LAUNDRY ANYONE?

DRAFT HORSES & WATERMELON
Set yourself back in time a few years and enjoy the beauty of a perfect day on an Amish farm. We travel about 20 minutes from our apartment in order to purchase some of the most delectable fruits and vegetables anywhere. Watermelon are so big, juicy and sweet, one needs to sit on the lawn, bust one open and sit for an hour devouring it's heavenly juices. I tried to pick one up last week and it was too big for me to lift comfortably.

Now here is a day's work for any woman or household of women. This is Amish country and we often see the efforts of hard working, fast moving Amish men and women in their daily chores. To you ladies I would say, no more whimping about doing laundry in a nice washing machine and dryer. This if a full's day's work for these women, from morning til night. Until recent years I have always had Mark build me a clothes line to hang the large items such as sheets, towels, diapers (back in those days) etc. I loved hanging clothes and the smell and nostalgia they bring with them, if the days were balming and warm. However, I am very, very happy and thankful to have modern equipment and appliances in my home. Even running donwstairs and paying high rates to do a batch of laundy beats this, especailly when the days begin to get cold.

There will be more to come on this blog at some point of our mission. Mission work is moving along, we are not as busy as we were a month ago. But it is starting to pick up again for September and October. It is wonderful to be here and we are anxiously awaiting October when we will have three sets of company. Lucky us! We hope to work our schedule so we can spend a few hours with people we like and love.

BACK IN OHIO

Hello Friends of the Blogging world! I may not be very consistant, but I do think to write once in awhile.

Ohio is green, wet, humid, hot and very beautiful. I think I am beginning to rust from the moisture, as my joints seem to be creaking lately. The good part is that I don't need to use moinsurizer much out here. My skin loves it, my sweat glands do not. And missioanries have to be fully armored in dress and senior sisters don't always seem to be able to wear the cutsie, shorter sleeves to keep cool like the thin younger ones do. I always have to layer myself in order to try to hide a few buldges, bumps and splotches. I am not fooling anyone I am sure, but I keep trying. It was so very hot this morning, I thought, "Oh, who cares anyway" and put on a shorter sleeved blouse to wear. Well, I suppose the only one who cares is little-ol-me, and I just couldn't do it. I have to cover up those grandma wings, RS muslces, bat wings, floppy jobbers or whatever they are called. I am not sending that picture because I did not take one, nor would you want to see it if I had.

The little towns out where we are surrounding Kirtland and closer to John Johnson home in Hiram, are old and quaint and set back in time. Speed limits are slow on the state highways and no one seems to be in a big hurry. These twonships were in exsistance in the early 1800 and so show signs of wear and weariness, but are very charming. We love driving through them and have fallen in love with many spots and think if we had family out here, we might even like living here. Elder Orton finds a new home every few days that he will "Buy" when we are finished out here. There are some rare and old beauties.

Maybe I will spend enough time one of these days to figure out how to send a picture so you can see how far back in time we are. The Amish people live close by and we took some wonderful pictures of a farmer on his reaping machine pulled by large Belgeon horses and then of two men going along in the fields stacking those piles of wheat into shocks. The children run barefoot and are healthy and tan, the women work ever so hard along with the men. Their farms are immaculate, clean and beautiful. We buy produce from some of them.

Until next time.

FIRST ASSIGNMENT

How lucky we feel. Our first assignment will be at the John Johnson Farm in Hiram, Ohio, where wonderful things transpired. We will live in a small town close by and live in an apartment for the first year of our mission and then move into Kirtland to work in the Visitor's Center right in Kirtland. To even set foot in those sacred places near Kirtland will be an honor. We hope we get to have a little tour of Mark's Great Great Grandfather's house (Joel Hills Johnson). We have visited there often and so have seen the saw mill he built and the temple that he milled the lumber for and built shingles for. But I am sure we will look at everything with new eyes as missionaries.

We leave one week from tomorrow for the MTC for only two days and then we will come back, sleep in our own bed on Tuesday night the15th. We will pack our car & top carrier, and head East on Highway 84 on Thursday the 17th. We will take our time and arrive in Kirtland about the 21st of June hoping that our apartment is empty and we can move in and begin.

These last few weeks have been so furrious, fast and unfriendly almost, with so much to do. But we are excited to get started, so we can come home sometime before we are too old to move. That may be at any time now.

My sister Loa and her husband Boyd were here the last two days and we had such a great time. They just returned from Kenya, Nairobi mission and we haven't had quite enough time with them, so it was very good to be together before we leave. Loa helped hem some jackets and pants and that was very helpful. Now I can look like a sister missionary instead of my closet looking like one.

Change is in the Wind!

And we have wind! And snow! And rain! And very little sun for MAY! However, the change came last week with our mission call. the mission office was kind enough o call and tell us that we will not be leaving until the 14th of June because there is no couple's housing yet. Hurray! We needed that extra time. This whole thing has happened so very fast that we needed just an extra few weeks to get used to the idea ourselves.

Perhaps there will be time to plant a few flowers. Perhaps there will be time to plant a few vegetables in the grow boxes. I am not promising anything you understand, only hoping. Not that I will be here to enjoy them, but it makes me feel like a real person when I do those things.

we don't have a date yet for when we will be speaking and saying our goodbyes. I will let you know. I certainly don't know anything about blogging, so enjoy my blunders and botches. It's all part of the game.

Annette

MISSION CALL TO YONDER OHIO

It finally came in the mail on Wed, late afternoon. We will serve where Mark's Great, Great Grandfather built the sawmill, built a home, sawed all the lumber and made the shingles for the Kirtland Temple. That's is a privilege and an honor for us. We will be serving in the Historic Kirtland Visitor's Center. YAHOO!! We leave May 10. Isn't that day after tomorrow, almost?

That's all folks!

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope that this will be helpful to you on your mission. Post lots of pictures and lots of news. I love you!---- Shar