​As I have studied, I have been reminded that “out of small things proceed that which is great.” In late March we were able to visit a maple sugar farm and learn about the process of making maple syrup from maple sap. We were able to take a tour with Elder and Sister Dixon (the other senior couple serving in the Lowell First Ward) and thoroughly enjoyed learning about syrup. We learned that it takes 40 gallons of maple sap to produce one gallon of maple syrup. Truly a great thing proceeding out of a small thing for those that love maple syrup. We saw the taps that are used to pierce the trunk and drain the syrup into pails. We have some pictures of that day and our tour of the sugar shack at Charmingfare Farm in Candia, New Hampshire and have included some of them below.

​In March I was able to be reunited with one of my missionary companions for my time in the Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission. Elder Michael Blackburn of Boise, ID was traveling here on business and was able to attend our Spanish Group in the Lowell Ward and visit a bit with us. Mike and I were in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) together and then went to the same mission. We then became companions just before the one-year mark of our missions. We had great success together. We were paired together at a pivotal point in my mission where I was about ready to call it quits. His easy going and positive demeanor literally rescued me at the point. All missionaries experience a time of trial on their mission and Mike Blackburn was what I needed.  Below is a then and now picture of us. We haven’t changed a bit! (Sarcasm intended here.)

​One of our most eagerly anticipated experiences is to attend the temple with friends who have been recently baptized. We were able to help one such friend, Jordan Lucas, prepare his grandfather’s name for baptism and confirmation in the temple and then drive him and Sisters Cattani and Evans to the temple in Belmont, MA. Their Jordan was baptized and confirmed for his grandfather and a few of my family names. He was then able to baptize Sister Cattani and Sister Evans for some of my family names. It was a very special experience to be able to assist with this. Jordan is a good guy and we are glad we’ve been able to help in this regard.

In early April our son Mark, his wife Bonnie, and our grandsons Hayden, Jace, and Oliver drove from Kentucky to spend the coldest spring break in the history of mankind with us! It was wonderful to see family again and enjoy how much our grandsons had grown! We were able to spend a freezing day at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, and then drive up the beautiful New Hampshire coast to Portsmouth, NH and tour the USS Albacore submarine museum. Our grandsons were amazed at how small things are on a submarine, especially the berthing compartments with the bunks (racks in navy terminology). We also saw some lighthouses in Portsmouth. We were able to then go and tour the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial in South Royalton, Vermont and receive a tour from the senior couple that serve there. That was a special experience for the family. We then were able to go to the Rauner Special Collections library at Dartmouth College and view a rare first edition copy of the Book of Mormon. For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this is akin to seeing a Guttenberg Bible. These editions are rare and not easily seen by the public. But at the Rauner Special Collections Library, all I needed to do was exchange my drivers license and the book was brought out for us to view and gently handle. One person was allowed to change to pages. This book means a lot to me and it was interesting to see the layout of the printing as it first appeared. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. Our visit with family rounded out with an approved trip to Boston and a tour of the USS Constitution. It was another cold day so the rest of that day was spent in the Boston Children’s Museum, which the boys thoroughly enjoyed and I highly recommend it future visitors.

​Another Zone Conference has come and gone. These conferences are the anchor that holds each six-week transfer period together in a young missionary’s life. Senior missionaries are not subject to transfers, so we stay where we are, and the young missionaries come and go. Each time one of them leaves our beloved Lowell District, we lament the loss and then welcome a new one in to take their place. These young missionaries become our focus and an extension of our family. This past transfer saw our Hermana Fife finishing her mission and returning home. We’ve been able to associate with her for the entirety of our mission as she was here in Lowell when we arrived, and never left the state of Massachusetts during her mission. Sister Cattani, who is nearly our neighbor in San Tan Valley, AZ, also returned home, as well as our district leader, Elder Apolonio, who returned to his native Brazil. We are very proud of our Lowell District and call it the “promised land” of the mission. We feel it our duty to spoil the missionaries as much as possible.

