We've Crossed the River Jordan (Allegheny) into the promised land

Dear Folks at Home:

We are pleased to report our first weeks experience in the beautiful Pennsylvania forest . We had a District Council meeting Tuesday morning with President And Sister Bednar. They are wonderful people who have a deep and abiding love for the missionaries. President Bednar writes a weekly letter that is a treasure to read and study.

On Thursday evening we met with the Stake President and the Bishop for a couple of hours. We have our assignment for the next 18 months. The Franklin Ward is actually a combination of 3 church units. The Titusville branch was disbanded a few years ago and two years ago the Meadville Ward was changed from a Ward to a dependent Group. They meet in Meadville three times a month and on the first Sunday of the month everyone meets in Franklin. Because of these church units combining the distances are large. The Ward boundaries are 66 miles north to South and 100 miles east to west. Western Pennsylvania doesn’t have any huge cities. They have a bunch the size of Firth or Shelley.  Sheila counted members living in 30 separate towns or villages. ( Pingree and Thomas and Rockford would be villages in Pennsylvania)  There are some wonderful people living in the far corners of the Ward . We are going to put a few miles on our Buick as we visit and try to strengthen the Ward. 
I would like to mention Sister missionaries. Sister Burton and Sister Lanier serve in Franklin with us. Actually they have taken us under their wings and are our trainers. They have guided us and have shown us around when we would be hopelessly lost. They are truly devoted servants of the Lord. An interesting thing happened on Thursday. At the hour we met with the Bishop he told us of a family that did not want to be visited. There was a lot of anger involved and it was pretty serious. While he was visiting with us ,the Sisters, unaware of the situation, stopped at the home. With their gentle spirit and Christ like love they were kindly received. D&c 84:88 came to my mind when I heard of this. 

We had a huge snowstorm that started Saturday about noon. It was kind of funny. We stopped at Walmart in the morning. I stayed in the car and Sheila went in . ( more on that later) I saw a couple of Amish brethren go in and get stocked up with groceries. I guess in a blizzard you abandon your ways and do what you need to do in order to survive. Anyway, it started snowing about noon and our Mission President asked the missionaries not to drive on the roads. This does not apply to Senior Couples who are supposed to have good judgment (Sheila). The  Sisters called and asked if we could take them to an appointment at 6 pm. The city had been plowing the roads all afternoon and it was safe to travel in our little town. We picked them up and when we dropped them off they said when their lesson ended they wanted to go tracting. We agreed to pick them up at 8:45 pm so they could be in at 9pm. We picked up two frozen blocks of ice at 8:45 that resembled the Sister missionaries we had dropped off a few hours earlier. Tracting had been very successful. Everyone was home in the blizzard and they all answered their door out of curiosity. With this huge winter storm I don’t know how much missionary work was done last night in our mission but I do know of two hard working dedicated Sisters that never stop working,loving, and giving themselves to this labor of love. Sheila and I have posted on Facebook Sister Burtons testimony.

Sheila has always been faithful in whatever service she has been asked to do. But on our mission she has taken it up another level if that is possible . First of all she has made our apartment into a home . As I look at the pictures of our family and of the Savior on the walls it always reminds me of what is important and why we are here. this apartment has become a sacred place for us and I am grateful for what she has done. Our apartment has become a refuge from the storm Sheila is very organized and I am starting to see that as one of the spiritual gifts she has been given. She has already organized our work into 3 different areas in the Ward that we can travel to and her planning skills are going to make us much more effective . I am the driver and she is the navigator and that applies to more than just driving down the road. I not only love my companion but I also like her. One of the challenges Senior couples can have is too much togetherness that they are not used to. We have made this adjustment pretty well. The only thing that has happened is  that I have been banned from Walmart . She walks with Jana on the treadmill and I have decided I will use Jana as the barometer for how I am doing as a missionary companion . If she goes from a couple of times a week walking with Jana to three times a day I will know I am getting on her nerves. At least she will stay in shape.‍

   We are truly grateful for this opportunity to serve. I hope everyone has a wonderful week. I know we will.