I'm sure Spring is here. . . .

     Another great week in Maryland.. We have had wonderful weather here in Maryland and only a light sprinkle on a couple days for a brief period.

                   This beautiful tree is on a corner that we drive by quite often, don't know

what kind of tree it is, but it is so amazingly beautiful..

     We spent several hours on Monday with a very special sister who is going through a very tough time in her marriage. We were there to listen and offer any support we could.  She is our friend and this came out of the blue for us.. At times like this I just wish I knew all the right things to say and do..  so I guess our support and listening ear were what we could offer to her and what she needed.

    
     On Tuesday we drove down to Lexington Park, one of the new areas we will be serving in starting in April. It is the peninsula on the eastern side of Maryland situated between the Chesapeake Bay and the Patuxent river.. it is about 45 minutes south of our apartment. The drive down is beautiful and easy, one long stretch of highway the entire way.  We had a wonderful meeting with the relief society presidencies of both the Lexington Park ward and the Patuxent ward along with the stake relief society presidency.  It was so great to get to know these sisters before we started working in their area.  We were able to share with them what our mission was all about and the things we would need from them to help us serve in their areas more effectively.  They are excited for us to begin our assignment in their areas and we are excited too. 

 Colleen Martines, RS President of Patuxtent Ward

 Beth Boswell, stake RS Presidency & her grandson Liam

Norma Goode, Stake RS Presidency

     On our way home from Lexington Park we stopped by this cute antique boutique called "The Apple Basket", and it was amazing..It is going to be hard to drive by there every day for 3 months and not stop every time.. I found a few cute things and they also carried my favorite candles by Tyler.

     Wednesday was our day to serve in the temple and we now have a new companion to ride with us.. Bonnie Ramon was working on the Thursday morning shift and changed to Wednesday so we can all ride together.  I had one of the most spiritual things happen in the area I was directing. We had a young woman who was 22 years old and a quadriplegic.  She came with her mom and her aunt. She was in a power wheel chair and her mom helped navigate her way around while she was there.  She was so sweet and so humble and I loved helping her as she served in the temple. Wednesdays are always long days for us.. We leave home about 10:45 and get home about 9:00.. but it is a good tired.. I just love the women I work with and love to serve in the temple and love to have special experiences like I had on Wednesday.

      Thursday is a slow starting day, since we had such a long day on Wednesday.. We called a couple sisters to see if we could set up visits and had to leave messages. We also contacted Elizabeth to see how she was doing. When we saw her on the weekend her knee was really swollen and red and she was expecting lots of family visiting this weekend to attend her son Jackson's baptism. She said that it was feeling much better and she was able to get ready for her company without our help..So happy her knee is doing better.. We then visited with Becky our visiting teacher and had a great talk. She is so caring and compassionate and such a joy to be with.  Our last visit of the day was with Suz, for her birthday. She had invited us over for éclair cake and to celebrate.  It was not only her birthday, but also her son Tyler's also.   


     We live in the same apartment complex as the 4 elders that serve in White Plains 1st & 2nd wards with us.  They are so much fun and come visit us & check on us often.  They are such awesome missionaries and doing a fantastic job serving the Lord and the people of these 2 wards. We really want to adopt each of them as substitute grandsons..

 Elder Peterson & Elder Cottrell

 Sister Brown, Elder Cottrell & me

The 4 of us

 Elder Shurtleff & Elder Fisher

 Elder Shurtleff's new companion Elder Epperson

Elder Shurtleff will be going home on April 25, we are sad for us and excited for him.

   

  I am so happy that this weekend was General Conference and we got to hear counsel and inspiration from the general authorities of the church.  We spent the weekend with the Ramon's and were able to watch conference at their home, both Saturday and Sunday.   

     Saturday evening we had dinner after conference at Norma's home and then all the gals went to the "This is the Place" bookstore while the men were at the priesthood session of conference.  Conference always touches my heart and I am motivated by the beautiful music & the  talks shared.

This thought by Henry B Eyring touched me,
 "How can we lay our foundation of faith"
*Service with full heart and soul
*Personal integrity creates the solid ground in our faith
*Christ will forgive us if we forgive ourselves."

Russell M. Nelson said " The spirit needs nourishment daily just as the body requires food each day"

M. Russell Ballard said, " There is no happiness without service. If we will devote our time to our families our lives will improve". 

Neil L. Anderson said, " At the final day it will be, what think Christ of me?"

    The next couple weeks are going to be busy as we wind down our efforts in the White Plains 1st and 2nd wards & get ready to start serving in the Lexington Park & Patuxtent wards.  We will be there until July and then we switch again.. We will get to see a lot of  Maryland & DC from capital hill to the southern tip, and meet a lot of wonderful people as we work the next 11 months.