After nearly a year’s delay we drove to Stockbridge in western Massachusetts and visited the Norman Rockwell Museum. Norman Rockwell was able to capture American life in ways that few artists have been able to accomplish. We enjoyed viewing his many magazine covers. I had forgotten that he painted many covers for Boys Life magazine that every boy scout will remember. His attention to detail was amazing. We enjoyed a guided tour of the museum and the beautiful grounds surrounding it. We met up with Elder and Sister Banks who serve in Pittsfield, MA for lunch. They are finishing their mission at the end of this month, and we will miss our association with them. They made us feel welcome when we arrived in the mission over a year ago now and we will miss them!

​And lastly, it is Cambodian New Year and once again the Lowell First Ward celebrated the even with a ward party with good fellowship, good music, and good food for everyone! We truly love the people of this ward and value their friendship and welcoming spirit.

​On March 4, 2023 it marked one year ago that we arrived in Lowell, Massachusetts and began our service in the Lowell First Ward. There is one constant truth in being a missionary, time passes more quickly than you realize. It seems impossible that that we have now served for over a year of our mission.
 
We were able to travel to the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial this past week and drove two missionaries, Sisters Cattani and Evans, and their friend Jordan Lucas who is getting baptized on March 26. As we drove, we were able to hear the sisters teach about Joseph Smith and the restoration and feel the enthusiasm of Jordan as he shared his thoughts on the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the gospel. South Royalton, Vermont is 126 miles from Lowell. We had good weather and only a little bit of snow on the journey. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground at the memorial. We enjoyed the tour given by senior missionary couple serving there. We were surprised to learn that this couple from Pocatello, ID lived in the same ward as we did in 1984 when I was training as a reactor operator in the United States Navy. We didn’t know each other then but shared the common bond that members of the church have by living in the same congregation.
 
Here are a few pictures from that experience:

​Joseph Smith’s life was one of great spiritual highs and revelatory moments, and also one of unsurpassed trials and tribulations. The truths restored through his prophetic ministry are life changing. For some these truths collide with worldly values and trends. But they remain there to lift us. I wrote a poem about truths and the fabric and structure they give to my life like stone fences in my wife’s native England and that are found here in New England as well.

We continue to enjoy serving with our young missionaries here in the Lowell District in the Nashua Zone. Two of our missionaries are now in the last transfer of their mission and will return home on April 7. Sister Cattani from Queen Creek, AZ and Elder Apolonio from Brazil. We have enjoyed serving with them as well as the other missionaries who have served in Lowell. Sister Cattani lives one mile from our house in Arizona and before her mission, was the babysitter for our niece Tiffany Taylor. It is a small world in the church! We also have a new sister missionary (hermana), Sister Cahoon, serving in the ward and we have enjoyed getting to know her. Two of our favorite missionaries, Hermana Fife, will also head home on April 7th and is finishing her mission. She and Hermana Smedshammer (who just returned home this week) were the first Spanish speaking missionaries we served with here in Lowell. Parents of missionaries, I think you might think that you are seeing the growth in your sons and daughters from afar, but I have to tell you that I don’t think you will really comprehend it until they are home again and you see the change a mission has made in their lives.

The Lowell Ward recently had a Chili and Chocolate cook off that was well attended. Sister Zollinger decided to compete in the chocolate competition (imagine that). We were very happy when our little Spanish Group took top honors in the dessert category. Here are pictures from that event and you can judge for yourself on the cake she made.

At a recent zone conference I was impressed by a young sister missionary who used the line, "we all have to find the right tools to face our giants in life." This made me reflect on the story of David and Goliath and how David chose five smooth stones to use in his sling against the giant. He only needed one stone to do the job, but he was prepared with four extras. I have observed in life that it is always good to have a backup plan and to have the right tool/weapon for the job. I wrote a poem about this and will share it here.

