Hal and Lynn's BLOG

2010-02-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

Don't be shocked...we are actually making a new post.

Well it hardly seems possible that it is only weeks before our Mission here Colorado comes to and end, but the reality is that we are finished March 12, 2010. It has been a dream come true; great experiences, met wonderful people, experienced lots of work and witnessed way to many miracles to list. We have been blessed and our family has been blessed. The power that comes as we serve Heavenly Father is truely amazing. He knows each of us personnally. He knows where we are and what is happening in our lives and the lives of our family. The tender mercies and blessings have at times overwhelmed us. We are forever greatful and thank him daily for the opportunies that he has given to us as a couple.

We are looking forward to making the rounds and visiting our mothers, all of our children and grandchildren and a few friends when we leave the middle of March. Until then we are still planning on serving diligently for the next month. We would love to hear from all of our friends & family. We have a new address since we moved into the new mission office on December 30, 2009. It is so nice and comfortable to work in a clean and fresh environment. Our new address is: Colorado Denver South Mission 999 E. Tufts Ave. Cherry Hills Village, CO 80113. We love letters:)

Love to you all and watch out we just might stop by and visit you during our travels.

If you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes

2009-04-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

I have heard that the weather here will change quickly but I had to witness it to believe it. The picture of Hal in front of our apartment in the snow was taken just 3 days before the one of me was taken. We get snow here one minute and then sunshine the next. The next couple of pictures are of the front of our office building and inside our office.

We have really been busy at the office lately. Last week we received 10 new missionaries and sent 11 home. I think we are most likely related to two of the new missionaries that came on Wednesday. One is Elder Tenney and one is Elder Hatch. They are both darling so I am sure they are our relatives somehow. Elder Tenney is from Elk Grove CA and Elder Hatch is from a little town in Nevada.

Last week was also transfer week. Transfer week involves a lot of paper work and keeps the office staff hopping to get the rosters updated and the housing and cars figured out. It is so amazing to see the process and have it all come together in the end.

It has been really fun working in the office and being around the young missionaries as they come and go. We have 190 missionaries and 61 cars to keep track of. Hal is also in charge of keeping track of their cell phones now. President Christison is shifting responsibilities around a bit in the office and since we both have some computer training our responsibilities are growing daily. Our days are so busy and full that they just seem to fly by.

We have a new home

2009-03-06T17:40:00.000-08:00

We found a place to live last Saturday and we have been running ever since. We haven't had a chance to unpack our suitcases yet but hopefully we will get to that tomorrow sometime.

Our new assignments in the Mission office are keeping us very busy. There is so much to learn before the couple that we are replacing goes home. Well actually they live nearby but their mission is coming to an end. There are 3 other couple besides us working in the office. All of the other 3 couples live in the Denver area and were called by their Stake Presidents to serve in the office for one year. One couple, the Struhs, is in charge of housing for the young Elders and Sisters. One couple, the Rydalchs, is in charge of missionary phones and all of the finances and the Kellys. We will be replacing the Kellys. Brother Kelly is called the "CAR CZAR" and is in charge of all of the missionaries cars. He keeps track of the mileage and maintanence and who can drive and who can't and probably a bunch of other stuff that Hal will learn as he is trained. Sister Kelly is the Mission Secretary and she is going to train me to take her place. So much to cram into my feeble brain.

We have really been enjoying the mild weather here this week. Quite a change from Steamboat's temperatures. We are expecting snow tomorrow but I doubt it will be too much.

We will try to give more updates as we get better settled in.
If you want to send us mail please send it to the mission office address listed in our last post.
Thanks to all of you that have kept in touch.

We are moving

2009-02-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

I thought I would let you all know that we are being sent to the office on Thursday. Our mission President called last evening and told us about the transfer. We knew that it was coming but we thought that it would be closer to the middle or end of March. I couldn't sleep last night because my mind was packing and unpacking our car trying to fit everything in. It's a good thing that we took a few things to Karen's to store for us last week.
We are excited and a bit anxious (at least I am anxious) about our new assignments. Hal will be in charge of the fleet of missionary cars and I will be taking over the responsibility of the mission secretary. And just so Meg knows, I will cope with the title of secretary even though the responsibilities are more than opening the mail and answering the phone and typing letters.
You can send mail to us at the mission office address which is:
2001 E. Easter Ave. Ste. 303
Centennial, CO 80122

We will let you know when we find a place to live and our address there if we decide to get mail there or just in case any of you decide to come for a visit.

