Missionary Grandson off to Chihuahua, Mexico

The highlight of our week was to have the privilege of spending time with our oldest grandson, Jamen Cox, who is leaving for a mission to Chihuahua, Mexico. We picked him up at the airport on Tuesday and were able to attend a session in the Salt Lake Temple and spend some time in the Family History Library to look for some British ancestors that Jamen and his mom had been working on. We enjoyed a GREAT visit with him prior to taking him to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) at  BYU.

Prior to dropping Jamen off we stopped by In-N-Out-Burger for lunch knowing that his first meal at the MTC would be dinner.  There must have been at least 6 other missionaries there with their families  getting ready to enter the MTC. An older gentleman came to our table to ask who was the missionary as Byde and I had on our tags and Jamen hadn't acquired his yet. He told us he usually came to that particular In-N-Out to eat on Wednesdays as there were usually a number of families having their "last supper" with their departing missionary.  As we were leaving there were a couple of apparent returned missionaries who asked where Jamen was going and told him he would be a great missionary and that the people in Mexico were going to love his red hair.

We were the first in the long line of cars dropping off new missionaries. There was a lineup of  "old" missionaries waiting to greet the incoming missionaries.  They asked Jamen his name and where he was from and then helped him unload his luggage and they were off.

Jamen's P-Day (Preparation Day) is Saturday so he was able to send a letter home which his mother shared with us. I'll just share a short paragraph of him telling about his first week.

"Well! I have not served a full week in the  MTC  but I am loving it here! Mi Companero's nombre es Elder Neuman. He is from (drum roll......) MESA ARIZONA!!!! He went to Mesa High and we already have decided that we have forgiven each other for going a una no buena esquela. We work well together! He was in foster care for 2 years of his life and then was adopted into a home than converted to the gospel with his family at age 16. He is also going to Chihuahua, Mexico. There are a total of 4 companionships in my District and 3 of them are going to Chihuahua Mexico and the other two are going to Madrid Spain!"

11/20/2013 - The day we took Jamen to the MTC

We drove by the construction site of the Temple being built in downtown Provo. The shell of the building is what is left after a fire gutted the building in 2010 and it was determined to make the building a temple.  When we drove through Provo on our way to Salt Lake in February you could see where the building was up on "stilts" as they were beginning the project.

The old Provo Tabernacle is being remodeled/repurposed and will become a Temple

Provo Temple under construction

On Tuesday night we had our monthly Zone potluck in the social room in our apartment building.  The Boyd's from Ireland were in charge and as always we had plenty of good food and a fun time as well.  Elder Boyd told us several jokes one of which was a mother-in-law joke.  He said he had a friend (a stand-up comedian) who told him when his mother-in-law knocked on the door the mice in the house threw themselves on the mouse traps. Elder Boyd always has a fun story to tell, one that comes to mind is that they were walking in a cemetery in Ireland one day and read on a tombstone, "I told you I was sick."

Sharon Long, Jo Latimer, and Trudi Boyd at a Zone Potluck Tuesday night

Flat Stanley came from our granddaughter, Jocie, who lives in Ohio to visit us on Thursday and we have been having fun ever since trying to show him around Temple Square. For those of you who have never heard of Flat Stanley let me explain:

Flat Stanley comes to visit Papa and Grandma in Salt Lake City

How it works

In the Flat Stanley children's books, Stanley travels the world in envelopes. Students who read the books send the paper doll and written notes to students in other parts of the world through conventional mail and e-mail. Children exchange ideas, photographs, questions and culture with students/family all over the world. To find out more about him you can visit the following website: www.flatstanleyproject.com

Jewish Cantor Emmanuel Perlman

 On Saturday night we went to a Concert of Praise for God's Word sponsored by the National Bible Association. They named Salt Lake City its National Bible City for 2013 and then asked the LDS Church to sponsor the event in the Tabernacle.

The program included Bible readings by Hollywood actress Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel) and her husband, producer Mark Burnett (The Voice). The program also featured musical performances by The Singing Sensations, a gospel choir from Baltimore, Maryland; Jewish Cantor Emmanuel Perlman; the Salt Lake University Institute Singers; and the BYU Singers. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave remarks.

Elder and Sister Christofferson with Richard Glickstein, President, National Bible Association

Doctor Week

Every other month in our Ward we have a party to honor the departing and incoming missionaries which is called a "Hail and Farewell" dinner.  There is always some kind of entertainment and this month was a skit written by Sister Moser which was a takeoff on "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." The head and feet of the characters were the husband’s and the hands and arms were the wife’s. The actors and the audience both seemed to have a good time.

Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

Elder Perkins and Elder Dominguez at the Hail and Farewell (young Elder from Greg Horton's ward)

You know from the post I did last week that we had to take Byde to the ER for an incident of tachycardia. We followed up this week with the cardiologist and he adjusted his blood pressure meds as his pressure has been high.  He is getting better but trying to get a cold. 

Three weeks after injuring my foot, I finally got in to see the orthopedic foot doctor. He did an xray and determined that I had broken a metatarsal bone in my left foot and put me back in a boot. He said I need to wear it for at least 4 weeks to allow the bone to heal.  My walks in the morning on Temple Square have come to an end much to my disappointment. He recommended I should do a redundant bike or water exercise to avoid doing more damage.

The sister missionaries who serve on Temple Square did their Fall concert on Tuesday night and it was just as fantastic as the one they did in the Spring. My favorite number was the Sousa's "Stars & Stripes Forever" which was done as a double piano quartet.  It was especially moving to see the missionaries as they came in at the beginning from all around the Assembly Hall carrying their home country flag.  The Assembly was packed and I don't think anyone went away disappointed in the program.