One year ago, today we entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. It was a fitting today to begin our missionary journey together. It is one year later, and it is hard to believe that we have been serving for twelve months! Time has flown by most of the time and we are still enjoying our service in Lowell, Massachusetts. Today we returned from errands and found a package on our doorstep. Some lovely gifts from the Thomas family in Taos, New Mexico. Sister Zollinger and I grew to love the people of the Taos Ward and have many fond memories of our visits to Taos over the 15 years that I served in the stake presidency of the Santa Fe New Mexico Stake. It became our home away from home. The gifts were unique to Taos and will hold a special place in our heart.
A couple of Saturdays ago we had the blessing of attending the Boston Massachusetts Temple with a group of new members who had been baptized recently in the Lowell First Ward and three of the young women in the ward. Sister Zollinger and I had helped two of the couples find family names for their first visit to the temple. With the recent changes to how baptisms and confirmations are performed, the husbands were able to baptize their wives for their family. In one case for the mother and grandmother of the sister and the grandmother of another. To start things off the young women who have done this before led the way to show the new members how it is done. What a great experience to see them do this in the temple. The day started out very cold with temperatures below zero outside. Inside, however, it was very warm with knowledge of the ordinances being performed for their ancestors. Here is a picture outside that day of those who went.

​Last Saturday we had a Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evening) in the Spanish Group and I taught the lesson. I used an object lesson with a uncooked egg, water, and salt to teach the principal of how by doing simple things in our lives we can improve our outlook and float above our troubles and become happy. Here is Mr. Egg who starred in the lesson.

​February is a month of special dates in our family. February 6, 2004 we adopted our daughters in the Ukraine, February 13, 2004 we arrived back with them in the United States. February is also the month of Sister Zollinger’s birthday. I wrote up the experience of adopting our daughters for our family so that everyone would know all the miracles that took place along the way. Here is that story if you are interested in reading about it. It isn't short and please excuse my writing ability.

In the past year we've met many special missionaries. One of those is Hermana Isabella Fife who was here in Lowell when we got here and served the first ten months of her mission in Lowell. We still get to see her and her companions from time to time. We like to spoil our missionaries occasionally! Until next time! 

We continue assisting in the English classes that are held each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings at the Lowell chapel. The attendance has increased in recent weeks and there is an average of 15 to 17 Spanish and Portuguese native speakers there at any given class. The young missionaries do an excellent job facilitating this class. The students are dedicated learners. In one class I helped them learn phrases that would help in the job interviews and searches. One young man approached me a couple of classes and excitedly told me that he successfully gotten a job as a mechanic! We had practiced how to say "I have five years of experience as a mechanic," in English. It is rewarding to be able to help people. Here is a picture of a recent class.

Our winter has been fairly mild but we have had some snow in the past few weeks. A family who had responsibility for snow removal made some entertaining snowmen for everyone's enjoyment.

We had a recent zone conference for the Nashua, Worchester, and Exeter Zones. Our inspired mission president, Stephen Hayden, gave a day long workshop to the missionaries on how to give and receive feedback. You can tell he was corporate trainer for Apple computer in his previous life. He did a masterful job that will help these young people on their mission, but also for the rest of their working and married lives. 

Lastly, it has been almost one year since we entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on February 14, 2022. And yet that amount of time has passed. Here is a picture of us with our district in the MTC. It does not seem possible that amount of time as passed, and yet it has. 

This time of year has led me to reflect on the significance of the Christmas Star that led the Wisemen to find the promised Messiah. The star led them on their journey to find the savior of all mankind and they brought him gifts that were suitable for a king. Although born in humble circumstances they recognized his greatness. I realized that in this day and age that if such a thing occurred it would have been difficult to start on such a journey to follow a "star" that would lead to the birthplace of a reputed king. The public ridicule would be intense.  Would I have had the faith  to follow the signs? And yet we all have the benefit of a Christmas Star in our lives through the holy scriptures and the words of the prophets, and even more importantly the influences of the spirit in our lives. The admonition to "follow that star" still rings true if we can recognize that it has never vanished from the heavens as long as we hold it in our heart.
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​On December 14 two anniversaries were celebrated. First, it has been 44 years since I entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) to begin my mission to the Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission. It has been so long ago that it seems it was in another lifetime. Second, it has now been 10 months since we started this mission to the New Hampshire Manchester Mission. That doesn’t seem possible either, yet here are almost one year into our 23-month mission. On December 19th we celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary. That also doesn’t seem possible. Here we are eight children and eighteen grandchildren later. 