District Meeting in Meeker, CO

2009-02-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday we had our third District Mtg. in Meeker Colorado which is 96 miles from Steamboat Springs. Our District Leader is Elder Smith (kneeling, in the dark suit). It was a great meeting. Singing is not a strong suit in our district mtgs., how ever these young missionaries makeup for it with their spirituality and amazing teaching skills. Our district includes Meeker, Craig, and Steamboat Springs.

Also attending were our two Zone leaders Elder George, standing second from the left and Elder Fauvell, kneeling second from the left.

Winter Carnival

2009-02-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

This week was Winter Carnival in Steamboat Springs. There were winter sports events all week with the big hoopla being this weekend. The first pictures are of the snow carving event. Yep, snow carvings not ice sculptures. This event was on Friday for the High School students.

We ventured downtown on Saturday morning to find that the main street through town that is usually cleared of snow now has lots of it. They had brought in 2 feet of snow all the way down main street for the ski events. These are ski events like none other and although our pictures aren't great we decided they were worth posting just so you can get and idea of the fun.

Hopefully you can tell that these little kids are being pulled down the street by very fast horses. The winner of the ski race competition was an 8 year old girl going about 3 blocks in less than 8 seconds. Amazing.

The next picture is the 3 legged ski race. Very funny to watch. We didn't stay for the shovel ski race but we heard that watching grown men trying to stand on shovels while being pulled by horses is quite a site.

It was good to watch the community come together for the fun day. Later that night we watched the night show on the mountain. The light parade of skiers coming down the mountain and the "lighted man" show (a skier covered with lights and shooting fireworks from his suit as he came down the mountain) Sorry that those pictures didn't turn out well enough to post. It was so cold that we didn't stay for the whole event but we did stay long enough to catch a glimpse of the Steamboat culture.

Oh there's Sunshine, Beautiful Sunshine

2009-01-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

This is mostly for my family but if any of you friends out there want to lurk feel free.

I have said so much about the snow and cold that I thought that I better write something about the beautiful weather that we have had this past week. The sun has appeared everyday!! It is still cold but not snowing. In fact, we warmed up to 30 something a couple of days and it felt great.

We were driving out of our condo parking lot the other morning and I just had to take a picture of the snow shovel guys. Only this time they weren't on the sidewalk they were on the roofs. It is an amazing process to watch them. They don't clear the complete roof but only certain spots. I'm not sure why but I guess they know what they are doing.

We drove on downtown and I saw another group of guys on a store roof top. There was one guy on one side of the roof and he was tied by rope to a guy on the other side of the roof. I guess if one slips the other one is supposed to be strong enough to hold him up. I'm sorry I couldn't get a picture of that process because it was quite entertaining.

I am also including a photo of my favorite sign in town. The trees behind the sign are usually so loaded with snow that you can't read that the sign says Hot Springs. I just look at the snow and say really? Hot? Where? I know it is not quite as good as Scott's "runs with scissors" sign that he found on a shop in town but I still like it.

We have been out and about meeting people and getting acquainted. We are teaching a young hispanic man who speaks very little english and we of course speak no spanish so it is pretty fun. We did find another hispanic young man that joined us this week to translate. We also talked to a young man named Will at one of the local stores that recognized our name badges and asked us about geneology. We gave him the church web site familysearch.org and he is pretty excited to get to work tracing his ancestors. He thinks that he comes from royal birth because of a blood disorder that he has that supposedly was passed down from royalty. He and his mother have been trying to find a way to trace their geneology so hopefully this will give them a way to do it. We also hooked him up with the family research specialist here in Steamboat.

We have also been making hats for the kids here. A few of the hats I have used as an object lesson when we visit the homes and leave a message with the families. I give the children "thinking caps" and ask them to think of a way that they can help their family to be happy. Then I tell them that every time they wear their hat it should remind them to make good choices in helping their family. The kids are loving the hats and one mom told me that she has loved asking her son to put on this "thinking cap" and remember what he decided to do. We will see how long this gimmick lasts.

