P.S.

OCTOBER HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO: ERIN, STEPHANIE, TROY, AND FIONA. We love you all.

Mom and Dad

OUR FIRST MONTH

OUR FIRST MONTH

We have been out now for a little over a month and are beginning to get busy and enjoying the beginning of our mission. They don't give a lot of instruction to couple missionaries so we have had to make some executive decisions and just start working. No one has said we have done anything wrong, yet so I guess we just keep going until they tell us to do something differently. As I said before, we have been assigned a small branch in New Paltz and a ward in Kingston. There are some wonderful people here and we have enjoyed getting to know them and visit part member families and the less active. No one has been too rude to us so far and the newer converts that have gone a little less active still have a little light from their testimonies and are welcoming and several are coming back to at least visit again. We had our Primary program last week and Roma played the Primary songs and the children did a great job of participation. We had about 80 there and we re pushing the seating a little bit. You always get a bigger crowd for the Primary program. I taught the Gospel Doctrine class last week with 3 minutes notice, thank goodness for Seminary training and remembering a few of the high points in the Book of Mormon. It is beginning to be fun and we are getting busier. We were talking the other day that a big part of our days are buying gas and food. The people here in our branch can be as much as 25 miles away from us and the Mission Home is 60+ miles away so by the time we go to training sessions and visit members we are burning a little gas. Food because anytime we go to make a recipe we don't have something it calls for, so back to the market we go. Tomorrow is P-day and we are going down to NYC to scout the route to my first appointment at the Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute. We took a rather rushed visit last Saturday to the city and strengthened our resolve to take a train and subway versus trying to drive and park in NYC.

It is unbelievably beautiful here in the fall of the year as you might imagine. Just about every color can be seen on the trees and foliage in this area. We have included a few pictures which don't do it justice because of the quality of our camera and the e-mail distortion, but if you have never seen the fall in New England it is worth the trip. We have used our P-day to explore a bit and it has been a lot of fun. As we have the opportunity to teach and testify, our testimonies have become stronger and we have grown in appreciation of what the Lord has done for us and the light and warmth the gospel brings to people's life. It is amazing to me how many people who just live there life with no direction and no goals. We love the work that the gospel asks us to do and the people it teaches us to become. Being able to serve full time is a blessing of which can't be described and we are not yet as busy as we could be. We were recently assigned to handle missionary apartments, so we have gotten our white gloves out to inspect and help the missionaries remember what their mother's taught them. Like the stripling warriors, they must remember the faith their mothers taught as well as the cleanliness of their quarters.

Above are a few pictures of this area and the beauty that is here in upstate New York





Love Mom and Dad; Grandpa and Grandma; Elder and Sister Farnsworth

WE ARE OFF

After a wonderful and spiritual week in the MTC we were all pumped and ready to teach all of God's children in New York State about the Plan of Salvation. The MTC is a wonderfully spiritual place full of the hustle and bustle of a very busy organization with young and older missionaries everywhere. You hear multiple languages and ways to teach the Gospel most effectively in every corner, classroom, and hallway. Add the Holy Ghost and you have a very powerful combination of strength and direction. Its hard to describe, but a unique experience for us and one we are very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate.



We got all packed up from our 5 days staying with Troy and Teri in their new apartment in Provo, (we did not stay at the MTC) ,and headed for Roosevelt Utah to spend 2 days with Roma's dad and her family in the Uintah Basin.


We had a great time visiting with everyone topped off with one of those old fashioned family dinners with all the most recently harvested fresh vegestables with roast beef and rolls. Did I mention desert. We both ate too much.


We left with many tears from all the family and it was finally good to be on our way. Our journey took us through 12 states and 3,000 miles. We have never taken a cross country trip so it was the first time we had the oportunity to see the beauties of this great countries heartland. We saw more corn than all the cattle in the world could consume, thank goodness for ethenol or corn would become the most used grain in America. It was none-the-less beautiful and we were thankful to live in suh a great country. The midwest is a very clean part of the country with manacured farms, beautifully mowed with little litter and debris anywhere to be found. It was great to see the pride people take in their land.




The highlite of the trip was a stop at the historic Church sites in Nauvoo and Carthage ,Illinois.

We were both touched and appreciative of the early saints, their courage, grit, hard work, love, perserverence and leadership. We truly have a heritage that blessed the past, current and future members of our church. Roma did much of the driving and so we arrived safely in Highland-New Paltz area to begin our mission. We talked with Mission President about not going to the Mission Home first and he let us come and get into our apartment before going to see him in the mission office. We are scheduled to have dinner with Pres. and Sis. Searle tomorrow.


We are here and have been to church where Roma was immediately drafted into playing the piano for sacrament meeting and primary. We have been to 2 family home evenings, and several member visits and trying to remember names. Roma has them all down and has to remind me of the ones I forget.


We are very happy to be here and begin our service, it is exciting and we are starting to see where we might have an impact.


Pray for us, and for the work. We appreciate what influence it has on us and how the Lord helps us.