High's & Low's

I love celebrations, so to have Father's Day, our 36th anniversary & my birthday all in one week is fun. When we were deciding where to go for our anniversary we were asking around & Sis. Wood said, without even hesitating, that we should go to Woodstock because it was such a quaint little town with cute shops, etc. Rod asked her if it was Woodstock, N.Y. She laughed & said it wasn't that one. Well, we got sidetracked, she went home & we were talking to someone else & they said there was a Woodstock, Conn., so that must be the one. They also said that close to there was the Old Sturbridge Village. It is a village that is set in Pilgrim times, with candle making, horse & wagon rides, etc. We thought that sounded fun too, so we might get to see a couple of different things while we were south.

On Sunday we went to church in Oxford Ward, & then relaxed at our hotel & played games. On Monday, we decided that we wanted to go to Woodstock first. We ended up driving for about 3 hours looking for cute little shops. The best thing we found was a little bakery so we decided to stop & ask questions & get a treat. When we got out of the car we were hit with the worst smell!!! Come to find out, the dairy farm across the street was spraying manure through the sprinkler system. Talk about losing your appetite! We obviously had the wrong Woodstock, so we decided to go back to Sturbridge Village. By the time we got there & looked around in the gift shops a thunderstorm came up so we decided not to go into the village this time. The day was kind of a bust as far as doing anything exciting but it was relaxing & at least we like to drive & see the country & now we can say we've been in Connecticut on our mission. When we went to the Temple & asked Sis. Wood, we found out it was Woodstock, Vermont. Oh well, next time we'll go to Vermont.

At church in Oxford, I was in Relief Society & the teacher said the lesson was about the Atonement. My first thought was if I should talk about Nathan & my testimony of the Atonement. I decided I wouldn't. She taught the lesson for about 20 min. & then said, "I would like to ask for personal experiences but first I would like to ask Sis. Metcalf if she would like to say anything?" It was so strange but I knew I was suppose to talk about Nathan & my testimony. After the meeting, a sister came to me & said she needed to hear what I said because her brother had died & she & her mother were having a hard time accepting it.

Sunday, in Boston 1st Ward Relief Society, the lesson was about parenting. Something was said, & my heart was beating so fast. I knew I was suppose to talk about Nathan & how we do the best we can as parents but they also have their free agency & through the blessings of the Temple we can still have our children with us for eternity. I KNEW I was suppose to say that, but with all of the translating & the late time, I didn't. I felt bad because I should have listened to the Spirit.

We also had our high's & low's at the Temple. On Friday, Rod was at the front desk & 3 people from Nepal came in & wanted to know more about the gospel. He was able to talk to them & send the missionaries to visit them. It was a neat experience for him.

That night a couple was getting sealed. She was the stroke victim that I had met a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, I was asked to sit & visit with her 77 year old sister & her grandson who were non-members. I took them a packet with a picture of Christ, The Proclamation to the Family, a booklet about the Temple & about the New Family Search. I talked to them mostly about genealogy & then asked them if they had any questions. The 18 year old grandson did but when I tried to answer him the grandmother became very angry. She wanted to know why she wasn't allowed to witness the sealing, & didn't we think she was just as good as we were. I finally ended up changing the subject & talking about her life which was very interesting. Then I went to get Rod to help me visit with them & Sis. Chatfield came & visited too. She & her husband just got back from their mission to Albania, & this woman was from Macedonia, which is around southern Turkey. It helped to have others to talk to her. It was pretty draining on me emotionally. I decided that was why we didn't go on a proselyting mission. (ha, ha!)

The next day my first phone call at the temple was someone calling to see if we gave tours through our beautiful building. When I told her we didn't she said they live close & always look at the beautiful angel & if we are going to build such a beautiful building we should show off the workmanship. I told her she was more than welcome to come into the foyer & talk to the person at the desk. She was not impressed & was pretty angry as if being angry would get her in. I talked to someone & she gave me a great analogy. She said to tell them that we have MIT, Harvard & all of these great universities but in order to get in to them there are certain requirements that people have to do. They just don't let everyone in because people have to be prepared. I thought that was a great analogy. Anyway, it was a pretty stressful couple of days.

Our spiritual thought last week was, "Add to your faith - brotherly kindness." Peter characterized the household of faith as of one mind, compassionate, loving, tenderhearted, courteous, without guile or gossip, & not rendering evil for evil but seeking peace--in a phrase, brotherly kindness. In the Temple we should feel more powerfully the compassion of the Lord & kindness of our brothers & sisters.

We send our love to everyone!

