Thanksgiving in West Virginia

2017 Diner with Randi and Susan Custer and Sister Jarman and Sister Butts. Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I literally get weepy when I think of all the blessings that have been poured out upon my family this year, both immediate as well as extended family. We have been given so much from our Father in Heaven and therefore we too must give.
  This semester in our Institute/Pathway class we have been teaching the course "Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel". We are learning gospel principles that are strengthening our testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Some of the points that have been brought out in our lessons are:
*"Never has anyone offered so much to so many in so few words as when Jesus said, " Here am I, send Me"( Elder Maxwell)
 * The scriptures were written so people might believe in Jesus Christ. The knowledge that Jesus Christ is unchangeable helps us have faith that, just as He kept His promises to the people we read about in the scriptures, He will keep His promises to us.
 * Jesus Christ defeated death and conquered sin and sorrow.
*Jesus Christ was perfect and sinless, not because He had to be, but rather because He clearly and determinedly wanted to be.
* Christ's love is endless. How blessed we are to have this knowledge.
   Nov.17 - We had the opportunity to attend a zone conference with our mission President Lindhardt and Elder and Sister Bradley Foster (of the Quorum of the Seventy).
One of my take a ways was "Lift us your heart and rejoice. The hour of your mission is come. Don't miss it. Make it great.
You'll be blessed if you will teach the members about God's Son, teach them to "Hear Him".
To sum up, we are well, happy, busy and getting cold but that's what jackets are for.
We love you all.
Almost Heaven, Traynors.
 

It's Full on Autumn

Hello Family and Friends,

    At this time of year I sure think of my dear Mother as she so loved the Fall time. She would have loved the wonderful colors of West Virginia. Every where we drive we point out beautiful trees and shrubs to each other. Each one's color is more intense than the last. The colder it gets the more color but also the leaves are falling fast so it will be gone soon. Stunning is the word that comes to mind.
   Well, on November 6th we marked our 9th month in the West Virginia, Charleston Mission. We are at the half way mark. My goodness the time has flown by.
   We stay busy with our Institute/Pathway assignment. It is exciting to see our first class nearing the completion of their Pathway Connect year as they are in their third semester. They have worked hard and we are surprised at how well the group has bonded together and help each other out. We will miss them.
   Part of this Pathway responsibility is to recruit new students that will start the program in January. So we have spent a good deal of time making phone calls and sending emails to YSA's as well as their local leaders giving them information of what the program is and what it can do for them. We have now reached out to Charleston Stake too. It will be a bit of a drive but we are the only Pathway program in all of West Virginia. The fact that we have had 2 students that drive from Cincinnati (about 2.5 hours each way) every Thursday this whole year has been a great testimonial to the value of the program and folks might need to make some sacrifices.
    We have come to love our Zone Conferences. November 1st we traveled to Teays Valley for a double zone conference. We took the Sister Missionaries from our area with us. Our Mission President is a professional Seminary/Institute instructor. What a master teacher. His knowledge of the scriptures and stories is amazing as well as his knowledge of the Preach My Gospel manual. This conference he focused on the Holy Ghost. Some of the things we were taught are:
*The Holy Ghost binds us to the Lord.
*4 things we need to have the Holy Ghost,
1-be worthy of His companionship
2-Recognize
3-Have a desire
4-Act, the first time you receive a prompting
*Revelation comes through the Holy Ghost
We feel such energy, strength and goodness from the full time Elders and Sisters. They are moving this great work forward.
   We are coming to the close of our Self-Reliance, Personal Finance class. Since we are already retired, some portions of the most recent lessons are not as relevant to us as prior lessons had been. Pat especially enjoyed the lessons on budgeting. Me, not so much. For 46 years I thought my job was to spend and now things just might change. That's not good.
   Nov 6th was our Empty Nester FHE group. We meet he first Monday each month. We are slowly growing in numbers and we enjoy the association of the other empty nesters (mostly single sisters and a male recent convert).
   In closing a little word regarding the addition of the pictures to the blog. Well it appears that an old dog can learn new tricks. In this case Darian spent a good deal of time helping me figure out how to do it. What a patient fellow. So now as I have time, I will go back to old blogs and add pictures and then copy the letters for my "Mission Book".
We love you all and miss you but we sure love this area and these folks here too.
Almost Heaven, Traynors

A visit from Family and Friends

     Boy did we hit the jackpot the second week of October.
     On Monday Oct 9th we had a visit from Sue Goodman, Bill and MaryLou, and Tim and Ruth Ann Baxter.  Our dear friend Sue is from our home ward in Tucson and she had been in Louisville to attend and help with a wedding for her niece. A couple of weeks prior to the wedding Sue called to make arrangements to stop by. After the wedding was over Sue, her parents, sister and brother in law were heading to North Carolina to the beach. Since they were traveling right thru Huntington they graciously stopped in to say Hello. How wonderful to see Tucson folks and catch up on news of Tanque Verde Ward and the Temple and just chat as fast as we could. We had a quick lunch ready for them and then they had to be on their way. We loved every minute of the time we had with Sue and her group.
    Then Wednesday evening Oct 11th we had three of our adorable grandchildren right in our small yet comfortable apartment. Annie and Greg flew to Virginia to visit family and we were thrilled to get to see this sweet little family for two nights. Thursday we had a great day together at Barboursville Park and then they came to our Institute/Pathway class that night. Grandpa ate dinner and played with them while I taught my lesson then we switched and he taught and I played with them. After the classes we went to our place and had ice cream and cookies.
First thing Friday we met at Ihop for breakfast before they started their 6 hour drive to Richmond. I am so grateful for their efforts to come see Grandma and Grandpa Traynor on their Mission. Thanks Annie and Greg for making this possible.
   After breakfast we also took off. We were headed to Beckley, WV to attend a Seniors Mission Conference with 9 Senior couples and our Mission President and Sister Lindhardt.
We met for lunch then toured the area. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel then went back to the hotel for a devotional and some get to know you games. What great folks. One coupe has served 5 missions, another couple has served 3 missions, 2 couples have served 2 missions and the rest of us are on our first mission.
   On Saturday after breakfast we received great training from our President regarding being "equally yoked together" as we serve and how we are blessing the lives of the people we work with. He also told us how valuable we are to him as we help to care of and watch over and feed the missionaries here in WV. I sure thought of the dear missionaries serving throughout the world and especially those representing the Fred and Norma Arnett Family. I am grateful they are being blessed with health and protection. We had a great time at the Senior Conference.
   We finished the conference at noon and hurried home to prepare to teach the Temple Preparation class to a gal in the ward that has her mission call to Vancouver Washington. She leaves November 8th and will be going to the Temple in a week. Therefore Pat taught lessons 1 and 2 on Saturday, lessons 3 and 4 on Sunday. Lesson 5 was on Monday then completed lessons 6 and 7 on Tuesday night. She came ready to learn and we had a great spirit here as he taught.
   We had a really fun day Thursday. We were asked to drive the sister missionaries to Charleston to transfer one sister that has completed her mission and pick up another coming to our area. It was so fun to see how the transfers happen. It appeared to be organized chaos but the Elders and Sisters sure loved seeing dear companions again.
   After returning to Huntington we took the Sisters to lunch then left them at their apartment to settle in. We then finished our Lessons and food preparations for our Thursday night classes. We sure love our Institute/Pathway YSA. They are dedicated to the gospel.
   Saturday the 21st was our monthly Seminary/Institute Inservice. We received training from Bro Fuhriman. He always does a great job. Again we did our lunch for the Huntington group as well as Charleston.
  We continue Tuesdays with our literacy learners. They are slowly progressing. We enjoy our time with them.
   All is well here. We are healthy and well.
Almost Heaven, Traynors



