Hegsted's Mission Week 96
26-May-2024-Sunday
I did not play the organ today, Sister Moser's daughter played instead. I was broken-hearted. Amelia picked two hymns, I had not heard before and I received a reprieve. Note, by the time you receive this, this Blog, 10 new hymns will be released by the Church online. Also note, that by the time you read this, Dede and I will be deep cleaning our apartment and beginning to make packing decisions. That is a weird thought.
Primary was so fun. Sister Moser had 7 grandchildren visiting and Dede ran primary as the president and chorister were away. Dede was amazing. As I write this blog, I am still exhausted after watching her bring this group of children together to sing their hearts out. She sent for Sister Moser, to allow her to watch this spectacle of her grandchildren singing. I married a wizard who is also a saint.
We were very busy at the site. At least half of our 20+ visitors were nonmembers. We did not have a group larger than 3. But they came in and came in so we were busy the entire 2.5 hours of our shift. What a joy! This final month of our mission should be busy and I am grateful.
We changed and drove to Barre (sounds like berry) to hike the Grand Lookout Trail with Anna. We have often hiked this trail which leads along the tops of the granite quarries. Today we saw youths jumping from the cliffs into what must be nearly freezing water. There are signs prohibiting this, but who can enforce it? The sign does provide some relief from lawsuits.
With temperatures in the upper 70's hiking in the shade was delightful. Amazingly, the granite holds cold air and as you walk by granite piles, the temperatures drop dramatically making the hike even more pleasant. We took Backroads home and had leftover roast beef dinner. Yum!
Danielle's family is staying in our home. They decorated graves yesterday and ate with Jon. We received fun pictures of five of our grandchildren together. That was a treat.
27-May-2024-Monday
Relaxed day. We had our meetings this morning and I came home and walked for an hour to make my 10,000 steps. We met Roni at 1:30 at the Church. He showed Dede and me how to dowse for water. We started using a bent piece of metal. He took us to the berm by the Waters of Mormon and we both detected the outlet pipe running water below us. We repeated it numerous times. He then sent us in another direction to look for "unknown" water sources. It was amazing to watch the metal turn in my hand and then repeat the operation, and see it work the same way at the same spot., I closed my eyes so I could not see the place in the rock I had found before and it led me to the same spot.
Roni then cut a branch to use as a sprout or dowsing rod. When he passed the correct place you could see the rod pull down hard in his hands. I struggled using the branch dowsing rod. Roni suggested dowsing takes practice. He said maple and apple branches were his favorite to use. We then went up to the site. There is a well, but Roni said it should be 100 feet down the hill from its present location. Not only would it have been easier to get the truck there, but it would have produced more water. I found the "better" well site with my metal rod and watched Roni find it with his sprout.
We walked around the site talking about different things. President Nielson came out and Roni showed him how to dowse. With President Nielson, Roni took the sprout in one hand and had the President hold the other branch while they held hands to make a connection. It was interesting to watch the sprout bend down and to see it move in both their hands.
I have always believed dowsing was possible, but I had not seen it work. Roni clearly stated one cannot do dowsing for profit and get inappropriate answers. We will not make it part of our tour or anything like that, but it was interesting to watch.
While I was playing with Roni, Dede had a wonderful family from southern Utah. They were delightful. We had another steady stream of people, both members and nonmembers. God is so kind.
28-May-2024-Tuesday
Such a fun day! We worked the morning shift and had over 30 people come in. The first group walked in before 10 am, we had no time for lunch and were kept busy until almost 2:30 before the last group Dede was leading was finished. The Neilsons had come over at that time and were leading two groups. It is a stark contrast to days when we had no visitors.
Several groups stand out in my mind. Unfortunately, I cannot describe some groups Dede had but with whom I had no interaction. I had 2 groups, three, and one of the nonmembers came at nearly the same time, The three were a father and two daughters from S. Royalton. It is unusual to get locals who want a tour. I talked about the monument's history and they wanted more, so I took them inside and told them Joseph's history from the restoration. At this point, we were joined by a young man from Washington DC. He wanted to know more after the three left. He told me he had visited SLC and talked to members there. He had excellent questions. He wanted to know if there were other Church sites. I used the board to discuss different Church sites. He said he had a week of vacation and would probably visit the NY, Pennsylvania, and Ohio Sites. He appears to be seeking. He had a Book of Mormon but had not read it. I introduced the BoM App with its videos and explanations. He seemed to be searching and I hope he allows the Spirit to speak to him.
We had two wonderful families. I will mention one. The oldest daughter was rebelling. She looked uninterested or kept her head down like she was asleep. Her siblings were marvelous. The younger brothers carried her on their shoulders and backs to make her smile and keep her engaged. It would be hard to imagine anyone being more supportive than they. As they left, I could not help but think, "Have your rebellion, ask your hard questions, but do not allow the world to scar you. The world wants to take young people and desecrate them and she was opening herself to those who destroy.
We came home, changed and loaded our luggage and Anna, and were off. We ate lunch in the car and drove directly to the Basin in New Hampshire. We approached from the North and hiked northward which we had not done before. We then hiked into the Basin and its many cascades and flumes. This is Dede and my fourth trip here and Anna's second. It is all familiar and yet each trip is unique and special. I could not help but feel nostalgic knowing we will not return again.
Dede found another small hotel with a cottage, providing two small rooms for sleeping. This might have been the best hotel she has identified. We ate dinner and had great hamburgers. Outside, they had a small locomotive so I posed for pictures.
