Springing Into May 2014

Washington is a beautiful place and I love serving a mission here. God is so good to us! He loves us and surrounds us at every hand with those things that bring us joy and help us in our earthly journey. I'm grateful for the Marshallese people we are trying to help but, who in turn, have helped me to appreciate all that I have. Some of them have so little but don't seem to mind and find happiness whatever their circumstances.

We know it's spring when the beautiful flowers and trees bloom!

A beautiful Dogwood Tree in full bloom

Dogwood blossoms up close

Stanny, Taylor, Benjamin, Jaylan and Daniel getting their Cub Scout shirts. I sense another sewing project coming up!

A fun dessert for Easter, served at a friends home

A great Young Women's leader, Jen, with Merlinta at our Easter Dinner and game playing afterwards

Familiar anyone? Registering cars for Pinewood Derby

Joshua, Benjamin, Daniel, Daniel L, Teliness

Ready, Set, Go on the Pinewood Derby track, all computerized

Keji had a pretty sharp looking car

Keji, Daniel, Stanny, Taylor, Benny, Jaylan, Damian, Teliness, Joshua at the Pinewood Derby

My cousin Bob's daughter, Susan Watkins, who lives in Puyallup

Too much sun on the Seattle skyline from Space Needle

View of Seattle from Space Needle

Sister Henderson and me at the Space Needle

 One of the nice things about a senior serving a mission, is that family can stop by and visit. Alisa and Josef flew in for a Western (at least Utah and Washington and Oregon) tour from New York. We did a couple of touristy things:

A visit by Alisa and Josef was such fun

Our Touristy Free photo at the Space Needle, Josef, Alisa, Sisters Peterson and Henderson

Jimi Hendrix's memorial and gravesite in Renton

Me, Alisa, Josef, JaneAnne, Anders, Berit, Leif, David

Grandma and some Olsen grandchildren

JaneAnne, me (caught in the headlights?) and Alisa

Azalea blooming amongst a Springtime hail storm

Fun Family Home Evening with Verolyn, Braden and Lana

Elders Rice, Johnson, Berkstrand, Cairo and Sisters Peterson, Henderson, Mercate, Evans-Bottoms

Eddy and Liana

They grow big rhododendrons here

Sister Henderson getting pictures of the lilacs and snowballs

Monkey Pod tree (at least that is what we used to call them

Joshua, Taylor and Benjamin with Elders Eliason and Giles at their baptism

Biamon singing at George Kalles Kemen (1st Birthday)

 Some of the food that was served at George First Birthday celebration and there was a lot of food. Instead of takeaway containers they filled aluminum containers with a load of food in them. Amazing! You just take home what you don't eat there and have another meal.

Squashes, just bite a hole and suck it in

I think something with taro

Hot dogs and chicken

Desserts

Our well done pig

Pigs end and I think, "tail"

Loreen's baptism with friends and family

Elder Tima, me, Loreen, Sister Henderson, Elders Giles and Eliason

Playing for the baptism in my "borrowed" Marshallese dress

What posting would be complete without a picture of THE Mountain, Mt. Rainier

A special trip to the temple for Susan and Peter Kalles

Robin Avery, me, Biamon and Nora, Josephine, Susan and Peter

Biamon and Nora Peter

The girls taking the garden tour

The tall and the short of it

Rebecca celebrating her 18th birthday...lots of food!

Blowing out the candles! Happy 18th!

Some of the younger party attenders enjoying the cake

It's been a good Spring thus far and I'm looking forward to temperatures warming up and staying warmer for longer than a day! It's wonderful to be a missionary, to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to encourage all to come unto Him.