Our final day in our assignment. . .

Our driest day here, yet! Both from the rain and from the territory! LOL

Diane & Dana did come out into Lamberton with us today! :) It was so fun to have them join us. Oh...and I made it out, by the way!!! Jehovah truly accomplishes miracles! :)

Anyway, we went to town to see what more of that we could get done. Didn't finish it all, but we certainly were happy to get done what we did. Surprisingly, we had more NH's today than any other day since we've been here, and yet having a couple more people with us breathed new life into the day!! :)

After service, Dana drove us to show us the most expensive place for sale in Springfield...$235,000(?).....HUGE house!!! (They've all done a bang up job of working on getting us to move here....LOL) Then we all came back to the houses. We came in & layed down for a rest/nap. After that I started prepping laundry, and we started cleaning, since we'll be departing tomorrow!!! :(

For dinner, we all went to New Ulm to a Chinese place. Then we came back to Dana & Diane's, and the guys watched a DVD of a comedian, and Diane helped Chatelaine and Myranda to make earrings! So fun! :)

We're going to miss this place, and we'll miss our new family even more!!!

Making more of dent. . .

As dauntingly big as this territory is to us city-dwellers, we did indeed make more of a dent today. We worked a little more in Lamberton. More wonderful conversations, more Teach books (Bible-study-aids) placed, and even though we had plenty of NH's, it feels so good to at least leave behind a personal not regarding the purpose of our visit along w/a few other things in an envelope for the homes. You never know who may read that and be touched enough to be moved to want to study God's word. :)

We did end up connecting with Rachelle and got to work with her for a couple of hours this afternoon. She was gracious enough to do all the driving while we were out on the farms. We visited a farm that had llamas today! Very cool! And one w/several peacocks, their squawks reminding us of the peacocks that live near our KH in Carlsbad. :)

We wrapped up service by 5 today, because we'd been invited up to a the home of one of the families from the congregation in Redwood Falls for dinner. Rick & Deb Halvorson had us and a few others. . .Rusty, Lori, Wyatt & Elijah; Tabitha & her cousin Jessie; Collin & Andy. How grateful we are they took the time to have us over and that we got to know them! I know it can be crazy working, service, meetings, etc....and then to have complete strangers over for a gathering too! So kind! After we all ate, the kids all went down to the basement and played Apple to Apples (eventually), while the rest of us sat around and became fast friends! :)

When it came time to leave, Collin half-kidding/half-seriously asked if he might get a ride in our Mustang before we left town, so I kicked the girls out of the car (they'd already snuggled into the backseat) and took Collin, Andy & Elijah for short ride down the road w/the top down! That was fun! :)

Tomorrow is our last day to be able to work the territory, and I think Dana & Diane are going to join us. Of course, all this week has caught up w/me so that my health is such that I, personally, will only be going out by sheer holy spirit, so should you read this tonight, please pray that I can support the work tomorrow. :)

Missing everyone back home! <3

Short service day w/a little fun mixed in

Ok, exhaustion has totally beat us all! We could barely get out the door by 10 this morning. Even the wee bairns (kids) are tired!!!!

Anyway, it really was cloudy today, but dry, so Bryan was determined we would head back to try some farms. We girls weren't too convinced this would be the greatest idea w/how much rain has been here the last couple days. Well, it was worth a shot, but indeed we were slipping all over those gravel roads, so back in to Lamberton we headed. We had a very nice day! Lots of door-to-door, lots of conversations, even Myranda was able to place a book. Chatelaine was determined to do so as well, but at the door she planned to claim as hers, this Gothic-looking girl came outside, and Chatelaine got scared, so I spoke up. The girl was skeptical at first, but very nice and listened and was interested enough to want a Bible study aid, so I placed the book with her. :)

Since we're all so tired, and the girls have been super-troopers w/all the travel and time in the ministry so far, we decided to take them to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum (Little House on the Prairie stuff) in Walnut Grove in the later afternoon. We all got a kick out of that. Check out our prairie family photo! :) LOL We also had lunch in W.G. @ Nellie's Cafe. May that never happen again! Yikes! Without too many details, suffice it to say, we have figured out that just because one orders lasagna and thinks one knows what that dish is, does not mean it is translated the same everywhere. YIKES!

Ok, so came home from that museum and Myranda and I conked out so fast, you'd have thought we were drugged or something. We both slept for over two hours too! Bryan & Chatelaine went to the park. This evening we had our FWE, which we included practicing songs for Sunday's meeting. We love to sing! :)

Hard to believe, but we only have two days left in our assignment!! Tomorrow, one of the sisters from the congregation had said she'd like to join us, so I'm hoping that works out. I'm having the darndest time finding the phone number of Mabel so that I can get the number of Rachelle and make the arrangements. Stinkin' sometimers has claimed my brain this day. Hoping tomorrow is not quite so bad. LOL

Plan A. . .no Plan B. . .no Plan C. . . Is there a plan????