That's about it for this week. Love you all.

Welcome to 2009!! Happy New Year

2009-01-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning January 4th.
1. 6:00 roll out of bed (not hard on our air matress).
2. Get ready for PEC mtg. Update the progress report for the last week and make copies.
3. Prepare the car:
a. Slip on knee high rubber boots, tuck in suit pants.
b. Put on heavy over coat and hat.
c. Open door and step out side. WOW! What is the fog? Oh it is my warm body stepping into
the -17 degree outside air.
d. Down to the car sweep off 8+ inches of snow.
e. Scrap off ice that is under the snow on the windshield. What is this that is not coming off?
Oh it is on the inside of the windows.
f. Better start the car and warm it up (rrrrhrrrrhrrrrh) finally kicks in and starts running.
I don't blame it really I don't feel much like running in this weather either. 5 minutes,
10 minutes, 15 minutes inside windshield still frozen but I can see. So off I go, still
with fog on every breath.
4. Three minutes later I'm at the Church, and the second person to arrive. That is the way it is
going to be today, everyone and every meeting is going to be late. Still it is a
great day and the members are warm and friendly.
5. We came home and cooked a turkey, ate dinner and off we go again.
6. I gave a follow up lesson to a new member. WOW!
7. Make a couple more stops, no one home.
8. Came back home. Read a couple charpters in Book of Mormon with Lynn. Yes a great Day.

Today is Monday and it is much warmer. It is a whopping -10 degrees outside. It is going to be another great day here in Steamboat Springs.

Christmas in Steamboat

2008-12-25T16:12:00.000-08:00

Scott, Kristie and Lacey on their way to Steamboat Springs

From Scottandkristiechristmas08

Kristie and Lynn infront of our condo.

From Scottandkristiechristmas08

Present time. Lynn's turn.

From Scottandkristiechristmas08

Hal opens his first present.

From Scottandkristiechristmas08

Later we took a drive up the mountain in Steamboat Springs.

From Scottandkristiechristmas08

Scott, Kristie and Lacey on our drive.

From Scottandkristiechristmas08

A slide show of some of what we saw.

Then and Now

2008-12-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

When we arrived this what it looked like.

From Hal and Lynn's BLOG

Now this what it looks like.

From Hal and Lynn's BLOG

Along with the snow there is a significant difference in the temperature.

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

2008-12-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Steamboat Springs Ward Christmas Party Friday December 19, 2008 was a big success! We went over to the church about 3:30 pm yesterday to help setup and decorate for the ward party. The Bishop was there by himself trying to set everything up. We started putting the Christmas tree together and then Brother Davidson and his two boys came and helped. The men all worked to get the stage brought in and set up and the lighting figured out. Jan Schumman, the Bishop's counselor's wife, showed up with her car filled with decorations from her home to put on the tables and what seemed like an impossible task to get done by 6:00 ended up looking very festive. It is so fun to be needed. The program was really nice with a couple of the singers with talent at professional level. The food was great and all seemed to have fun.

In addition to a good turnout by the ward members there were several non-members in attendance.

George Hernandez that we had met with for the first time earlier in the day also came. We had gone over to his place with Holly Fielding & Alberto Rosales (Alberto only speakes spanish) to give George a video. We ended up giving him the Video and a Book of Mormon lesson and he committed to read and pray. George speaks a little English, so it was interesting having Holly interpret as we taught. We invited him to the Ward Party and he came.

Holly Fielding teaches violin and two of her non-member students performed and their mom came to the party and to see them play.

This is the entire Primary plus a few friends. Small but mighty.

This seems to be the look of this season. Apparently no green Christmas for us.

Please tell it like it is!

2008-12-18T08:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, so those of you who know me well know how I feel about stores that sell women's clothing sizes 14 and up. They have these cutesie names that drive me crazy. I'm sure you've seen them but I will refresh your memories, here are a few. Pretty and Plump, Encore, And More, August Woman, Woman's World just to name a few. Personally I would be happy if they would tell it like it is and make my size easier to find by just posting the sign to read large size clothing or something that really tells the true story. It's not like I don't know that I wear a large size or that I can hide that fact from the other shoppers in the store. They know what size I'm searching for.

