June is Bustin' Out All Over

What a beautiful month, June! The green is so lush and dense. And we did have visitors after all. We had Pam and Kimball and Daniel Lynn for one whole day. Daniel is off to the MTC the 15th of this month.

These are pictures of tree removal company taking out dead trees behind our house. It was most fascinating. The tree man climbs the tree, lops off the top large limbs, and hooks a belt around the top of the tree, then the big crane lifts until it is taut. The climber goes down and cuts the tree off at the bottom, and the machine lifts the tree up and over the house. Wow! It was really cool. The tree is lifted from the air right into a shredder and it is gone in minutes. We had never seen such an operation before and we stood outside and watched the whole time as they took out five trees.

And the picture of the lovely path in the forest is where we walk every morning. but that is just a taste of the beauty involved. It is a feast for the eyes as we try to walk off the feast of the past days.

It's been busy in Kirtland and we have met and taken on tour some of the most interesting and lovely people.

IT IS MAY ALREADY!! NO VISITOR'S THIS MONTH

Sharon and Niel and us.

And there on the right is my handsome, hero Elder Orton, ever the Good Samaritan, changing the tire for the sister missionaries on a cold March morning. He did the whole thing without touching the ground with his knees except for one short moment to get the jack in just right. What a man!

Here are visitors Khumbulani Mdletshe with the Flinders who are good friends of Aunt Loa and Uncle Boyd. What a great visit that was. We worked very closely with Khumbulani in South Africa on our mission from 2004-2006. Some friends are so eternal and so close you wish they were not a world away.

Upper left are us with Sharon and Neil who came the middle of April. That was more fun than just about anything sincde we came because they had enough time to just relax and we enjoyed them so very much. It so happened that their anniversary and Mark's birthday are both on April 16, so we celebrated together. How we love having company and how we love to have company we love. Sharise and Ron had been planning to come this very week in May. However, their plans went sour when other things arose. We are sad, but not despondant or discouraged. We will see them in December instead. Even if we don't have any other company, we are so thankful we thought the Cases were coming. It has helped us to get through this past rough winter. People here say, this winter and this Spring are odd and not usual behavior for Ohio weather. I guess we may never know as we hope not to spend another full winter here. And we have had six sets of company and that is pretty good, don't you think?

The bottom picture is of all the Johnson missionaries last summer whom we came to love and I had not had a good picture, so was happy when Sister Dalton sent this. And this was before we got the directive that we could not wear pants to our picnics. Kneeling are Sisters Sanchez, Talbot, Dunn, Wattles, Law & Soelburg. Standing are couples, Dalton, Whitworth and Orton (When we were both thinner than we are now, durn the luck).

Now when I post this I suppose the pictures will all change position. But we have had a couple of very enjoyable months and much busier besides which helps time to move along quickly. Missionary life in Kirtland is so sweet. It is time to go to work again, so I must run. We love being here and if our children were out here close, we might not want to leave. But don't go moving out here just on our account.

SPRING! WHO SAID?

Nope! It isn't spring yet. On April Fools day we had a good snow storm with three inches. What a lousy joke that was. But we see small buds on the trees now and the weather continues to get a bit warmer for a few days at a time and then it drops again. We have been very cold outside giving tours. The wind seems to be what makes it so chilly. This picture was taken the end of March. And there is that good man Elder Hansen blowing the snow from our driveway otherwise we would have been snowed in.

The other picture is part of the painting by Walter Raine called "Kirtland Temple Under Construction" that was commissioned for our site. It is beautiful and Mark loves to take pictures of parts of it. We stand in front of the whole painting to start our tours every day. And it is getting busier every day, so we have more and more people coming, keeping us very busy.