We’ve grown to love the members of our Spanish group in the Lowell First Ward. One of those families we have been able to get to know is the Nerio family. Their daughter Elisabeth turned eight earlier this month and asked me to baptize and confirm her on December 21st. This I gladly did. She is a cute little girl with a big smile, and I couldn’t very well say no to her. It was a sweet experience since it has been many years since I’ve baptized anyone in Spanish. 

​On Christmas Day and we enjoyed a beautiful Christmas program in the Lowell First Ward. The Portuguese Branch and Young Single Adult Ward joined with our ward with the English, Spanish and Khmer groups for a memorable sacrament meeting. Readings of the scriptures of the Christmas story were done in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Khmer (Cambodian) accompanied by beautiful performed musical numbers. It was a meeting to honor the Lord’s birth that perfectly framed the diversity of the Lowell congregations. We were invited to enjoy a Christmas dinner with Paul and Reta Brown and had a great time with their family. We’ve had a wonderful Christmas season that started with delivering Christmas gifts two days ago to some members of the congregation as a token of love from the ward family. We were invited on Christmas Eve to celebrate Noche Buena with members of the Spanish group. It was a fun night of visiting and games and food from Columbia, and Guatemala. Very tasty cooking and even better company.

We enjoyed a Christmas Zone Conference in December The missionaries continue to amaze us with their dedication and knowledge. They got to enjoy some Christmas spirit and festivity which helps to make their separation from family more bearable. Here is the latest zone picture: 

And here is our district after our white elephant gift exchange on December 26, 2022:
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Another senior missionary couple joined us in December. Elder and Sister Dixon have been assigned to the Lowell 1st Ward to work with the Cambodian Group. They don't speak Khmer but will work with those that do. We are glad to have another set of hands in the ward. We also had the opportunity to take the Phommaa Family to see the temple grounds at the Boston Temple. Shawn and his wife Dasani and their daughter Anna were baptized on December 30th and are the newest members of the Lowell 1st Ward. Here they are at the temple:

Another sweet experience occurred in December when Todd Baker,  a member of the Temple Preparation Class we teach, was able to attend the Boston Temple and make sacred covenants in the company of friends from the ward. Here is a picture of  us on that day.

We hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas season will enjoy a very happy New Year!

It is Thanksgiving weekend, and we have much to be grateful for in this blog posting. First, we are grateful to be on this mission and to enjoy good health (except for minor illnesses and body aches). Our family is healthy and safe, and all are well. Secondly, our good friends were married and baptized this past weekend. Ramon and Cynthia live here in Lowell. We’ve known them for several months now as they began attending our Spanish group and being taught by the young missionaries. On Saturday, November 19 they were married in a ceremony conducted by our bishop. It was a lovely wedding that the members of the Spanish group decorated for and made very special for them. They are from Peru, so it was arranged for their family to view the ceremony via Zoom from Peru. Elder Zollinger was asked to escort Cynthia down the aisle, that was reminiscent of our daughter Vika’s wedding. We were able to talk to Ramon’s parents and sister via Zoom and congratulate them on their son’s wedding. Ramon’s parents have been receiving the missionaries in Cuzco and have been attending church there.

​The next day on Sunday, November 20, 2022, Ramon and Cynthia were baptized and confirmed members of the church in a very special service. The couple have two young sons, David (4), and Josue (3). The whole experience was special for the Spanish group as they have become beloved members of the group over the past few months. Now they will work towards making temple covenants in the future as they grow and progress in the church.

Reflecting on these events and what it means to follow the word of God, I wrote a poem that reflects my thoughts and feelings:

​Each day I live and walk with God
I grasp with faith His iron rod
It leads along a narrow path to guide me through life’s wheat and chaff
The rod is long and straight and sure and leads me to His distant shore
It is His word the scriptures say; forged in fire to guide my way
Most times I walk straight with care; the rod lightly clasped but always there
Sometimes I stumble and lose my grasp; my spirits sag and my hopes are dashed
On my knees I tearfully seek the rod’s close comfort on my dampened cheeks
Then, I’m up again with my grasp renewed; my tears now dried my journey not through
His iron rod cannot be seen with mortal eyes by you and me
Instead it enters in our hearts and with fire emblazoned on our inner parts
For then this iron from His rod unseen strong bones for mortal men will be

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that even though life might be hard at times, we can count our blessings still the same.