I have the same issue with the weather reports here in Colorado. I want them to just tell me what the temperature is. No... instead they say things like this...today's temperature is going to be a high of 20 but it will feel like 5 degrees. Or..... today's temperature is 17 degrees with a wind chill factor of -8 degrees. Whats up with that, if it feels like 5 degrees just say is it 5 degrees. And if the wind chill makes it -8 degrees just tell me it is -8 degrees.

Ok, that's it for today, just trying to figure out how cold it is really going to be.

We're dreaming of a "green Christmas" just like the ones we used to know!

2008-12-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Our first snow
and it snowed again the next day

and the next day

still snowing!

and still snowing

One day of sunshine and it is snowing again today

Everyone says this is just the beginning so get ready for more.

We are pretty much settled in here and are continuing to learn our way around. Driving in the snow is a different experience for us but Hal is doing well with my instructions from the passenger seat. I am sure that he is getting tired of me telling him to slow down. Last night we were invited to dinner at a ranch house north of town. That was a bit of an adventure driving out there. It was a really beautiful drive but on a dirt road so now I know why all of the cars around here are so dirty. Ours had stayed clean until last night.

We have been getting acquainted by trying to attend a few community events. We went to a Christmas boutique at the Lutheren church and met some very nice people. It was one of those boutiques that not very many people were in attendance and so we felt like we had to buy something but couldn't find anything that we wanted. We did finally see a cute metal star Christmas ornament and some cookies so we didn't look like total losers when we left.

The downtown shops are very fun to go through and since Hal is in a suit and me in a skirt we really stand out in the crowds. A couple of the merchants told us that we are really over dressed for Steamboat. Everyone is casual here. Oh well we are certainly making our presence known.

For a couple of days we spent time at the hospital with a young man named Alberto. His appendix burst and he didn't get to the hospital until it was almost too late. He was a very sick young man and has suffered some brain damage due to the incident. He was very agitated and the hospital staff was having a hard time keeping him calm and getting him to eat so they were asking people to come and sit with him. We finally got him to eat a little night before last. He was afraid to eat because he thought that it was food that made him sick. He doesn't speak much english and we speak very little (like none) spanish so it was fun to try to communicate with him.

We are still trying to figure out what to do on these cold snowy days but I'm sure that will come with time and as we get used to the weather. We kind of feel like we aren't doing enough yet.

We would love to hear from any and all of you. Our email address is hfl@garlic.com that seems to be the easiest form of communication these days.

More pictures of our new home

2008-11-23T14:52:00.000-08:00

Our condo is 1 of 18 in this building.

We are on the rightside.

On the second of three floors.

Sister Lawrence standing on our balcony

As you enter here is our kitchen.

To the left our living area.

You have to love this desk.
Our Table.

Our Love seat and two chairs.

our bedroom, comfy air mattress

looking out from our balcony South in the complex

looking north west
Lastly looking northwest

2008-11-22T16:41:00.000-08:00

Steamboat Springs is at the base of the snowy mountainsGetting Closer
A small park greets us as we enter town
This Elk guards the entry

Downtown Steamboat Springs

A sample of the buildings in downtown

US40 run thru Steamboat for a few miles

Up the hill in back of our condo on the southend of town

A whole new side of Steamboat Springs

Hundreds of Condos right to the edge of the Ski area

There is alot of construction going all over this area

MTC

2008-11-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

Elder & Sister Lawrence enter the MTC

Nov. 3, 2008

Our first District in the MTC

The Fairhursts, Bro. Sunday, Sis. B, Sis. Drake, the Grossharths & us

Bro.Sunday one of our MTC Instructors

Office training at the MTC on our 2nd week.

Ready or not Colorado here we come!

Packed floor to above the ceiling and we are off!!!

2008-11-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

Well we have arrived in Steamboat Springs Colorado. We got here around 1pm and got a list of possible rentals and a map, however all the rental offices are closed on Saturday and Sunday. So we are still homeless/addressless, but here. We got a room at the Comfort Inn at a special rate for two days. We hope that Monday will allow us to settle into a new home base for the next 4 months.

