Getting ready for this mission was truly a grueling experience in frustration & patience: the 50-page application, the medical exams, the insurance sign up & switching, getting the motorhome ready, getting cloths & other personal items ready, &, of course, working on DVP projects right up until the night before leaving.
{MTC Pictures}
{L-Our Dorm R- Our training group}
We were actually looking forward to the MTC as a bit of an unwinding period. But, as you know, we only got 3 days of the originally scheduled 7 days. Nevertheless, we had a great experience. And we were with about 20 other couples also going to the Mormon Handcart Historic Sites. (not all made it, however, as one elder fell and broke his hip the night before our departure) The emphasis for the 3 days was of course on how to preach the Gospel along with food, food, food. Emphasis was on the first two discussions in Preach My Gospel, "the restoration," and " the plan of salvation." We even got to do 2 trial cottage meetings with volunteers from the community posing as non-members. One was very difficult, the other a push over. There was a bit of irony in it all, however, because as we were learning and practicing, we were also being told that at our mission we were not toproselyte in any way. It was exciting to be there and realize it was this same place 4 of you also went through the same experiences.
Then we spent a final day in Salt Lake at Farm Reserve Inc. They are the Church arm that manages all working farms owned by the Church. What does that have to do with Martin's Cove? Well this is actually a working ranch, running about 1000 head of cattle. The visitor's centers, museums, fort, etc. are all historic sites on this ranch that used to be the Sun Ranch. We have even had opportunities to go out with the ranch hands to do branding of the young calfs. (we didn't volunteer, however, but did other activities more in line with our abilities and age!) Training at Farm Reserve Inc. dealt mostly with safety and land preservation issues we would be faced with.
Friday April 25th was our official departure date. We were asked to be at Martin's Cove on the 26th for our first official meeting. On our way out of town we stopped in Bountiful and attended Bishop Dean Cannon's funeral. We met lots of old neighbors and friends: Sister Cannon, Sarah, Barbara (Richard had passed away a few years ago), Monsons, Browns, Longhursts, Ogilvies, Millers, Kakuchies, and President Eyring, who spoke at the service.(even got to shake hands with him) Then it was off to Wyoming. The further east we went the worse the weather got, until at Rawlins it was bitter cold, raining, and blowing like crazy. We arrived at our new home late that night, after 11pm, found our trailer spot with our name on it, parked, and proceeded to start all motorhome heaters plus a space heater we had brought with us, and then make up our "gigantic" bed. Next day in freezing weather we connected to the water, sewer, & propane lines. We were warned to drip water continually in the sink so the water lines would not freeze.
Some of the pictures here show what it's like here at Ranch 66, Missionary Village. There are about 30 trailers, 5th wheels, motorhomes, and some in permanent mobile homes. Our's, of course, is the smallest of all. Notice the bus on our one side. It's 40 feet long. The Hills live there, they are great. From Washington state. On the other side is the Peays from Orem, in a trailer that's about 30 feet long. But we are comfortable, just tight. We get to rub each other every time we pass, a great benefit!
Notice the open praire all around us. It's where the deer and antelope always play. And they come right between our rigs frequently. It is birth season, and we are seeing a lot of mom's with babies. Notice the one baby we got a shot of hiding in the brush. It's mom ran off when she saw us to try to detract us. So I went up and took a close up of it. They are really cute. For the first month it was a bleak picture, drab brown with no leaves on anything. In the last couple of weeks everything has just exploded, green grass, leaves, etc. We must travel daily 13 miles, the first mile on a dirt road, to the site center for prayer meeting and daily assignments.
{L-The wash house R-The shack where we make calls from}
There is a wash house about 8x8 with washers and dryers, that we can sign up for, and a little porch on one of the permanent mobile homes which has a phone we can use when available. Another small building is the pavilion, where gatherings can take place. A birthday party was held the other night with the missionary bank playing (including Mom who is now the proud owner of a mandalin) and where some couples danced. But only for a short time until all their energy ran out. The wind blows constantly shakes and rocks the motorhome. At first, mom was certain it was going to tip us over. Now we wonder what's going on if it isn't blowing. And when it rains, it really patters on the roof. At first we were really bothered, but since have learned to just ignore it. This will end this input, the inernet connection doesn't always hold for very long. We will try to have a weekly posting from here out. The next one will show some of the maintenance we have been doing for nearly a month, and then more of the area including the visitor's center, ranch buildings, sweetwater river, fort, and what the area we work in looks like along with some of our experiences.
Love from us at Martin's Cove