New Experiences

We've had some good experiences this week. Last Monday we rode the subway, they call it the "T", to Boston. Someone in the ward had free tickets to Fenway Park, so we decided it was a good opportunity to go. Just getting on the T was an experience in itself. We knew what stop to get off but then we had no idea what we were going to do. We had to switch trains & when we did, this tall black guy let me have his seat. He & Rod got to talking & come to find out he lived just across the street from Fenway so he said we could walk with him. We would have NEVER found it unless we asked every couple of blocks. It was sure a blessing we found him. With his long legs we were almost running to keep up. Rod told him we were missionaries from the Church working in the Mormon Temple in Belmont & we were from Alaska. It is amazing how many conversations start up when we mention Alaska. It would be nice if they were as interested when we mention the church, but at least when we talk about Alaska they are always interested & we are able to have good conversations.

Anyway, back to Fenway Park. It was fun to be there knowing that's where Babe Ruth was. It didn't look as big as I thought it would be but I guess I was comparing it to the Kingdome. It is the oldest operating stadium & it has the big green wall that they call the "Green Monstah". Anyway, that's how they pronounce it. It was a fun day & we felt proud of ourselves that we rode the T & survived.

One of the couples that works in the Temple has been to Israel several times. They had a mini fireside & we were invited. We got to see some of their slides. It was very interesting. They are getting ready to go on a mission & they are hoping to be able to go back. We would love to go to Israel sometime but I would have to study more about the life of Christ before we go.

Saturday night the youth from Boston 1st Ward came to the Temple to do baptisms. We got permission to turn off the phones at 8, so that we could go down & watch them. It was a neat experience. Sunday when we went to church they recognized us & we were able to talk to them easier. There is one sister at church that is so shy. I sat by her last week & she barely talked. This week when we walked into the chapel she smiled & waved. When I went over to talk to her she was so cute.

I wanted to tell about what happens when we are singing at church. Have you ever felt like you were singing the wrong verse. That's how I feel all the time. It finally dawned on me that it's because English & Spanish are being sung similtaneously. It's a different experience.

Sunday night we went to the baptism of the Harvard professor. It was a special experience. He spoke after he got baptized. He will be a strong member of the church.

We are amazed at how many colleges & universities there are here. We are out of our league. We thought it might be interesting to let you know about some of them. They are: Harvard, MIT, Cambridge, UMass, Boston U., Tufts U., Bentley U., Wellesley, Boston College, Brandeis U., Northeastern U., & others I have never heard of.

Yesterday we had a fun day. We went to John Alden & Priscilla Mullins home & grave sites. John Alden was the first Pilgrim to step off the Mayflower onto American soil. Their home is a National Historic Landmark. There are engraved bricks on the walkway from donations. We saw some from a Potter family, a Metcalf & First Lady Barbara Bush. It was cool knowing that I am a direct descendant of theirs. I am their 10th great-granddaughter. John Aldens grave is where he is buried but they don't know exactly where Priscilla is buried so they just have a headstone next to him. Duxbury is a beautiful little community & is close to the ocean. We walked along the beach & I put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean. It was a beautiful day but we decided to go to Plymouth Rock another time.

As I was reading this week I came across the quote that our dead cannot be saved without us & we without our dead cannot be saved. I have thought a lot about that. I know that we are doing the saving ordinances for our dead because they can't do it for themselves. I'm not sure how we can't be saved without our dead, but I know it is a blessing to do their work & I feel a great love for our ancestors & all they did for us.

Our doctrinal instruction for last week was, "Add to your faith Patience". Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: "To fill the measure & purpose of our mortal probation, we must have patience. This mortal existence is the Lord's sifting sphere, the time when we are subject to trials, testing, & tribulations. Future rewards will be based on our patient endurance of all things."

We send our love!

Pressing Forward

We have the craziest weather here. I have never seen it thunder & lightening so much & rain so hard. It is almost scary sometimes. It can be blue skies & the rain comes in so fast & then blows through right away. It usually, (but not always), has the thunder storms at night & the lightening just lights up the room. I love listening & watching it. I really need to buy an umbrella & carry it with me. You never know when you will need it.

The man that Rod was helping to teach is getting baptized next Sunday. We are really excited about that. That means that we will still be here in a year when he goes to the temple.

We went to our new ward today. There are 2 sister missionaries & 2 elders & all of them are Spanish speaking. Today was Testimony Mtg. & some of the people spoke Spanish & only 1 had an interpreter. Then Relief Society was an experience. The sister conducting would give an announcement & then another sister would translate. The whole meeting was like that. It took 25 minutes just to get through the announcements & good news minute. I had such a headache afterward but I guess I'll get use to it. There was sure not a problem getting sisters to participate. They are so friendly & humble & sweet.

The lesson in Relief Society was on Visiting Teaching so they had all the sisters go to R.S. & the Priesthood took care of all the Primary & youth classes. Rod taught the Young Women & the lesson was about journals. He had a really good experience with them. Our ward is coming to the temple to do baptisms next Saturday so it will be good for us to see them there.

Tyson was blessed today. It was pretty emotional for me to know that we haven't even seen him & we are missing that sweet experience. We don't regret being here though. We know we are where we are supposed to be & we are grateful for the blessings that Heavenly Father has given us both here & there.

We send our love to everyone!