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
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