Hegsted's Mission - week 75

 31-December-2023-Sunday 

What a busy day, but bunched into two short hours of church meetings. Our drive to Rutland was highlighted again, and listening to another scholar helped us understand the scriptures being read for the week. This week, we moved to the Book of Mormon and listened to Hank and John, with Casey and Scott, talk about the introduction to the BoM.  I loved last month as we finished the New Testament with the Book of Revelation. That book has been made clear by the writings and teachings of Joseph Smith, whom I honor.

Upon arrival, Dede went to the Branch Council to represent President Wendy.  I practiced the organ. I will miss playing the organ when we go home. Although I am anything but an excellent organist, I play as well as anyone in the branch and pray for those who replace me.

The list of hymns provided to me was wrong, and luckily, I did not need to play one of the hymns on the list.  Amelia is adept at picking unknown and, for me, unplayed hymns for the congregation to sing. I am glad to know some hymns that will surely not make the next hymn book will be sung at least one time in one congregation.  

Dede and I were also the speakers for Sacrament Meeting. The bread for the Sacrament was not brought, so we spoke first and enjoyed the Sacrament at the end of the meeting. Dede's topic was "Sir, We Would like to see Jesus," she was marvelous in her thoughts and delivery.  We sang "Angels We Have Heard on High."  This allowed me to point out that the congregation had just listened to an angel address them. I feel that way about her. I am grateful that twice in the Book of Revelation, John is ready to fall down and worship the angel and is told, "See thou do it not for I am thy fellow-servant..." I should fall down and worship the angel who is my wife, but I do not. I will wrest the Scriptures and use these verses as my poor excuse for not paying homage to my angel bride.

Dede was marvelous and set such a wonderful Spirit in the meeting that I was also blessed to speak with the Spirit. I talked about Joseph's birth being close to the Savior's celebrated birthday and how Joseph is a type and shadow of Jesus.  So many events of his life mimic the Savior's life. I then spoke about the Book of Revelation and how it defines the rewards of the covenant path and the joy of being with the "winner" at the end of times and being blessed by the Savior with exaltation.  

We came home, and I worked on blogs. Editing and preparing them for publication.  Dede made a wonderful turkey dinner for us. I did not work on the document today. I took a Sabbath rest from this task and hope it helps me. 

We did not work Sunday as Buswells worked the shortened 2-hour shift, and Monday is a holiday.  We work on Tuesday and then have PDAY.  We change our closing time from 8 pm to 5 pm.  Life will be so simple.  Tomorrow, I hope to work most of the shift and part of the day taking the lights down.  I put up lights and feel obligated to remove and store all the lights I installed. Especially since I tend to wrap lights in the bushes, hindering their removal. I do like the look of wrapped bushes.  

1-January-2024-Monday

Welcome to a new year, and remember to use 2024. We have now experienced all 6 holidays we will have on our mission.  We get Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day off. For the rest of the year, it will be a grind. Life is so hard; I am sure everyone is crying a river of tears.

With the day off, I worked on the document before we left at 12:30 to go to Siloway for a Creamee first. This is the last time they will be open for creamees until spring. The people there are so kind. They are just good Christian people who are fun to visit when we go in to buy ice cream. From there, we drove to Rutland, the third time in three days, to have egg rolls with the Shetltons.  They are so kind to us. We ate and visited for over 3 hours before heading home. Dede had made fruit and vegetable trays. They are a very health-conscious family. Their second son has received his mission call to Argentina; the oldest serves in Brazil, where his dad served. Perhaps the Celestial Kingdom will be like such visits.  Surrounded by the best of people and enjoying good talk.

On the way home, Dede dropped off cookies to the missionaries.  This allowed us to stop at the site and see the lights for the last time this season and probably during our lives. That is a depressing thought. It will be dark when we leave at 5 pm, and the lack of lights will enhance the darkness. I took a few pictures to remind us of the joy the lights have brought us and so many living in the area. I also placed a flashlight behind Dede's stained glass piece (Pocatello temple), which I think is lovely.

2-January-2024-Tuesday

What a great day. Being January, I assumed we might have no visitors. The day started well as I ironed 6 white shirts before leaving for our shift.  Arriving at the site, we began taking down Christmas lights.  Last year, I was told I was expected to take down all the lights I put up. So we started with the two buildings. This involves stepping up and down the ladders and working over the head.  I spent far too much time at the computer editing, as I was stiff and sore. 

