The week flew by and I'm struggling a little about what to write.  We have a new secretary and we are busy doing our jobs and helping to train her.  We are grateful she is here.  We also have some pretty amazing news that two new office couples are coming to our mission.  They are entering the MTC at the same time and will arrive here mid-February.  This is great news since we are leaving the end of February and the Vehicle coordinator is leaving the end of January.  It's a real blessing to be completely staffed.

You kids, our kids,  would be really pleased with your Dad.  He's been so patient and so kind as he's taught the new secretary how to do her job.  He's been teaching her how to do things in an easier way.  He's helped her so much, and me so much, and Sister Braaten so much.  All of us would have had a lot harder time here if it weren't for him.  The mission nurse said to me, "I can't believe how patient your husband is with Sister Wilson.  He's taken her under his wing and he's teaching her all kinds of good things."   I told her he's really blossomed here.  That's a joke.  I think I've written this before, but one of the senior sisters that used to be here said, "It makes me so mad when my husband says I've really blossomed here.  I was in full bloom before I ever came!!!"

We kind of got cheated of a beautiful fall.  The red trees turned red, but the yellow and orange trees just turned brown and fell off the trees. Good thing we got to see the fabulous colors last year.

We took a missionary to the airport this week.  He's going home for medical reasons.  Funny Story: He stayed overnight at the mission home Thursday night.  Friday morning the mission President dropped him off at the office, but no one was there because we were all at Zone Conference.  What was he thinking?  We've been sitting there at zone conference for about a half hour and Sister Strong comes and asks us if anyone is at the office because they dropped off Elder Burnham there.  We about died.  So Chris rushes out to drive to the office and get him.  As it turned out, some missionaries that have a key had to pick something up there before zone conference, so they let him into the office.  Mission miracle!  We love him and we will miss him.

Zone Conference was wonderful!

We're talking in church tomorrow.  Our grandson, Isaac, is reporting his mission in church tomorrow.  Wish we could be there.

My talk is on Gratitude in any circumstances, so here's what I wrote about being grateful in MY circumstances.


***I’m thankful I’m so tired because it means I am here on a mission and I’m around all the wonderful missionaries every day.


***I’m thankful I’m so tired because it means I sleep really well at night.


***I am thankful we’ve missed some of our grandchildren’s baptisms because it means I am learning more about love than I ever imagined, especially Jesus Christ’s love.


***I am thankful we are not in Utah today listening to our grandson report his mission because it means that we are here in this ward and have been reminded that God understands all languages and loves all of his children.


***I’m thankful we can’t be there to help our kids when they are suffering, because it means we’ve seen our kids rally around each other.  
  
***I’m thankful my brain is fried and I’m overwhelmed and I can’t remember anything because it means I have become best friends with the Holy Ghost.