We have a thing called “Hail & Farewell” each month or so to welcome incoming missionaries and for the Temple Presidency to bid farewell to the leaving missionaries. That process is starting to set in and make us a little apprehensive. We seem to be at a point where this life style seems normal and going home is a bit scary. But it is great to learn about the incoming missionaries and learn a little more about the ones leaving. Sometimes they put on quite a production. If you are interested you can view one of the “Productions” put on by the Williamses as they gave their farewell. It is named “Sister Williams' Olio - Large (or medium for a faster stream)”. Here is the link to it:
The Temple will be closed for the next 4 weeks for some repairs and cleaning. We are scheduled to clean the week of the 21st. So we decided to travel a bit while it is closed.
Sept 8 – We went to see the ocean and Assateague Island. We stopped at the visitor center and saw a horseshoe crab and a movie about the wild ponies,
then went driving out along the island and saw about 5 or 6 ponies (wild)
and walked in the Atlantic ocean.
Sept 9th – we left at 7:00 am and drove to Lancaster, PA to see the Sights and Sounds show of Moses.
Then we went to the Mennonite Museum or Information Center where we saw a life size replica of Moses’ tabernacle. It was quite interesting. We asked questions about their belief in the temple ordinances but didn’t really get any answers. We also talked about baptism. And how they baptize. Everything in their church has a very broad spectrum.. If people want sprinkling, they sprinkle, if they want immersion, they immerse. They are very broad about many things. We learn a lot about their religion.
Wed 10th we took a bus to New York City. We stayed there for 5 days. We really saw a lot and had a great time.
We attended the Temple there:
It's kind of hidden among all the tall buildings.
The next 2 days we took the Big Bus Tour and saw pretty much everything in NYC.
We were able to get tickets to the show “Cinderella”. That was really good.
We rode home with the Johnsons rather than take the bus. That way we could stop and see Philadelphia.
Sometime that week we got a call from Bishop and Lori Murdock. They wanted to attend the temple with us. But we had to inform them that it was closed. So we met them at their hotel and had dinner with them. It was great.
Then on Tuesday we started our week of cleaning in the temple. That was quite an experience. There just is no dirt or dust anywhere. They told us we were not “cleaning the temple”, but we were “keeping it from getting dirty”. The chandeliers were the hardest to clean. We spent a lot of time up on scaffolding with our arms above our heads.
Another month under our belts. Seems like the further we get into our mission the more busy we get. But we love it!! The spiritual high each day is a great blessing.
