092815

If you get a chance, you might want to watch President Uchtdorf's address to the sisters at the General Women's conference last Saturday.  It's 109 MB in the small video version but well worth the time it takes (21 minutes) to view it if you haven't seen it yet or didn't watch it Saturday evening.

You can view/download it at:  https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-09-0060-president-dieter-f-uchtdorf?category=general-womens-session-october-2015&lang=eng.  I would suggest downloading it if you can.  You'll probably want to hang onto it.

Well worth the time to watch it.  He does a masterful, as usual,  job of telling a story about a young girl that spends a summer with her great aunt while her Mom is having an operation.  It's quite a moving story.  I highly recommend it.

092615

This week passed a special milestone of sorts.  We have been in Nauvoo for 6 months now.  About 1/3 of our mission is officially over.  I guess that is a good thing.  I've learned a lot and have much more to learn.  I figure about the time I'm ready to leave, I'll be fully ready to function in most capacities.  But the curve is pretty steep.  I managed to get a fire damper replaced on a air supply section I've been working on so now all I need to do is replace one more failed piece and it's done.  But I have 4 more VAVs that are failing so the projects keep coming.  I have a fire damper up on the 5th floor that is causing all kinds of issue and I think I have that one figured out but need to test out my theories.  It never gets dull around here.  Plus, winter is coming so we'll be setting up for that pretty soon.  They only do a couple of morning and a couple evening sessions during the winter months.  Looking forward to that.  Maybe I can get something else done.

Last Tuesday night I was working on an exhaust fan that was off and freewheeling.  I decided to slow it down so I could inspect the belt and that is usually done by pressing the belt a little to slow the rolling.  Only thing was, my hand got caught in the belt between the upper pulley and the belt.  I jerked my hand out instantly but not soon enough.  I've done this a hundred times with no effect other than some dirt on my hands but this time I got caught.  Probably not a good thing to do.  It tore off the pad on my right, middle finger and bled an awful lot.  In fact, the doctor had to go in and tie off vessels to stop the bleeding.  It is still leaking today, Saturday, but seems to be doing much better.

The nurse's comment to me was, "Well, you didn't leave much for us to work with".

So, as we walked out of the emergency room last Tuesday night, we were greeted with this view:

Ha, ha, ya missed me!  Better luck next time.

 The hospital is very nice and it was such a pleasant change from Kaiser in Sacrament.  We walked right in and were seen immediately.  No problems and everyone spoke English.  Well, taken care of.  In and out in a couple of hours.  But, getting someone to look at it after the fact has been another issue.  I have an appointment in Springfield, IL on Oct 8th to see a plastic surgeon at the Southern Illinois University Plastic Surgery Institute.  Oddly enough, I also have some cemeteries I need to visit in that town.  I hope I can fit it all in one day.

Don't know if I posted this or not but here is the summer missionaries:

A fine looking group.  Most of these will be gone by the first week in November or there abouts.  We have a few missionaries coming in once a month so we have a few new faces now and then.  They will be coming in once a month till next March.

092515_a

Kevin gets an opportunity to hug people my age once in a while...

Kevin doing his thing on his mission, as the Lord would want him to...this is one of his favorite investigators.  And he reminds him of me.  I guess he's entitled, isn't he?  He loves working with those of us that are a wee bit older.

092515

Hey, it's 3 months till Christmas!  No, no no!  'Course, not a lot we can do from here...we've heard they don't do Halloween here but they do something called the "Pumpkin Walk" down the main drag. Pictures to follow...I hope.

So, had an eventful week.  Tuesday I managed to catch my middle finger on my right hand in the pulley of a windmilling exhaust fan at the temple, ripping off my fingerprint and most of the pad of the finger.  I haven't found it yet and don't think I will.  It makes typing this pretty difficult, to say the least.  Also, injured one other finger so my right hand is limited in how I type for a while.  I'm on Norco but that is like glorified Tylenol so I haven't been too impressed.  It still hurts a good portion  of the time. I guess if you do something stupid, you need to pay the price.  Oddly enough, I didn't break any of the finger bones so I was pretty pleased about that.  I kept the majority of the finger in tact.  I haven't had any kind of an accident in a long, long time so this is pretty rare.