As we drove here, we could see snow on the mountain in the distance. The distance was Steamboat Springs. The snow is on the slopes all around us, but not on the ground in town not yet at leasst. The down town has lots of cute little shops and shopping centers. Steamboat Springs stretches along US I40 for aways. On the surface it appears quite YUPPY.

The Ward building is in a very nice area accross the street from the hospital. We have our first meeting Sunday morning at 7:45am with Brother Stewart the former bishop and current Ward Mission Leader. The Bishop is out of town. There are 11 Wards in the Meeker Colorado Stake.

Yesterday was busy as we arrived in Grand Juction and met with Elder & Sister Dean for a couple of hours and then with Pres. Atkinson 2nd Councelor in the Mission Presidency. We had dinner at his house. His wife made Deer Stew and home made biscuits. He teaches in the music department at Mesa College in Grand Juction. He helps Pres. Christison with the Mission Zones and Stakes on the westside of the mission.

One Day Left in the MTC

2008-11-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

Our time in the MTC is almost over. We have had a great time here. Our first week of classes were wonderful. These young missionaries are great teachers. This week we have had office training and this has been much less stressful for me. I will freely admit that I have learned some new tricks in Word and Excel 2007. I wish that I had known some of them when I was working they would have saved me some time.

We are leaving early Friday morning for Grand Junction and then on to Steamboat Springs on Saturday morning to find a place to live. We will be staying with the Branch President until we find housing so hopefully we can find something quickly that is not too expensive. We are a bit concerned since it is ski season in a ski resort town. Anyone know of any rentals? Let us know, surely some snowbirds that someone knows went south for the winter and would love to have a nice old couple stay in their home.

We will let you know when we have an address. In the meantime we welcome email at HFL@garlic.com

2008-11-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

November 3, 2008
Elder and Sister Lawrence reported to the MTC in Provo UT!!!!!
This has been a 42 year dream for me. Sister Lawrence is the best companion an Elder could ever want. We are staying at the Super 8 Motel at night as the MTC is full. We are happy about this assignment as the our room has a King sized bed, a 9' Sofa and chair that matched Mark & Melinda sofa that is now in the cabin. Also a refigerator, Microwave, ironing board and more than enough room for both of our suitcases.

The MTC is awesome. We are having the experience of a lifetime. The instructors, Preach My Gospel, the young Elders, Sisters and Senior Missionaries all invite the spirit. The role playing and teaching experiences have been hard but we have learned a lot from them. Every day helps us feel a little more comfortable. We have met some wonderful people and are looking forward to one more week of training before heading out in the field.

For those who haven't heard, we received a call from our Mission President on our way here and he has reassigned us. We will be going to Steamboat Springs CO for 4 months and then to the mission office in Denver. We are looking forward to the experience but are wondering if our California blood will be thick enough to handle the snow in at a ski resort town. We know nothing about Steamboat Springs so if any of you out there are familiar with it please comment.

We will post pictures as soon as we can remember how.

Love you all,
Hal and Lynn

I hope they call me on a mission

2008-10-11T08:13:00.001-07:00

We got our mission call! We're going to be serving in the Colorado Denver South Mission. Hal and I will be reporting to the MTC in Provo on November 3rd. Wish us luck.

Our big Trip

2008-07-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Guest Blogger Scott here with the lowdown on mom and dad.

Here are the first pics from thier big trip.

Mexico-Guatemala Ruins

Mex-Gua disk2

Great SCOTT! a real Turkey.

2007-07-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

As memory serves:
We were high in the Ozark Mountains, quietly having lunch in the Eagle Mills. When thru the open window comes this wild turkey. He meandered around the room and then in horror spied Lynn's Turkey/Avacado on Sourdough bread sanwich. With an out stretched neck and screach it flew accross the room and back out the window. Always ready, I pull my Palm 700p and caught this picture. The rest of us were enjoying a blackberry cobler with hand churned vanilla Ice cream. I'm sure the sandwich spooked this magnificant bird, not wanting the be added to the menu.

Comment This!!!

2007-07-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

Josh says, "Amy are you seriously thinking we should live with your folks?" Amy says " What do you mean "we"?"

2007-06-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

You have entered Hal and Lynn's Blog.....Have great day!