Centerville Branch - Will miss them

A lot has happened.  We are now in Oskaloosa and already done with the courthouse. In the courthouse we filmed from 3 different offices and the attic.  We were set up in a mediation room that had no windows - so it was great for us.  The only problem was that when it was very hot outside 90's to 105 (which has been most of the time), it was very hot in there.  The people were nice though and it went ok.  Our camera equipment had some malfunctions so they sent us new parts.  We hope that eliminates the problems we have been having. 

 The attic was unique.  It had a dirt floor from years of dust and bats etc.  The books have gotten very dirty on the outside, but on the inside the pages are still pretty nice. 

Attic of Courthouse

 We are moving to a living history farm museum to film tomorrow.  That should be fun also.  We will be in a storage area - very close quarters.  The lady in charge is nice and was going to work in Great Falls, but changed her mind.  We will work Tuesday - Saturday.  Fun change.


We went to the corn festival on the square.  The only problem is that the corn harvest is terrible because of lack of rain.  It has been the worst drought in 50 years.  The corn instead of being green and tall is all yellow and brown like it would be in the late fall. 

One of the few that tried to fill with hot air

We went to a balloon festival in Indianola.  Winds made it so they couldn't fly.  We also went to the state fair with the other senior missionaries and had a barbecue and testimony meeting.  It was very spiritual.  It really makes it nice to be able to talk to people who understand what we are going through and to just have fun. 

Famous butter cow

Biggest pig

Famous Chocolate moose

We Love our new apartment. 

We have our own laundry plus two bedrooms.  

We have a king size bed and nice living room furniture. 

 It is a joy to come home and relax. 




We have been having a great opportunity going out with the missionaries.  We are their ride to visit investigators out of town which has allow us some great spiritual experiences.  We get to listen to the spirit and bare our testimonies.  The couple we are visiting are so wonderful and sincere.  We are in a branch with a new church building.  What a blessing.  We got to talk in sacrament meeting which made it my 4th talk since I have been on our mission.  I taught RS Sunday and Ron taught Sunday School a couple of weeks ago.  We have gotten to help with a wedding, a baptism, moving people, and cleaning the church.  There are a lot of people investigating the church which makes the gospel essentials class great.  We have many teachers from the local college here - William Penn, and now the students are arriving.    The people are so varied.  It is a great branch.  The people are nice and loving.

Here are the school kids from Pella Iowa parading in Dutch costumes during the celebration of Tulip Days in this very Dutch city.  Listen to the words of "We are from Pella Iowa".  A heartwarming tribute to midwestern pride here in Iowa.

Can you believe these skies over Corydon, IA before a front moved in.  When I was in the barbers chair he went out to roll his windows up, and then started taking pictures of the sky.  I went and joined him and am glad I did.  This are common in Iowa but not in Montana, to my knowledge.

This is an acrylic I did from our home in Humeston, IA looking at the pond.  I've never painted a scene that took longer, going from snow and bare leaves to grass and leaves on the hickories and oaks.  Sis. Frank from 1st Ward suggested to me that I should post my artwork as I do it.  She has a degree in art from BYU-Idaho and gave me some pointers before our mission.

After watching Dutch descendents wash the streets and then have Dutch dancing and crowning of the Tulip Days Queen at Pella IA we were treated to what seemed like all the school kids from Pella dressed in native Dutch garb.  Listen to their words showing their midwestern spirit.

We're nearly finished at the Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon, IA, having photographed about 10,000 images of probate records weekly(actually weakly initially) since February.  We will move to the local Wayne County courthouse for 3 weeks photographing divorce records and court minutes.  Then off to Oskaloosa.  We will miss our many friends we've made at the museum and at our Centerville Branch.  Finally making some good contacts with less active members.  Will try to put on this blog some video we took at the Pella IA Tulip Festival of school kids singing they were from Pella Iowa all dressed in Dutch costumes.  Place was founded in the 1840's by Dutch immigrants, and they've had a tulip festival for the last 70 plus years.

We are just leaving for work. We will be living in the cottage in June (building see first)

Springtime at the Bed and Breakfast.

Ron eating frogs legs and kimchi. Yuck!