We had a Zone Conference in the few two weeks, and we are constantly amazed at the ability of these young missionaries. They are awesome! We are also amazed at our mission leaders, President and Sister Hayden. They are incredible! The amount of work and effort they put in for this calling is incalculable. They are always on the go traveling to all corners of the mission. We respect them so much!​​
​There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 18: 8 that has always had great significance for me. It reads in part, “… and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light …”
When I think back on my life; I have been aided in good measure by those who were willing to “bear one another’s burdens that they may be light.” When we lived in California I was called as a bishop of the Oakley Ward. We had four children at the time and the pressures of a demanding job, being father, and those of a bishop were crushing at times. We had a small home that needed some additional soil brought in for the back yard to fill the flower beds along the back fence. My wife arranged for soil to be delivered to our driveway so we could use a wheelbarrow and move it to the back. Then we had some emergency and she needed to leave town and I stayed at home to take care of the boys. We had forgotten about the delivery of the soil until it was dumped in front of the garage door effectively sealing our car inside. When I looked at the pile of dirt in the driveway it seemed to grow larger and larger before my eyes. How could I ever move this mountain on my own. The pile seemed to represent all the pressures in my life, my job, my family, and my calling as bishop. I felt paralyzed as how to even begin to move this mountain. Then I heard the sound of a wheelbarrow coming around the corner. It was our home teacher (ministering brother) Rich Tumin coming toward me. “Bishop, I saw this pile of dirt and thought you could use some help.” Together we visited as we moved the dirt to the back yard and into place. It seemed that it was done in no time at all. The emotional mountain in my mind was also lifted and removed and my burdens seemed to be bearable once again. Rich was willing to bear my burdens and make them light. He probably had no idea of the other burdens that were pressing so heavily on my mind when he came to help. But I knew he had been sent to help me. In my time as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we have had many earthly angels who have lifted burdens. Rich Tumin is one and Ed Kettering the other. Ed Kettering became our home teacher in Los Alamos, NM during a time with other heavy burdens. He and his wife Barbara became adoptive grandparents to our children. Ed solved innumerable handyman catastrophes and is another great example of lifting burdens on too many occasions to describe. They are great men who I love immensely.

​​We have now been on our mission for nine months. Last night we had the first snowfall in Lowell, MA. But it was all gone by morning with a steady rain washing it away. It is getting colder, and I have finally broken down and started wearing a jacket outside. The fall colors are gone, and the leaves are now brown or on the ground.

“What do member and leader support missionaries do?” That question often comes our way. Last Sunday evening we were invited to attend an adult fireside in the Worcester Massachusetts Stake and participate in a panel discussion about senior adult missionary service. To answer that question, we shared what our normal day was like. We teach English on MWF evenings. In the mornings we study and then take time to look for members who have not been contacted in a while. But our daily activities vary. For example, on 10/31 we received a call from a member who had been referred to us by the elder’s quorum president. This member was going to have a job interview via Zoom but had some trouble with his laptop and needed assistance doing the interview from the church. He is a native Spanish speaker and asked if I could help him. I said yes and drove to the church and stayed there during the interview at his request in case technical issues developed. While I was at the church Lynn received a call from a member in Arizona who had somehow gotten our phone number. They wanted us to check on a family member in Lowell because their father had died, and they were not answering the phone so that the family could inform them of his passing. We went to the house but could not get anyone to come to the door. When we reported this to the family member, we were requested to call the police to do a welfare check on the individual. There were concerns that they might be incapacitated. This we did and the police came, and the individual was seen and evaluated. In this example you can see that we do whatever might be needed.
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​We have many covered bridges in New England. They too serve as an example of helping us cross over difficulties in life. Rivers of trial and rapids of chaos. Here are pictures of the shortest bridge we’ve encountered; and the longest dual carriage covered bridge in the United States. 

One of our weekly pleasures is to give a ride to Mutual to a young man named Francisco Nerio in our Spanish Group. A few weeks ago Francisco asked me to ordain him a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. He is an outstanding young man and has a wonderful family. It was a privilege to ordain him. Something I have not done since my boys were teenagers.

