War, were born in this part of Kentucky less than 100 miles from each other.  Next week we plan to go to Lincoln's birthplace on our p-day.

Saturday we had a Senior Couples Conference at this old Northcutt Cove Church.  It is the oldest LDS building in Tennessee.  We learned of its history with some great presentations and a talk by the local stake president.  Elder Charles A. Callis came here several times when he was the Southern States Mission President.  Elder Pinegar can trace his roots to this area.  Apostle Ballard and other Church leaders have spoke here.  It is located in the Altamont area that has special significance in the history of the Church in the area.  Close by is one of the first full-size chapels built in Tennessee.  We met in that chapel for lunch and some training by President McKee.  It was a great day as we met with all but two of the couples in our mission, some we had never met before.  There are now 14 couples serving in our mission, which is very out of the ordinary.  A year ago there were only six couples serving.  We traveled four hours to get to the conference so it was a very long day that began about 5 in the morning and ended late.
Elder and Sister Peterson (weary but happy travelers)

This week has been busy but frustrating.  We had some good teaching appointment fall through but still managed to contact two new investigators this week.  I could have gone camping  with the Boy Scouts but thought it too embarrassing to think of getting up off the hard ground the next morning!

The road sign above designates the beginning of this shady lane that leads to a sister's home.  She is the only member of her family and we have grown to enjoy her.  She has 2 sons and 2 aunts that live with her that are not members so it always provides for a lively discussion.  We visit this home 2 or 3 times a month to keep connected with them.

This is the temporary home of a couple our branch has been trying to help.   They came from Arkansas and were found by a member camping in their pickup in the grocery store parking lot.  Members helped them with the temporary housing on a lot they were able to buy.  The wife ended up in the hospital with a hernia operation and just about died of a blood clot in her lungs.  Although they are not members, a branch member and I visited and gave her a blessing while she was in the ICU.  Sister Peterson and I have visited her and her husband several times since.  She ended up in the hospital again this week with an infection.  We drove to Bowling Green and visited her today.  She invited us to pray for her as we got ready to leave.  She also asked for our address and phone number so she could continue to contact us at home.  Sometimes missionaries get to do very special things.
Elder and Sister Peterson  (Feelin' the spirit in Kentucky)

While Sherri and Will were here, we went to Mammoth Caves on our p-day and toured a different part than before.  It was interesting and enjoyable but very hot on the day we went.  Inside the cave it was very cool but hiking into and out of the cave in the heat was exhausting.  The picture is below was taken just before we climbed up out of the entrance of the cave into the heat.

Will was a very good sport and went teaching with us and to some of our meetings.  I am not sure he really got the right idea though because he announced before he left that he had decided to go on a mission.  But he thought it would be best to go as a couple.  He thought it would be great to have his own cook and be able to eat what he liked.

On the way to the airport when they left, we made a stop at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.  Most of the corvettes on display were not even to be touched, but this one was a demo for sitting in.  Will really enjoyed the museum visit and pretending to drive his own corvette.

We had personal interviews this week with our Mission President.  They happen about every two months.  Usually he takes us individually and we get an interview similar to the the young elders and sisters.  This time he took us together and got right to the point.  He asked us how long we wanted to extend our mission, two months, four months, whatever and he had his pen in hand to start the process.  We weren't quite ready for that, expecting more to discuss our release date because it co-insides with our next transfer day.  It is tantalizing to think about staying a little longer because we have several things in process that we would like to finish and time is growing short.  We promised him we would seriously consider what to do and let him know.  We are fasting and praying today about what to do.

We felt bad about missing Joshua's farewell today.  We thought of him as we fed our Traveling Elders today.  We are grateful for facebook and the phone so we could hear about everything.  We are so grateful for all the support given by the family.  We are very excited that he is going and will be serving just 2 or 3 hours from where we are.
Elder and Sister Peterson (Papaw and Memaw - Grampa and Grandma southern style)

Our current district missionaries starting from the left, Elder Robison, Elder Haslam, Elder and Sister Oakley,    Elder and Sister Peterson, Sister McCall and Sister Tauoa.  We are the most centrally located of the four areas so we are now hosting our Weekly district meetings at the Church.  Then we come to our home afterwards and have lunch.  The Oakleys and the Sisters are good about bringing food but Sister Peterson does quite a bit to get everything ready.  Elder Haslam is really tall - 6 ft. 6in.  He can do a pretty good job of putting the grub a way too.  The picture is in our front room.

Sherri and Will flew in yesterday and are staying for a few days and we enjoying their company.  They went to Church with us and also went to visit a family with us this afternoon.  Tomorrow on p-day we plan to go to Mammoth Caves and the Corvette Museum for Will.