Dede knows how to make the most of a day. We planned two nights in the Franconian Notch, but a tour was scheduled for 9 am on Thursday; we canceled the hotel for the second night. God is good and we managed to do everything and return home by 8 pm, saving us money and blessing us with a fun day.
We were out by 7:50 and at the base of Mount Washington by 8:30. We (including Anna) took the Cogwheel train up Mt Washington. This is the first Cog Wheel train to climb a mountain in America. The builder and owner wanted to make a safe method to get to the top of Mt Washington, the highest peak in New England and the focal point of three major and 7 minor storm tracks. It is known for extreme weather and we were not disappointed. The train took us into the clouds and we stepped out into 45 mph winds. The humidity covered our glasses and made our coats as wet as if it were raining. Regardless, the ride-up is entertaining as the brakeman tells stories both ways. We had an hour at the top but were forced inside several times to get warm. We did manage a few foggy pictures. I also took a few before we entered the clouds.
As we hiked out, Dede said, I wonder if we can do the tram up Cannon Mountain. Before leaving the parking lot, she had tickets for the 3 pm tram and we were off. Cannon Mountain is within the Franconia Notch State Park and is run by the Park. One can ride the tram most days of the year. At the top is a trail to the observation tower (also a transmission tower) that provides stunning views of Canada, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. It was not perfectly clear, but an improvement over Mt Washington for viewing, although it is 2000 feet lower. The tram operators answered our questions making it more delightful. After walking over an abandoned bridge, named after a former governor (not sure of the meaning) we headed home after stopping at a diner.
30-May-2024-Thursday
We had over 100 young people come in two buses this morning. The Liberty Tour group is great. It was organized 50 years ago and the group running it now has done so for 17 years. They do American History and Church History. They have plenty of chaperones and do a great job with the young people. I would send a grandchild on this tour if they wanted the experience, although they would probably not know anyone. Over 20 already had mission calls, including 3 young women. We had a tremendous time.
Spent several hours catching up on the blog. I did not take my computer with me and so I was behind.
We had three groups this afternoon. We had a father and son. He is an MD/PhD student at Suny upstate New York and is attending the Syracuse Ward, where Anna attended. It was fun for Dede to ask about people there. We had a wonderful tour with them. The father had lived in S. Royalton for a period, while his BYU professor, father did research on Joseph Smith. He was trying to bring his 7-year-old experience into the present. Much has changed in 50 years, especially the trees that separate the Church and the monument.
Two young ladies came in about 4:50 and requested a 20-minute tour. They were nonmembers with questions. Dede took these girls and they did not stop asking questions until 6:15. According to Dede, they had wonderful questions. Although I selfishly wanted to walk, I think Dede alone probably allowed the intimate conversation that they felt comfortable asking their questions and listening to what Dede had to say. What a blessing. Dede is so good with people.
I visited briefly with a family, grandma, daughter, and two granddaughters. They live in Royalton and now have a tradition of visiting the site when a child is born. They do not know what brings them to the site, but they love it. I did my best to let them know they were always welcome to enjoy the peace found there.
Sadly, tomorrow, we take Anna to Boston so she can catch the very early flight on Saturday morning. We will miss her. However, Dede is entering "clean mode." We will work our shifts until Tuesday morning, June 25th, when we will do a bus tour with CES people at 8:30 and then leave. As such, Dede is concerned that we have the apartment presentable since the Cooks could arrive that afternoon leaving no time for the FM missionaries to come in and clean. I am oblivious to what needs to be done, but Dede will help me "see."
I am excited that we have new hymns released. I have made copies of each for prelude music on the organ so I can become familiar with them. These hymns will be a great addition.
31-May-2024-Friday
Another wonderful shift is in the books. We had two families that were so fun. Both traveling from Utah and bringing a wonderful Spirit to the site. Each testimony born at the site adds to the Spirit of the site.
I hope at some time after death to have an opportunity to review the wonderful people who came to the site, and again bask in their Spirit. I would like to know what brought them to the site. What they felt and how their testimony was enlarged.
President Neilson visited with us. Each President has his mission to perform. The Eweres cleaned up years of old records, some of which contained unverified information. The Buswells brought a calming influence to the site after the necessary departure of the Ewers. President Neilson is an executive by training and is looking at missionary apartments and reporting issues back to the Historical Department. It is interesting, we have a "nice" apartment if one looks at its size and clothes washer/dryert plus a dishwasher. However, beds are old as well as furniture. I expected this as a missionary, but the President feels missionaries have already sacrificed to come and should not live in "poverty." It will not impact us, but it would be nice to see standards set for apartments and to know what missionaries need to buy and what should be supplied. We could afford a new vacuum but some missionaries could not.
We picked up Anna and made our final pilgrimage to the Nubble Light House in Maine. It is so magnificent. No one needs to wonder why it is painted so often. We found a new fish restaurant for dinner and were in Boston by 9 pm. We slept until 4 am, took Anna to catch a flight, and drove home, missing Boston's traffic.
In hindsight, it would be cheaper to have Anna fly into Lebanon and avoid the travel and hotel costs of Boston. But it lengthened our time with Anna.
1-June-2024-Saturday
It was a confusing day. Driving home at 4:30 am and sleeping for three hours made it feel like we had two days in one. Still, it was great to have Anna with us.
We had a good afternoon at the site. It had been slow and we did not have visitors until 3:39, but then ended the day with 20 guests. When we finished, we went ot the Neilsons for icecream to celebrate the Brown's arrival to the mission and to meet them. We get only the best people in our mission and nothing has changed with the arrival of the Browns.
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