   

Wonderful conference

    We loved the world Conference starting with the Women's session on Saturday the 23rd. I had never heard Sis Eubanks speak before but she was powerful and to the point .
"Be Righteous, Be Articulate, Be Different, Be distinct, and do them in Happy Ways.
    Then how great was President Uchtdorf with his 3 sisters talk, sisters Sad, Mad and Glad. I want to be a glad person as I go through life. With the light of Christ in each of us we can know where to turn for peace and happiness. And as Neil F Marriott said, "we need to do things in the Lord's way and put His will first."
   The General sessions were just as inspiring. It is hard to choose a favorite.
Some of my favorite highlights are:
*Pres. Uchtdorf- Bobbie Dog and his instincts for home. We all have a yearning, a migration for Heavenly Climes.
*Elder Nelson's "promises" to each of us that as we study the Book of Mormon daily we can make better decisions everyday and that we will receive answers to our own questions and directions for    our life.
*Pres. Eyring, responding to President Monson's admonition to study the Book of Mormon, reminded us that as we continue to to study and pray with greater intent we can have the power to resist temptation.
These are some pretty powerful promises that we can have claim to. We were certainly spiritually feed.
  Pat and I have started up a Seniors empty nester FHE/ potluck dinner the first Monday of each month. It doesn't matter where any of us are, we can always find folks that are lonely and need companionship. It is one night that they do not have to eat alone.
   Our literacy tutoring continues. I have a different fellow now. This new guy really struggles to read and can only write his first name but he wants to learn and tries hard. He is quite good at repairing small motors and brings in a little income with repairs and then mowing lawns too. Pat's learner Keith is continuing to gradually improve his reading comprehension. Keith looks forward each week to his lesson with Pat. He attends lots of Marshall activities and each week brings us some program that he has had a team member sign.
  Pat and I have been attending and participating in the Institute class at Marshall University onWednesday nights. This past Wednesday we had two Marshall students plus four FT Elders. Pat taught the lesson and I baked and brought a fruit pizza. We enjoy all of our interactions with the YSAs.  
   A real fun activity for Pat was that he was able to go to the Blenko glass factory and work with the artisans there to make a hand blown Pumpkin. This was so interesting and I took pictures of each phase of the process.
  Pat and I have been participating in the Self Reliance class on Personal finance. Since we have been serving as part of the Stake Self Reliance committee since March and have been training the ward/branch councils and teaching the ward/branches about the self reliance initiative, we thought it would be a good idea to actually take a class. This course would be beneficial for everyone take.
   Regarding WV being Almost Heaven, this area has not had rain in almost a month and things are looking really dry. The locals say that the rain is needed for the fall color. The weather forecast is for the rains and cooler temperatures to start tomorrow.
   We are doing well here, both happy and healthy however we miss dear family and friends.
So it's still mostly Almost Heaven,  Traynors

Back to School

   So it's back to school for our Institute/ Pathway students. We kicked it off with an opening social with Food, Fun, and Friends. We had invited the two other institute programs of the stake to join us. One is from Martin, KY ( 2 students) and the other is from Marshall University, on campus (4 students).  The YSA's had a great time playing silly games and enjoying each others company. We were happy to be back with our regular Thursday teaching responsibilities. We had missed them during the month of August while we were between semesters.
  Sept 9-10 were privileged to have Elder Cook, Elder Nielson and Elder Dudley as visitors to the West Virginia Charleston Mission.
  Our first meeting was at 9 AM Saturday as an all West Virginia Mission conference. The missionaries were all so excited to see each other as past companions and friends. We had the blessing to be taught by and receive an Apostolic blessing from Elder Cook. He blessed us "that our families would be blessed an all those we love". What a wonderful promise.
  Then Elder Cook, as a special witness of Jesus Christ, testified that he "knows our Savior's voice and he knows our Savior's face". What a powerful witness.
  We had another great Institute/Seminary inservice on the 16th. The main message there was to strive to see our students as our Heavenly Father sees them, their potential, their spiritual gifts, and the way they handle life challenges that they are dealing with. This also applies to our spouses, children, grandchildren, folks in the ward, business colleagues, neighbors and all those we come in contact with. We can love them as He loves us.
  Another highlight of the month was our Zone conference on the nineteenth. It is always a pleasure to learn from our mission President Lindhardt.
I had 2 great take away messages. The first is to "pray each day to have the spirit to be with us and then follow the promptings". I will try harder each day to "listen" for the promptings of the Spirit. Sometimes I get so caught up in busyness that I miss out on the still small voice trying to get my attention.
The second message is 4 questions.
 1- Do I believe that God loves me?
 2- What evidence do I have that God loves me?
 3- Do I love God?
 4- What evidence have I given God that shows Him my love?
There is a lot to ponder in these 4 questions.
Our Heavenly Father gives us commandments because He loves us and we can strive for exact obedience to show our love for Him. We obey to qualify for the Spirit to be with us. Therefore, "If ye love me, keep my commandments".
  All is well here in Huntington WV, we love these people and this country.
Almost Heaven, Traynors
 

Summer is Coming to an End

   Our days are a little less warm and humid and there's a change a coming. The schools are all back in session and Marshall University had their first home game. There is really a lot of hype in college towns when there is a home game.
   A funny thing. You know how folks prepare for tailgate parties before games, well I was at Kroger grocery store and saw the people buying tons of the big Solo Cups for the drinks, and here, of course, the color is vivid GREEN. There were stacks and stacks of green solo cups, and green,
We are...Marshall shirts, and green ice chests, and green tents, green umbrellas and every thing you can think of all green Marshall.
   Our U of A red and blue and BYU blue are so normal to me, but green? I had never thought much about it.
   The leaves have just started to turn colors and some are starting to fall. So summer is ending. We love experiencing the 4 seasons.
   Our Stake President Cox has such a vision for lifting the members of this stake both temporally and spiritually. He strongly believes in the Self-Reliance program and we are happy to be on the stake committee to help train the wards. He has asked that every family take the Personal Finance course so Pat and I have signed up for a course. We are in week 3 of 12 classes. We really see the blessings that can come to those that will practice the principles learned. This past week Pat was the facilitator for our group.
   We had a wonderful opportunity to attend the Louisville Temple Aug 26 with the Sadlers, an almost 70 year old couple in the ward that were going through for the first time as well as were going to be sealed. We got to know the Sadlers as we worked with them in a self reliance class as well as literacy lessons. We were grateful for the opportunity to be in the Temple. We traveled to and from KY with some folks in the ward and had such a great time visiting and enjoying the landscape along the way.
   On the Sunday the 27th, Pat and I were joined at 9 AM by Elder and Sister Dean (from the Olive Hill branch), full-time missionaries here from Springerville-Eagar AZ, to prepare 100 potatoes and cut fruit for the Stake Standards night. We got all the food prepped before our meetings started at 12:00 and then started baking after our meetings finished at 3:00. When the stake hosts activities here they usually start early and provide a meal as several of the wards are one to two and a half hours away from the stake center. So we prepared a potato bar with all the trimmings, salad, rolls and fruit. After the meeting the stake YW leaders cleaned up so we could head home since we had been there minding the food for 10 hours already.
  On Aug 29th, Mother's birthday bread baking event went well. Pat and I were able to take Grannies bread to some folks that really loved receiving it. I shared the Bread Poem with them too. Everybody loves Mothers bread. Well duh!
   We are gearing up for our new Pathway semester. I'll report on that next week.
When I say Almost Heaven, it really is. Traynors
 