Sister Peterson reading her scriptures?  Perhaps a little comfortable for pondering?  I give her a hard time but she really is diligent about reading every day.  I have been a little reluctant to share much about our actual missionary work on the blog because it is quite personal.  However we had what I call a mission miracle this week.  About two months ago a lady from a town near Nashville, called our branch mission leader and asked us to start fellowshipping her niece's son who lives in Morgantown.  He's a fourteen year old boy who lives in a very difficult home environment.  We have been fellowshipping him and he has been coming some, especially to MIA.  We have been trying to get him set up to be taught by our traveling elders but without much luck.  Sunday we took two investigators to Madison, Tennessee to a special musical fireside put on by the Mission.  Madison is a smaller town near Nashville.  After the fireside they always have a punch & cookies event so the missionaries can mingle and get referrals.  We were sitting at a table visiting with our investigators when this lady came by and sat down and started visiting with us.  She asked Sister Peterson and I where we were serving.  When we said Morgantown, she said excitedly, "I grew up there and have family there."  Then she proceeded to tell us about this boy she wanted taught the Gospel.  It turns out that she was the lady that had called our branch mission leader previously.  She was excited to talk to us and called her niece to break the ice for us.  Two days later we went to the home and picked the boy up and brought him to the Church.  The traveling Elders and us team taught him and committed him for baptism on Aug. 12th.  A chance meeting in a distant town helped so very much, perhaps our own little mission miracle?

Another picture of a memosa tree that still had some decent blossoms.  I guess we have run out of interesting road signs but we have found some other signs that are quite interesting.  Most of the protestant churches have marquee signs out front and seem to try to out do each other with catchy phrases and play on words.  Some interesting ones we have seen recently:
              "Eternity - smoking or non-smoking"
              "Our Sundays are better than Dairy Queens"
              "Moses was once a basket case"
              "Give Satan an inch and he will become your ruler"
              "Seven days without prayer makes one weak"
              "Don't pray about the Book of Mormon, that's how they get you."
The last one was seen on a Baptist marquee in Nashville and seems quite appropriate for what we are doing.
Elder and Sister Peterson (inviting people to pray about the Book of Mormon)

We went to zone meeting this week in Clarksville, Tennessee, about a 1 1/2 hour trip from where we live.  Last time we came by this field, the plants were about the size of small cabbage plants and we didn't know what they were.  The trip before that, they were planting this field with a transplant machine.  This time we finally realized it was a tobacco field.  The plants have grown quite rapidly because the whole field is under drip irrigation and it has been very hot.  Few fields are irrigated but the  worth of the tobacco must justify it.

Our mission transfer day was last week.  Two new sister missionaries were transferred to a nearby town and included in our district.  We took them to zone meeting so they could save miles on their car.  Sister Tauoa is from Southern California.  Sister McCall is from Yreka in Northern California. My cousin Carole and her husband Gene Welling live there.  Sister McCall told me that Gene Welling was the patriarch that give her her patriarchal blessing.

It seems to be a small world we live in.  Two of the elders we have been working were transferred.  We have a brand new elder from Sandy, Utah, Elder Haslam that is our district leader's new companion.  He is 6 foot six and a big boy.  He played basketball for a Junior college in Washington.  It is going to be tough to fit him in our car.  Our new traveling elder is Elder Webb from Providence, Utah.  We have had fun talking about Providence, where we lived when I went to Utah State.  A large number of our missionaries are from the intermountain area and California.

This is the view off the front porch of a couple we have been teaching.  It is their own private little lake and about twice the size of what you can see in the picture.  Coal was strip mined here many years ago and the hole left from the mining filled and became this lake.  It is hard to tell the area was strip mined except for these little ponds and lakes that are quite prevalent. The foliage has all grown back so it looks quite normal.

Mother wanted me to send some pictures of the home we are staying in.  This is the formal dining area.

This is our living room.  There is a piano and a small organ at the back of the room.  My easy chair, an electric recliner is in the foreground with the white blanket on it.

Mom's kitchen is not large but adequate.

I converted this bedroom into my office.  There is still a hospital bed in this room.

Our bedroom, most of the blinds are old and were broken before we moved in so we have tied them up.  We have four window air conditioner units so we have been very comfortable during the heat wave.  As you can see, most of the floors are hardwood.  This was a pretty nice home when it was built but it is quite old.   It is quite nice and really roomy compared to our trailer.  We are really enjoying it and we have 3 extra beds for visitors.

A final note I consider very serious.  This morning I realized that Sister Peterson was actually reading from "Mormon Doctrine".  Surely the second coming can't be far behind!
Elder and Sister Peterson (Living high off the hog in Kentucky)