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!

Sister Vercillo and Sister Toone are part of our district and serve in Russellville.  Recently they have been walking a lot.  Last month they went 300 miles over their monthly allowed miles and that is a no-no.  These are sister Vercillo"s shoes.  Notice the big holes in them from walking so much.  Today we went to the mall as part of our p-day activities and she bought a new pair of shoes.

We got up early this morning and traveled to Mammoth Caves Again for a p-day outing.  There are 4 pairs of missionaries in our district including us.  All went and our Zone leaders wanted to go too so all ten of us went on a different tour than we went before.  Starting on the left: Elder Oliver from Canada, Elder Freeze from Provo, Utah and they are our zone leaders; then Elder Thayne from Bountiful, Utah, Elder Miller from Gooding Idaho, Elder Burton from North Carolina, Elder Shiner from Fresno California, Sister Vercillo from Centerville, Utah and Sister Toone from Colorado.

This picture was taken in an area of the cave where there are lots of different formations and this particular area is called the drapery room.  Your have to go down 50 stairs to get to this small area and Sister Peterson stayed up at the top because you have to go back up those 50 stairs to get out.

Elder Thayne had a very bad experience in a cave when he was a Boy Scout and struggles with claustrophobia.  He got out of the drapery room before we could get his picture with the others.  He went on ahead and I had to hurry to catch him as he wanted out of there as soon as he could.  But he was a good sport and participated and accompanied Sister Peterson as they went on ahead while we were in the drapery room.

The cave tour we went on took 2 hours, covered about a mile and included 500 steps up and down.  At one point we were about 350 feet underground.  Some of the passages were quite small, especially the entrance where we came down 250 steps through some very narrow areas and low hanging areas.  I enjoyed the experience though and my claustrophobia didn't bother me.  I think I have been there enough to get used to the whole idea.

We were doing most of the picture taking with the Elders and Sisters cameras so we didn't get in the group picture.  Then I carried the camera on the tour so I wasn't in any of the pictures in the cave for evidence that I did go?  But I did indeed go and had an enjoyable time.  It is always a good day when you can spend time with these special young people.  The caves are only a few miles from Bowling Green so after we had lunch, we went to the mall.  The Elders bought ties and the Sisters bought shoes!  Sister Peterson satisfied some of her need for shopping and fortunately didn't buy anything, even though she went in Bath and Body and Lane Bryants!  On the way through Bowling Green we saw this on a church marquee:  "You are on God's wanted list, Turn yourself in!

Elder and Sister Peterson - enjoyin' a great p-day with our surrogate missionary grandchildren

Recently we went on splits with Brother and Sister Pieper.  Bro. Pieper and I visited Brother Wayne Crowe pictured above.  Only the priesthood go there because Brother Crowe, a single man, has 3 big dogs.  He got two out the door but couldn't get this big feller out.  The dog was not mean but just very hyper and hard to control.  He was big enough that he about knocked you down when he jumped up on you.  We had a great visit and then he had to get one of the mean dogs back in the house before we could leave for the car.  Just another exciting visit in rural Kentucky!

This is Sister Merlyn Francis, on of our very special shut-in friends that we try to visit every week.  She is 90 years old and has fibramyalgia.  She also had colon cancer and had most of her colon removed.  She can't be out much but loves to have us come visit.  We visited her last year in Morgantown and grew to dearly love and appreciate her.  After we left last year she had to go to a nursing home.  She was recently moved to a small nursing home nearby where we live in Hartford.  She has no family left but a sister-in-law and no friends yet in Hartford.  So we have been visiting her several times a week and taking members of the branch to meet her so she can form new friendships.  It has been a special privilege to be her surrogate family.

Saturday the branch had a service project of yard work for the lady between us, Sister Wilma Embry.  She is diabetic and has breathing problems from smoking many years in the past.  She tries very hard and does the best she can but needed a little help doing some cleanup on her property.  It was a great activity but we found out just how out of shape we are.  It was quite hot and not being used to working in the heat, we both got a little over-heated.  That night it was hard to sleep due to aching muscles.

Sister Embry wanted some overgrown bushes and small trees removed  and Brother Bryant in the red shirt, pulled them out with his four-wheel drive pickup.  The young man in the blue shirt is his son, Jordan Bryant, our branch missionary that is due to leave in two weeks to serve in the Washington Everett Mission.  He is a very special young man and will make a great missionary.

