31 Oct 2017 just some thoughts and pictures

I wanted to write some thoughts, which I will keep brief. As we are serving here and are in the temple 5 days a week (sometimes six), I can't help but feel a closeness to "the other side". It is preached everyday, the work, the patrons, and being in the House of the Lord. I think often of certain things, family, friends, service and covenants. It would take over a year (almost a year and a half) @ two days a week serving in a normal temple schedule to be in the temple this much. I don't know it's just hard to explain the joy and happiness of being in the Lord's House. I love the opportunities to learn different assignments everyday, for example on Tuesday we serve from 0800 to 1:30, Wednesday & Thursday from 12:30 to 7pm, Friday from 6:30 to 10:00 and Saturday from 12:00 to 6pm. Of course all is subject to change because sometimes we go in early for an early session or stay later for a late session.  On the 2nd and 3rd Fridays we are assigned to the ASL group, I love this as it is making learn all the ordinances in ASL. But I have been an Initiatory director, Veil directory, Veil coordinator, and today a baptistry director. Please understand it's not anything I'm doing but it is just part of the scheduling, everyone is needed, and needs to learn these positions. Point is it is very involved and exciting. Love it! I'm learning to sign the Initiatory, and Sealing ordinances. I feel I can do the veil now in ASL. One more thing we learn everyday is that the temple experience is about the patron experience, how do we make their day in the temple the best day ever. This brings me to one of the things that has been on my mind, Dad, I really feel like he sees us and is happy. I miss him and think about him often. Anyway the temple presidency is warm and kind to all of us. The missionaries and district workers are family, the mission is wonderful. Now with the "holidays coming there are a lot of extra things going on, beside the monthly activities the missionaries do. On November 6th we are assigned to help with the temple Christmas lights, that will be fun. Last Saturday we went to the Visitors Center for a concert, Chinese singers. It was really pretty nice, I took some pictures, which I'll display. I think us and the Bishop's, who went with us, were about the only non-oriental people there. Anyway here are some pictures:

This was the curtain

The next few pictures are some of the performers

The pianist was really good.

 He was the MC

 Some dances also

Most of the performers

Below is a picture of our front door, notice the two doors on either side. 

It seems so close, but we hardly hear any noise.

Gives you an idea why we are so close as friends too. There are 4 building 3 floors high

with 4 apartments on each floor. 

In 2 weeks we will have our last BBQ (outside) for the season, I'll give a report on that later.

Until then see ya'

23 Oct 2017 Trip to the city

Today we, with the Weights and Bishops took a trip into DC on the Metro. We had a good time, visited the Capital Building (outside) and the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court, Elder Weight is a Lawyer so that was a must. I found it very interesting. The tour guide said the judicial branch interprets the law, I wanted to raise my hand and ask why they are making new laws while they interpret the law, but I didn't.  The Library of Congress was good too, so was the Capital Building. Here is a story, with all the increase of security, they wouldn't let anyone in with food, water and of course weapons of any kind. I always have a pocket knife, not as a weapon but whatever. Sister Bishop had a bag with water and food, I had my pocket knives (2 little ones). So I said I'll wait outside, they went in and a few minutes later came out and said we could check the bag at the Library of Congress, so we went there to check the bag. They checked the water, food, but not the knives, they wouldn't check those (probably left wing liberals). So Elder Weight said just hide the knives in the grass then get them later, nope can't leave anything. So I walked back to the Capital Building, walked past a orange cone with a hole on top. I walked past it, dropped the knives into the hole and kept walking. Nobody but me knew they were there. At the end of the day I picked them back up and went on my merry way. We had a great time. Here are some pictures:

The first four are of the Capital Building

With Patty in the middle on her left are the Weights

and on her right are the Bishops

This is inside the visitor center,

that's the same statue on top the Capital Building

Each State gives one or two statues to the center

This one is of Father Francisco Kino

The next three are inside the dome

I tried to get as good of one as I could

It is a mural of George Washington rising as a god. Well, that what the guide said.

This one shows the best look, George is right above the sword. He is draped with a pink blanket 

(or something).  Anyway it was cool.

This picture is pretty well known, it is in all the history books on the signing of the Declaration of Independence 

This is Utah's statue of Brigham Young

Patty and Sister Bishop

I like this one of the Capital

The Reading room in the Library of Congress

The Supreme Court

The back chairs are where the Justices sit

I really enjoyed this tour, it was very interesting

The next three are the Library of Congress

That's the dome with the mural

By the way as we walk to our church building we can see both 

the Library of Congress and the Capital Building

This walk way is just to the left of the walkway where the infamous orange cone was

And That's it, I tell you it was genius.  

I forgot, in the evening we went to dinner with the "Arizona Bunch"

There are several of us from Az. I'd say as many if not more than any other state. Anyway here is a picture of the group. I pointed out the Slade's and Comb's because I wanted to point them out to my family. Steve Slade knows the Coombs, and of course the Slade's

I'm definitely sure their's more to come, until then Keep the faith

17 Oct 2017 Monday out with the team... and an ASL experience.

Yesterday was one of our get togethers with the missionaries / Rock Creek ward activities. As group we headed to Gettysburg, PA. to the battlefield monument, or other venues in the area. Having gone to Gettysburg in Aug of 2015 with Steve and Donna, heading home from our 1st mission, we decided to check out another site. Along with 3 other couples we visited the Eisenhower farm/house. It was interesting although not real elaborate. It's 189 acre farm in the Gettysburg historic site. Apparently Ike, President Eisenhower, loved the Gettysburg area, it was the site of his first command. Not the battle silly, he was commander over a new military training division, the armored tank division. He was there for several years before going to Europe for WWII. Anyway he came back and bought the Reading farm when he retired. That was right before being resigned or better yet, ask by President Kennedy to head up NATO. He and Mamie moved to France then finally came home to the farm. It sold for a whopping $42,000 back then.  Here some pictures:

                                                No flash photography so it's a little dark.
                                                                   Living Room  

                                                                    Ike in uniform

                                                      Sun Room, which was his favorite

                                                            Dinning Room

                                                              1 of a few bedrooms, maybe only 4
                                                                        and servants quarters
     

                                                        Outside in front

                                                      Just some of the acreage

                                                  I said that looks like the tree of Life
                 

                               

                                 The farm used to raise dairy cows, but now raises Angus Beef
                                 

                                                                        Barn

                                                    I liked this old gas pump

                                                The Flag  No taking a knee here

                                                                Putting green

                            Lunch with some of the missionaries, to the right are the Bishop's, behind them are the Juvenal's, across from them are the Snelson's, then Patty and I.

So now for the ASL experience, today at the temple I was in the baptistry and one of the coordinators came looking for me, and said there was a deaf sister going to be at the veil at 12:30 and they wanted me there to receive her at the veil. Here at the DC temple patrons who use another language can decide how much of the other language they want to use. She asked for closed caption in the endowment and ASL (signed) at the veil. I haven't had that experience yet, but they asked me to do it. So I did, my first real at the veil ASL experience! I still need to study and get it down without a card, but I liked it. Still so much to learn. More to come....