Week 8 - Hegsted Mission

 11-September-20222 Sunday:

Oh what a day!  We first drove to Rutland to attend the branch there.  We accepted the callings President Shelton wanted to have us fill after talking with President Ewer.  It is so hard to staff a small branch where people are so spread out.  I feel for him.  We received a ward list by calling and it is amazing how many callings are not filled.  It is obvious we are not taking away opportunities from branch members.  I need to send him a list of Sundays I can teach.  However next week is Stake Conference so we have time.

We started our shift at 2 pm.  It had been slow according to President Ewer, but it did not remain so.  There were times when we had 4 or 5 different groups and it became difficult to keep people separated.  Then at 4 pm, just as it started to slow down, we noticed a tour bus pulling in.  We had not heard from them, but as it is with the Lord's work it fit in nicely with the day.  I liked the way this went.  We took everyone to the monument for a group photo and after the tour leader bore testimony of Joseph the Prophet, I was allowed to address the group with the speaker system that the people had and talk about the monument and the house.  I should note, that the tour leader and President Ewer are good friends from CES days.  We then broke the group in two and Dede and Sister Ewer each took a room in the VC (visitors' center) and taught there for 15 minutes.  This gave people 10 minutes to take pictures and they were back on the bus and on their way.  All in all, much more satisfying than the last bus where we really did not teach anything.

Beyond the tour bus, we had a number of visitors.  Dede took through two sisters from the Rutland Branch who had spoken in Sacrament meeting.  The one a convert of weeks, lived in Vermont moved to California for 10 years and came back and was baptized.  Within two weeks she will move to Pittsburg.  God loves to move people to be in the right place at that right time.  I took through a family of four.  The husband had come in two weeks ago alone as he came out to work and his family followed.  They had a tour and I took them down to the foundations on the golf cart.  They then changed out of church clothes and had a picnic on the hill overlooking the monument staying for over 2 hours.  Dede had two nonmember couples to whom she bore strong testimony.  She is quite the missionary.  One of the ladies on the tour bus told me how much energy Dede has.  This is so true.  I have often wondered why I am always so tired, but it is hard to keep up with the energizer bunny named Dede.

12-September-2022 Monday:

A very busy and full day.  We  began the day with an abbreviated devotional meeting focused mostly on communicating issues for the week.  There is a tour bus coming in on Wednesday morning which will need attention.  More importantly Brother Wilcox texted everyone this morning and seems to be doing somewhat better from the hospital.  He does have pneumonia as well as an infection, so they have been progressively moving him on stronger and stronger antibiotics.  He was more cheerful in the text, but I hope he is careful and does not try to come home too soon.  As a mission, we fasted together for his behalf.

We were all dressed in work clothes.  President Ewer ever one to create a grin came to his door in a facility's shirt, but with his best tie.  We all had a good chuckle.  As a group we then went to the site to remove the annuals from the flower beds.  We will replace these with fall mums, but not on Tuesday  as originally planned as it is supposed to rain.  We were done by 11:30 after moving some perennial plants around for next year.  It was probably the last day of 80+ weather and with a storm coming in, it was very humid and I was drenched in sweat.  President asked us to keep drinking despite our fasting so we would not become dehydrated and thus become sick. 

I remained at the site and first got out the large blower and blew off the sidewalks from the dirt we left behind and then returned to putting up Christmas lights.  I have another day to go on the visitor's center.  Between the heat, the humidity, the fasting and still a lack of water, I was not the most efficient.  Surprisingly it was busy in the morning and we had more people come in at the break so I changed into dress clothes and did two tours and let Dede do several others and take a couple down to the foundations.  She had a couple who said, gosh we will go to the site, but will not learn anything, so we will be in and out.  They spent 2 hours with Dede.  I had the cutest couple with a baby who were so fun.  I also had an older couple who were on a family history tour having found a great grandfather's grave in Canada.  They knew the cemetery and were pleased that his was one of the few headstones that were legible.  It also contained information on two children buried in the same grave.  Their testimonies were powerful.  Being at the site is so fun.