Lucky for us, two men came in at 11 pm. One teaches Spanish at a small private college in Pennsylvania.  The other was his student from Vermont. He had brought the student who lives not far away in Barre to the site. The student was attentive to our presentation, and I think he enjoyed the tour, although, by his own admission, he knew nothing about religion or religious things. The instructor bore a wonderful testimony at the end. It is all true and readily available, yet the world passes by, not realizing what they are missing.

We spent the rest of the shift and then stayed until 5 pm clearing the lights off the two buildings and from two bushes we did.  I chose to not work on my document. We have another day's work, or less, to get the rest down. Last year, I spent much more time removing lights than I plan to spend this year. It was cold today, but the sun shone brightly, and it was nice to be outside. 

We were home by 5:20. It felt so early, but this will be normal for late shifts until spring. I was ravenous, and we enjoyed a leftover turkey dinner. I am not hungry now.  Tomorrow, we will go to the temple again.  This is the third time in three weeks, but we want to do a sealing session with the Chopeles couple, and Wednesday is their last day until February. Dede would like to go to the Priesthood Restoration Site and Palmyra in January, so if the weather cooperates, we are gone.

It is hard to imagine a better life. Testifying of Joseph Smith and our Savior Jesus Christ. Living close to Dede. We are truly blessed, even if our hands are stiff and sore from rolling Christmas lights and my back aches from working above my head.  

Three pictures for the day. The first is an excellent reflection on the monument.  The other two are ice crystals. I will miss these. Idaho lacks the ground moisture required to create these crystals.

3-January-2024-Wednesday PDAY

After pictures on Monday and Tuesday, the trend is broken.  We did nothing, of which I took pictures. We went to Boston to attend the temple. The traffic was very light again, and we arrived at 9:10. Instead of taking a nap, like last week, we went directly inside. I did an initiatory session, but Dede sat in the dressing room reading her scriptures. The Endowment Session had fewer people than we had men last week, but the Spirit was the same. The sealing session was also lovely. However, our friends were not there. I hope they are well.  The sealer was slower and carefully invited the Spirit into the session.  Two men from the Lebanon Ward, two ladies from the S. Royalton Ward, Dede and me, and a temple worker. The same group was in the endowment session. I am so proud of the saints local to our area and their zeal for the temple.  We have been in sealing and endowment sessions with all of them and hope to see them in the future. 

We chose to eat lunch at an Italian restaurant and wash our filthy car before heading home. The forecast does not contain precipitation until Sunday, but we are tempting fate by washing the car.  At least it looked suitable for the ride home. 

We stopped for a few groceries and gas in Lebanon.  We purchased gas for $2.97. That is the cheapest gas we have purchased on our mission.  Dede cut my hair upon our return. We let it go way too long over the holidays, and I was feeling like a tramp. 

4-January-2024-Thursday

I awoke this morning and grabbed the spray bottle to manage my morning hair, but due to the excellent haircut yesterday, I did not need to work on my hair. I do love properly cut hair, and Dede does the best job. I have even learned to "happily" tolerate her trimming my eyebrows. It tickles so much that I hate it.  I now merely whine so she will not forget I am there.

I rode the exercise bike a little to meet my New Year's resolution while listening to the BoM in German. That is a twofer.  Two goals at the same time. Then, I worked on the document. Dede finished sewing shirts for Anna and took them to post. I thought I had lost everything due to running out of memory on the computer, but it was saved. I cannot express my relief when it came back up.  While Dede was out, we had a snowstorm. Just a brief flurry, but at least it has the appearance of winter to go with the cold of winter.

We started talking about Church History with Dave McDowell, and after showing him our pictures from building the monument, Dave and I went for a ride so I could show him everything I was learning. He has a copy of my paper with the details, but it was fun to show him things he knew nothing about. Fun because I have spent so much time digging out these details, and better yet because he loves Church History and is the best audience possible.

While Dave and I were roaming in my car looking at sites, Dede managed to talk to 9 different people. She caught most of them outside, but she spoke to them, and we did not get "skunked" for the day. I tried to convince her if I just stayed out of the way, we would have more success, but she did not buy it. I married way above myself and do not get away with that kind of garbage. But I never quit trying to live further below my capabilities. 

