Undecidedly December

 

Week 12: (December 1-7)

Looking out from our front door, the grass is somewhat green.

 It is the first week of December and where has the snow gone?  As you will see by the pictures this week, much of the snow has melted and we are having a warm spell while Utah is getting blasted with snow and record-breaking cold temperatures!


Sunday we went to regular Church and then straight to the Memorial to open up.  With the new schedule, we were the only ones on schedule today.  We had quite a few guests and then just as it was getting dark, there were lots of cars that came and then just drove through.  I’m guessing they were mostly members who just wanted to see the lights.

 

 

 

 Monday  -    December 2, 2013  -   Back to the late shift again but pretty busy as people came for family home evening.  Tonight’s program was different and we didn’t have a full dinner, just refreshments in the office (still pot luck) so some of the “ladies” didn’t get to fill a grocery bag with the left-overs.  Home evening was earlier as we needed to be ready for cider and cookies for those who came to see the lights/animals and actually stopped and came in.  I volunteered to go to the visitor center,  It was pretty quiet most of the night so I just read a book and watched prior years Choir Christmas programs.  It was pretty relaxing and easy going.

Getting ready to start FHE

Wednesday   Back to the morning shift.  It was pretty quiet today.  One of the ladies that came was a convert of two years from France.  She had been to the US for 2 months.  She said she rented a car in California and had been to all the Church History spots.  After the tour, she sat in the theater (alone) and watched a couple of Church movies.  She was just on her own with no timeline so just was taking it easy.  I also visited with a couple who just moved to Tunbridge from New York.  They started asking quite a few questions and said they would come back and go through the visitor center.  They could hardly believe the Monument had been erected for 108 years.

                Friday, Dec. 6  The weather was fairly good so we took a trip to Burlington to go to Costco.  It didn’t seem like we bought too many essentials but easily spent $150.00.  We did make a stop t Christopher and Banks and Rhonda found a few things so I hurried and put them away so now I have a Christmas present.  All in all, it was a fast but nice trip.  The evening shift at the Memorial was really a good night.  There were 77 people who stopped in to see the animals and have a cup of warm cider and a cookie.  We were not really rushed but had just enough time to visit with those who came and find out if they  would be interested in hear more about the gospel.

November: Prayer of Thanksgiving

Week 11 (Nov. 24-30)

Sunday seemed almost like a Holiday.  New Snow on the ground and Rhonda took Sister Shefchick to choir practice while I came later with Bro Shefchick.  After the block meetings, we didn’t have any assignment or anyplace to go so ended up going back to the apartment and just relaxed, saw some TV games and some reading.  I guess I will start reading the Work and the Glory over again.

            Monday, November 25, 2013   It was pretty cold walking this morning.  Don’t know what the temp is but didn’t get above 19 degrees yesterday so it was cold.  As soon as we got to work for the afternoon shift there were two cars that came together.  They were of the same family and traveling together but from North Carolina and New Hampshire.  One of the families had a foreign exchange student from France.  Between the families there were 15 people in the group.  At the end of the tour, one of the Fathers thanked me for the nice tour and said he had been there 5 or 6 times and had never heard as many details as he heard today.  He thought it was great and it made me feel good!   --  Before we gathered for Home evening, I along with Elder Johnson gave a blessing to  brother Van Bennett.  He is a regular Church attendee but still having problems with the word of wisdom.  There were not as many people to Family Home evening as usually attend.   After the meeting we hurried home where I watched BYU in a tournament in Kansas City.  They ended up pulling it out in the end but was a great game to watch with many lead changes and almost 20 tie scores.

The FM missionaries brought the Poinsettias the day before Thanksgiving.  They were the final and important aspect for the Christmas decorations.  It took our entire shift getting them arranged that day.

  

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at the Director's Residence (Johnsons) with the other 4 missionary couples.  It was a delicious meal and a very enjoyable day.  I took pumpkin pie and fruit salad.

THANKSGIVING, Thursday, November 27, 2013.  Today was supposedly our day off but no such thing.  We went back to the Memorial for Thanksgiving Dinner with the other four couples at 1:00pm.  We have a very lovely dinner and then we played Sally Dyches ”dice game”.  Turned out to be a different version of some type of white elephant gift thing but it was fun anyway.  I certainly ate more than I should have.  When we got back to the apartment I started working on some “book” work and paying some of the monthly bills that had arrived as well as a couple more football games on the TV.

Taking home left-overs was funny because we look like some of the FHE people every week .

Christmas Lights and Live Nativity Pageant

Friday night, November 29, the Christmas lights were turned on following a life Nativity Pageant.

The manger is on the hill under the star

Our stake (Montpelier) was in charge of the program that night then it was repeated on Saturday night with the Concord New Hampshire stake.  Those two nights were the coldest it has been all year.  The young people in the pageant, as well as the hundreds of spectators were all freezing to death.  Everyone was anxious for warm apple cider and donuts that we served after the program.  (It warmed up significantly the following week).


Friday, November 29   -  Today marks the beginning of our Christmas Lights as the Memorial.  As a result our shift changes for the next month or so.  We started with the long shift today, from 1:00pm to 9:00pm.  We had lots of visitors to give tours to during the daytime and then in the evening we hosted a Live Nativity for members of the Montpelier Stake.  One of the members brought her sheep and a donkey to go along with the “real” people who took part.   We served hot cider and apple cider donuts to all who came.  We tried to count but with the people going between both buildings it was more like a guess.  We estimated there were 450 guests here just in the evening.  I was working in the Visitor Center when up comes this man and gave me a big hug.  It was Earl Wright from Midway.  We knew he had family here but didn’t know where.  He was to the lighting with his daughter and after visiting with them we found the daughter is the wife of the Stake President, President Weeks (we found out he used t live in Walsburg).  Anyway it was good to see him but it also seemed like a long day and we were both very tired.


 

Johnsons brought many nativities from around the world to display

November: Nice 'n Nippy

Week 10  (Nov. 17 - 23)

The main activity for this week has been putting up Christmas decorations at the Visitors Center and the Johnson's Residence.  We have still had a few tours each day during our shift and Elder Ogden has done most of them.  He is an amazing missionary.

The tourists have definitely slowed down with the colder weather.  I don't think we have had as much snow as Utah and everyone comments on the nice Fall weather this year.  However, the morning temperatures and the North wind are positively COLD!


The weeks seem to zoom by with our routine schedule and a few variations.  Here is a run-down of this past week:
     Monday - Family Home Evening group
     Tuesday - Decorated Visitors Center
     Wednesday - Decorated Johnson's house
     Thursday - Took a road trip with Sister Shefchick. 

This is Mac Niel's account:
Thursday morning we were up early as we were asked to accompany Sister (Judy) Shefchick as she did inspections for missionary apartments.  Rhonda went into the apartments with her and said that some of them were pretty bad.  She didn’t think missionaries should be living in such bad places.  I guess I was just along for the ride.  We went to apartments in West Rutland and Rutland VT (plus supplies to the Chapel), Crown Point New York, and Middlebury VT.  Also made a little backtrack to a WalMart to buy a few supplies (mops, garbage cans, blinds, etc) for missionaries along the way.  I was really impressed with the Liberal Arts College in Middlebury.  They really had some fancy buildings and quite a few of them.   Finally got back to the apartment about 5:30 (well after dark).  Judy tried to show us a new Joseph Smith Memorial Sign she was responsible for getting erected along  Interstate 89 but it was too dark to really see it good.  
 

Sister Shefchick has worked over a year for this sign

 

Elder Simpkin brought investigators to see JSBM

It was nice to have the sun shinning

I still love to see the glowing reflection on the Monument