Ready on the set-- "ACTION!!"

Elder Wilson has formed his own production company up here:

"WA-SEA Productions" for making informational videos for the Missionaries about car care. I am thinking of submitting "The Adventures of Flat-Man and Robin" to the Sundance Film festival for consideration at this years event. The most recent video finds our Elders in a quandry about how to properly clean their car in an environmentally friendly way, and still have the car turn out sparkling clean, and includes the famous 'wax-on/wax-off' scene from the Karate Kid Part IX. I love how excited the missionaries get about these videos, and how much fun they have filiming them. They are always a big hit at Zone Conference, and they never fail to get the point across in a humorous, yet instructional way.

Fruitflies in my kitchen make me crazy

(to the tune "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy")
Can anybody tell me how to get rid of a fruit fly infestation? I bought a bouquet of flowers at last weeks vermin-I mean Farmer's Market, and apparently it was the fruit fly neo-natal unit and they are everywhere. Yes, I threw the flowers out as soon as I noticed. Also, FYI, a roll of nearly gone paper towels makes a great fly-swatter. They not only kill the fly, they wipe it up at the same time.

The Salmon are Running, The Salmon are Running!

It's that time of year when the Salmon Run upstream in the Puget Sound. Issaquah Creek runs through the hatchery, and the fish come to lay eggs. I wish there was a point of reference for the fish in the photos. They were beautiful. One of the fish was easily 40 inches long. They would jockey for position in the streambed and then become territorial, flipping their tails and chasing each other. It was easy to see why it's so easy for bears and other animals to snag them right out of the shallow waters. The hatchery had fish ladders and a holding pond where many of the larger fish congregated. A separate tank held fingerlings that will be released next spring. They were so cute and tiny. The stream is closed to fishing, but it sure would be fun to hook one of those monsters and reel it in. We ended the afternoon by stopping to eat in a cute little cafe. It was the kind of place that my dad would have gone for coffee every day. The food was homemade and the portions were generous. The hot roast beef sandwich I had was sublime and included yummy mashed potatoes. Larry opted for breakfast and ordered 'Montana' potatoes, which ended up being fairly greasy hash brown potatoes cooked with ham and bacon covered with melted cheese. While delicious, the fat content made Larry utter the words "I think I just ate damnation to my soul!"

Made me laugh.

Keep that Sense of Humor; It's Critical !

So everyday when I get to the Mission Office I log in to my computer and check for any new referrals that may have come in to the Mission over night. Just imagine my delight yesterday to see a request from "Hal Itozis" to receive a copy of the Book of Mormon! Woo Hoo! Yipee! Skippee!

Thinking it can't get any better than THAT, I log into my computer today, and am greeted by a request from "No Thanks" - who listed his/her address as "God is not a bigot or a Republican"

Ha Ha Ha.

Happy Birthday Breanna!

Today our Breanna turns 6!! We love you Beeba!!

Keep your line in the Water

Fishing is fundamentally pretty basic. Bait your hook, cast your line into the water, and wait.

This question was posed by Elder Arnold of the Seventy at our last Zone Conference: "How many fish can you catch if you don't put your line in the water?"

We ♥ the Missionaries

We feel like proud parents when we talk about the Missionaries here. They are such awesome hard-working young men and women. We just love them to pieces. Our Mission is in the middle of an expansion. We are getting 22 missionaries on Monday, and another 20 in 6 weeks, headed towards having 200 missionaries serving in the Greater Seattle area. (we currently have about 168) It is an exciting time to be a missionary. We are SO BLESSED to be out here. I tell parents who call the office to find out what their son/daughter needs for the mission, that their child is in for the experience of a lifetime. We are a baptizing Mission. We are lead by a wonderful, hard-working Spiritual Giant of a Mission President and his wife. I don't know why couples who can serve are hesitant to sign up. It is the BEST! We are having the time of our lives. Yes, we miss our kids/grandkids a ton, but we'll be back before you know it.

[about the big red dog--he was strategically placed at Elder Wilson's desk with a note from the Enumclaw & Maple Valley Elders as a little joke]

More Good Times

Today we attended the baptism for Aida. She is a great soul, who has lived an interesting life. She was so excited to find the church. She visited many, many churches over the years, read the Bible, knew the commandments, but couldn't find a church that practiced during the week what it preached on Sunday. She has been instrumental in convincing another one of our investigators to be baptized soon. She is great.

Good Times

Saturday's Baptism with Mina, Elder Samani, Mina's son Jordan, and Me. (Elder Wilson took the photo). We love Jordan and Mina. She told me how to make Spam Musubi and yummy shoyu chicken. And she makes a killer blueberry cheescake with cookie crust. Soooo goooood.
She is awesome! I made a new friend.