More gorgeous Summer

    Sometimes I feel like a broken record when I say that this place is just flat beautiful. So I won't say it this time but it really is. There are Crepe Myrtle shrubs that are as big as some of our Mesquite trees, and there are several varieties of colors that just take my breath away. So when I think about the flora and fauna of WV, I'm just astounded. Today we drove to Charleston WV, about an hour away, to put on a luncheon for the Seminary/Institute inservice meeting there, (that's after doing the food for our inservice meeting luncheon here in Huntington), anyway we took a different way from the church to the Interstate and it was through what appeared to be an 8 mile long hollar that looked like a green forested tunnel. Just stunning. OK, I'm done with that.
    I will tell you about these inservice luncheons. Pat and I did 4 of them when we first got here, Feb -May (every third Saturday of the month through the school year). So now with school starting up again we are back to once a month again. The reason for the food every time is that because the church is so spread out and these early morning Seminary teachers drive up to 2.5 hours to get to our Huntington Stake inservice meetings by 10:00 AM. So we've been asked to provide a quick meal for them before they have to turn around and drive home 2.5 hours again.
    After everyone has finished eating we pack up the left overs and spiff up the kitchen then drive an hour to the Charleston Stake Inservice meeting that starts at 2:00 PM with a second identical lunch #2 for the folks that have driven a couple of hours to get there. After the meeting we clean up, pack up and drive home.
    The folks from both stakes are so grateful for everything that is done for them. They are dedicated teachers, and work hard to have a lesson ready for their ward students every morning.
    The focus of today's inservice was to train us teachers how to use our electronic devices to create folders and tag scriptures that are meaningful to us so that we can have them available to refer to when we want them. Brother Fuhriman had us go to the scripture in D&C 90:11, that says, "For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fullness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language...". Our young people today are in a digital world, their language, and are more likely to study the Scriptures digitally than from paper like we older folks do. Therefore if we can help them learn to also create folders and tag their own meaningful scriptures, conference talks and videos, they too can build their own digital file cabinet throughout the 4 years of seminary. What a powerful tool for them to have at their disposal.
    Pat and I have sort of adopted several (6) single ladies that need to be visited and watched over. Some are widowed and some are divorced. We all met at Panera for dinner last week and we are starting a FHE group next month. The ladies want to meet at the church and have a pot luck dinner and then Pat will give us a message. Some of them are very independent, hard working, sort of, "I've got this", type ladies, and others are happy to have a little extra attention. All of them are glad for the association and time together. We all just get so busy that we don't make enough time for each other.
   We continue with our Literacy learners every Tuesday and really enjoy working with them
   We loved all the hype and pictures of the Tucson Temple Cultural Celebration and Dedication festivities. I appreciated the reports of the dedication talks and I was able to read President Uchdorffs dedicatory prayer on LDS.org. My heart was there but our service goes on here.
   We love you all.
Almost Heaven, Traynors

Time is flying by

     So we have been away from home for six months today, exactly. In some ways it's like a time warp. It feels like we've barely been gone but the calendar says differently and when we FaceTime with the grandchildren we can see them grow up right in front of our faces, especially Annie and Greg's little Gabriel. He is 8 months already. Time is flying by.
    We love it here. Our weather has been quite nice this past week.  Morning walks are rather delicious as mother would say. The morning temperatures start low, then the day temperatures climb up rather quickly.
     We have no Institute /Pathway classes in the month of August so we have a little more time to make visits to ward members that need some extra care. We have adopted 4 widow ladies that lost their home teacher that passed away about a year ago. We enjoy getting to know them and learning about their lives and their families.
     We are also spending this available time on Pathway recruitment. A new Pathway class will start in January so we have some time to work on this. We are trying to help the Bishops be aware of the value of the Pathway program and how it can positively impact the lives of the YSA in their wards.
    We have received a lot of information and ideas from the Pathway headquarters on how to get the word out to potential students. We make a lot of calls but when it comes right down to it, the young people have to go on line, investigate the program, make a commitment and then register.
    We love Tuesdays with our Tri-State Literacy learners. I picked up a second learner and Pat's second one hasn't started coming yet, but has been assigned. We appreciate how hard these folks work and their desire to keep coming.
   This past week we got call from our new Bishop asking if we could help with something. The circumstances are somewhat strange. The Bishop got a call from a lady in North Carolina, a member of the church, saying that she has a friend here in Huntington, a non member, that had been in the hospital for 8 days for pneumonia, and was being released but had no one to check on her. So could someone from the church make a visit. So Pat and I made several calls but got no answer. Finally The NC lady sends the Bishop a message that she had given him the wrong number. So with the correct number we call and our new friend Sharon answered. She was a bit confused when we tried to explain who we were and how we came to get her number to call. We asked if we could come by and check on her and she agreed. I asked if she had anything for dinner and she hesitantly said, No. So we told her we would bring her dinner when we came. When we arrived, the poor little gal had her A/C off and was wrapped in a blanket trying to get warm. I on the other hand I warmed right up the second we stepped into her house. She had little oxygen tubes in her nose. We had a nice visit and didn't want to wear her out so we weren't going to stay long but as we were preparing to leave I asked if she would like Pat to pray for her. She said yes. I said would you like a blessing on your head and she she would very much like that. So Pat gave her a blessing of comfort. I also asked her if she would be interested in the Sister Missionaries coming by to visit and she said yes to that too. She very much appreciated having food, people, and prayers that night.  The interesting part is that the friend in NC is her financial advisor that Sharon works with telephonically and they have never meet each other in person.
     The following day we went and picked up groceries that she ordered for Kroger and took them by to her and she already was looking better. The Sister Missionaries did go by and prepared some lunch for her and folded some laundry and gave a first discussion as well as left a Book of Mormon. We will go by tomorrow to visit again and the Sisters are going Wednesday again.
    Sharon is in her early seventies and can't hardly believe that there are folks out there that care about her She is very grateful.
    Tuesday was our first zone conference with President Lindhardt. Part of the training included an example of an action plan from 1 Nephi when Lehi asked his sons to return to Jerusalem to get the brass plates. The first attempt was when the lot fell on Laman to go visit Laban and bearly gets out with his life. The second attempt was somewhat smarter in that they come up with a plan to gather up their gold and silver and their precious things and go try to barter for the records and again just escape. But the third time Nephi relies on the spirit, "not knowing before hand which way he should go" and sees the drunken Laban before him. Nephi is lead by the spirit and you know the rest of the story. The takeaway is always "Let the Holy Spirit Guide" it is a much better way and we will be so much more successful in our lives.
We love you all, Almost Heaven, Traynors