Today was THE most disjointed day! I think all the travel is catching up with us, because we all woke up a bit late...therefore, we were out the door late, but we made it out! Woo hoo!


Ok, so our intention today was to head to Wanda (teensy town of like 100(?) people) and then head to Lamberton. Why Wanda? I'm glad you asked....ok, so remember Mabel that picked us up for meeting last night? Ok...so she volunteers at the Wanda Mall...a place we were told you walk in, donate $1 and take what you like. Today was her one day to volunteer during our visit, so we thought we'd venture there first, then work that town (it is in our assignment) and then head to Lamberton to continue working because we'd woken up to a wet day.

Ok...so, we arrive at the Wanda Mall (see pic) and it's a tiny building. It used to be a Catholic school. It's a wonderful concept of a place. . . second-hand stuff, donated, and you can come take what you like by just helping "keep the lights on" with your $1 donation. Y'all know me....I'm not a big fan of "stuff", so I barely skimmed the stuff. Myranda & Chatelaine, though, had fun looking at the purses, belts, etc... Chatelaine walked away w/4 purses, and Myranda a purse & a book. Not too shabby for $1, right?

Our plans for working the ministry in Wanda were foiled from the get-go, though. The day of our visit, there was a funeral of one of the local fireman that had passed away from cancer, and the whole town was in attendance to be sure. We left that town for the group that is expected in July.

So...off to Lamberton we headed. Naturally, just as we arrived, the wet turned to pouring rain. :( We really hadn't planned for so much rain here, as the weather we had seen predicted for our visit was "cloudy" w/one day of "cloudy w/chance of showers". We figured one umbrella would cut it, since only 2 of us would be working a door at a time on the farms. Ok....so how were we supposed to know that "cloudy" meant "pouring rain"???? There was no way we could go door-to-door w/4 people and one umbrella without making a bad impression on so many levels....the least of which being that at least two of us would be looking the part of drowned rats vs. witnesses of Jehovah!

SOOOOOOO.....we had to procure more umbrellas! So we headed to the nearest Wal Mart (40ish miles away). While in that town, we stopped for lunch & wrote more of the notes we were including in the envelopes we were leaving at the NH's. Then back in to the territory we went. Again, we had some very nice conversations with the Lamberton(ites?). All in all, the day was a success!

Tonight we came home and Myranda cooked dinner, and the girls did the dishes. I could get used to that arrangement! :)

We're all feeling the veil of exhaustion laying over our shoulders, so good night for now!

Our Assignment Begins!!

Overall status for today. . .FUN! :)

Started out our day with practicing presentations for service. . .hahahaha something struck my funny bone on that one, and I was a total goof when it was my turn to act the householder. I kept throwing Bryan for a loop.....hahaha Good thing he loves me! Ok...so we all took turns....when it came to Chatelaine, she clammed up (anyone surprised there? ya, didn't think so!) ok...so her nerves kicked in and she didn't want to talk. Myranda was trying to be encouraging and said, "You're just talking to your father! It's not like you're talking to an actual person!" Oh my word, we laughed so hard over that!

Lest you think we were all jokesters. . . we did eventually get out the door (the goal was 8:30, but hey, we made it out by 9). We went ahead with our plan of hitting up the farms first. It was beautiful and peaceful and WHAM! Torrential rain. . .check out the photos! I mean, thankfully we got off the dirt roads before it got too bad! LOL Ok....so Plan B got instituted. . . we decided to work one of the towns, and started with Lamberton. It's been roughly two years since any of these homes have been visited, and there are plenty of them.

Diane had recommended we stop for lunch @ the Mexican place in Lamberton, but come lunch time, we found out it was "closed until further notice". We went to the music store to meet a sister (Rachelle) that Diane had told us worked there. I think she was sufficiently surprised! I wanted to give her a big hug, but since she was working, we kept it short & sweet. She told us there were no other places in Lamberton to eat, so we headed over to Walnut Grove for lunch. Boy did we get queer looks by being all dressed up in their wee restaurant! :) It was fun to head over there, though, since last year, that's the town we sat out the tornado warning in the American Legion Bar!!! LOL Good times!

