Oshkosh, A Radiator and Other Stuff

 This week was one of meetings. It all started on Monday with a pool of coolant appearing under the front of the car after we stopped at the bread store. Since the Olds is 15 years old, I was pretty sure I knew what was coming. Sure enough the radiator had a hole in it. Four hours in the dealer's waiting room and $462 later we have a new radiator. We needed it to be fixed as we had to attend two important meetings the coming week.
 Tuesday was our last district meeting with our current missionaries before transfers next week. It seems these meetings become special testimony meetings. Sister Johnson and I feel like their parents and start giving them advice before they leave because it may be the last time we see them for a while. It's a special time with special people. At the very least they seem to tolerate us. Later on we went to the church so Sis. J. could practice the piano and I could practice cribbage with Bob Peters our investigator. When we arrived the hallway was awash with books (not totally unusual for me). These were books from the library of the sister that was murdered. Most were church related and weren't purchased by anyone at the auction. By the way her children feel the auction to sell her belongings was a success in that it was all taken care of for them by the auction company. It didn't hurt that the auction brought in more money than they expected.
 Wednesday we shared with our LA mother and her non-member sister in Crystal Falls a DVD track narrated by Steve Young and Sharlene Hawkes. The title was "Myths about Mormons". It was well received and we went on to set up a weekly meeting with both of them. It is still amazing to me, although somewhat understandable, that many individuals still harbor erroneous beliefs about the church and its members. I think the "Book of Mormon" musical, the presence of mormon candidates for president and other newsworthy events will widen the dialogue and help increase understanding of what we, as a people, are all about. For all of our LDS friends and family...just remember the eyes of our friends, neighbors and indeed the world are always upon us. Remember to show them what being a disciple of Jesus Christ looks like in your everyday life.
 Thursday we got up early to leave for Oshkosh (yes, where baby and work clothes are made...by gosh) for a special training meeting with the other senior missionaries. We were with 4 other couples, President Jones, sister Jones and 2 single sisters who work in the mission office.

         

(l. to r. Elder and Sister Johnson, Sister Carrol, Sister Carling, 

Sister And Elder Foutz, Elder and Sister Hunt, 

Sister and Elder Bowring, Sister and Elder Wilkes, Sister Jones and President Jones)

It was a very spiritual meeting with training and suggestions coming from both President and Sister Jones and some of the Senior Missionaries. The Foutz and the Hunts will leave early next year and the Bowrings and Wilkes leave a year from now as they are serving for just a year. We will leave with President and Sister Jones around July of 2013. These are outstanding individuals with a real love for the work and with special abilities and gifts, that are helping the units where they have been called; which, by the way, is to all of the corners of the mission. We hail from UT, AZ, WA and WY. In "civilian" life we were ranchers, business owners, educators, civil servants, stay-at-home moms plus one was a librarian and another ran an Indian trading post for 30 years. We have one common goal, to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan.

 Friday we awoke to a skiff of snow which I swept off of the deck then we visited with Jason for a lesson on prayer that Sister Johnson prepared and gave. He is getting more involved and is not so passive. I think it may be because he is now engaged and he is thinking more about the whole religion issue as his fiance' is not LDS. Sister Johnson worked some more to finish crocheting the little blue flowers and some new lists and other things for Saturday's Visit Teaching conference that are a part of her RS calling. Saturday was very cloudy and rainy with snow expected in the afternoon the VT conference came off very well and was well attended. The snow even waited until the meeting concluded. It is very helpful for our work for Sister Johnson to be involved as the RS secretary.

 Sunday we found out that Elder Day is being transferred to West Bend having been called as a DL. His companion Elder Church, who came out when we did, will stay and train a brand new elder. New elders have a special 12 week training period with extra time for study. The missionary department is suggesting that new elders who have just been trained will be the best to train the next generation. Having trained and worked to develop programs I really think this concept has a lot of merit, we shall see.

The work continues and so do we,

Elder and Sister Johnson

Appleton, Apples, Snow and Motorcycles

Our Appleton meeting last Monday with Elder Walker was fantastic. He took command of the conference right from the start giving us great counsel and encouragement. His experience as a Mission President in Tokyo gave him unique insights and abilities to talk to the young missionaries on their level. They loved him. He had a Q and A at the end of the day where he told us how the brethren decided to have the Provo Tabernacle become the Provo Temple. After the engineering studies were done and came back positive; the First Presidency talked about the temple concept for about 30 minutes then President Monson raised his arm and said I think we need to do it. By raise of hands the counselors agreed and it was announced at conference a couple of weeks later. So there you go. I visited with him after the meeting and asked him to say hello to Dave Burdett, my former Home Teaching companion, when he got back on Jon Huntsman's plane.