I was absolutely dragging by the end of the shift and we were ready to eat.  Fasting makes one appreciate our dire need for food.  I know that spiritual food is the same, but somehow I have learned to ignore the fact that I am not being spiritually fed.  Maybe this is why we fast?

We set up a temple appointment Tuesday evening.  We will work the first shift and then leave directly for Boston which will allow us to be available to plant mums on Wednesday while the others work with the bus.

13-September-2022-Tuesday:

We had a surprisingly busy early shift.  I had expected to get some video work completed, but at 2 pm when it was time to go to the temple, we had not had a break to even eat a snack for lunch.  That is beautiful.  When we arrived, there was a couple waiting for us.  They had already gone out to the monument and were waiting for a tour,  Both were nonmembers and I told them the tour would be better for them if they asked questions, and they did.  I would guess they spent a total of two hours with us.  They had so many questions about the church from what is a typical church meeting was like, to how that differentiates from a temple session, to how we repent, to why someone would be a member of our church rather than other Christian sects?  It was delightful because they were so full of questions.  They also wanted to know if we were missionaries like the 19 year old bike riding missionaries they had encountered.  They then added that they had asked their questions to the younger missionaries, but they did not have answers for all of the questions.  I just hope they felt the spirit and knew that I knew that what I told them was true.  He also told me he had a triple combination and the book, "Rough Stone Rolling" but he had not read either.  Very interesting.  He led off asking questions, and then she began asking questions and at one point, Dede was answering questions for her and I for him.

Dede took 6 members through during the period.  Four were friends celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries.  They were also delightful and stayed a long time soaking in the spirit.  Thus it was not so much that we had many visitors, it was more that we had visitors stay for a long time.  Interestingly enough, we had a young man about 13 ride in on a bicycle.  Dede gave him a short tour and Sister Ewer said he came back and just hung around listening to the tours as others came in during the afternoon.  Who knows where that will lead?  God has a way of bringing people to the site.

At 2 pm we left for Boston, stopping at Costco and then eating at Subway before enjoying the 6 pm temple session.  We arrived home about 10 pm which is not too bad, but we drove through some pretty heavy rain which was less than ideal, but we were safe and so I thank the Lord.

14-September-2022-Wednesday:

Today is our P-Day.  We arrived at the site at 8 am ready to plant mums to replace the annuals we pulled up on Monday.  The FM manager was out sick and we had a tour bus scheduled to come in at 10:30 so they debated waiting on the flowers.  Dede and I convinced them that we should at least take the flowers to the beds and begin arranging them and then we could work on the bed at the entrance and not disturb anyone.  We had 400 mums to get planted.  We managed to get flowers to all the beds (two FM people had to go and pick up the remainder of the order) before the bus arrived, thus the beds did not look completely bare for the visitors on the bus which arrived right on time and which President and Sister Ewer took care of the bus alone.

We planted the flowers in the entrance gardens and then went to lunch.  After lunch Dede and I allowed the others to make the important decisions on how the plants should be arranged in the beds.  Since the beds along the path in front of the monument were already arranged we began planting and keeping our heads down low.  By the time all the plants were arranged we had finished that task and had begun working on the beds around the monument which had the largest number of flowers. Everyone then pitched in to begin planting and we finished by 3:30 pm.  It was good we helped.  Brother and Sister Wilcox were not there as he is still in the hospital so we were able to fill in for them.  Sister Buswell  was also involved, she arranged the flowers at the monument and close to the VC.  She then helped with planting.  Her husband is having back issues so he led tours with the Ewers.  All in all a great time was had by all.

Best of all, I got to drive two of the gators, which are John Deere four wheel drive utility vehicles.  Who could ask for more fun in one day?

Beds before pulling annuals, then bare and then with mums.  Sorry I did not show the same location in all three pictures.  Note, that the mums are not yet fully blooming so the color is still drab.

    

Me driving the Gator:

Brother and Sister Davies from Ammon, Idaho ran camp Joseph this summer as service missionaries.  Before leaving to take their son home, he carved statues of the site Elders.  I will show you my bust.  Dede also got a Christmas ornament.  They are special people whom we quickly learned to love.  It was as if they were just part of the JSB mission.  Being a missionary is absolutely the best.  At least when your health is good as Dede and I have enjoyed.