The Self-Reliance Initiative

   Pat and I are on the Stake Self Reliance Committee, which means we have been helping to train the ward and branch councils. We also train the ward membership in the third hour of the Sacrament meeting block so the members have an idea what to expect when they go to the devotionals. This initiative was first rolled out at the Huntington I and II wards as well as the Galipolis Ward on March 12th earlier this year. We are now in our second round of class offerings. We've just completed three Sundays away from our ward to do the trainings. We trained the members in Ashland, KY, Martin, KY, and Paintsville, KY. The devotional for folks to sign up is Aug 13 and 20 for the wards and branches in the Stake.
   What a divinely inspired initiative ( FYI, the brethren don't call it a program). To have a spiritual component along with the temporal component is brilliant, in fact it is the Lord's way. Which is why it works. The Church has combined the Perpetual Education Fund and the Employment Services departments together to create courses to better the lives of everyone. The classes are 1- Finding a better job, 2-Personal Finances, 3-Education for better Work, 4-Starting and growing my business. These folks in this depressed area are so blessed to be some of the first to participate in this initiative. We also feel blessed to get to be on the Stake committee which is bringing it to the members.
    We have finished the second semester of our Pathway/Insitute classes. We love these YSA's and they are so dedicated and devoted to the gospel. I as so proud of Jackie, Jamie and Haley to finish their year. That's real dedication. We now have 4 weeks off then will start up again in September. There are only a few Pathway programs that are on this January to December track.
     Our stake had a stake youth conference this past weekend. As we have a Sam's Club card (evidently most folks don't, can't figure that out) Wednesday we took the planners of the conference to do shopping for all the food. We then spent a good part of Thursday, Friday and Saturday preparing  or serving the food. One day we had the full time Elders and Sisters come and help us as we made Sloppy Joe's for 280 people. One of the activities for the youth was to go to 2 different homeless shelters and serve them lunch. So all the meat, buns, cold slaw, potato salad, chips, fruit were divided in two groups to go to the two shelters. Our youth's eyes were opened to how hard life can be and how blessed they are.
     Our literacy learners are doing well. We enjoy our time with them. They sure try hard. Pat's is retaining a little bit more each week of what he has been learning. He has a happy spirit.
     A real highlight Saturday was a visit from Scott Jackson. What a great fellow. He came to town to visit the Marshall Football Stadium and we felt lucky to get a visit too. We felt so loved to receive cookies, burritos, tortillas and a picture of the Savior from you dear family that I love so much. Scott is a stitch and we should adopt him into the family. I've already got the picture framed and up on the wall.
     We love the mission, the people, not the humidity.
Almost Heaven, Traynors

 

A new Mission President

   Before I write about our new President I will talk about the 4th of July. We went to two ward cook outs. The gathering for Huntington 1st ward was a lunch at a place called Beech Fork. It's lake for boating and one of the greenest, most gorgeous places you've ever seen. We were at the picnic area and what a beautiful setting. There was plenty of grilled Burgers and Hotdogs and a ton of side dishes. There were folks swimming, people canoeing lazily down a river right beside our ramada. Men played horseshoes and children fished in the river and played games. Now comes the funny part. It was all done in the rain and folks here just keep doing what they do, rain or no rain. Great party though and good company.
   Party number 2 was at the John II and Linda Perry home. The rain had stopped and the temperature was a little cooler, although the humidity was still quite high. These folks had opened up their home to friends and ward people for dinner. This family lives on a 52 acre spread of green rolling wooded hills. I'll say again that the grass cutting here is an art, and folks keep the lawns and green hills so well groomed. Before the dinner John III (he and his wife Sarah also live on the property) took us out on a tour of the property on a Polaris Quad runner thing. As it had rained so much in the morning everything was so wet and fresh looking. We went up and down the wooded hills and muddy ravines and even stopped several times to pick and eat a few wild blackberries that are all over the hills. The grilled burgers and side dishes again were great and the children had games to play and plenty of room to run around.
    For days before the 4th and several days after you could hear fireworks going off all around town. It was a nice way to spend a Patriotic Holiday.
    Now to the New Mission President. On July 6th our Zone met President and Sister Lindhardt and family. The Lindhardt's came from Ephriam, Utah where he had been an Institute Instructor at Snow College. They brought their 4 children with them to West Virginia to tour the mission with the parents     as a family. Only one of the children, a 16 year old boy, will stay here in the Mission. A daughter leaves on a mission to California in August. Another daughter returns to Utah to finish a nursing degree and the oldest daughter and her husband leave to return to school in Utah.
    We sure felt President and Sister Lindhardt's testimony, love and commitment to this work as they told us of their interview with Elder Renland and their call from President Eyeing. He has our support and devotion. He will be a great leader here.
    Other activities these past few days have been preparing for and presenting the Self-Reliance initiative to Ashland ward in Kentucky. The next two Sundays we have two more Wards to present to, also in Kentucky about an hour and a half away. This is a divinely inspired opportunity for those that need and want to be more self-reliant.
    Our Pathway /Institute classes are doing well. This semester seems to be flying by. Our YSAdults are so bright and it keeps us on our toes to be prepared to teach them. Our testimonies are being strengthened as we learn and prepare to teach this semester's lessons on the Book of Mormon.
    Monday the 10th was baking/meet and check on folks day. We have had 4 new couples move into the ward to start medical school at Marshall, two new babies born in the ward and some of the ward widows that we met and visited.
    We are loving the people here and we are missing our people elsewhere but we are happy and healthy. Pat has recovered from his fall and head injury and all is well.
We love you all and are grateful for this opportunity to serve a mission.
Almost Heaven, Traynors

