Transfers were this Tuesday so at our last district meeting we took pictures because some changes were expected.  In the picture front row left to right:  Elder Thayne, Elder Shiner, Sister Vercillo, Sister Toone, Elder Burton; back row Elder Miller and Elder and Sister Peterson.  At transfers Elder Thayne and Sister Toone were transferred.  Elder Burton was waiting for a visa to Brazil and it came and he flew out.  So all three of our companionships changed and we got three new missionaries.  Elder Miller is our new district leader.  I will have a n picture of our new district next week.

A lush field of soybeans near a home that we visit.  We have had lots of rain, far more than normal.  So everything is still very green and beautiful even though it is the middle of August.  These soybeans are nearly waist high and very thick and lush.  They are just beginning to flower and set beans.

Jordan Bryant our Hartford Branch missionary at the dinner after his farewell Sunday.  He is headed for the MTC this week and will serve in the Washington Everett Mission near Seattle.  Jordan is a wonderful young man that is as ready to go as anyone I have ever seen.  I am sure he will serve a wonderful mission.  He is so well thought of  and loved by his family, who are mostly non-members that we had 98 people in attendance at the branch for his farewell.  We usually have about half that.

We took our Leitchfield elders to transfers and met us with some departing missionaries we had served with.  Elder Webb is from Providence, Utah.  He was one of our traveling elders we served with last year and he was one of zone leaders for awhile this year.  We really enjoyed Elder Webb and he was a great missionary.  He had 6 baptisms in the last two months of his mission.  He has a girl at home and they are planning to be married in October!

Sister Nordstrum was also going home.  She was prominent in our zone last year and a very good musician.  She headed up the facebook effort in our mission this year.  All of the elders and sisters on facebook were under her charge.  She did a great job and has served a very good mission.

Some exotic lilies at the home of Sister Weber.  We have watched with interest how they have grown.  They were very slow to start but have really jumped in the last month.  They are quite unique and we have seen few like them.

Sister Vickie Weber with her dog Tiny and her mom, Janell.  Sister Weber was born with brittle bone disease and then she had polio and was in an iron lung when she was a young child.  She has to be very careful because any sudden movement or bump can break one of her bones.  Even in the ambulance, they have to cross bumps like railroad tracks very carefully or bone damage can occur.  She spent most of her life in a wheel chair but worked hard and earned a college degree. As she has grown older her health has deteriorated until for more than 2 years she has been bedridden and never leaves her mother's home except for special treatments or exams.  The bed is very special with a bladder in it that circulates sand so as to manipulate her skin so she doesn't get bedsores.  They still come and she has other problems that would be very hard for a normal person to endure.  She is a wonderful lady though and always very positive.  We always go away uplifted by our visits.  We visit here every other week and have done so for both our missions.  We have truly grown to love her and her mom and her sister who helps with her care.  Sister Weber is truly a gallant lady.

Recent signs seen on Church marquees:   "Stop, drop, and roll doesn't work in Hell!"
     "The bread of life doesn't get stale."
Elder and Sister Peterson - enjoyin' missionary work in ol' Kentucky!