Thanksgiving is next week. I have to remind myself that we are in New England, the birthplace of the Thanksgiving celebration. We have much to be thankful for and more blessings than we deserve. We hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

I am guessing that you have thought that we have dropped off the face of the earth. Fear not! We are still here. I have just not been terribly faithful in writing this blog. We have now been here on our mission for eight and a half months and the past six weeks have gone by in a flash. The beautiful fall foliage of New England has come and nearly gone at this point.
We have become well acquainted with some of the students in our English class and have been impacted in a meaningful way by their stories of how they have come to America and sacrifices they have made to get here. It is quite different from what you might think when you listen to the stories in the press and the so-called experts on the nightly news. One of the most dedicated students in the class recently told us his story. To protect his privacy, I will call him Carlos. His story begins in Ecuador where he was serving his compulsory military service. His job in the military gave him access to places and people and information that ultimately led him to know things that his superiors did not want him to know or to reveal. When he left the service, he realized that his life was in peril if he stayed in the country. He made the difficult decision to leave and try to enter the United States and ask for asylum. With three friends he flew from Ecuador to Peru and then to Central America. He traveled by bus and then crossed the border to Mexico on foot and then walked the entire length of Mexico. When he crossed into the United States he spent three months in a border patrol facility in Phoenix, Arizona. He was granted temporary resident alien status while his petition for asylum goes forward. One of his friends was deported and the other has since gone back to Ecuador. It has now been seven years and his case has still not been heard. During this time, he is gainfully and legally employed and works in the construction industry. He respects the laws of this country and is working to better himself for his fiancé and his family. He works hard to learn and study English. If you met him, you would be struck by his wonderful attitude and gratitude of the opportunity to be in America. Many in the class have the same story and experience. One woman has a house cleaning business and is here legally. She asked for advice on how to tell her clients that due to inflation she need to raise her fees for her service. She has not raised her rates in eight years! With a bit of coaching that I gave her she successfully communicated her need to increase her rates without losing her customers. All these experiences cause to think and ponder the scripture, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;” (Ephesians 2:19)

Like this lighthouse in Gloucester, this country has served as beacon of hope for as long as it has existed as a nation. And also like this lighthouse, the gospel of Jesus Christ shines forth to all corners of this earth.
Another person we have a weekly experience with I will call Sarah for the purposes of this blog. Sarah is about our age. She has been here in the United States for just over a year. She is from Ethiopia. Sarah met the young Sister Missionaries along the river walk along banks of the Merrimack River. She speaks very little English; her native language is Amharic. But, in spite of the communication barrier she meets regularly with the missionaries desiring to be taught the gospel. To illustrate the modern global reach of the missionary effort, a friend of one of the sister missionaries is serving a mission in Ethiopia. The missionaries serving in Ethiopia have Zoom sessions with the Sarah and the English-speaking Sister missionaries so Sarah can be taught the gospel in her native language. Sister Zollinger and I have the happy task of picking Sarah up for church each Sunday and taking her to and from church. Sarah radiates joy each time we see her. She greets Sister Zollinger with a kiss of gratitude. She is grateful to be with fellow believers even when she understands very little of what is being taught. She is walking proof that the language of the spirit transcends all communication barriers. She has expressed the desire to be baptized. Today I saw the relief society president and my wife sitting with her during the Sunday School hour, each of them using the Gospel Library app set to display the Amharic language for Sarah so that she could read and understand the lesson being taught.

My brother Kevin and his wife Kathy visited us for a few days in October. We were able to take them to the local museum, Gloucester, and Minuteman National Park. It was good to see them and show them a bit of our adopted community. We stopped to see the memorial in the photo above. Gloucester is the oldest seaport in America. This memorial contains the names of all the men who were lost at sea between the years of 1623 an 1923. It is a sobering reminder of the perils of the deep. At the memorial a scripture is quoted in Psalms 107 : 23 - 24 which reads,
​"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep."
This perfectly describes a fisherman and his work. How we take their work for granted!