Farewell to President and Sister Salisbury

   We had our final zone conference with President and Sister Salisbury Monday June 26th. What fine people they are and have worked so hard for these past three years. They have blessed the lives of the West Virginia, Charleston Missionaries. Truly the statement, "Well done thou good and faithful servant", applies to them.
   The first part of the conference was spent on training and motivation. Then after lunch the feeling changed and it was as if a humble father was teaching his sons and daughters to prepare them to go out into the world. President Salisbury's love of and testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ is so strong and we all felt is love. The Salisbury's have made good use of their consecrated time in serving the Lord here in West Virginia.
    My heart thrills to think of that reunion with the Salisbury's as they fall into the arms of their children and grandchildren after having been away for so long and serving so well.
   Our new mission President is now here in West Virginia and we will meet President and Sister Lindhardt and their family on Thursday July 6th as they go around the mission zones to meet all their missionaries. The work of the Lord, to bring souls unto salvation goes on, without a hiccup, as we all learn to love another of the Lord's servants.
   Tuesday had us with our Literacy learners again. We are enjoying our time with Keith and Antoine and recognize their efforts to learn, something that a lot of us take for granted, healthy, smart brains and the comforts of life that allows us to be able to use them.
   Wednesday was a really cool opportunity. I had been asked to speak at the Wednesday evening devotional at our Stake Girls camp. Our stake holds camp in Olive Hill, Kentucky at a place called Carter Caves State Park about an hour from Huntington, WV.  My talk was to be in the "Salt Peter" cave. This is where Saltpeter was mined, which was used for making gun powder for the war of 1812 against the British. You get into this cave by going down 30 narrow steps, some concrete, some wood, some rock,  about 16 feet down to where it opens up in a big open cavern. There are many trails and holes to be explored, we didn't. We kept the girls together as our guide took us on a narrow trail deep into the cave where there was another open area. We had our devotional message there. There is some lighting and the temperature is only 47 degrees year round.  Having ones own flashlight was a smart idea. We did.
    My talk was on "Having faith in Jesus Christ and asking in faith". I started out by singing silly camp songs with them and telling them some of my memories of being a first year Beehive at camp 55 years ago. We sang, and learned and laughed and cried together. I had asked Pat to speak also. It was a great experience for us. And then I was glad to get out of that cave.
     Thursday evening was our Institute/Pathway night again. My goodness we love these young people. We are in the English portion of the curriculum. They have been required to write several types of essays. This week is the personal essay. They edit each others essays in class. What is really cool is that they all want Patrick to edit their papers and he is very thorough and gives them good feedback. His bazillion years of writing legal briefs benefits them.
    Friday was a slower day. We were happy to have a little nap. We visited a little widow in our ward. You have to go down through a holler then up on top of the hill to get to her house. She has become a good to us.
    The work goes on here and we love these people. We love and miss you all.
Almost Heaven, Traynors

 

A Challenging Time

     We had a nice Fathers Day and Pat was happy to hear from our children. We are so thankful for our family that are so supportive of us being away from home and serving a mission. We love hearing from and seeing them often via FaceTime. We are grateful for modern technology that allows us to stay close and watch our families grow up while we are away.
     Yes folks, we have definitely had some challenges this past week. So for Father's Day dinner I made Pat, Chicken Marsala which is one of his favorites. Well we must have gotten some bad mushrooms because by 1:00 AM he was in the throngs of the worst food poisoning episode I have ever seen. This poor thing was the sickest that I have ever seen in our 46 years together.
     Morning eventually came and I was able to get to Walgreens early and get him some Immodium and Emitrol which finally slowed things down a bit. I also called our sweet zone leaders and they came over Monday morning and gave Pat a blessing that helped too. Pat was finally able to get a couple hours of sleep.
    I had not eaten the mushrooms so we thought that's why I did not get the poisoning, but Oh contrere, I had eaten the sauce that the mushroom were in and by afternoon I was affected too. But certainly not as bad as Pat and we had the Immodium so my episode was not as bad. By nighttime we were both feeling better but Pat was very week.
   The next day Tuesday we had our Literacy tutor assignment and although we would like to have stayed home another day we went on to the Library to meet our learners. My fellow did not show up but Pat's did and they had a nice lesson together.
   The light bulb over the kitchen sink had been out a few days, but we didn't care much about changing it the day before so upon arriving home from the Library I asked Pat to change it. He had taken off his shoes. He pulled up a chair to climb up to change it, yes, you can see it coming, and as he stepped up on the smooth wooden chair with his stocking feet, they slid right out from under him and he fell backwards and landed flat on his back with his head hitting the tile floor really hard. The impact on his head split it open a bit and he was bleeding as well as had a bad concussion. We have watched him carefully and have talked to health care people. He didn't break anything but has to take it easy and let his brain settle down. His recovery is slow but is steady. He stayed pretty calm the rest of that week.  The moral to this story, don't let old folks change light bulbs in stocking feet. When I told our kids about the mishap they have been very thoughtful about checking in on their dad. Then cute Brian said," mom, how many Senior Missionaries does it take to change a light bulb"? So funny.
    On Thursday we had our Institute/Pathway lessons. Pat worked to prepare his lesson but just wasn't up to going out. So that night at our class I taught my Institute lesson and I divided Pat's lesson into 3 parts. I assigned a third of the class to each part and ask them to study it for 10 minutes then present it  to the rest of us. These students we have are wonderful and they did a terrific job. They are knowledgeable and willing to share and work together. Their love and concern for Elder Traynor was evident. We appreciate their support .
   It's a good thing this week is finished. Things are getting back to normal, slowly, but its happening.
We feel the blessings of our Heavenly Father.
Almost Heaven, Traynors

Tons of Bridges here

   Last Saturday we traveled to an all West Virginia Seminaries and Institutes yearly training in a little town 144 miles NE from us called Sutton. This was what was probably the center of the State so we all came together there. As we drove there we crossed many bridges of every size and structure you could imagine. Because of the hills, valleys, streams, rivers and train tracks, there are bridges all over. Going thru Charleston alone we crossed the Kanawha River multiple times and these bridges are huge, a real engineering marvel. Some are really old metal and some are newer concrete. Most of these bridges are named for war veterans with posted plaques at each entrance. It was actually very interesting.
   The S/I training was really great. We were taught a wonderful concept from Elder Kim Clark regarding Alma 49:1-8. Here we read about the Nephites preparing for the Lamanites. Nephi had taught the Nephites how to fortify themselves in a way that had never been known among the children of Lehi to protect themselves against the adversary to the uttermost astonishment of the Lamanites. This, as Elder Clark says is the way we need to teach our Gospel learners and our families to be prepared for the adversary in their lives. Each of us should be in a constant state of Recovering, Rebuilding, and Reinforcing our lives and that of our families thru our Faith in Jesus Christ.
   Yesterday we attended both Huntington Wards. In Huntington 1st ward we had the opportunity to speak (on the fly I might add) in Sacrament meeting. One of the scheduled speakers called in sick so as we walked in we got the assignment. I spoke on this seminary meeting we had just had the day before and encouraged the members to enroll their young people in Seminary and Institute. Pat spoke on Faith in Jesus Christ. We are getting more comfortable with these opportunities. Although I have decided to have a few printed talks in my purse just in case.
   Life is good here. The trees are lush and green and the humidity is high but I am dealing with it. Fortunately the air conditioning works great in our comfortable yet very small apartment.
   We love you all and love seeing all the family and friends visits, via Facebook, to the Tucson Temple. It's all so exciting. Tucson is blessed.
   Almost Heaven, Traynors
 
 