We have been trying to see if we could get into a plastic surgeon but mostly getting "no" for an answer as to being seen.  The door to do any skin grafts is rapidly closing and despite efforts by everyone, it looks like that is simply not going to happen.  I tried another doctor today and they just said not this week or next and we're talking hours worth of driving to get there.  And this last one was one that had agreed to see me earlier...odd.  So, the one doctor's assistant that I did manage to see on Thursday said it would scar over and be OK but just look scared and disfigured.  Well, it'll give me something to remember Nauvoo by.  It'll be numb but it'll match the one on my left hand.  No biggy.  I mean, really, how long do I really have anyway?  It'll be fixed in the millennium, right?  I do get a lot of sympathetic comments from the late night janitor gals, though.  If I bring cookies...

On another subject entirely...We have a couple that is serving here with us.  They are the sweetest pair you can imagine.  The other day another sister missionary told a story about Elder Jenkins.  You need to get a picture of him first though.  He is about 85 (I thought you couldn't serve as a missionary past 80 but, apparently, you can).  He "shuffles" when he gets around and he does a mean shuffle getting from place to place.  He is always in motion going places and he serves the best he possibly can.  He seems to always be at the temple since I seem to always see him there.  He is very patient and always has a mile on his face.

So, the other day he was chastised by a much less patient temple worker about some minor "offense" he had done in the ordinances of the temple and, as you know, it's important for those of us that work in the temple, that we are as perfect as possible when we do things.  Brother Jenkin's response was not what you would expect in today's world but one of a humble servant of the Lord.  He simply said, "I will try to do better".  I know what my response would have been, the Natural Man taking over, but he sets such high bars for those of us that work in the temple to follow.  To be humble and patient with others and to remember how we should react to these kinds of situations.  God bless you, Brother Jenkins.

Sister and Elder Jenkins.  They are such great examples for the rest of us "youngsters" to follow.

  BTW, the nurse just called and I have an appointment Oct 8th to have my finger looked at.  The surgeon wants it to heal a bit before he does any work on it.  I guess that will hafta do, ya think?

091915

Happy "International Geek 'Talk Like A Pirate' Day"...Argh, Matey!

Well, now that that is over with...moving on...

We received our 2015 Temple Missionary Directory recently so had to share some of it with you.

Elder Glutz takes these interesting photos as he is a professional photographer.  Quite happy to have him around.

This is the summer missionary group.  Can you find Sister Seger and me in here?  Taken on the front steps of the temple.

This is our temple presidency.  President McArthur in the middle of the three presidency members.  Taken in the front of the temple during the short period the tulips are blooming.  

Here's our picture.  I wanted to include Elder and Sister Scott.  He is the brother of the Apostle Elder Richard G. Scott.  They are very nice people.  We talk a lot of times and have served together several times.  She's a sweetheart.  Like most of the missionaries here.

The summer missionaries are beginning to count down the weeks/days until they need to leave.  They will be departing the first week of November when the temple shuts down for winter shutdown and maintenance (the engineers big season of work).  That should be Monday, November 9th.  I guess they will all be going sometime around that date.  They are in sort of a panic as to getting the last of the things they want to see and do before they leave.  "Oh, we want to go to dinner and go here and see this or that".  Kind of funny.  "When do you leave"?  "Oh, we're here for another year or so"...not a problem.  We're also moving to another apartment mid-October in a few weeks but we have a lot of people offering to help us.  Shouldn't be all that bad of a move.  Don;t have all that much junk.

Next Saturday we are off to Kirtland, Ohio, if we don't catch the Nauvoo crud that everyone seems to be coming down with.  We are looking forward to a few days away and some relaxation, site seeing.  We were planning on a short temple trip but all of them are closed during the time we are in the area except the Chicago temple so we may swing up and hit that one.  Wonder if we could swing by a certain Elder Segers abode...naw, probably would be breaking every mission rule in every book we could find, I would imagine...but, who knows...I have a camera lens on order, hope it comes in before we leave...

So, at my job...

