All Work and No Play . . .

In our letter from the First Presidency our call was "as a records preservation specialist."  We've written a lot about our work in that regard, but our life here has been more than that 8-to-4 schedule at the county's document warehouse.  Being official full-time missionaries has brought us some added opportunities.  We have a closer connection with the young Elders and Sisters as they do their proselyting work.  We've joined them in lessons.  We meet their investigators and share in the joy as they accept the gospel and are baptized.

One of Terre Haute's newest members--Otto Ghrist in the center

We are included in the Zone and Mission training sessions and conferences, allowing us to "feel" like missionaries spreading the gospel to God's children.

At the All-Mission Conference at Christmas, 2014

Our call also included this catch-all phrase: "Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president."  And so it has been.  For a month now we have been the "group leaders" for the LDS Family Services Addiction Recovery Program meetings here in Terre Haute.  This is usually done by part-time church service missionaries from the area, but the local leaders had not been able to find "the right couple."  Thursday nights at 7pm we change badges and meet at the church with wonderful men and women seeking support recovering from addictions.  Our roll is to bear witness of the power of the Lord's atonement.  We love this opportunity.

My three "hats"

Being members of the local ward has been a blessing to us as well.  As called on, we teach lessons, play the organ or piano, sing in the choir, talk in meetings, and generally be stalwart members in the ward.  We are enriched by the new friendships and by sharing in their lives and feeling their testimonies.

What do we do with the rest of our day?  Most of the time we come home to our comfortable duplex apartment and crash, exhausted from the stresses and physical exertion of our FamilySearch work.  We enjoy emailing family and friends, Facebook-socializing, and some simple hobbies,

What better hobby than Family History!  Time seems to fly by for both of us when we sit down to "find our cousins."  Ann sees it as the best of puzzles.  For me it is like solving the most obscure of Miss Marple mysteries.  For us there is no better way to spend an evening than "digging about, pruning, and dunging" the Family Tree.  And we've enjoyed the fruits of our labors as we spend a day at the temple each month offering those cousins the ordinances of salvation.

Our "Day at the Temple" for May--St. Louis

Ann has taken up card-stock embroidery, creating beautiful greeting cards.  Each one is a mini-masterpiece, unique and tailor-made for the lucky recipient.

Hand stitched for a granddaughter

I cook for pleasure, keeping up my reputation of never following a recipe, which results in some pretty "interesting" creations of my own.  Trying to meet the goals of gluten-free, low-fat, high-protein, low-GI carbohydrates, etc. can make for some strange concoctions.

It's usually eatable, and once in a while, even good

We both love our music.  Ann has missed having a piano to practice.  The Lord loves her so much that things "fell into place" this last week.  We are now "storing" a piano for a sister who just didn't have room for it in her new apartment.

Chopin, Mendelssohn, and Delibes in the background as I fix supper.  

I enjoy my organ and French horn playing

We play games--Rummykub, Bananagrams, Monopoly Deal, Farkle, and Dominos.  We watch an occasional Redbox movie.  We indulge in Kroger's "death by chocolate" ice cream (yes, I realize it falls short on every point of my healthful food requirement list).  And we exercise--I lift and swim and Ann walks.  She has enjoyed photographing flowers and trees in the neighborhood while she is out.

My grandma used to say, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."  These little diversities in our lives are helping us recuperate and rejuvenate ourselves for the main work of our ministry, doing our small part in linking families together through the generations of time.