Our literacy learners

   In the past we had reported that we had completed our training to be qualified and certified as tutors for the  Tri-State Literacy Council. Well we have been assigned our "learners" that we will be working with and teaching. Our lesson time is about an hour each week and we meet at the Huntington Public Library. We have lesson preparation time each week before the lessons.
     Our learners are very nice fellows that have some real challenges. Pat's learner Keith is a 42 year old fellow on medical disability that is a very pleasant guy who is eager to learn, but he has significant reading comprehension challenges.
     My learner Antoine, is in his late thirties and received a gunshot to the head 12 years ago. The damage done is hard to reverse and learning is difficult. He is very willing to try and work hard  so I hope to help him stay positive and want to keep coming.
     I am amazed at the people that have such struggles in their lives. Times are hard here in West Virginia and finances are tight for many people here.
     On to a new topic. Huntington Stake had a wonderful Seminary Graduation last Sunday evening. Pat was one of the speakers and I was asked to do refreshments. Who didn't guess that. The evening went well with more people attending than they were expecting, although hoping for. Fortunately Sam's club came through again with cakes and fruit and Frape.
    On the home front. Darian graduated from High School Saturday night. Brian and Natalie flew up to be with him along with David. Brian is getting the boys set up in an apartment and both boys will work as well as get into college in the fall.
    Matt and Ann's group are doing well. Sarah, Jason and Nicole got to participate in the Idaho Temple Cultural Celebration and Matt has helped out as an usher for the open house. Matt's business, Premier Eye Care of Eastern Idaho, has been building a new office building and it is just about ready to move into. Pull it up on the computer, it is beautiful.
    William had his UCLA graduation for his Pediatric specialization. He will finish up in California at the end of July.
    Emily and Erik have some exciting news. They will add to their little family in early December. The whole family is excited to have a new baby and they are waiting to find out the gender at the birth. Our hope is that we can go at Christmas time, but as we are getting a new mission President in July we will have to wait to ask permission to get to go.
    Annie and Greg have exciting news too. However their's is because they bought a new home and are thrilled to move at the end of July and have some much needed additional space.
    We miss all of you, our family and friends. However we love these folks here too and are thankful for this opportunity to serve at this time.
    Our Testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are strengthened each day as we study and prepare for our Institute classes. We love the fine Young Single Adults that we work with and they teach us so much.
    Almost Heaven, Traynors

Things are great

     So this post is going to be short as this past week was a little slower than usual and that's OK every now and then.
     Monday was our regularly scheduled Institute /Seminary Faculty meeting. The Huntington Stake Seminary graduation is next Sunday night so Pat has been making calls to get attendance and completion information to assist in finalizing the program. I am doing refreshments and Pat is speaking.
     Tuesday we planned with the Perry's (stake YSA reps) for summer activities. With our High School seniors and college students out for the summer we hope to have a few more young people available before they head off to missions and college. We have some fun things planned including a trip to the Hill Cumorah Pageant in July. We will not be able to go, Palmyra is a bit out of our area.
     Thursday was our Pathway/ Institute classes.  We love studying for and teaching these classes. Our dinner was left over BBQ with Cold Slaw, chips and Brownies and Ice Cream. It was nice not to have to plan, make or buy anything this week.
     Friday was shopping, errands and lunch at Panera.
    While we were out the Sister missionaries called and asked if we could pick up some people they ran across that are inactive members that they have been working with, for church today. OK, Sure.
    Church is at 12:00 noon. So we leave the house at 11:10 AM to drive to Milton to pick them up and be back in time for meetings. Yep, you guessed it. No shows. We had called several times yesterday and this morning to let them know what time we were coming. We don't know if we were given the wrong numbers or what but a neighbor said they weren't home and didn't know when they would be back. We now get what our full time Elders and Sisters go through.
   The Gospel is true and its to bad we can't help them come and partake.
Love you all. AlmostHeaven, Traynors
   
 

A successful YSA activity

 So our Stake did not have the CES broadcast on May 7th because of the North America North East direct broadcast from Salt Lake but planned to have a dinner and rebroadcast for tonight. So as YSA missionaries we offered to help and were told to plan for 50. Pat and I shopped for and prepared BBQ pulled Pork on buns, with coleslaw ( these folks put Coleslaw on top of everything), baked beans, watermelon, chips and brownies with ice cream and chocolate sauce for 50 people. Our church meetings were over at 3 PM and dinner was at 5PM so we had to hurry to get it all done. We did have some helpers. The dinner and the message from Elder Kim Clark were great. We only had 26 people but those 26 ate really well. After cleaning up and getting home to unpack the car and put stuff away we are tired tonight. But we loved it
     We had a great Zone Conference last Tuesday. Our mission President will complete his 3 years at the end of June. It seems like he has a real desire to turn over a well working machine to the new President. President and Sister Salisbury have worked very hard. When they first arrived in WEst Virginia 3 years ago the number of missionaries was 260. That was right when many YW could go out because of the age change. The numbers have slowly dropped this last year as that first wave of sister missionaries have gone home.The mission now has about 170 which is much more manageable. The Salisbury's will be happy for a long, well deserved nap in July.
    We love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and are happy the be here in West Virginia. There are great people here with strong testimonies that work hard to help make the wards and branches run smoothly.
    We love and miss family and friends but we know we are where we are supposed to be right now.
Almost Heaven, Traynors

Happy Mothers Day

    OK, so today is Mother's Day and it sort of feels weird not being where my family members are. But I totally love them and know that they love me.
    This week we had our regular meetings and visits to people but our big accomplishment is that we've completed our 11 hour training to be certified literacy tutors for the Tri- State Literacy Council.  The training is very good and we enjoyed our time spent there. We will now each be matched up with a "learner" and will begin to work with them to read and write. We still work with the couple in our ward but that is now on hold as the husband is having a gradruple heart bypass this Tuesday. So we will resume when he recovers.
    Sunday the 7th was a North America, NorthEast broadcast from SLC. Elder Oaks presided and Elder Garrit Gong conducted. The speakers were Elder Gong, Sister Bonnie H Cordon, Elder Anthony D Perkins and Elder Dallin H Oaks.
    Sister Cordon told a really great story of when she was a young girl Elder L Tom Perry stayed with her family while being a Stake conference visiting authority. One evening she was told to go feed the chickens and she was reluctant because it was dark but Elder Wirthlin said he would go with her. She grabbed a flashlight  and sort of skipped ahead of him. With the flashlight bouncing around ahead Elder Wirthlin didn't see the small ditch ahead and stepped right in the middle of it. As he pulled his wet foot out he firmly exclaimed,"I must get my own light". Sister Cordon likened that to us needing our own light of Christ to show us the right way. How many times have we made errors because we did not have the light of Christ with us.
   Elder Oaks had a few topics. Some that touched my heart were, Stand Ye in Holy Places so that we can be guided by the Holy Ghost and we members need to find friends and neighbors for the missionaries to teach. He also said beware of addictions, especially texting  and video gaming that are taking our time away from much more important things. His last message was, we can each know for ourselves the truthful of the gospel of Jesus Christ and we need our own testimony (our own light if you will). We can gain that testimony thru the powerful witness from the Holy Ghost.
   We are loving the people and our work. We pray for your good health and safety.
Love you all. Almost Heaven, Elder and Sister Traynor
   