We loved the Johnson farm so much and never thought we could enjoy Kirtland as much, but find we are having a great experience here. It is especially sweet when we are able to take out wonderful people who bring the spirit with them helping us to do a better job. And we had some of those this past week, as we took through some relatives, the LeeRen Walkers, and then Khumbulani Mdletche from South Africa. What a delight to be able to take him on tour as he has never had the opportunity to be in Kirtland before and he teaches young people all about Kirtland in Seminary and Institute in 30 countries in Africa. We were able to get caught up on the South African news while he was here. The church is moving forward and growing quickly there. All of the couples here in Kirtland were nearly convinced they should go serve there after they heard him speak about South Africa in our FHE. I was going to post some of the pictures we took of him, but they don't seem to be in here, so that will be for a different time.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It is an honor and privilege to serve the Lord here and to bear testimony of Him each day. Who would have ever thought we would get this opportunity? And we live in such a cute house besides.

Our Mansion On The Hill

So! Here we are in Kirtland Ohio, living snugly in the cutest house to be had in these parts. As you see, it crowns a steep hill just below the Temple, and is thus called, "The Mansion" or "The Castle". By senior missionary standards, it is indeed a mansion, as most live humbly, in more cramped, one or two bedroom houses or apartments. We are feeling most blessed, and even a bit privileged, if not down right guilty, and no, we don't deserve it any more than any other missionaries, but, as victims of the system, we do as we are tole, realizing that someone has to do it, so we are determined to squeeze all the joy out of our elevated situation we can, while just being very grateful. We are, however, reminded that where much is given, much is expected!

In this cozy little bungalo, we can hope to be content to spend the remaining years of our mission, but only if you drop by to see us. Unfortunately, Elder Orton has been kept very busy shoveling the walk and driveway leading up to the house. FM does plow and salt it, but sometimes, they are so swamped, they can't get to it before we must leave. The driveway leads right out onto a very busy street (Chillocothe Road), the last few feet being very steep and slick when icy. We can't quite put our finger on it, but for whatever reason, it sure reminds us of home in Ogden.

We are happily expecting company this coming spring and summer, and our new home will be a convenient place to entertain, much closer and convenient than Garrettsville. Just three short minutes from work, a washer and dryer of our own, a kitchen nook with a view, and a basement and sleeping porch for overflow, if needed. We have quickly made ourselves at home, and plan to enjoy our stay in Kirtland, even though it was tearfully difficult to leave our friends and situation in Garrettsville, especially our dear apartment people. We had learned to love them all.

This is our first week on the job, and we've been learning, but probably not fast enough, as we will be expected to do our own tour by next week. Yikes! So, we continue to study and learn as fast as atrophied, leather-like brains can catch and absorb frayed bits of information. How blessed we feel to serve a mission! How we marvel at the heavenly flood of love showered upon these early, Kirtland Saints, as the Lord condescended to appear in His glory, with his Father, so many times, as He poured down the knowledge of heaven upon the heads of these, His Saints! What a rich and gloriously divine heritage we have been left by these, our spiritual ancestors of Kirtland. We are so grateful for the honor we enjoy, as we serve in the midst of the memory of such sacred scenes! Over and over, our testimonies are confirmed! All this and the gospel too!!

TO KIRTLAND: CITY OF FAITH AND BEAUTY

'Over the River and through the woods to Kirtland Town we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh' and that is almost what we need this time of year. Here we are leaving the Johnson Farm headed for a new adventure now at the Historic sites in Kirtland.

Sister Guenther and I were in charge of a farewell dinner for the Butterfields who were the site directors for three faithful years. We had 58 attend and eat and participate. Sister Guenther is the creative genius and came up with splendid ideas for decorations and program idea and she made the cute lady bug cakes and favors for each person to match. She did all of the creative, crafty, cute stuff and I tried to put together a menu, assign food and write a little skit to be presented for the Butterfield's entertainment. It was so fun and went off well. The big things you see by the cakes are extra, extra large pans of Ohio Bread pudding. It is nothing, I say NOTHING like the bread pudding I used to make with old, stale bread. No wonder I never liked bread pudding. This was made with croissants, butter and brown sugar. Ugh, so rich and decadent. We had them wrapped to try to keep them warm on the trip from Garrettsville.