This past month we had Hispanic Culture Celebration sponsored by the Lowell First Ward Spanish Group. It was well attended, and different countries were represented with booths that proudly displayed the flag of the nation, and food from that region. There was music and dancing for all. Sister Zollinger proudly represented England at this cultural event and served sausage rolls and English candy. You may be wondering at the rich Hispanic culture in England. It didn’t matter, the Spanish Group has taken a real liking to Sister Zollinger and adopted her as their own. And for her part, she diligently studies with Duolingo every day to learn Spanish. I am very proud of her efforts. All that British grit and all. She played pass the parcel with the primary children, and it was the hit of the party.

We went to Maine to inspect missionary apartments in the far north of the mission. We stayed two nights in Bangor, Maine. Went to Machias (the northernmost area in the mission), and Newport, Maine. Sister Zollinger’s Aunt Jo Ellen lives in Jones Port, Maine and were able to meet her for lunch and Machias and then visit her beautiful home that sits across from the harbor waterways. Lobster boats bobbed in the water as we visited. Maine has taken a place in my heart, and I really do love it there. Pictures just do not do it justice. You really must see it someday if you have not.

We continue to attend the English classes and help where we can. We are in between sessions in teaching the temple preparation class but will pick that up again soon. We help the younger missionaries where needed. I teach the Spanish elder’s quorum from time to time, and we give rides to mutual and activity day for a Spanish group family. We are the “minutemen” of the ward, ready to pitch in where needed. And that is just perfect for us. Transfers occurred and things are very different now. Here is a picture of our district as it was. We love these missionaries and miss them when they move on.

Until next time gentle reader and I promise to post more often. And so I leave you with some fall foliage pictures from several locations for your enjoyment.

It seems to take me a long time to update this blog. Part of it is my constant procrastination, and part of it is due to a nagging injury to my right elbow that makes typing a chore and painful at times. I have been diagnosed with a forearm strain (tennis elbow) and so I limit my time at the keyboard. If only I had really injured it playing tennis! Instead, it was just from hauling luggage last year on our trip back from England. Since the last blog entry, we have had a Zone Conference and we are heading into transfers again next week.  Here is a picture of our last zone conference gathering.

​I love being on the water, in particular on the ocean. We recently spent a day in Portland, Maine and were able to take a short boat ride to see a few lighthouses in Casco Bay. It was a gorgeous day to be out there. Here are a few pictures.

We continue with our normal activities that we have talked about before. We finished another round of temple preparation classes with three class members this time. We will be happy to go with them to the temple when the time comes. We love the members of the Lowell First Ward! It is a wonderful diverse set of people who care about each other. The ward has a tradition of having a “Linger Longer” during the summer months after the block of meetings on Sundays. Here are some pictures from the most recent gathering.

A few weeks ago, we met a wonderful family from Guatemala who are members of the church. We were able to visit them in their home and get to know them a little better. Part of the challenge for the Lowell First Ward is that they have approximately 1400 members on their records. It is a deluge to keep up with and keep accurate. This particular family was not on the records, so we are helping to get the records transferred here.  In all my years of church service I have never served as a clerk of any kind.
We continue to enjoy the English classes three nights a week. The attendance goes up and down, but in my reckoning since we have been here, there have never been fewer than about ten students in attendance. I think it is safe to say that these are the most successful English classes in the New Hampshire Manchester Mission. My wife teaches an advanced student, and he never misses a class. I am proud of his work ethic. I am usually taking care of administrative functions during the class, but occasionally I participate in conversations. One night, a student asked our advice on how to tell her clients that she needed to raise her rates for her cleaning services due to inflation. It was fun to give some coaching on how to approach the problem. The next time she came to class she reported that it went well, and the client agreed to pay more. She had not raised her rates in almost ten years!