 Tuesday was Sister Johnson's birthday. We celebrated by attending the Chicago Temple. We were the only couple there on that weekday morning. It was a very pleasant and comforting session. After the session we drove all of the way back to Kingsford. Continuing the birthday theme we stopped at a roadside attraction, Apple Holler (look online), where practically everything on the menu contained apples in some form or another. The food was delicious. I bought her a bottle of apple butter which was incredible. (So...it wasn't all for her)

 Wednesday saw the first big snowstorm of the year. Before the blizzard got going in a serious way we visited our LA family in Crystal Falls and tried out the new snowtires I purchased. The mother had forgotten we were coming and I think because of the weather she was somewhat surprised. We stayed awhile and by coming through the storm we let her know we were serious about keeping our appointments. Upon returning home we exercised the Senior option and stayed in the rest of the day and watched it snow, and snow, and snow. We ended up with about 5 inches on the ground. Our landlord came and shoveled for us. Hooray!

 Thursday morning was pasty making day. These great seniors have some fantastic stories...like, "the time our "gang" was riding motorcycles in town and our leader on a BSA said watch this and rode his bike through town on the back wheel. This happened in front of the town cops who were eating lunch. The chief was annoyed and told a rookie cop go and get him. They chased him to and around a local lake but lost him. His gang waited for him to show but he didn't. They got on their bikes and looked for him. They finally found a track heading off of the road. He had missed a curve, flown over a barbed wire fence and hit the only tree in a farmer's field. After hitting the tree he had fallen and hit his head on the only rock exposed in the entire field and knocked himself out. He was the only guy in the group that wore a helmet and it was cracked like an egg. When he came to they picked up his bike and they all rode back into town". This probably happened in the 60's. The talk is always around mechanical things like, "the great log splitter I had with a Model A engine or the 24 motorcycles I have owned'. H. was a professional driver with over 5.5 million miles driven before he retired from that job. I asked him about hitting deer with a big rig, he said that deer were no problem but moose can really ruin your day. I feel right at home in this group.
Later we were able to teach another lesson to Jason after which we drove 45 miles to meet with an 82 year old member who came originally from SLC. We had a great visit and will see her again, we hope we can get her to come to church.

 We planned for Friday morning to look at our health insurance situation since we will have to stay with what we currently have or switch before the deadline. We made some progress but we forgot that Friday was a Holiday and some of the government offices were closed. We will continue on Monday. Sister Johnson did her pasty making thing in the afternoon. After she was finished we went to the church so she could practice for the memorial service on Saturday. While she was there I went over to Jason's to give him an asked for blessing. His friend Colette was there and before we did the blessing I was able to teach her the Restoration and give her a B of M. I did this to give her a little background so she wouldn't think we were too wierd. In church today Jason said she enjoyed the visit. It was a special experience.

We ended the week by finishing our pasty obligation, we then went to Wausaukee for a memorial service for Sister Aubel who passed away this week in a nursing home at 87 years of age.  Two of her daughters live in the Branch. It was a rather large boisterous service. Sister Johnson  played for the congregation to sing.  It was nothing like you can imagine. You've got to love country people and their traditions.