15-September-2022-Thursday:

This was a very different day for Dede and I.  We arose early (for us who have learned to sleep in to 7:30 with our later shift) to go to the Tunbridge 150th World's Fair.  This is an amazing fair.  It is held after the state fair held in Rutland and always is held 10 days after Labor Day.  Tunbridge has approximately 1350 people and thus is much the same size as Aberdeen, Idaho.  Thus the pure audacity to proclaim their fair a World's Fair is amazing and the turnout is also amazing.  They have fields around the fairgrounds that are used for parking and this morning I would guess there were 50 school busses.  Thursday is school day and thus they are encouraged to come.  One large section of the fair is a museum with many actors portraying the arts of early 1850 to 1900 life in Tunbridge and Vermont.  We saw a blacksmith, a weaver, a quilter, a spinner, an organist on a pump organ, a post office-where we mailed postcards postmarked Tunbridge world's fair, running gas and steam engines running working lumber equipment, a military unit (looked like Civil War era), men hewing a beam from a log with axes and broadaxes, cooks using an open fire, a person drilling logs used for outside plumbing, and more that I can not remember.  This on top of the normal township (this is smaller than a county fair) animals, plants, foods, textile work, etc. that was being judged as one would expect at any fair.

We wandered the food booths.  We came back for dinner after our shift so we had BBQ, tacos and fries for lunch with a desert of fired apples (like French fries using apples) and in the evening at steak sandwiches with more fried apples.  Like Blackfoot, fair food is always good.

In the morning we watched oxen pulling logs through an obstacle course.  It is set up to show what it would have been like for oxen (always two in the contest making it harder than one) to remove logs from the forest getting through obstacles of trees, making turns and going over a bridge.  Thus one sees the skill of the handlers and the oxen.  Many of the oxen were very young and at the end the teamster was a youth. I found it fascinating.  We also watch horse pulling sleds with increasing weight, until a champion is declared.  At the end it is by measurement of who pulled the heaviest load the furthest.  Six foot and over is not measured, but when 6 foot is not made, it is measured.

In the evening, we came back to watch the famous pig races.  The proprietor sounded like an auctioneer.  He is paid to be there, but he also allows people to gamble on the pigs. The first two races were very competitive using young pigs under 100 pounds.  For each race, he chose a cheer leader for each of the 5 pigs and the kids wanted so much to be a cheer leader as the winner was given "pig" prizes.  Thus the kids were into it.  For the third race, he chose adults.  I was standing quietly to avoid detection and was chosen, so since we were cheering on pot-belly pigs I stuck out my belly for all to see.  This last race was different.  The pigs were 6 years old and meandered around the track.  Luckily my pig did not win, but at least if finished the race and I was not invited to go up to the grandstand to claim my prize.  Although he may have been impressed that I came from Idaho to watch his pigs race.

The site was slow.  We had two women a member and a nonmember.  The nonmember was a historian who told us that Vermont was actually a republic independent of the USA from 1777-1791 when it became a state.  This is the heritage of the Green Mountain Boys and Ethan Allen.  With the colonies, they fought the British, but they felt their main enemy was New York who wanted to steal their land and make them buy it again or give it to the cronies of the politicians.  Sounded familiar.  She gave me a book to read, which was short and which I have nearly finished.  It includes history, but also plugs the conservative, patriotic leanings of these early Vermonters.  One senses that today.  I spent several hours organizing pictures and videos into broad categories so I can begin working on more videos for the site.  

Sorry, I took mostly videos and Marco Polos of the fair.

The queen of the fair arrived with me, so I took her picture.   From the print shop.

Up to 500 lb gourds and melons.  

Early Ice saw and other equipment.  Look out Olaf.

Block and Tackle picture I can use at site

Oxen preparing for the contest.  The size differences in the oxen was amazing.