Sisters marching in singing "Called to Serve"

Elder and Sister Palmer came from Arizona to help with the program (they were released in June)

Sisters at beginning of program (Mission Pres and wife standing in front row on stage)

On Friday night we were able to attend "Bells on Temple Square" concert which was a ticket event.  We had tried unsuccessfully to get tickets but when Byde went to get the mail Friday evening someone had left tickets by the mailboxes. The concert was held in the Tabernacle and there were very few empty seats.

Projection of bells on to the ceiling of the Tabernacle for the Bells Concert

 

The message at the Tab Choir Broadcast on Sunday morning was “Our Invisible Gift.” Lloyd Newell said,”We rejoice whenever someone embarks upon a worthy pursuit, especially in service to others...We give thanks for their sacrifice as we imagine the countless lives that they will touch for good.... But there’s another group that we often overlook when we calculate the consequences of selfless service. It’s a hidden group we’ve never met–-the unborn children and grandchildren who will someday hear of this caring service, whose lives will be forever enriched by a selfless example... Regardless of the service we give, there will be times when the blessings seem obvious and bountiful. But there may also be times when we feel lonely and unproductive. At such times, it helps to remember the far-reaching impact of our loving actions and kind deeds. Such service is almost always multigenerational in its blessings.”

We fully expected to wake up to snow this Sunday morning but so far we have only gotten rain in Salt Lake. The mountains surrounding the city are white with snow and the air is cool and crisp. We have learned that pansies and poppies are very hearty flowers and even though the snow may cover them up when it melts they stick out their pretty heads.

SNOW!!!

When we opened our curtain on Tuesday morning this is what we saw - our first snow of the season; it was GORGEOUS!! It actually snowed a little the Sunday morning before but just flurries, not enough to cover the ground at all.  It wasn't all that cold walking to work but it was very slippery!!

View from our back window

Looking east from our apartment building

West side of Conference Center - Temple in background

The rest of the week was relatively mild; we wore coats to work but many of the Utahns came to work in just their suit jackets and continue to think we are pretty wimpy when it comes to the weather.

Our missionary assignment changed and we have moved to the apprentice table to help the new, incoming missionaries with their progress through the Apprentice program.  This should be a good review for us and help us to remember the things we studied when we first started.

On Saturday we took a trip to the Emergency Department at Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful. Ever since Byde's 6-way heart  bypass in 1999, he gets tachycardia occasionally and we end up in the Emergency Room to get his heart rate back to normal. When we go to the hospital his heart rate is usually about 150 - 200 beats per minute.  They inject him with Adenosine which does a quick stop of the heart and then restarts it; kind of like booting a computer.  Thank goodness so far every time we have had to make this emergency room visit the Adenosine has done its magic and we are on our way.  How grateful we are for the miracles of modern medicine.

We were able to attend the concert on Friday night in the Assembly Hall which was an acapella men's group called the Consortium. On Saturday night we went to the Conference Center for a concert with Jackie Evancho. In addition to Miss Evancho the other participants included: Mark Wood, Michael Martin Murphey, Sheila Raye Charles (yes, the daughter of Ray Charles), Pauli Carman, Nathan Osmond, and Lupito of Crystal tones. Two hours into the concert they took a 15-minute intermission and we left as our back sides were through sitting.

Men's Group - Consortium

Daughter-in-law, Heather with her sister, Jamie, and granddaughter, Afton with Mary Ellen Edmunds

We copied a picture off Facebook that Heather posted from the "Time Out for Women" held in Phoenix. Just a little envious that they got to be with Sister Edmunds, she is one of my favorite speakers.

Happy Halloween from Michigan!

Couldn’t resist the opportunity to include a picture of our beautiful granddaughter who is serving a mission in Lansing, Michigan. She began her mission the same time we started in Salt Lake. Apparently she was involved helping with a Ward Halloween party when someone took this picture of her.

We had a social on Thursday, Halloween night in the social room in our apartment building. Some of the missionaries brought candy and there was a group of primary children that came through to show off their costumes and collect some candy. In addition to the missionary ward that is in our building there are some "normal" wards that do have children. It was the children from one of those wards that came to our building.

Our cultural activities have slowed down a bit but there are still concerts held on Friday and Saturday nights in the Assembly Hall. On Friday night we were treated to the Griffiths Family entitled "Families Making Music" which was a delightful concert. On Saturday night the concert was by a community choir from Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Griffiths Family

As you can see from the pictures below, fall is in her glory and the colors in Salt Lake are beautiful right now. Over the last month we have had a few rather cold days but for the most part it has been very mild fall weather. According to the weatherman I expect that will change this coming week as the prediction is that we will having freezing temperatures on Tuesday night. Historically the average high temperature in Salt Lake during the month of November is 49° with a low of 30°.

 

Liberty Park

Liberty Park

Liberty Park

Liberty Park

Liberty Park

Liberty Park

Liberty Park

Picture taken on our street downtown Salt Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, November 3, 2013 - From our back window - first snow

Not sticking but the snow is coming down

Last but not least from the Spoken Word Sunday morning by Lloyd Newell:
"Recently, a mother's five children penned 'A Love Letter to Mom' to honor her at her passing in her early 90s. They published their letter in her obituary in the local newspaper. One did not have to know this beloved mother to appreciate the simple but profound truths her children learned at her knee over the years. They reported that from their mother they learned:
To love fiercely, and tell people before it's too late.
To be loyal, always.
To enjoy life - one bite at a time.
To laugh easily - with others and at yourself.
To be generous with your time money, and heart.
To love yourself.
And to never forget that God adores you.

What are the lessons, example, and wisdom we hope to leave as a legacy of our lives? Of everything we can leave to our loved ones, virtues like love, generosity, and loyalty - recurring themes in this "love letter" are what they will remember and cherish the most. Such virtues make up the legacy that our children and grandchildren will carry into the next generations."