Everyone we spoke to today was pretty nice, save one woman that was quite cross with Bryan for continuing to walk up her driveway (this was on one of the farms) past her barking dogs. Brave soul that he is, she obviously did not realize how good he is at gauging dogs. Personally, I wouldn't have gotten out of that car & tried to walk past those dogs to save my life, but hey, that's me...nervous Nelly!

So. . . we stayed out in the ministry over 7 hours today and made the teensiest, tiniest dent in this huge territory. We had some great conversations, placed many books, and left a little note w/magazines, a tract & an invitation to the K.H. in Redwood Falls @ each NH, since it may be a long while before anyone is back in the area. We're looking forward to more work in the field tomorrow. :)

Once we came home, Dana & Diane had us over to dinner again. Super sweet! She lays the purtiest dinner table, too! I just realized I didn't take pictures. Anyway....everything was scrumptious. Afterward, her mom, Mabel, came to pick us up to meeting, and we got to meet the congregation!!! Nothing warms the heart more than meeting our brothers & sisters and feeling like we've known them forever! The Kingdom Hall looks the same size as ours, but is layed out differently (they need a coat room here in these parts!!), so the auditorium is small, but sufficient for their local needs. Again, forgot to take pics INSIDE the hall (will do that Sunday), but check out the ones outside Bryan took!

Minnesota or Bust!

Awww....today was only a 7 hour drive day, and we made it here to Springfield, MN! We are staying in a house on the property of Dana & Diane, a couple from the Redwood Falls Cong. The place is just adorable!

Once we got here, we unpacked the car and settled into our temporary dwelling. The girls are SO excited, because they get the basement to themselves! :) Once we were all settled, Dana & Diane had us over to their house (across the yard) for dinner. We were privileged to be served their first strawberries of the season from their garden, as well as a DELISH salad made from fresh lettuce from their garden too! (made all the more delicious after three days of food-on-the-road! LOL)

Of course, the best part was getting to know our brother & sister. :) We made fast friends! It feels like we've always known them! They told us some about the territory we'll be working (which just became unassigned last November (don't quote me on that!)). It used to be covered by the Redwood Falls Congregation, which is the one they still attend. The congregation has 44 publishers, 9 of which are regular pioneers!

Tomorrow will be our first day in the territory, and our plan is to work the rural territory and leave the towns for the group of 28 that is coming in July. At this point, that is up in the air, however, as it may very well be raining. Come what may, we are excited for tomorrow!

Day 2 - LOTSA DRIVING!!!

Man, oh man, today was a LOT of driving! Soooo tired now!

Anywho....so we took off from our Provo hotel @ 5:20a.m. . . it was pouring rain, and of course, the girls got in the car and promptly went to sleep! I was so jealous! LOL Actually, I LOVE driving through Utah! Our first stop was in Rock Springs, WY for gas & Starbucks. It was 45* in Rock Springs!!! Unbelievable with it being JUNE! :) Check out the leopard chaise lounges the Starbucks had! We just had to get pics of the girls taking advantage of them! :)

The big highlight of today, though, was our visit to Mt. Rushmore. Believe it or not, it was exactly a year ago today that we were visiting the same spot! :) The difference this time, is Myranda was with us! Her first visit. So fun! Check out the photos!

Now we are tucked in at our hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota. Tomorrow will be another early morning, and we'll head out for our final destination. . .Springfield, MN!

(p.s. - I'm having issues uploading pics to this blog. I'm going to go ahead and post the narrative, or I'll never get this up, and as soon as I can figure out what's going on with the photos, I'll add those!!)

We're off!!!

Myranda spent the night with us last night so that we could leave bright & early this morning! Although it wasn't bright, we definitely left early (5:10a.m.)!!! The girls promptly settled into their tight quarters of the backseat and went right back to sleep. Bryan and I were too excited to sleep! We can hardly believe how, once again, Jehovah had everything fall right into place for us to make this journey.

June gloom hung heavy over the majority of the first part of the trip, but it couldn't dampen our spirits. :) Once we were through the Cajon Pass (I-15North) the clouds disappeared, and it was SUUUUUUUUUUNNNY! Our first stop was the Barstow Starbucks (of course!)



Next pit stop was near the Las Vegas Speedway (North Las Vegas), then we stopped for lunch @ The Cracker Barrel in St. George, UT where Bryan shocked Myranda by drinking 7 raspberry lemonades w/his lunch! I think Tyler, our waiter, was surprised at that one too! :) Driving in UT is fun, because they have the 80mph zones!! :)

It's awe-inspiring because of the beautiful mountains! There was so much snow still on them, and so late into June!!!

We are staying right near BYU for tonight. Everyone is pretty tired, and we have another early start tomorrow, so GOODNIGHT!