November 24, 2013

 I think we have finally gotten winter here in New England.  We got our first snow last night.  It is 19 degrees outside and we are supposed to be in for a cold week.  I think Thanksgiving Day is supposed to be windy and cold.  Oh well, what could we expect. 
We are just finishing our first 5 months on our mission and we have finally inspected all the apartments that our missionaries occupy.  This past week Miriam and I went up to the outer edges of our mission which is Machias Maine.  We have one set of missionaries up there and they are really remote.  When I called them and told them we were  coming to see them and inspect their apartment, I don't think they believed me.  Anyway when we finally got there, below are a few of the pictures I took of what we found.  I think we were the first to inspected the apartment in a long, long time.  We sure love all of our missionaries, but as we all know, they need some guidance at times.
During this 5 months, we have been busy trying to get better

apartments.  Some of them were really bad.  I took the a pair of Sister Missionaries out of an apartment that had a flooding basement that they had to walk through to get to there electrical panel to switch it on every time they turned on the toaster or hair dryer.  I moved some Elders out of an apartment that was in an attic and you could only stand up without hitting your head if you were in the center of the room where the peak of the roof was the highest.  There are many more stories, but it has been an adventure and I know the missionaries like the results of our efforts.  The good news is that many of the apartments are wonderful. 
We love the missionaries so much. I love to inspect the apartments as Miriam and I get to do it together as I need her to be with me when we inspect Sisters apartments and I love having her with me. We get to travel all over the mission and be with the missionaries in there  areas.  New England is beautiful.  It is old and has it's old charm. 
We were able to go on a teaching appointment last week also.  We are helping teach a single lady again.  Jessica is a wonderful woman.  She has children, not married and is looking for hope through Jesus Christ.  I hope she will accept the Gospel and the change it will bring to her life.
We love the Lord and are happy to be in His service.