I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We just finished another great conference.  We were taught well.  There is so much to digest.  I'm grateful that we can re-listen to the talks, read them in the Ensign or watch them on the internet.  We are so blessed to be able to continue to learn as we study these talks during the next 6 months.  I was excited to hear that our young men and women can now leave on their missions at an earlier age. Elder Nelson and Elder Holland said, “We need to be hastening the work.”  This should help with the hastening.  We sisters were also blessed with the Women's Conference last weekend.   The spirit was so strong as I listened to our leaders.  I had more than once a witness that what I was hearing was true.  One theme that I feel I heard throughout both conferences is that our Savior, Jesus Christ, knows us, he understands us and he will support us as we live the principles of the gospel and serve others.  Service is a very essential key in the gospel.  As Elder Eyring told us in Women's Conference, our service may not always be convenient but if we include the Savior he will be there to help us.  I loved Sister Dibb's talk on having a conviction and confidence in being a Mormon.  She told us to know it, live it and love it.  We all need to stand up and be bold and not afraid to say, "Yes, I am a Mormon."  We were taught to: immerse ourselves in the scriptures; to become the person God expects us to be; our testimony is a precious gift; submit fully to God's will; we all need the Atonement of Jesus Christ; Love one another; Come unto Christ; conversion is a lifelong quest; and asked if we Love Him?  These are just a few of the highlights in my notes that I took.  But I think one of my favorites was "Ask the Missionaries.  They can help you."   To me it was a powerful conference, a spiritual feast.  I always feel sad when it is over but know I can continue to fill my lamp with continued study.

After conference on Saturday, we had the Elders over for pizza before the Priesthood session.  We already love our new Elder McKenna.  He will be a very good asset to our area.   And we can already tell that he is focused and ready to work.  He shared his precious delicious cookies with us that his mother sent him for conference.  Thanks Wendy, they are yummy!

 
We were thrilled that our investigator, Don, came to two sessions.  He had a hard time sitting that long because of his knees but I know that he felt the spirit as he heard our apostles speak.  He asked if he could sustain the leaders as we raised our hands to the square in their support.  I hope that what he heard touched his heart and that when we meet with him next Wednesday, we can commit him to baptism.  He is trying really hard to quit his smoking and his coffee.  I think he is making progress.  I challenged him to give up his TV Evangelical ministers and stop reading all the magazines from other churches and try to concentrate on the Book of Mormon this week.  He told me that he only watched one show.  That is progress. 

 On Saturday, the 22nd, we drove to the beach to witness a baptism of a young sister.  She requested to be baptized in the ocean.  It was a beautiful clear day.  The skies and the ocean were so blue.  The water was calm until after the baptism then it got a bit choppy.  There were about 30 people who came which included about 15 missionaries.  As she and the Elders entered the water I thought of our Savior and his baptism in the waters of Jordan; how he set the example for us and fulfilled all righteousness.  It was a beautiful baptism.  There were a few curious people on the beach but they were not distractions for us.

 Elder Benson giving the talk on Baptism

                                                                      A beautiful scene

Sister Molina

Elders from our District and beyond.  I didn't know some of these Elders but most are from here.

Some Senior Couple?

 We also had a baptism in our ward of Theo Swapp, one of my cute piano students.  I was asked to play the music for it.  I wrote in my journal that he has curly blond hair, a stocky little body with a forever smile.  He is really doing well on the piano too.

Theo, Ben (his brother) and Sister Hesse

Theo

Theo and Ben (his older brother)

 We had dinner at the Bishop's for FHE and a goodbye to Elder Hargan.  Elder Hargan was transferred to the Lake Hamilton area.  They really treat us well here.  We had steak and all the fixin's.  Afterwards we played "Hold to the Rod" game which was a lot of fun.  We could have played it all night but I had to break the party up because we were to teach Seminary the next morning.  I knew if I didn't get to bed before 9, I'd be toast in the morning. Four thirty a.m. is really, really early!

Julie Bangerter, Paul, Bishop Bangerter, Elder Hargan

Elders Hargan, Hendley                 Sister Hunt (R.S. President)                       Paul

We've been busy the past couple of weeks.  We helped Sister Hunt prepare her house to sell (she is moving to Texas), helped the Bishop move (thankfully only a few miles up the road, closer to us), helped a sister organize her tiny room in a care center which she shares with another lady, taught several lessons, met with less active families encouraging them to return to the fold, baked lots of bread and banana bread, made lots of salsa and guacamole for appointments at our home with new members, cooked meals for the Elders, gone to dinne with new converts and attended to lots of meetings.  And we love it all.  Being a missionary is a busy time but with lots of rewards.

I finally finished my second drawing of our darling little granddaughter, Brooklyn.  She is the three year old daughter of Brian and Kellie.  We have a wall of pictures of grandchildren and it is hard to know who to draw next.  So I decided to do a still life.  This time and am using colored pencils.

Brooklyn

The best news that we have is that Kimber had her 2nd little boy, grandchild #28.  He was born on Tuesday, October 2.  He is the cutest little thing.  He weighed in at 5 lbs.15 oz.  Mom and baby are doing just fine.  We are always thrilled to have a new addition to our family.  Just a little sad we can't be there to celebrate with them and to hold our little angel. I am grateful for Skype.

Just before the baby was born

 The Happy Family - Logan Matthew Haidenthaller

 Logan

Logan        Weston (his big brother)

 

 Our son, Bret, spent Friday night and Saturday morning with us.  I decided to make a roast with a recipe from the internet.  I had it baking most of the afternoon.  After Bret arrived, we took a drive to Tampa.  I turned the oven down thinking that all would be well.  The meat still needed to get a little more tender.  We returned an hour later.  On the way in the house, Paul stopped to invite our neighbor to dinner.  Unknown to him that the roast was pretty done!  The veggies were black in the pan.  This was not one of my best meals.   So instead of a variety of veggies we had canned green beans, with mashed potatoes, gravy, and a salad.  The meat was still good.  I guess you might say we had burnt offerings that night.  Next morning we left early to have breakfast on the beach.  We took Bret to Caddy's on the Beach.  It is our friend, Tony's, restaurant.  He was there and visited with us a while.  It was a nice visit with Bret but way too short.

We have been teaching seminary again this week.  The teacher had a family emergency and had to leave town.  It is so enjoyable working with the young people.   We get in some extra study as well.  The District Leaders challenged us to read the first four gospels in the New Testament in a month.  We are reading together which is very enjoyable.  It gives us an opportunity to discuss what we are reading.  We also decided to read the Book of Mormon together also.  I love the opportunity to feast upon His word.  This is a royal daily feast.  We have been truly blessed to be here to serve our Heavenly Father.  It is an experience I would recommend to every senior couple and our youth. 

We send our love and prayers to the Urie family.  We hope that little Jonathan is doing well.

We love you all and hope all is well with everyone.  Have a wonderful day.