Sunday, March 16, 2014

Great Opportunity to Serve comes to a Close

We spent a wonderful year in the Family and Church History, Church Headquarters Mission and have now returned to sunny, warm, Arizona.  It is good to be home but we miss the many missionaries we served with in the Family History Library.  We will never forget the wonderful friends that we made and the warm associations we had with each of them. I'm going to post a few pictures of the last social we had with the full-time missionaries from our zone.
 
We served with many other Church Service Missionaries that aren't shown here; we could go on forever about all of them.  We feel so privileged to have enjoyed this rich learning experience.
Susan Guthrie, Sis Young & Sis Barwick

Elder Garrett, Elder & Sister Boyd & Byde

Elder & Sister Garrett

Sisters Goldthorpe, Giles & Johnson

Elder & Sister Haddock

Sisters Barlow, Latimer, Garrett, & Johnson

Sister & Elder Rust & Elder Lander
Elder Rust, Elder & Sister Lander, Sisters Goldthorpe & Johnson

Sisters Latimer, Garrett, Johnson, & Guthrie

Elder & Elder Brake showing Byde's SLC coat he passed on to Elder Brake
Elder Brake was from our home stake in Arizona and since we were returning to a very warm place Byde passed his warm winter coat on to Him.  Hopefully next winter he will get some good use from it.

I had to add a few pictures of our packed car; I don't think we could have fit another thing. We left SLC on Thursday morning about 7 am and intended to drive to St George or Henderson but we got driving and just decided to go all the way home.  We pulled into our garage about 9 pm that night.  It was actually a very nice trip home with great weather and driving conditions.

Our very packed trunk

The back seat was loaded too - Byde peeking through from the other side.

When we got home our children had gone to our home and set up and made our beds and done a great deal of unpacking for us.  They even placed a heart made of chocolates on the bed which was a very fun treat.  We feel loved and well taken care of by our family.
Heart made of chocolates on our bed when we got home
AND, last but not least a few pictures from our homecoming luncheon at our daughter's home the day we spoke in church, March 16, 2014.
Carol Ann, Kathy, Pam, Lucille, Nina, Twyla, & Oona - my 6 sisters & me in age order

Same girls with brothers Gail, Blake & Lonnie (missing brothers Bill & Keith)

Cousin Gerry, Brother Blake & wife Karen

The Bryant Family
Daughter Julie with husband Courtney
Brother Lonnie & wife Sherrie

Son-in-law Courtney with some of our granddaughters
Nephew RH, sister Lucille with husband Wendell, sister Kathy & husband Shum with their granddaughter

Sister-in-law Jan and brother, Gail; sisters Oona & Twyla, nephew Wacey, brother-in-law Ray and son, David

Son-in-law Jeff Cox

Niece Molly with James
The returning missionaries, Elder & Sister Fuller, aka Byde & Pam

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Sacred Gifts

The Brigham Young University Museum of Art will open an all-new exhibition featuring 20 religious paintings on unprecedented loan from churches and museums in Eastern Europe and New York, many of which have never been on view in the United States. The exhibition, titled "Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann and Frans Schwartz," runs Nov. 15, 2013-Jan. 31, 2014. Register for free tickets at sacredgifts.byu.edu. - See more at: http://entertainment.sltrib.com/events/view/sacred_gifts#sthash.8vv6UN3v.dpuf
The Brigham Young University Museum of Art will open an all-new exhibition featuring 20 religious paintings on unprecedented loan from churches and museums in Eastern Europe and New York, many of which have never been on view in the United States. The exhibition, titled "Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann and Frans Schwartz," runs Nov. 15, 2013-Jan. 31, 2014. Register for free tickets at sacredgifts.byu.edu. - See more at: http://entertainment.sltrib.com/events/view/sacred_gifts#sthash.8vv6UN3v.dpufNov 15, 2013 - This all-new religious exhibition featuring beloved depictions of the life of the Jesus Christ by three master painters from the late 19th century . Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann and Frans Schwartz” will run through May 10, 2014.
We went to Provo on Saturday with our good friends, Boyd & Dot Williams to the Museum of Art to see Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann and Frans Schwartz” which will run through May 10, 2014. If you are in Provo before May 10, don't miss it.  You can read an article about the display here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865587172/Sacred-Gifts-paintings-bring-history-stories-to-Provo.html?pg=all

One of the featured paintings in "Sacred Gifts" - "Agony in the Garden" by Franz Schwartz
 As we entered the Museum of Art we saw this really cool mobile or sculpture. Look closely and you'll see that it is made of hangars - YEP - just the regular kind you get from the dry cleaners; really FUN!!
 
Sculpture inside Museum of Art - HANGARS!!

Outside the Museum of Art
Boyd & Dot - Byde and Pam -Museum of Art
Dinner at the Cannon Center - We tried EVERYTHING!!
Sculpture outside the Museum of Art
New Provo Temple under construction
Giant flakes of snow covered the ground quickly on Wednesday
Snow outside our living room door GIANT flakes
On Friday night we attended the performance of the Contemporary Dance Group from BYU at the Conference Center Little Theatre. We marveled at their talent and energy! We have now attended the Young Ambassadors, the Ballroom Dance Company and then finally the Contemporary Group.  That will be the last we see before we return to Arizona. One of the really great numbers they performed was when they rolled in a trampoline and eventually put it upright and used it in their performance.


Trampoline used in dance number

This morning we attended the Tab Choir broadcast for our last time so had to take a picture. We will miss being in that historic building each Sunday to hear Music and the Spoken Word.
Tabernacle Broadcast February 23, 2014
One of the songs that was sung this morning was "Where Love Is" which was written by Joanne Bushman Doxey. She was also honored prior to the program because she was in attendance today.

I wanted you to see one of the flower beds near the tabernacle where the pansies are coming our of their winter slumber.  The pansies were planted in the fall and have been covered with snow for a good deal of the winter but somehow they survive the freezing temperatures and are now surfacing with their beautiful colors.

Pansy Bed

Purple pansies

White Pansies
The message today was "Treasures Around Us" and I'm going to include the complete text. It was a great reminder for all of us.

"It's been said that everyone has a story. And the older we get, the more stories we have. Truly, our "seasoned citizens" are treasure chests of experience and wisdom - and with each passing year, they become more valuable. But do we value and cherish their knowledge? Do we mtake the time to get to know them?

In the rush of today's busy world, seniors often get overlooked. Yet each one has a fascinating backstory. Each one has weathered life's storms and taken journeys the younger generation is just now beginning. They pursued their dreams, they fell in love, they raised families, and they built the towns we live in.

As life becomes more and more complex and challenging for the rising generation, it would be wise to seek counsel from members of previous generations. We'll likely find that the problems they faced and overcame - really aren't that different from what we face today.

One man made a point of taking his son to visit a grandfather whose health was failing but whose mind was sharp. He thought it would help the elderly man to have a young visitor. But the person who most benefited was the boy. His grandfather loved him openly and genuinely, encouraged his ideas, and made him feel important. And the grandson came to realize that, inside, older people still feel like young people. He gained new respect for the years of exerience his grandfather had and learned to appreciate his wisdom.

How wise are those who are not yet old but who seek the company of our elderly citizens!  There is scarcely a better source of practical knowledge, lived experience, or wise counsel.  We simply need to look beyond the aged exterior and realize, as Charles Dickens observed, that "every wrinkle is but a notch in the quiet calendar of a well-spent life.