With love, The Johnsons

Wood Pecking, an Arrest and Ralph

"What is that knocking sound? It sounds like someone is tapping on the side of the house". And so it was. A small Downey Woodpecker had dropped by to see what our house tasted like or more likely to see if he could scare up any bugs to eat. This, the morning after a deer was just standing in our driveway checking us out as we came home. Is this the greatest place for wildlife...or what! What follows is an article that appeared in the November 1st edition of The Iron Mountain Daily News CRYSTAL FALLS - Officials from the Iron County Sheriff's Department have announced that David Anthony Levack, 44, of Kingsford is scheduled to be arrested today on charges related to the Sept. 27 homicide of Joyce Johnson, 81, of Crystal Falls. Iron County Sheriff Mark Valesano said that Levack is charged with the following felonies: one count of homicide open murder, one count of homicide felony murder, one count of first degree home invasion, and one count of witness intimidation. Levack will also be treated as a habitual offender-third. If convicted, Levack faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. According to court records, Levack had been scheduled for a trial on felony stolen property charges in Iron County Trial Court on Sept. 27. The victim and main witness in the case, Johnson, was found deceased the same day. Her death was ruled a homicide. Levack was wanted for questioning, but was not located until Oct. 3 in Iron Mountain. When approached by officials from the Michigan State Police, Levack allegedly waved a six-inch filet knife at them and himself. As a result, Levack also faces felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon and felonious assault in Dickinson County. Dickinson County Prosecutor Stephanie Brule said during Levack's preliminary examination that further charges against Levack related to an alleged meth lab bust in Kingsford will likely be filed shortly. Levack was being held on a $100,000 bond in the Dickinson County Jail as of this morning.  Maybe now some of the other branch members who were scheduled to testify won't be as frightened as they have been. We made arrangements with a LA family to visit with them once a week. We will bring church to them even if they can't seem to come to church. He works Sundays and they have but one car and live 30 miles away. She was baptized 3 years ago and he is a lifelong member. They have 2 children ages 9 and 7. We hope to re-energize them. It will help that he has applied for a different job with more money and a better working schedule. Sunday shifts are the rule in this part of the country. We need to thank our Heavenly Father for jobs where we are able to use the Sabbath as the Lord intended. We did spend a lot of time on the road this week; first at District Meeting in Marquette that was attended by our ZLs for the first time, then looking for members as our appointments all re-scheduled. At the end of one road lives a 60 year old member and her 40 year old daughter along with goats, chickens, and various other animals on immaculate property. They weren't home but we are anxious to meet these sisters living at the end of "civilization" yet, by all appearences, being totally in control of a challenging environment. On Friday we ate our lunch in the town of Ralph. It is like many similar places we have seen; when a new main highway is built all of the "Ralphs" slowly began to die. There was however a nice new tavern, probably the most successful business in Ralph. The countryside is teeming with hunters getting everything ready for the gun hunt in a couple of weeks. On the news some hunters were complaining that the 700 or so wolves in the UP were taking too many of the estimated 200,000 deer and not leaving them any. Really. After church today we are headed to Chicago and the temple via Appleton after a Monday conference with 3 of the mission zones/stakes. Elder Walker of the Seventy will be in attendance. He is the chairman of the temple committee and has been at the dedications of recent temples around the world. We are excited. Standard time greetings to you all, Elder and Sister Johnson

Eating, Eating, Eating and more Eating

Last Sunday we invited the Branch President and his girl friend to dinner after church. She is an interesting person. A former prosecuting attorney with a depth and breadth of experience. She hasn't shown much interest in the church however, just interest in President Berry. We watched the movie "17 Miracles" after we ate. What a well done movie though somewhat of a tearjerker as you might guess. If you haven't seen it, we would recommend it.
We took Sister J's favorite fall treat to district meeting on Tuesday...donuts and apple cider. The missionaries loved them. We took the IM Elders with us this week again and because they moved the time up for the meeting we didn't have time for lunch so we stopped at McDonalds on our way home for McRIBs. It's a tradition, every time they have them for sale I eat some. That evening we went to the Branch were Sister J. Practiced the piano and I was able to meet with Bob Peters our investigator. He has had "pet problems" that have kept him from church.
Wednesday was our day in Crystal Falls. We picked up the DVD we had left with Janeice, she seemed glad to see us and said she is open for us to call back. We took the "Testaments" DVD to a LA member who lives in CF. We found out where more people don't live including a member who wasn't in a rest home close to the address we were given. We continued working until it was time to hurry home so we could feed the Elders. Sister J. made calzones which were deliscious. We took the opportunity for a correlation meeting and were able to help each other with some information. We planned the presentation we are preparing for our Sunday combined meeting.
On Thursday we had a great meeting with Jason, the subject this week was the H.G. and the Gift of the H.G. The more we teach and talk with people the more we are convinced of the importance of the H.G. That evening we attended the dinner for Breen Senior Center volunteers. What a wonderful group of volunteers. Now we are bound to be there for the next year so we can eat at next year's dinner.
Everywhere you go you see 50 lb. bags of food for deer. It's not that they want the deer to be fed but this food is bait. Apples, corn, beets and rutabagas is the bait of choice. Hunters will spread the bait and often wait in deer blinds for them to come into range. This is not a legal way to hunt in other states but here there are so many deer that it is sanctioned. The other thing we have noticed is that all of this hunted game is definitely used for food. We haven't been offered any yet but we think it is just a matter of time. Later that night our DLs stopped by on the their way home to Houghton with the case of B of Ms we would be using on Sunday. We invited them to stay and eat with us. That was spaghetti night and they were appreciative.
Saturday we stopped at the library to make copies for Sunday and then later went to Hermansville to see if we could locate a member that lives there. No luck...yet. I think we ate normally this day unless you count lunch at DQ.
Today, Sunday, we had a good Sacrament meeting after Sister J. realized there was nobody playing the piano and sat down and provided the music for the meeting. When SS Was about to start I was asked to teach GD as the teacher hadn't shown up. I was so glad for the I-pad. The scriptures were all linked to the lesson so that it was easier to "effectively" teach. Sister J. was teaching the youth as usual. During the third hour we gave a presentation to the combined branch teaching them an easy method to present the B of M to any friends or acquaintances they feel would be interested. It was well received. Since it was the last Sunday of the month we helped with a potluck lunch after meetings.
So, this was a week when we had PLENTY TO EAT.
Excuse me we're hungry! your well fed Senior Missionaries.