Brother and Sister Studd are a great young couple in our branch.  They lead the YM & YW in our branch.  Brother Studd is also the ward clerk.  He served his mission in the Idaho Boise Mission.  Sister Studd grew up on a dairy in a nearby area but hates cows.  The young man in the background is Dalton Chinn, currently the only young man in our branch.

Sisters Amber Chinn and Kelly Bryant, two of those who helped with the project.  Sister Chinn is the primary president and Sister Bryant is in the YW.  The Bryants lived in Morgantown last year but moved to Hartford after we left.  So we have enjoyed their friendship for both of our missions.  Kelly filled a mission to Texas and has been very supportive of our mission.  Often going out with us to find and meet new people.

The boss ladies, a dirty job but somebody's got to do it.  It was a fun project and we got a lot done.  I took more pictures of most everybody that participated but felt these were enough to represent what went on.  It was kind of fun to get a little dirty and sweaty for a change.

Elder and Sister Peterson - Laboring in a totally different way for a change

Our last Zone conference with President and Sister McKee before they were released.  All of the girls seated on the front row are their daughters except Sister Escobar on the far left.  It was a great conference but quite melancholy as we said goodbye to the McKee's.

This is the little Samoan sister I have written about before.  She really became attached to Sis. Peterson and would always come for several hugs when we came to zone meetings.  She was afraid she was going to be transferred so we had to get her picture.  She bore testimony at the end of Zone meeting and began by saying she had never spoke before so many white faces ever before in her life.  She is a real sweetheart and doing well even though she is very quiet and shy.

A beautiful large Mimosa tree near a home that we visit.   With all the rain we have had this year, the mimosas have been just beautiful.  Last year was very dry and they did not bloom much and just weren't as pretty.  This year you notice them everywhere and they are gorgeous.

One week later we had another Zone Conference with our new Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Andersen.  They are younger than the McKee's but have no children with them.  They are a really good young couple and I think will do an excellent job leading our Mission.  We will not have another zone conference before we head home so we had to bear our testimonies at this meeting.  All departing missionaries bear their testimonies at the last Zone conference before they leave.  It seemed strange to do so because we just past our hump day three weeks ago.  We have a little over two months before our six months are up. We have been busy and the time has flown.  We are starting to worry that we won't be able to finish all we would like to.

Elder and Sister Peterson - Havin' way too much fun in old Kaintuck!

Last Friday we met in a special senior couples conference.  It will be the last time we will meet with Pres. and Sister McKee.  They will be going home next week and we will be getting a new Mission President.  It was a great meeting and training.  There are 13 senior couples in our mission, which is the most there have ever been in the mission.  We met at the Mission Home and it is in the background.

One last picture with President and Sister McKee.  They are being released one year early because of Sister McKee's health issues.  She is much better but still weak and struggles with her heart working properly.  Recently she fainted and hit her head and had to have a pacemaker put in so she could keep going.  She is a wonderful lady and is truly a miracle in that she has progressed to be this well.

This week we took our district missionaries to Mammoth Caves for a district outing.  We had a great time and all of them enjoyed it even though 2 of them are challenged by claustraphobia like I am.  We went on a different tour that included the Fat Man's nightmare, where you have to squeeze side-ways through a narrow opening and an area where you have to bend way over to not hit your head.  We all made it, including Sister Peterson, even though it was a 2 hour tour and we had to climb 300 stairs!

Sister Peterson in one of the passages that was going to get low.  (Notice the look of anxiety on her face!)

Our group on one of the stair landings on the climb out.  Our tour took us down over 400 feet in some of the large rooms in the cave but the descent was fairly gradual.  Then we had to climb back out by way of all of those stairs through a narrow vertical shaft.  But you can tell by the smiles that we made it even though Sister Peterson and I had to take our time and many passed us as we stopped for breathers.

Proof that I was actually there.  The picture was taken in one of the larger areas where we had stopped to listen to information from our guide.  At one point during the tour, The guide shut all the lights off to show us what complete absence of light means.  You couldn't even see your hand held right in front of your eyes.  Then he had us all remain perfectly quiet so we could understand what perfect silence was.  He said that the complete absence of sound would get to us quicker than the blackness if we were left alone in the cave.  After that he lit a small bic lighter and it surprisingly lit up a the cave in big way in the perfect absence of other light.
Elder and Sister Peterson - Enjoying P-day in the largest cave in the world - over 400 miles long!