The Rivers

    Oh my goodness the Ohio River is stunning. Mother has music to a song called "Beautiful Ohio" and I must look for that when I get home.
    This morning Pat and I set the alarm for 4:30 AM so we could make an early morning Seminary class in Ashland, Kentucky. Most of the road we traveled on ran parallel to the Ohio river. In the Tri-State area there is West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky and there are many huge bridges crossing the Ohio many times. In many places the river is about a half mile wide. This area of the country has big Poplar trees that are thick and lush. These trees line the river and it is a beautiful picture everywhere you look. The Ohio river can handle big barges that run up and down.
    There are are many other smaller rivers of varying sizes. The Mud River looks like it's name, brown and The Guyandote River both are fairly good size rivers that literally remind me of Christmas ribbon candy. They are that curvy. We see these rivers many times here in Huntington and Barboursville.
    Now the rivers are really cool but I must speak of the Seminary class. The class had 6 students and meet in the Ashland Ward building. I am so impressed with these young people and there families that make the effort to get up and come to Early morning Seminary. The students are from 3 different High Schools some as much as 25 minutes from the church. At the beginning of the class the students looked as if they might be sleeping but after the prayer they came alive and were engaged and participated. They will be blessed for making this sacrifice to be in Seminary each day. We that have been blessed with released time certainly take it for granted.
    Life is good here in West Virginia, it's Almost Heaven. Traynors

The Sound of Lawn mowers

    Yes folks, this weeks installment is entitled the sound of lawn mowers because that is what we hear these days nearly every morning. Now that spring is here with warmer temperatures these people have to mow weekly and barely keep up at that rate. They mow almost straight up vertically on the hill sides and down in the hollers. Some lawn businesses really have some fancy and expensive equipment, sit down, ride on the back, some can cut a huge swath at a time. It's really very serious stuff to keep all this green managed. That probably is not very important but quite interesting.
   Our Pathway class is going great.  These are dedicated young people that work hard and want to get going with their education. We have  7 in our class and there is another class in the building of  30 and above that has about 15 in their class. They have their own local missionary couple ( they live at home in the area) that run that class. However they were out of town this week so Pat and I ran our Institute/ Pathway class as well as Elder and Sister Mazon's class. It was difinately a tag teem situation but we got it done.
   We've had our first round of sickness. Pat was sick with a cold then I got it. Not fun. We've learned that it is much better to be out and about serving than to be holed up in this little apartment. We are doing better this week.
   I taught two quilting classes to the ladies in the ward. We had about ten people that wanted to learn how to make a baby quilt so we had an 11:00 AM class and a 5:00 PM class to accommodate schedules. There are many agencies that baby items can be donated to. One of these is called Lilly's House which is a place for crack babies as well as other addictions. It really makes me sad to know how many drug related issues there are in this area. I'm happy to get to help even if it is in small ways.
    Our Self-reliance initiative in the stake is at the halfway point, six weeks done. Some of the groups are moving along nicely and others struggle. This first roll out is a good learning experience for everyone. As a stake only three wards are involved in the program. Pat and I will be going to three more wards next month to present it to their ward council. And then we will have the devotional where people sign up for a class if they want to. Other folks will be helping with the remaining wards or branches. This initiative is being rolled out now in Tucson.
    We love reading the great missionary letters. We have such fine folks representing our family, out to do the Lord's work.
    We love you and miss you all.
Almost Heaven, Traynors

Spring is in West Virginia

   Last week end we drove 3 hours northeast to a little town called Weston for the Young Single Adult conference hosted by the Clarksburg Stake. It was held at a wonderful venue called Jackson's Mill. It was originally the home of Stonewall Jackson then later a large gristmill and housing for soldiers. It is now owned by the State of West Virginia and is the headquarters for the 4-H group. They hold camps here in the summer and rent it out throughout the year for corporate conferences and reunions etc,  their dining hall can seat 370 and there are dorms that's can sleep 42-46 people. All this is surrounded by huge rolling grassy hills.
   The conference was great with a smaller turnout than they had hoped for. But as always those that came had a great time. An interesting tidbit is the Ckarksburk Stake President is Kim Haws, one of Viola's boys in Mesa 28 the ward. He went to school with Peg or Chet. Small world isn't it?
    We had a "real" West Virginia experience today. We went with the sister missionaries for two appointments today. The first one was our appointment to work with a couple to help them with literacy reading helps and self reliance. The sisters helped us find the place. After driving about 45 minutes thru the "hollers" and up and down narrow windy hills we got to the folks place. This is where Jed Clampet could have lived before he struck oil, Texas Gold you know what I'm saying.
    Well as we went in we soon discovered that they have lots of dogs in the house and a pet prairie dog in a cage, too. It was good to get outside again for good fresh air.
   Then we drove another 45 minutes to the sisters appointment to teach a lesson. We entered this lady's trailer and realized why they are hoping she can stop smoking so she can be baptized. The sisters gave a nice lesson on the Doctrine of Christ. The gal is very nice and loves our Savior but at about an hour away from the church and doesn't drive she has some real challenges to overcome.
   A highlight of the week was our visit from Emily, Erik and children that drove here from Virginia on their spring break. That was a huge sacrifice for them to come see Grandma and Grandpa and we appreciate it so much. We went to some parks and had picnics and one of the days went to see Beauty and the Beast the song -a-long and yes we did, sing-a-long. It was very fun. When it was time for them to go home Henry said, we are going home to the real Virginia"!
   As I said in the title, spring is here and the trees, flowers and shrubbery are all blooming and there is beautiful color all over.
    We love doing the Lord's work here. I will fire up the oven tonight and make cookies for the baptism of a fellow tomorrow. The ward is excited.
We love all of you.
Almost Heaven, Traynors

Conference Weekend

The highlight of this last week was the conference of the church and the opportunity we had to listen to a Prophet's voice and our Leaders. The talks were very inspiring and I went into the meetings with some worries and questions that I was looking for answers to. As I listened to each speaker and took notes I could feel their love of our Savior, President Monson, and each of us. There were certainly some that touched me more than others but all were inspired. I decided that if I heard something that was a direct answer to my questions I would write the word ANSWER in the margins of my notes. Well I am happy to report that as I looked back through, I had written ANSWER 6 times. So to think than six different speakers prepared talks just for me is quite humbling. Was I just paying more attention than I usually do? I think not.  I do have a testimony that our Heavenly Father loves us and knows us and knows what we need and how to go forward.
We are loving the people and the work here in West Virginia. Almost Heaven, Traynor's

