January 6 & 7, 2014 --
Our mission president has closed the mission for these two days, due to extremely cold weather, high winds and icy roads. Temperatures have windchilled at minus 30 and minus 40, with daytime highs being 2 or 5. President Vellinga announced this as of 7 a.m. Monday, the 6th. The office sisters called some of the missionaries, and the zone leaders called others, to relay the president's message that no one go outside; stay in a warm apartment.
So we stayed home from work in Cleveland for both days. We extended our gospel study time, read, worked on our yarn projects (Larry's plastic canvas, Pat's crocheted baby booties for hospitals), and made soup, muffins and tapioca. Later in the day we watched a movie on our computer for our Family Home Evening. We also worked on our blog and journals.
All schools, government offices and courts (meaning our work at the courthouse), and many businesses were announced as closed on the radio. It has to be extreme for northeast Ohio to close schools and government buildings, since this state is used to bad winter weather. It reminds me of growing up in Minnesota: in all of my 13 school years, they only closed school because of snow one or two times. However, I remember a standing rule that if the temperature reached minus 50 (windchill or regular temp), all would be closed including churches on Sunday. It only happened one time that I can recall.
I'm glad we brought our super-warm quilt that Davy's family made us for last Christmas (2012). It keeps us snuggy at night. Thank you, family!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Do You Want to Come on a Mission too??
(This post is out of order in the blog. It belongs to the Cape Verde section, but the feelings about a mission, and the process to become a missionary, are the same for any mission.)
We were asked recently how one can have the chance to go on a mission like us and have this much fun. We have outlined the simple process below.
The first thing you need to do is to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, next thing is to retire, then visit the bishop and request to serve. It is that simple.
To let you know what you are missing out on by not serving keep reading...
It truly is beautiful here, and we are happy in all our work, and much of it is just plain FUN! We meet and work with such marvelous people, many of whom are high officials in the country or the Church, and they all like us (Amazing!) Tomorrow night (Saturday) we are going to a dinner at a beautiful harbor restaurant for all the Red Cross officials and work contacts (like us). Today we visited the old folks' home with the lady prisoners who sewed the 24 pillowcases for the home, and had a formal presentation of them. The lady prisoners amazed me with their compassion and kindness to the residents of the home for the aged--although they did not know them, they greeted them and visited like old friends. It is very hot here now, and so we stay home much of every afternoon, going out in the mornings and evenings. We have lots of friends here and it is great to serve them.
Love, Larry and Pat (Elder and Sister)
We were asked recently how one can have the chance to go on a mission like us and have this much fun. We have outlined the simple process below.
The first thing you need to do is to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, next thing is to retire, then visit the bishop and request to serve. It is that simple.
To let you know what you are missing out on by not serving keep reading...
It truly is beautiful here, and we are happy in all our work, and much of it is just plain FUN! We meet and work with such marvelous people, many of whom are high officials in the country or the Church, and they all like us (Amazing!) Tomorrow night (Saturday) we are going to a dinner at a beautiful harbor restaurant for all the Red Cross officials and work contacts (like us). Today we visited the old folks' home with the lady prisoners who sewed the 24 pillowcases for the home, and had a formal presentation of them. The lady prisoners amazed me with their compassion and kindness to the residents of the home for the aged--although they did not know them, they greeted them and visited like old friends. It is very hot here now, and so we stay home much of every afternoon, going out in the mornings and evenings. We have lots of friends here and it is great to serve them.
Love, Larry and Pat (Elder and Sister)
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Winds Create Artwork in Snow
We had a huge snowstorm on Tuesday and Wednesday, New Years Eve and New Years Day. It was snowing so hard that we left work early in the afternoon, to get home. At this time, the lake (Lake Erie) had not frozen. The wind was blowing very strong and the waves were high like the ocean, about 10 feet high.
Today, January 4, 2014, we wanted to go for a walk over to the lake because the sun was shining and everything was beautiful; the wind was not blowing, even though it was very cold. What a sight! Wind had blown snow in big drifts higher than the pier, as seen in the photos. The lake was covered with snow and had frozen quite a ways out, then there was open water for a strip, then more frozen snow on ice before the horizon.
Today, January 4, 2014, we wanted to go for a walk over to the lake because the sun was shining and everything was beautiful; the wind was not blowing, even though it was very cold. What a sight! Wind had blown snow in big drifts higher than the pier, as seen in the photos. The lake was covered with snow and had frozen quite a ways out, then there was open water for a strip, then more frozen snow on ice before the horizon.
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| Shore line and icicles on the pier-- |
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| Wind-whipped ice and snow are way higher than pier, like mountains! |
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| View of pier, snow and ice partway out in the lake, then open water, then more ice against the horizon |
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