We are now home and ready to eat. I need to edit and exercise before retiring. I will also finish my scripture study.

5-January-2024-Friday

Another excellent missionary day. I ironed 4 shirts this morning and still had time to work on the document before leaving for the morning shift. It was only 10 degrees when I looked at my watch app, but it climbed to 14 when we reached the site. I began working on the pink tree, removing its lights. Last year, it was the most challenging tree to do. The branches seem stiffer than other crab apple trees, and the lights do not slip out easily. This tree "loves" the lights and is unwilling to part with them. It may be related to the apple trees in The Wizard of Oz.

Additionally, I wrapped the bottom branches to improve their looks when I did the lights; it just took time. I am happy it is done, and the light strings are rolled. We will remove three other bushes tomorrow and declare victory over the lights. Last year, it was just the Bergers and us doing lights, but this year, the four FM missionaries are working together and making significant progress. It is nice to see the missionaries working together this year. 

We had two couples come in for a tour. One couple had lived in Pocatello and knew Dede's mom, Helen. That was delightful for Dede as the sister remembered something her mom taught her. They were members, and the men were cousins. It was a fun tour, and afterward, they walked down to the foundations. We were just finishing our shift, and three sister missionaries came in with a gentleman just as the Hoopes arrived, so they also gave a tour today. What a blessing to us all.

I have enjoyed listening to a podcast of BoM classes taught at BYU by Hugh Nibley. He is fun to listen to. I recognize many of the tangential items he brings to prove the BoM, but as a college student, I would not have identified most of his comments and wondered when he would talk about the BoM. He mentions the BoM about once every 10 minutes, assuming that the students have the BoM memorized and recognize the same connections he is seeing. I find the class highly entertaining, but I have read everything he has written and attended many other lectures that mention similar backgrounds. I assume he believes his students already know the BoM thoroughly and can spend the time giving background information to prove its historicity. It makes me feel very geeky to listen to him. That may be his charm. He is the ultimate Geek.

6-January-2024-Saturday

I will point out that it is the 6th of January, and we have not had snow since the 20th of December. My chances of seeing a "Vermont Winter" are fading fast with two wimpy winters under my belt. Oh well, it prevents shoveling-related heart attacks.

Normal morning. Will editing ever cease? Perhaps not until Dede's household chores end also. We are expecting our first decent snowstorm after 11 pm tonight. They have canceled church in S. Royalton, and we will need to decide in the morning whether or not to go to Rutland to church. I hate to miss it, but I do not want to be foolish. Also, we have the afternoon shift tomorrow and must be at the site at 1 pm, although I doubt many will be traveling. Vermonters take snow seriously and are willing to stay home if there is snow.

We had thought we would have no one to visit with today. The storm would be too much of a deterrent. I was taking down lights from a tree at the front of the VC and had two cars come in. The people headed to the monument, but I tracked them down like a senior missionary should and talked with them. (Are you picturing the great white hunter stalking his prey? If so, you went too far in your thoughts!) Once I was proven benign, the first couple spent a few minutes with us and even came inside.  The next couple, two women, were glad to be away. Indeed, after these two groups, I was sure we were done for the day, so I walked outside. After finishing my fifth lap, three cars with six young people arrived and headed to the monument. Again, I followed. (I was anything but stealthy this time as they had already seen me walking.)  They were members of a musical band, and their gig had been canceled due to snow. With a few minutes to kill, they stopped because of the sign on the interstate. They were delightful, especially for such a varied group.  They came into the site and asked questions at the restoration board. They were good questions, and it was fun to be there with them. 

It was interesting. We could have missed all three groups had we been inside wrapping lights or working on our projects. Instead, I was outside at the tree observing the first two couples and just coming around the corner to "spy out" the last group. This happens most often when I pray to meet with visitors instead of passively going through the motions. It also helps if I desire, in my heart,  to meet people instead of getting caught up in my documents or Christmas lights.  Go figure. I wonder if I will be held responsible for people I did not visit because I was unprepared to have them come to me? I may gratefully state that Dede always wants to meet and greet people, so she will not be penalized as I will be.