It is fitting that we should be in charge of the Butterfield's farewell dinner. They were also Kimi's mission President 15 years ago in Ventura Ca. And when Kimi left on her mission, we moved into the very ward in South Jordan where Elder Butterfield had been bishop and the stake where he had been stake president. They knew the exact house we lived in. We built a house in Riverton and moved before they came home from their mission, but our paths were bound to cross. And here we were for seven months under their direction in the Kirtland area. What great people. We will miss them.

We hated to take down the Christmas cards and pictures from our door. But we didn't figure the people moving in in two days would appreciate them nearly as much as we did, so we had to finally taken them down. How we love family and friends who remember us out here in Ohio with emails, facebook, blogs, letters, cards and even packages. We are having a wonderful Mission and just pray for strength to keep up the pace. Serving here is like a dream and I am going to try harder to be more proactive and accomplish more. We meet people frequently who know people we know or are related. Just a few days ago we met a man who knows my sister Jenny in Tabor, Alberta and also talked to one of the sister missionaries who had talked to my niece Pam on the phone.

The next blog to be posted when we get our computer hooked up again in Kirtland.

ONCE IN HISTORY 1-1-11

Happy New Year to all in my book of friends and loved ones. We had a most memorable Christmas here in Ohio! Boy, oh boy! It's tough to be away from kids and grand kids, but look at the pictures. As you see, Sister Guenther and I kept busy making and delivering cookies all over the village. We even had Santa come see us in our apartment! What else could you ask for? He even brought a few gifts to put under our tree (which was a tiny fiber optic, bottle-brush thing, but, with a little imigination, gave the illusion of a tree. And Santa didn't even care. He found us anyway.

Our December was busy and active, leaving little time to whine about who we were missing. I had dreaded December when we came in June, but we actually enjoyed it very much.

Of course, the true reason for our happiness this year, is that we are priveleged to be in the service of the very Lord and Savior whose birth we celebrate! Each day we testify and honor and praise His Holy name, and our celebration this year was the more meaningful because of it.

Among our favorite tangible gifts this year was one from our children, who kindly sent pictures of themselves and their families (always a vital and a treasured gift), then added some sweet memories in a booklet titled, "Lessons Learned at Home". That's what you see me holding in the picture by the 'tree'. This now annual gift has become a treasured Orton family tradition, one we now value as gold. Though we, regretably, had to be excused as they gathered and read them to each other this year, we had no trouble imagining their tears and laughter, as we sat huddled together in our Ohio apartment, relishing their writings of childhood memories, and we added liberally our own tears and laughter. Thankfully, they were kind, and said nice things.

What a wonderful beginning to a New Year! And, what a date it is today! One/One/One-One , a day that is here today, and never to come again. Make it a good one! Happy New Year!

The Spirit of Place

What a grand experience we had two days before Thanksgiving November of 2010. This is a picture of the Kirtland Temple just as nightfall fell. It is a beautiful temple and stands as such a beacon on top of the hill. The missionaries had been invited to participate in a non-denominational Thanksgiving Celebration hosted by the Community of Christ to be held in Historic Kirtland Temple.

I had the honor of being able to sing a duet that evening, but most thrilling of all was to be able to direct a women's choir of about 60 voices, all seated in the four corner choir lofts. What sweet, uplifting and spirit filled moments those were. I made Mark take a picture of me before I left the house as a remembrance of this monumental experience. Who'd ever thought? Our mission gets more exciting all the time. The women sounded like angels as they sang.

I am going to post again in a few days and wish you a Merry Christmas too. But I want a picture of all the snow we have out at the Johnson Farm first and it has been too cold to stand out in the blowing, snowing freezing temperatures long enough to take a picture. We have lots of snow and the winter has not officially even begun. There was so much on top of the Restroom, (which has a long slanted metal roof) that when it warmed just a little bit, it all slid off, taking the outside light and part of the rain gutter with it. Glad I wasn't standing under it when it landed.