How in the world am I supposed to work on something like this?  That box is only 6" wide and maybe 10-11" high.  That little 2"x4" electrical box to the left behind the damper actuator in front is what I need to get at.  Also, I ned to pull the cover off the damper actuator and check to see if I have power to the actuator.  It faces to the wall to the right and it has Torx screws in it, 2 of them.  I mean, really, did anyone ever think anyone was ever going to actually work on this thing at any time in it's lifetime?  Seriously, are you kidding me?  I really dislike engineers....and that particular actuator is no longer in production...

091415

P-Day and another opportunity to get some stuff done and see Nauvoo at it's finest.  Last night we had a special fireside with the past General Young Women's President Elaine Dalton, and her hubby, that some to us for an hour.  He was pretty interesting as he talked about his family that worked on the original Nauvoo temple and how they helped put it all together.  Quite a family of craftsmen.

Today we were able to take Brother and Sister Dewey out for lunch at Kelly's in Quincy.  It is Sister Dewey's birthday and Mom wanted to do something nice for her.  Sister Dewey is the Head of the administrative staff for the temple and works closely with Arlene in the office so they have gotten pretty close.  Brother Dewey is an Assistant Recorder and is really a nice guy.  I like him a lot.  They told us about the cruises they go on each year and how they have figured out how to get the best deals out of the system.  Nice way to do it.

This afternoon we went to the stake center and had a get together with the other temple missionaries with a dinner.  Mom made her now "infamous" chicken noodle casserole that was eaten all gone.  For the activity we got to talk about experiences in our lives at the table of 8 missionaries.  Some of the things were pretty bizarre.  They then read the most popular ones to the whole group.

This is lucky table number 13.  Arlene, Sister Holmes, her husband is off doing something, Bro/Sis Creagh, and the  Lyman's.  

Most of the room.  Our table is in the far corner of the room.

We also got to hear from the Dallings, the Fitches, and the Leaches as they will be leaving before our next big get together.  We always give every couple a chance to speak to the group of missionaries and talk about how Nauvoo and their mission has affected them while they were here.  It is always special to hear heartfelt testimonies and see a few tears well up in their eyes as they express their love for their time in Nauvoo and their experiences here.  It's a nice touch to the evenings.  We, on the other hand, have another year, as we will just be completing our first 6 months here next Saturday.  Believe that?  We've been here 6 months net Saturday!  Weird, huh?

We had a pretty good time tonight.

Arlene got to talk to her sister one last time this afternoon but she was not responding at all.  She was not capable of responding.  She passed away this afternoon at about 3 PM after a long 5 year battle with cancer.  Arlene received the call when we got home after the activity tonight.  Arlene will not be able to attend the funeral.  Both Linda and Arlene knew this before we left on our mission.  It was their mutual decision when she visited her earlier this year before we came back.  Sad, but life goes on.  She is now enjoying a pain free life with her Mom, Dad, and many other family members that have passed on before.  She is probably doing lots of things and is busy as can be.  The rest of us and her family will carry on.  It is the way of things.  Till we meet again, Linda.  Blessings on your family.

090715

Labor Day 2015.  While not in Kalifornia this year, we are in Nauvoo.  Decided to just stay home and relax a bit, get some stuff done.  It was supposed to rain all day, but it didn't.  Not a drop.  The grass is showing it, too.  The corn is drying in the fields and some of the crops are not doing too well but I have no idea if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

We had a "Sociable" or get together this afternoon over at the Nauvoo State Park with all of the missionaries.

Some sitting out in the shade enjoying each others company.

 

Some packed in under the cover.

Picking up their food at the potluck table.  That's President Hansen, counselor in the temple presidency, on the left.

The open Bar-B-Que for everyone to cook their own whatever from veggies to steaks.  We had tube steaks and chicken breast.

We all gathered around the next missionaries to leave Nauvoo as their time has come to "abandon" us.  The Wilsons, on the left, will be leaving this Friday morning and the Fords, to their right, will be leaving the next week on the 15th.  Tears were shed as we've gotten to know these wonderful brothers and sisters as they serve in various capacities here in Nauvoo over their stint.  When you see them every day they become like family in a very short time.