Recently we had a missionary celebrate a birthday. Here we are in our apartment with most of our district celebrating Sister Nickel's birthday:
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Our preparation days usually find us out exploring New England. I had read that Littleton, New Hampshire had one of the longest covered wooden pedestrian bridges in the USA. So, we decided to check it out. The drive as about two hours into the heart of the White Mountains. My readers may remember my failed attempt to drive up Mount Washington. Fortunately, my PTSD did not stop us from driving into the Mount Washington region again! Littleton is built along the banks of the Ammonoosuc River which the 350-foot-long wooden bridge straddles. What we didn’t know until we got there was the Littleton, NH is the birthplace of the writer Eleanor H. Porter, the author of Pollyanna. The town has a statue of Pollyanna in front of the public library on Main Street in her honor. There are testaments to the spirit of Pollyanna along main street with phrases like, “be glad!” and others. On Main Street we found pianos at regular intervals on the sidewalk for tourists to play as they desired. We enjoyed this small town and the homage to the innocence of Pollyanna and a bygone era, where life was simpler and seemingly more beautiful. Here are some pictures of that journey.

​We’ve also found more time to visit more lakes which we found to be a peaceful way to spend our time. Here are pictures of Lake Pawtuckaway.

The Young Single Adult (YSA) ward sister missionaries had a baptismal service not long ago. A young man was baptized and warmly welcomed into the ward by the young people. These YSA ward members are comprised by mainly college age single members. In speaking with some of them they travel long distances to be together. I sometimes marvel at their dedication in traveling long distances just to be together for an hour or two. 

And finally I end with a picture of some sister missionaries who were formerly in the Lowell District that we ran into in our travels to Worchester. It was great to see them again. Also, we have transfers next week, so here is one last picture of the Lowell District before changes are made next Thursday.

We love New England! Even more so since the weather is starting to cool and the leaves will start to turn soon!

​The month of August is the anniversary of my parents wedding in the Logan Utah Temple. They were married for time and all eternity on August 11, 1950, in that beautiful sacred building. In my early childhood I could look out my bedroom window and see the temple lit up at night. I knew that the temple was a sacred place and that someday, I would also enter that building and make sacred covenants. What is the significance of the temple for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
It is a place where members of our faith make sacred covenants with God. The covenant of baptism and the covenants we make in the temple comprise what we are taught today as the "covenant path." In the temple is where we receive greater knowledge of the eternal nature of mankind and the nature of God and his son Jesus Christ. That gift of knowledge is referred to as the temple endowment. It is where couples are married in a sealing ordinance by the priesthood of God for not just this life, but for all eternity. Children are also sealed to their parents for eternity. And all these ordinances are not just performed for the living, but for our dead ancestors, by proxy, as well. In this way, the hearts of the fathers are turned to the children and the children’s hearts to the fathers. The great work of family history unites families together for generation upon generation.
This work is part of the gathering of Israel. President Russell M Nelson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints taught, “Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that”
My wife and I have the great blessing of teaching the Temple Preparation Class for the Lowell First Ward on our mission. Our first class had two participants. Both have now gone to the temple to receive temple ordinances. We are now in the middle of another class with three participants. This is one of our ways of gathering Israel.
Two weeks ago, we attended missionary lesson taught by the Portuguese speaking young sister missionaries, as they taught a young man, member of the English classes and from Brazil, as evening came in a park alongside the Merrimack River. My wife did not understand a word of what was being said. I have been studying Portuguese to complement my Spanish. I could understand more than I thought I would be able to understand. This young man suddenly declared, “I want to be baptized!” He had been taught the lessons for a few months off and on. Even though my wife did not speak Portuguese she could feel the spirit of the moment. He not only wanted to be baptized he wanted to be baptized in just four days from then. These young sister missionaries had the great honor of seeing him baptized and confirmed a member of the church. So, in just a few weeks of time, we have seen baptismal and temple covenants made along the covenant path that will bless these individuals for the rest of their lives and for that matter eternity.
I wrote a poem recently about the first step of the journey on the covenant path.

Here are some pictures of recent experiences with those who have gone to the temple to make more covenants along the covenant path. What a beautiful experience it was to help them make this journey and to see the support from their ward family as they went.

I also wrote a poem recently about temple covenants and how I feel about them:

​We were able to visit nearby Walden Pond made famous by Henry David Thoreau on a preparation day. What a beautiful place, although I think Thoreau would be disappointed by the large number of people who have invaded his place of solitude. 

I will end this blog entry with the an observation. It has been warm here and everyone who knows me will understand just how much I love "humidity." It keeps me humble. Instead of a motto of "steadfast and immovable," my motto is "sweat drenched and irritable."