Ojibwe, Gichigami and the Edmund Fitzgerald

We started our week with visits to members whose addresses were in or near the town of Watersmeet. This town is about 75 miles from home, the furtherest boundary of the branch. Sister Johnson suggested we should travel there and postpone our visit to a different city until later. Her instincts were, as usual, right on. After searching for about 20 minutes and driving by the house at least twice we noticed the house number which had been there all along. This occurred at the same moment the owner, our member, pulled into her garage. We discovered a very pleasant woman, Wendy, who had been baptized more than 20 years ago while in the service. She had never been fellowshipped outside of an occasional mailing from the branch, she said she enjoyed receiving those; and had since been baptized into at least 2 more churches. She is definitely a seeker after truth.  I asked her if she had a B of M. She wasn't sure so we gave her one and in addition to sharing the introduction with her, and it's promise, I showed her how the book starts just as Judah was about to be led away captive. She was excited because she had just begun to re-read the bible for the fourth time. The second thing I shared with her was the visit of Christ to His "Other Sheep". She commented, "I just read that" and I said to her, "now you know what He meant by that". We, of course, tied this all in to the importance of prophets then and now. When we got back to the house I send her a letter with a couple of additional things and a request for her e-mail address through which we could answer her questions.
Wednesday was a great day. It was our first interviews with President and Sister Jones since we arrived in the mission. They were complimentary and supportive of what we are doing with a couple of suggestions and some counsel. President requested that we make ourselves more available to the young elders to visit with their investigators as they want. When we asked for his counsel about temple attendance he said whenever we want to go, it is totally up to us. When we go we will take members with us. We also met our new DL who has been assigned with his new companion to the Houghton branch. We took the opportunity to take a closer look at Lake Gichigami (Superior) while we had the chance. It was called that by the Ojibwe (O-jib-wah) indians we know them as the Chippewa and is the grave of the ore ship the Edmund Fitzgerald made famous in the folk song by Gordon Lightfoot. Here is a great video chronicling the entire event.   http://youtu.be/hgI8bta-7aw?t=1s
Wednesday we visited Jason Murra who is coming along well. He will be an important addition to the branch. Later that afternoon we finally got to talk with Janiece who has her own Triple in addition to her B of M. We needed to know where she was in her interest in the church so, with her permission, I asked some direct questions. In conclusion I felt I should point out that her interest in the Mormons seems to go beyond just being kind and open minded. In Matthew 24:22 the Savior highlights his "elect" then in D&C 29:7 he explains how in the last days we (missionaries) are called to bring to pass the the gathering of His elect; and that His elect hear His voice and harden not their hearts. We testified that we felt that she and her husband were some of God's elect. We will call her next week and see if she will talk to us.
Friday was a beautiful sunny day so we exercised a senior prerogative and took a drive into WI specifically to the town of Rhinelander. There is a ward there but interestingly on a couple occasions we have had individuals who have cabins in between IM and there and told us they prefer to come here to the branch on Sundays.
Things are great for us, thanks for all of your prayers,
Elder Grandpa and Sister Grandma