Elder and Sister Oakley from Dallas Texas came to visit for several days.  They served in Hartford last year while we were serving in Morgantown.  We became great friends and did many things together.  They wanted to return to their mission to visit us and see how the those they worked with were progressing.  We had a great visit and took them around to visit everyone.  I think it brought some closure to their mission and some satisfaction of the good they did.  Although Sister Oakley's health isn't the best, they are trying to decide whether to serve another mission.

The beautiful Mimosa trees are in full bloom now so we had to have a picture.  This one is in the yard of a family we visit every two weeks.  A single sister is the only member and she lives with her children and sometimes her grandchildren and also two aunts and now an uncle.  She is a wonderful lady with many challenges, but we love her and want to keep her coming to Church.

This is her uncle Larry, cleaned up and ready for a picture.  We love this family and enjoy visiting them.   They seem to enjoy giving us a hard time.  One of the first times we visited, they told us the canvas behind Larry covered their "moonshine still".  We've never dared look underneath to find out!  They tease us by saying their hillbillys and always say as we leave, "y'all come back now y'hear."

Our district now has 4 sets of missionaries including us.  This picture was taken in our Morgantown chapel this week after district meeting.  Starting from the left with the Elders in front:  Elder Thayne is from Bouniful, Utah.  He has been out 18 months and is our new District Leader.  Elder Shiner is from Fresno, California.  He has been out 5 months and is a very spiritual young elder.  Elder Miller is a real Idaho farm boy from Gooding, Idaho.  He does not like Declo because they always beat Gooding in football and he loves football.  He has been out 18 or 19 months and has been Elder Burton's trainer.  Elder Burton is from various places because his parents are in the service but he was called in North Carolina.  He has only been out a couple of months.  His call was to Brazil and he is serving here while waiting for his visa.  Sister Vercillo in back on the left, is from Centerville, Utah.  She has been out 5 months and went through the MTC with Elder Shiner.  Sister Toone is from Colorado and she has been out 3 or 4 months.  They are all great young people and we love serving with them and learning from them.

Elder and Sister Peterson - Happily serving and growing younger by the day around these wonderful young missionaries.

We are losing our prophet.  Elder Olsen on the left (who bears some resemblance to the Prophet Joseph Smith) has been our district leader, is being transferred.  Elder Earl on the left has been a Danish visa waiter and he finally received his visa and is headed for Denmark.  We have a new district leader with a new companion and we have a new area added to our district.  I forgot to get pictures but will include next post.

About 10 miles from where we live in Hartford is the little town of Rosine (about the size of Declo).  It is the birthplace of Bill Monroe who was the father of Bluegrass country music.  Nearly every Friday in this old barn, a country jamboree takes place with local musicians in his honor.

The Oakleys, senior missionaries we served with last year, came to town for a visit for several days.  We have been taking them around visiting everyone in the branch.  For an activity Friday night, we decided to have a picnic with some of the branch out to Rosine and take in the affair.

Because it was the anniversary of Bill Monroe's birthday, the Bluegrass jamboree was held in the city park so more could attend than could fit in the old barn.  We enjoyed some could old pickin' and singin' Kentucky style in the park.

Some of our group sitting on the grass and enjoying a pleasant evening.

Sister Oakley and sister Peterson with Betty Lindsey, a wonderful older stalwart of our branch.  We have been working with sister Lindsey and helping her with her genealogy.  She often comes to our apartment for Family Home Evening.

Brother and Sister Pieper, a very strong couple in the branch, he serves as a counselor in the Branch Presidency and as the ward mission leader.  We have breakfast in their home on Saturday morning before our correlation meeting.  They have been very good to us and we love them.  They were the hosts for the evenings activities.  Brother Pieper grew up in Rigby, Idaho.

There were probably 2 or 3 hundred in the park that evening, including these men.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of these two and they were willing to let me.  Shades of Duck Dynasty in Kentucky!

Elder and Sister Peterson - enjoyin' some real Bluegrass country music in Rosine, Kentucky