We went to the Nauvoo Temple yesterday. We got to climb to the bell tower. (around 75 spiral steps up.) We were right below the statue of Moroni. The view was beautiful. We went on the spiral staircase 5th floor to the basement floor where the baptismal font is. When at top floor (5th) you can look down all the way to the basement. I climbed a lot of steps that day. I am amazed I could do it

Being pulled by tractor. You can see Mormon Trail

At Mount Pisgah you can see the Mormon Trail, dugouts, a replica of a cabin, ride behind a tractor to see how big an area it was.  See the spring.  He uses wires to find out where graves and cabins are.  It is like water witching and really works.  We tried it, and you can see where small graves were compared to big graves.  It is very interesting.

Mt Pisgah The man in orange owns the land and gives wonderful tours.

Basement filming

Stack of records

Inside entrance area of Museum

Prairie Trails Museum

We are Constantly Learning

Learning it costs more than you think to be on a mission.

Learning how the people love to live in their small towns and have pride in their community.

Learning how to catch mice (4 so far) and not get upset when you see them run across the floor.

Learning that you can get very tired filming records and that it is easy to make mistakes.

Learning that you really need to pray and listen to the spirit for help so that even if you do make mistakes it is ok.

Learning how beautiful it is here in the Spring and that the birds sound wonderful in the morning and evening. They are so beautiful and there are so many varieties.

Learning that going to bed early feels great, although the early morning not so much.

Learning that you can get along without the internet at your home and that it is not so bad to sit in your car on a lonely road in the dark where you can get internet reception to Skype with your children.

Learning the importance of always thinking positively of your partner. This causes us to be happy with one another and enjoy being together. We need that!

Learning that you can get along without stores that you like - although that is a tough one. Corydon has a dollar general, a Pamida, grocery store, an older hardware store, and sort of fast food in the gas stations. If we want to drive (an hour away), there are small walmarts and a couple of fast food places. We have a couple of restaurants and a movie theater owned by the community. (There are other stores such as twice used things and cellular one.)

We had a visitor to our bed and breakfast which really surprised us. Someone would have to drive to see us. This lady was from Humeston about 5 miles away. (Our mailing address says we live in Humeston.) She came by to visit, and she knows the man who owns the MT Pisgah property. She gave us his name etc. so we can have a tour of his property. (Wasn't that nice) She also works at a quaint little cafe in Humeston. We said we would go eat there Saturday. We are glad we did because she was watching for us, and had a veterans present (a mug and hat) for Ron. (Saw our license plate) Every county has a veterans committee mandated by the state to help take care of them. She told us we could easily spend an afternoon in Humeston going to Synders and eating at her place. The food was great. It was a very quaint little place. It had art, pottery, and other things for sale. Their website is www.grassrootsgalleryandcafe.com. The downtown of Humeston is about one block. It has a couple of places to eat and a few stores. The people of southern Iowa really love and have pride in their towns.

Colene and I had our first zone conference yesterday in Des Moines. Lots of great Elders and 4 sister missionaries there. I felt that Iowa was in good hands. These conferences are intended to feed our spirits every quarter, and last from 0930 until 430. Pres. Jergensen presides but speaks only about 2 hours, while others have assignments to teach, including the assistants to the president, the fleet manager, and other missionaries. There was lots of interaction, practicing teaching and answering common questions about and objections to the Book of Mormon. Neither of us feel like we're able to answer a question by having a scripture come to our minds, but it will come as we study more and are worthy of the spirit to direct us.

Last nite I was able to set up a Saturday afternoon with a local history expert on the Mormon Trail our landlord told us about. He was very congenial and talks to about 10 buses of Mormon tourists visiting Wayne County and Garden Grove, specifically, where he is a landowner at this site where a number of cabins were made by the saints. He said the Mormon Trail and the exodus is their history and our(as latter-day saints) heritage. They enjoy the history of the exodus across Iowa as much as we do. We hope to have 3 senior missionary couples come with us as we visit trail sites with this man.

Our first roll of film passed muster, so things are going in the right direction. Our biggest challenge is feeling comfortable enough with light settings to move quickly and be productive. We have lots to film and need to get it done in a timely manner.

The people are very nice here. We were going to pay to go to the dinner for the museum, and they are letting us go free. The museum is not opened so the manager comes in and works extra hours just so we can get the filming done. I don't know if she gets paid extra or not. She has been very sweet and as helpful with everything.

I found a chiropractor, and I am so glad. After two days of standing filming records my back was killing me. (It was all the time since I left Great Falls) Thankfully the manager told me of a great person who is just on the next block - what a blessing and of course I felt I should ask her and I was blessed. I feel a million times better.