Traynor's update

Dear family and friends,
   This last week was very busy. Saturday the 25th the senior missionaries in the mission went with President and Sister Salisbury to take a three hour tour of the Summit Bechtal Reserve outside of Beckley West Virginia near Mt Hope. This is the site of the BSA national jamboree. In 2019 it will host the International jamboree. It is over 10,000 acres. My goodness what a place. They have put in over four Hundred fifty million dollars in infrastructure alone. They can accommodate up to eighty thousand scouts and leaders. It is quite the facility. After the tour we had lunch with the President as well as some training.
   On Sunday the 26th we left at 7:15 AM to drive and hour to the Gallipolis Ward. Their early morning seminary class can only meet on Sunday morning. So we attended the class their Sacrament meeting and their three hour block. We were hosted by a Senior missionary couple for lunch. We then helped with the ward's self-reliance devotional. We got home at about 9 PM after making the drive back in the rain, kind of scary in the dark on these narrow windy roads.
   Monday was a zone conference here in Huntington. It was a great opportunity to be taught again by the mission President and see all the missionaries in our zone.
   Our self reliance meetings are going well.
   We are loving our Pathway and Gathering classes. These YSA are so dedicated and we are all bonding together and enjoy our time together. It is still taking a lot of time to read and prepare our lessons. We only have one week left to complete this first semester. It's gone by very quickly.
    We have had a ton of rain on and off for weeks and this Arizona girl misses the sunshine. Of course all this West Virginia green and humidity is due to this rain. It's a good thing this little apartment and our car are air conditioned once summer hits.
    We are doing well and finding plenty to keep us busy. I've even had a moment to do some sewing to prepare for a quilt class I'm doing for the ward.
     We love you and miss you but all is well here.
     We love the work and thes good folks herein West Virginia.
Almost Heaven, Traynor missionaries



   

Our self reliance assignment

Hello family and friends,
   So we've had our training and the Huntington stake had their devotional for the self reliance initiative. Groups have been formed ( personal finance, education, finding or starting a new business  and employment)  and started meeting this week. These groups will meet together for 12 weeks 2 hours each week. What a blessing for the people here in this economically depressed area. Pat and I will be working with a couple one on one that have limited reading and writing skills to help them understand the material. These folks are so anxious to learn and are already filled with hope. It's exciting to see.
   We had our first Seminary and institute inservice luncheon last Saturday. We will be doing this the third Saturday of each month. Here's how it goes. Pat and I show up for our inservice meeting at the Huntington building with a lunch for that group. Then when the two hour meeting is over and they've eaten, we pack up the lunch and drive an hour to the Charleston building and lay out the lunch again for the folks at that building and their meeting. Then pack it up again and drive home and empty the car and put everything away.
   So I,would say it went well only that our target number is 12-15 at each building and this week was the weekend beginning spring break so I had plenty of food had they all come but they didn't. Therefore we had to find folks to give it to. Fortunately it was our stake conference this past week and our General Authority was Elder Echohawk. So we fed our stake guys for lunch that had come for meetings. They were happy because they'd started early that morning.
   With the left over food from the second lunch we fed full time missionaries after the adult conference meeting as well as some senior missionaries today that came into town for the conference.
   Our conference was great and my favorite talks were by President and Sister Cotton of the Louisville, Kentucky Temple. Her talk was on the worth of souls and His talk was on being rock solid on the inside. Elder Echohawk's talk was on following the promptings of the spirit and there are miracles all around us. All three talks touched my heart and soul.
   The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. He is the Saviour and Redeemer of mankind. I urge us all to be prayerful and believing and love each other. We love you all and miss you but we know we are needed here at this time. Love, The Traynor missionaries

First week in Huntington

Our first week here in Huntington we met lots of really good folks. We went to our first Sacrament meeting Sunday the 19th. We met members from both Hunting wards, 1st and 2nd wards. We live in the 2nd Ward.
Monday was a telephonic meeting with Brother Fuhriman. We talked more about our Pathway teaching responsibilities as well as other assignments from the stake leadership. We then ventured out to have lunch and gather a few more items for the apartment.
Tuesday was our first zone conference from 8:30 AM to 4:00PM. During this meeting we met with President Cox and his 1st counselor to discuss the church's new Self Reliance program that we are being asked to assist with. What an inspired program that can help the people of this depressed area raise their level of employment as well as their health and well being.
We also went with Elder and sister Scott of the mission office to go get boards and fix our bed. It's great now. At 8:30 that night we met with President Gee and the stake YSA committee discussing their needs and how we can reach them to bring them back to enjoy the blessings of institute.
Wednesday was lesson prep for Thursday's upcoming Pathway class. Yet another day trip to Walmart then that evening we drove across the Ohio river into Ohio to have dinner with the Sabastianis at Casa Grande restaurant. It was pretty good. The return trip was scary because the fog had rolled in and visibility was very low and we were trying to find our way home via the GPS that took us home a different route than what was shown us to get there. Faith and prayer and a GPS got us home.
Thursday AM was more lesson prep time. At 2:00 we met Brother Fuhriman and the Fowlers, senior missionaries that work at the University of WV institute. We discussed more Pathway responsibilities  as well as received materials to teach from. At 5:30 we met Elder and Sister Mazon the senior missionaries that teach the 30 and over age group of Pathway. They are really great folks. We will enjoy our association with them.
Our first Pathway class that night was taught by Brother Fuhriman, definitely a seasoned Institute teacher and we have large shoes to fill. The "Gathering" class which is "life skills" this semester will be fun to watch the students learn and grow as the young adults teach each other. After cleaning up and visiting with the Mazons a little more we got home at about 10:00 PM.
Friday Comcast came to set up the internet. We then went to lunch at a place we had heard about called "Hillbillies Hotdogs". Interesting but we don't need to go back. In the evening we went to Sis Sabastiani's institute class. It was held in her home which again challenged our navigational skills, but after three phone calls we made it and she did a nice job on her lesson.
   Saturday afternoon was a technology workshop followed by a ward potluck dinner for the Huntington 2nd ward and then Pat and I attended a Huntington 1st ward missionary fireside.

Driving to West Virginia

We finally have wifi and I can post something.
   We left the MTC on Feb 15. We were finished with our training by noon and decided to pack up and get on our way as opposed to waiting until Thursday to start out. That was a good decision as we were able to drive to Grand Junction, CO (242 miles) the first night. We saw lots of fairly unattractive country.
   The rest our our travels went as follows.
Grand Junction to Hays, Kansas then (585 miles)
Hays, Kansas to Mt Vernon Illinois then ( 591 miles)
Mt Vernon Illinois to Huntington, West Virginia ( 400 ish miles).
   We arrived at about 4:00 PM and were met by the full time Elders, the zone leaders. Zone leaders are two missionaries that keep track of and help put a group of about 30 other missionaries both Elders and Sister missionaries in a geographical area. So the Elders met us with our keys to this little apartment and helped us unload the car. They also went with us to Walmart where we bought groceries and other needed items. We then took the Elders to dinner and returned to our place where they helped us unload the car again. We are so grateful for their assistance.
   Pat and I worked to put stuff away and settle in for several hours. By about 11 PM we thought we should go in and make our bed.
   Now that's an interesting story. It was set up with no box spring, just 3 slats each with 2 posts holding them up. Not very secure looking. So for three nights we slept very carefully until on Tuesday our mission office apartment guy from Charleston, got us hooked up with a secure base and we are now comfortable.

 

The Missionary Training Center--Day 1

It's official!  We are at the MTC.  My heart is full as we mingle with the full time young missionaries.  We've seen every shape, size, color, nationality, and physical disability.  Quite remarkable.

Day 1.  Checked in, got our missionary badges, room assignment, and assigned to a district.  It's been a great day.

The Arnett Family Legacy

We are grateful for the amazing legacy of missionary service in the Arnett Family.  The flags in this photograph each represent a family member in the Fred and Norma Arnett Family who has served as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.  We are humbled to add our flag of West Virginia to the group.