The Fords and the Wilsons are the last of the 18 months missionaries here in Nauvoo.  The church will be limiting the length of stay, for the most part, to 6 months to 12 months for most missionaries from now on, with the exception of the engineers as we are so hard headed and take a lot longer to get trained.  It's a bit counterproductive to have an engineer stay for only a few months.  About the time he gets to know what's going on, he leaves.  That's not a good thing.  Both summer and winter missionaries.  We have a few coming in over the next couple of weeks to replace those leaving.  Odd thing is, some of them think this is a vacation and not a mission.  We haven't quite figured that one out yet.  We're putting in a 40+ hour week and doing a session once a week plus online work once a week so we're really doing about a 60 hour week.  I'm guessing that qualifies as a full time mission.  One of the other engineers always remarks that I am always here.  "Well, yeah, I didn't come here to play, ya know.  I'm here to serve."  However, it makes for some really long days.  Friday starts at about 6:45 Am and ends at 10:30 PM.  Pretty long day but worth it....

...and, of course, the obligatory Happy Birthday song to the September birthdays.  Note the change when they get to the names!  That was funny.  Couldn't get in everyone's name...  Well, we do try...

So, when I went out for my morning Flog, it was 75 degrees and 88% humidity since it rained last night, finally...argh, that was ugly!

BTW, it takes a lot of people to staff the Nauvoo Temple.  These pictures ought to prove it.  Come November 8th, or thereabouts, the summer missionaries will be leaving and we go to our winter configuration and hours.  Only a couple of sessions a day and closed on Mondays.  Open on Saturdays all day.  So, we should have a lot of time to get some engineering projects done in the temple.  Not so sure I am looking forward to it.  We'll need to shut down the chillers/cooling towers and get everything ready for winter.  The boilers are already running so that's no biggy.  Just the winterizing the other equipment.  Having been living in the West, this will be a new experience for me.  Haven't lived in cold weather in a few decades either.  So, looking forward to that...

090115

Last Monday night we said goodbye to the Houghtons.  They had been Temple missionaries with us for several months.  Sister Houghton was having some issues with her kidneys and stones.  When they finally got the stones figured out and she was on the mend, they found out she had evidence of cancer.  So, that forces an immediate end to the mission and a much more difficult future than a mission.  They had to report to the Huntsman Cancer Center in Utah last Thursday and we haven't heard anything yet.  We're hoping all is going well.  We got to spend a little time with them on their last night with us and say goodbye as only missionaries can.

The Houghtons

Doing what missionaries do when they get together...junk food!  Good stuff...

Over the next few weeks we will be starting to loose our summer missionaries.  The Wilsons and the Fords are leaving this coming week.  They have been here for 18 months and are the last of those serving that long.  Most are here for only 6 months or 12 months but that is only a few.  We do have one couple that is here for 18 months and are not an engineer couple but that tis not the norm.  Most engineer couples serve for 12 to 18 months.  It's harder to get those kinds of missionaries.

Tonight, Sept 6, we had "break the fast" at our house and we were able to have 3 other couples over for Mom's chicken noodle casserole.  I guess it went over pretty well as most of it was gone.  We then ran over to the stake center for a fireside for the missionaries where Robert L Wright talked about the symbols of the temple.  I just love listening to these people hat know so much more than I will ever know.  It just amazes me.

After dinner I was talking to Elder Bishopp who was in the Seattle Temple presidency a couple of years ago and knew my sister in law, Linda Alger.  Linda is going through a rough stretch with cancer and is not expected dot make it.  Any day we expect to get "the call".  At any rate, while talking to Elder Bishopp, I had mentioned that I had served on the USS George Washington, SSBN 598.  It turns out that he also served on her about 2 years before I did, prior to her going into drydock and rehab.  I caught her towards the end of drydock.  This is truly a small world.  One never knows who you'll run into in the church.  Just amazing.  Although he was not able to qualify as a submariner, he did do a 2 month cruise on the old "Georgefish".

We will be doing a Labor Day thing tomorrow night.  More to follow, I'm sure...