16-September-2022-Friday:

What a difference a day makes.  We had people waiting for us when we arrived for our shift at 10 am and although we stayed late to help out Buswells, we were busy the entire shift.  Five ladies from Phoenix were already at the monument when we arrived.  I gave them the full tour plus a trip to the foundations.  They were marvelous.  At the same time, Dede had a family; the man leads the CES tours for seminary and institute teachers and is the area CES director, which was a little intimidating for Dede although he was so kind.  We had a family from Nampa, who knew Sheena and Sarina Labrum.  That was fun.  I also took them down to the foundations.  Dede had a wonderful young family who she took to the foundations, while I had a family of five more with a nonmember thrown in.  President and Sister Ewer came over to help as we had an area authority (Nathon D Pace) and his wife and they wanted to take them, while I picked up another couple who were service missionaries working at headquarters in military relations.  It was another day without a break.  I did not need to worry about either videos or hanging lights during our spare moments.

17-September-2022-Saturday:

Oh, were Dede and I blessed today.  Sometimes, when I have a moment to reflect on how blessed we are to be serving here at the JSB (Joseph Smith Birthplace) I am nearly overwhelmed, by the kindness of our loving God.  I had Dede drop me off early at the site so I could work on Christmas lights.  It was slow all morning at the site until about noon when a ward from Boston whose members were camping at Camp Joseph all (54) descended on the site at one time.  The Buswells split them into two groups, but I noticed a couple that were not part of the group and had been missed and even though I was in work clothes, I went and visited with them and shared with them some of the history of the site.  

The best experience of the day came when Dede had come to pick me up for lunch.  There was a young man who was wandering alone, so Dede who was dressed better than I, engaged him.  He just wanted pictures, but she said let me give you a short history of what you are seeing.  He was very interested and so I joined in.  In our discussions he told us that he was a Hospice Chaplain.  Having dealt with these, Dede immediately recognized him for the great service he is performing.  He works under a member of the church and she along with several nonmembers had suggested he come to the site.  Our discussion became somewhat extended when in response to our question about what more we should share, with him he asked us how he should treat members of our church as they are in their final moments and facing eternity.  I offered that we believe that they will pass through the veil and be met by family members and that would give them comfort.  Dede inspired by the Spirit then added, "if they are seeing these members before passing, let them know it is okay to go with them."  This opened up a great discussion.  He told us that he had to make a decision in such a case (of seeing people) of whether people were having a spiritual experience or hallucinating so he could help the doctors and Dede assured him if the experience was calming it was surely a spiritual experience.  He then paused and asked if he could share a story.  When he was training to become a Chaplain in Ohio, his grandfather was in the hospital.  They were having a Zoom meeting and grandpa said, it is time to leave me alone so I can die, so the call ended, but he lived on.  At Christmas the young man was able to visit with the grandfather who feared death and asked if his grandson could have God send him an angel so he would not die alone.  The young man was taken back, but said he would pray and ask God for that blessing.  Shortly thereafter, the grandpa called his own wife at 2 am, awakening her and announced that there was a glorious being (his angel) in his room and that the angel was telling him it was time to go with him.  Grandpa hung up the phone while his wife was yelling that he should hang on until she could get to the hospital.  He said it was such a great comfort to him and his family to know grandpa had his angel come for him.  I doubt this young man could share this story with many people. He even admitted that he often doubted the existence of God and Angels, but in the safe confines of the site, he felt safe in sharing and we could express our appreciation for his testimony.  Funny thing about the young man.  Had he been behind a curtain, I would have thought we were talking to Anna's friend Ben.  They sound so much alike.  The same sincerity in voice and the voice inflections.  And just to prove he was truly a kindred spirit to Ben, he then asked for a picture with us and wanted to give us both hugs.  God is so kind to us and to this young man who is doing a wonderful service to so many people.

When we returned to the site, we were busy the whole afternoon.  We had several people stop because there was a traffic jam to the Tunbridge fair.  God moves in a mysterious way to allow people to enjoy the Spirit of this holy place.  Two men that came in had been to several church sites.  I think there are numerous people who are like professional investigators.  They may not want to change their lives, but they want the Spirit that comes with missionaries and dedicated sites and find themselves there again and again.  We also took a family through from Boston.  He was absolutely a sponge wanting to soak up knowledge.  He would ask questions and when I gave him references he could pursue, he would write them down.  

 We ended the day with 107 visitors.  This is an amazing number when compared to the 7 we had on Thursday.