Cribbage and Rutabaga

On P-day we agreed to go to the home of a recently deceased member to help sort through some of her belongings. A marvelous beloved member of the branch, she passed away under suspicious circumstances, her house represented at least 30 years of accumulated stuff. Her daughter and son-in-law were stymied as how to even begin to begin to clean and take care of the clutter. They invited an auction company to come and give them a bid on disposing of the entire house and its contents. This sister and her husband had worked and served the world over and had antiques of all sizes and varieties. The auction company said they should realize $20,000 after expenses and before the house was sold. The biggest thing, however, was the peace of mind this process brought. I hadn't realized this option even existed.
On Tuesday we started going over to the church so that Sister J can practice the piano. That same evening our adult investigator plays cribbage with the Branch President. I thought I would sit in and pick up a few pointers. As near as I can tell you get points for straights, runs, scoring 15 or 31, playing the last card, something called the "nub?" and of course the crib. There is this cute little track with streets for your pegs but you don't want to end up in the stink hole. I think I still have a lot to learn about the game before I will be able to challenge ANYONE.
On Wednesday our investigator in Iron River told us she didn't want to talk to us anymore and to please not come back. We wished her well. We visited other members whose addresses may or may not be accurate. We found another member's address where no member has ever lived. At that address, however, was a very nice family who among other things, sells maple syrup. We bought a bottle. It was great. They tap hundreds of Sugar Maples every year that grow on their property. Later that evening we were finally able to meet Jason Kopski who along with his wife has been meeting with missionaries for five or six years. They first met the missionaries in NM and now they are in MI. They are very bright people (He is an engineer and she is learning Russian) and have worn out many pairs of missionaries. she is more interested but said she had some questions others could not answer. I told her we would like to try to help her with her questions and concerns. I hope that is not pride talking. We will see.
At 6:30 Thursday morning I started our pasty making adventure that we agreed to last month. I helped peel and dice 300 pounds of potatoes and a bin of rutabagas (look it up). Sister J made dough balls on Friday. On Saturday we put it all together and made 620 pasties. People were coming to pick up the ones they had pre-ordered before we had even finished baking them all. I say we, we means the volunteers of which their were about 20 of us. Pasties are made of potatoes, ground chuck, onions, seasoning, with an occasional rutabaga all wrapped in tasty pie crust. Verrry good! Also on Saturday we attended the memorial service for the sister who just died. It was a very sad, very spiritual service.
Today we attended branch council meeting to which we able to contribute and from which take important information about the branch. These are good people with strong testimonies.
Remember to do unto others, to quote Yoda, "no try just do".
We love you,
Elder Dad and Sister Mom

Lug Nuts and the Toledo War

It is interesting...maybe, to discover that the U.P. came about because of a "war" between Ohio and Michigan. Look it up. The Toledo war.
On P-day while Sister J was getting her hair done I had some winter tires mounted on the car. Most people I talked to said I wouldn't need them where we live but then I considered we will be frequently traveling to other areas where we will encounter snow. I stored the summer tires and I will change out when winter is over. This is the first time I have ever purchased dedicated snow tires. In spite of the aggressive tread, these tires are quiet. I will let you know how they work.
On Tuesday President. Jones called about a situation in the town of Houghton. He thought we might need to travel there (100 miles) and teach a young woman who has requested baptism. Missionaries were not available to be sent there. By zone conference he found out he was going to have two "visa sitters" and could send missionaries. This has made everyone involved very happy. Houghton is a remote town on a peninsula that juts into lake Superior. They receive over 300" a year of snow.
On Wednesday we checked in with some of the interested individuals out west and received our first appointment cancellation, now we feel like real missionaries. We stopped in on the young family we had previously contacted fully expecting them to be at work but we caught the wife at home as she had been ill. We had prepared a DVD to leave with them. When I showed her she said they hadn't seen that one yet. We also brought up Mormon.org and she said she had been there often. It looks promising but we haven't even met the husband yet.
Our visits on Thursday went well. We met the non-member friend of our L.A. we are teaching and once again invited her to join us. This time she said she would some time in the future. We think our "dry Mormon" investigator is speaking out of pride after the many attempts over many years by missionaries to help him become converted. Our advantage, we won't be transferred.
After a lengthy car trip, 3 hours, to Appleton, WI for Zone Conference we were treated to a wonderful experience. This was my first Zone Conference in 50 years. The calibre and commitment of the missionaries seemed so much greater than what I remembered. We had talks and training by the mission leaders that were inspiring. One in particular, a talk given by Elder Christofferson at the annual Mission President training, is a must read. I will bring a copy home. As new, incoming missionaries we were asked to bear our testimonies. It was the same for those leaving. Boys and girls became men and women in the time they were here. We were challenged to remember the the mission goal of 300 baptized during this year. We still need 145 to be successful. We will do our part and I am confidant it will be achieved.
Sister J. finished her RS newsletter. Her calling will be a great addition to the RS here in IM. I think she is already seeing some of the ways she will be able to bless the sisters and by extension the members here in the branch.
Next week is transfers. We are losing a ZL, a sister and Dixie Tanner's nephew and strange as it seems it feels like a loss even when we know otherwise. It is amazing how quickly we have bonded to the missionaries and members.
Ta Ta for now, Elder and Sister J.