This was our last
week to serve in the Calvert ward.. gee I hate to move on just when we get to
know people.. this truly was a wonderful place to be for the last two months
and I will miss not only the fantastic friends we have made, but I will also miss
the
Chesapeake Bay on a daily basis.. Yes we can come
back and visit, but we won't see the beautiful view each day.. but as they say;
with change come great things.. so I know that we will find new treasures in
the Bowie Ward.
The Chesapeake Bay
We had our usual Monday
morning phone marathon, calling to set up appointments. We called over 28
sisters and made 5 appointments and had hopes for many call backs and more
bookings.. We headed out in the
afternoon to visit with two of our favorite people. Both Lynn and Victoria live at Tate's
Place. Lynn and her husband have lived
there for about a year and Victoria
has lived with the Tate's for over 30 years.
Lynn suffers from major
headaches and Sister Brown had gotten a book for her that her doctor
recommended because of her headaches. She and her husband live in a cute little
bungalow on the Tate's property. Her
husband is the caretaker of the property and Lynn
helps out both her husband and Sister Tate.
It was great to sit down with her and get to know her a little
better. Victoria
joined us over at Lynn's.. and she
is such a darling. She is originally
from Liberia
and still after being in the US
for many years has very broken English.. She told us how she came to the states
when she was a young woman. A family was
leaving Liberia
and wanted to bring Victoria with
them and they asked her mother.. Her mother said Victoria
was hard worker, loved children and very honest, so the rest is history and she
has lived her every since. After the
children in that family grew up, she joined the Tate's and have been with them
ever since.
Lynn, Me & Victoria
I was down and
out for a couple days with a bladder infection and really hate to miss going
out..but I felt awful. So I stayed in and recuperated..
We had
visited Peg before, but felt inspired to visit again while we were still
serving in Calvert. She is really fun to
visit.. we learned some great new things about her on this visit.. She is a
baseball fanatic.. She loves the Baltimore
Orioles.. She played slow pitch soft ball for 30 years and has been a season
ticket holder for the Orioles for years.
She also creates the most beautiful baskets, is a member of the Red Hat
Society.. and has a great time in everything she does. She had a beautiful big flowering bush just outside her front door that she said was a butterfly bush and it was a flutter with butterflies.. They are all over the area right now..
The butterfly bush at Peg's house. Full of beautiful butterflies
Some of the beautiful baskets made by Peg
We were wondering
where we should have lunch and it is always a good idea to ask the locals their
favorites and Peg had a couple of great ideas.
We decided to go to the "Lunch Box".. restaurant and we were
so happy we did.. It is in an old house that has been refurbished and the food
was fantastic.. She also shared some of her other favorites and we will try
them later.. one is very close to our apartment..
Beautiful old house restored into the "Lunch Box" restaurant
We were excited
to be visiting with Amy, since she and her family had been gone all summer to
her home town of Tremonton, Utah. She has had 2 brain surgeries..one 5 years
ago and another in March of this year.. She said she had to learn a lot of
things over and I said that you would never know.. She is the mom of 4 and her
youngest Isaac who is 3, looked out the window when we arrived and said
"hey mom, they look just like they do in church".. He stayed with him
mom while we visited with her. Her
husband is a high school Spanish teacher. He has a wonderful singing voice and
has sung with the National Choir and would love to have it for a full time
job..
We visited
with our Amish friend Magadelina Stoltzfus, who owns the quilt shop and I had
decided to purchase one of her beautiful quilts. I fell in love with it the first time we
visited her shop.. When we arrived there were about 12 of her darling
grandchildren playing in the yard. The
girls all had their hair styled into a very classic bun in the back and the
boys all sported cute dutch bobs, with the exception of one adorable little
towhead that had a head full of curls.. they were so cute and came into the
shop when we went in and loved to play hide n' seek and I would find them and
they would all giggle and all dash to a new hiding place.. until their Grama
had had enough and had them all go outside to play. Magadelina has 14 children and
"107" grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.. She is such a sweet
lady that we have grown so fond of.. I am thankful she will let me pay a little
each month on my quilt...
Saturday was our
monthly event for the senior missionaries.. We were all invited to President
and Sister Matsumories home for a bar-b-cue.
It is about 2 hours north of us.
It was a special day for a lot of reasons.. It was the last time we
would be able to see some of the friends we have made that will be going home
in a week or so.. and we got to meet several of the new missionary couples who
have just arrived. There were about 45
of us there and we had each helped with the lunch, by bringing different things
to add. I brought veggies and dip and
Sister Brown brought watermelon. The
table was laid out with anything and everything you could ever want to
eat.. Each of the missionary couples who
were going home shared a moment with us and what their mission meant to
them. We also heard that the missionary
department in SLC has decided to continue the "Women's Auxiliary
Specialist" mission in the Washington DC North Mission, they will
be sending replacements here for Sister Brown and I when we leave to go home..
We are so excited for this wonderful news.. and so happy we could be a part of
this amazing new program.
It is deer mating
season back here and so the deer are out everywhere.. I makes driving a little
precarious..they just jump out in front of cars and they are everywhere, not
just in the country, but also in the city as well.. Today when we were driving we
saw a couple.. just standing by the road.. So now when we head out we are so
very careful to keep a sharp eye out as we drive.
We are excited that on Monday Calvert Ward is
having their annual Labor Day Picnic.. So it will one more opportunity to spend
some time with all our friends from there..
Have a wonderful
holiday and stay cool back there in Arizona..
No comments:
Post a Comment